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Fanjingshan梵净山

Guizhou Province贵州省

Introduction

Fanjingshan Guizhou Province is a place we have wanted to visit for a long time. Fanjingshan is a sacred mountain in Guizhou province on the border with Hunan province. Unfortunately, we never had the time when we were in Guizhou. Last summer one of my students, Maria Vioque  and her partner, visited and climbed Fanjingshan and here is their review and photos.

 

Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve梵净山

Fanjingshan National Nature Reserve is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve. According to the Chinese Tourism rating system for places of interest in China, this sacred mountain for Chinese Buddhism has an AAAAA rating (the highest score).

Just climbing up the infinite steps and walking through the lush green forest was an experience in itself. However, better to get some tips in advance if you want to enjoy this unforgettable spiritual experience properly.

Starting the Ascent

On Arrival:

On arrival, it is necessary to buy two tickets to get into the Fanjingshan Nature Reserve. One ticket to enter the park and another one for the shuttle bus (approx 100 CNY both) to the entrance.

It’s easy to feel dizzy and a little carsick on the shuttle bus as it wizzes up the narrow zigzagging road with hairpin bends. The landscape is amazing and the delightful river flowing by the side of the road makes the discomfort all worthwhile.

A few meters from the main gates, there is a stone dragon fountain in the river and a building with a big golden Buddha on the roof. We started our ascent by taking the stone steps, all 8,888 of them. It took five hours to reach the summit; which is the equivalent of climbing all the stairs of a 460-floor-building.

Walk or Take the Cable Car

There is a cable car option for the lazy ones or those in a hurry. It takes 7 minutes to get to the closest point to the peaks. After that there are some more steps.

However, the path winding up the mountain was gorgeous, full of nature, fresh air and stunning views. There are endemic species such as the rare Guizhou golden monkey and lots of colorful insects and birds. You’d be very fortunate to catch a glimpse of the elusive monkeys because they are shy and keep well away from humans.

The infrastructure and facilities along the way are very good.
There are some toilets and more important: locals selling energy drinks and fruit.

Be carried like an Emperor

If you are feeling lazy and can’t handle the challenge, you can be carried up to the top on a chair by some porters. Like the emperors of old.

After several arduous hours of hiking up the precipitous steps, the temples on the top of the mountain come into view and the goal is within reach.

Then came the anti-climax. Despite having set off very early with the hope of beating the crowds, by the time we reached the summit it was already overcrowded and full of local tourists.

It is crowded on the summit

We somewhat regretted not having taken the cable car in order to have reached the peak sooner. However, the amazing climb up the paths and through the gorgeous forest more than compensated for the slight disappointment of having to share the final experience with so many people.

The Chinese have a great saying for this moment when the whole of China’s enormous population seem to converge on one place at the same time. The saying is Ren Shan Ren Hai 人山人海, which translates as “people on the mountains, people in the sea”。

Views On the Top

 The views from the top are stunning! There are strange rock formations and stone pillars made by stratus and the peak is crowned by three temples. In the middle there are some famous rock formations from where you can enjoy a magnificent overall view. We decided to climb to the highest temple, on the right. The path is beautiful and slightly dangerous, with very steep steps, a slippery surface and vertical drops. It was a whole new experience walking along those small paths and being treated to those spectacular views from the summit.

 

Getting There:

To get to Fanjingshan, we took a class-G-train from Guiyangbei (Guiyang North Station) to Tongrennan (it costs 122,50 CNY). Once there, we took a van from the train station to Jiangkou, a city full of neon lights and very comfortable to spend a night.

There were nice restaurants in the city center and lots of convenience stores where you could buy a piece of fruit, water or nuts. Early the next morning, we bought some baozi and soy milk for breakfast and we called for a ride by Didi app (which is similar to Uber). A couple of minutes later a driver picked us up and drove us to Fanjingshan. Getting there doesn’t take long: It is possible to go by taxi (100 CNY approx). You can take a bus if you don´t mind arriving a bit later in the day. I wouldn’t recommended arriving after 12 pm in August as the place is packed and there are endless queues.