The drive to Tiashan was about 6 hours from Beijing. It was a nice sunny, slighty hazy day when we left. The highway was modern, and quite clean with all the workers sweeping with wide brooms along the way.  We passed many signs for new scientific and industrial parks, and real estate. The land was flat and filled with corn fields. reminding me of southwestern Ontario, except for the brick walled villages, and the sweepers. The road was crowded with buses and overloaded trucks, almost all of them covered with roped tarps.

We stopped at a service centre and had lunch. Interesting food, and great tasting beer. It was so much like service centres on the 401 in Ontario, yet so dramatically different. I truly am in a different place. And I get a sense that not many people here have seen a westener.

The villages along the way were fascinating, most were of the same red brick, with the houses walled in and sayings painted on the sides. Corn was being dried everywhere, roofs, the ground, in fields. Very little machines are seen, and any operation seem to involve large groups of people. Periodically we passed brick factories. Everywhere you can see the collective way of life where everyone has a role to play.

Despite passing on the shoulder, and broken down trucks and everyone passing into every available space, there wasn't many accidents. We had to stop for one, and I had the opportunity to watch some village action below the overpass.

As we got nearer Shandong provice, the flat land turned to mountainous terrain, and the sunny day turned cooler and cloudier.

We wound our way through the limestone hills, and came around the backside of Tiashan, one of the 5 sacred mountains in China. Looks like we weren't going to get a great view this time, the mountain was shrouded in clouds.

We took a cable car to the top...it was a long trip, and you could see every now and then we were quite high up. Shown here is George, who brought me to China, Mr Zhou (VP at the publishing company), to his right, and Wendy, my wonderful guide and intrepreter, to his left. (Xing, my other guide and I were on the other bench). Everyone is wearing hats bought by George.

We walked up further steps, to a hotel near the summit. We stopped and had lunch, which included my first sampling of Chinese liquor. The stuff makes Screech taste like water! At least it was a good way to get warm inside, though the peanuts and acorns in vinegar also did the trick.

After lunch, we walked up further steep steps, (were we ever going to reach the summit?), and arrived at the top, at the Jade Emporer Temple. The temple and summit are at 1545m. More locks and ribbons, and an area where people toss coins for good luck. (A Canadian quarter is now there, too bad I left my looneys and toonies back at the hotel!)

The Jade Emporer was a fictional character from the earliest of historical times. Again, people give offerings and pray for fortune. It is amazing to think that people and emporers have been coming here for thousands of years. Outside the temple is the grounds where it is a tradition to watch the sun rise from the east. I understand you can see all the way to the Yellow Sea from here, but it wan't going to happen on this trip!

We walked down (unbelievably steep steps!) a ways and arrived at a second cable car system. The trip was again several minutes long, seem to last forever. It brought us down to the Middle Gate of Heaven. We spent some time at the souvenier shops, before heading down the rest of the mountain by a bouncing bus. I gained some appreciation of how high up we were. Hard to imagine that people walk up the mountain (it takes 4-5 hours I understand). Absolutely beautiful. I hope I can come back here on a clear day.