Mo Mountain

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Today, Saturday, found me heading off to Mo Mountain with 7 others from our group of teachers and friends. The group probably would have been bigger if it hadn't been for a birthday party we all attended last night till 1 in the morning! Nancy decided to stay at home and send me off on my own for a change. Mo Mountain is on the side of East Lake and one of the top scenic destination parks in the area. It is a part of the East Lake Scenic Area which covers about 82 sq. km. The lake itself covers over 33 sq.km. It is the biggest “city lake” of China. The park was only about 20 minutes away from our apartment by bus and still in the Wuhan city limits.

The weather was clear and bright, despite the haziness that appears in most of the photos. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day since a lot of the afternoon consisted of looking long distances across the lake from the shore or top of the "mountain". The park was huge and interspersed with many trails and large sculptures dotting the open spaces. We could have easily spent more time checking everything out and I will definitely return with Nancy at some point to redo the event. Many trails wound through forested areas as well as along the shoreline.

We chose to get to the top by a small tow that was too fascinating not to give a whirl. You sat facing down hill and were pulled along a track to the top by a cable that was attached to your little cart. At the top you had the choice of paying to slide back down the hill in the little cart along a well defined track, with the ability to go at breakneck speed or brake as desired! We chose to walk back down when we had finished touring the top scenic lookout building. There were two interesting tidbits; it cost 10 kwai to be pulled up but 30 kwai to coast back down...go figure. The other funny thing was that there was insurance for sale at the top in the same building as the tickets. We were not sure if there was a hidden message there or not.

The gorgeous building at the top housed various gift shops, historic items and levels at which you could go outside and look out over the lake and distant views of Wuchang, one of the three original cities (and the one we live in) that make up the present city of Wuhan. There were also several musical presentations of ancient bell music and other traditional instruments that occurred every half hour or so. I have included (or should say am trying to upload) a couple of video clips I took with my small digital camera of the shows. The quality is not great but you will get the idea.

We decided to fore go the 30 kwai price tag and walked back down the mountain along a nice forested pathway. At the bottom we went on a small one hour boat ride in a couple of traditional rowboats that were available for tours. Again, the weather was wonderful and one of the first days that the visibility was good enough to see fairly clearly across the lake. The whole city is basically built on a lake and wherever you go, there is water. Obviously this is one of the reasons for the large number of mosquitos that apparently show up as the weather gets hotter. So far they haven't been too bad. And I finally got some pictures of the fishermen and their huge telescopic rods. They all use the same type of gear with a line and worm at the end.

Anyway, I have included lots of pictures that will show the day's activities and scenery much better than my rambling. And I have to admit that it is nice getting too much sun this early in the year!!

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Comments

[Sylvia]

WOW!
Fabulous photos - thanks Steve!