Nanshan II

---

I headed back to Nanshan to try a different hiking route. On a side note the toilets at the start of the hike are probably the nicest and cleanest I've come across in all my time in China. I decided to take the trail up that I had taken down the first time I was here. I did think that this route was easier, but going up I changed my mind. There were some pretty lanterns near the start of the trail to mark the new year. It was only a few steps to the first pavilion, which since I'd just started, I didn't take a break at. Since it was the holiday, it was busier than the last time I was here. I hiked up and up the stairs were pretty steep and each set was quite long. I saw what I thought was the viewing platform up ahead. However, my pleasure soon turned to disappointment as I realised it wasn't the viewing platform. I took a quick breather there and then continued up the steps to the proper viewing platform. I took a longer break here and enjoyed the views. It was a little cloudy, but it didn't impede the view too much. It was nice to see the skyscrapers of Shenzhen and the port in the foreground and the mountainous area of Hong Kong across the bay in the background.

More steps led me higher and I got some good views of the other side of Nanshan and the port over there and a small island. I continued on and passed another pavilion and a few benches and tables that I had seen last time. There seems to be more places to stop and rest, and picnic, on this route. I got to the part, where it goes flat and I was happy as I knew I was almost at the peak. I like this part as it is easy on the legs and lungs. I stopped at the picnic benches just before Qitan pavilion and had a rest there. I read for a bit and ate some snacks. I was surprised to see a couple of dogs there. I don't know if they belonged to someone or if they were wild, as I have never seen anyone walking their dogs up the mountain. Once rested, I headed to the pavilion and up the stairs to the top so that I could take in the views. I loved the views in all directions. It was a little hazy, but I could still make out everything.

The signpost said that the navigation station was about 1,100 metres away, so I headed off in that direction. I was a bit gutted that the steps descended quite a bit, as I knew that it would mean going back up to reach the navigation station. At least it wasn't too steep going down. There wasn't too much to see either on this part of the hike as there were lots of tall trees on each side of the path. After about 400 metres, I came to Yishou pavilion. I didn't stop here as there were already quite a few people relaxing in the pavilion. After a few more steps, the trail became flat, which is quite unusual for China, as they seem to love putting steps on the trails. There wasn't too much, but I did get little glimpses of the bay below. There was also an unusual looking handrail around the path. It looked like it was meant to resemble wood, but the colour was off as it was grey. I also passed some cute benches that had elephants carved into the ends of them, further up I would come across some rabbit ones, too. It was a nice little touch.

The final slog to the navigation station was up some steep steps. I was out of breath by the time I got there. The navigation station was all locked up, so you couldn't get in, but taking a walk around its perimeter, you got some great views of the city. There were two paths down, but one was closed off. At this point, my camera decided to die, my fault as I hadn't charged it for ages. I was gutted that I would have to use my phone to take the rest of my pictures as the quality isn't as good. The next couple of hundred meters was down and up a paved road. It lead to a picnic area, which had some good views over the other side of Shenzhen. There were also some carvings in the stone of what I think was a Chinese goddess. They were pretty. Just a little further on from here was a big square, Mingdeng Square, that was filled with people. There were some shops to buy snacks and a toilet block. Here, the trail split in two; you could either take the paved road down to the Beishan entrance or take the steps which would take you to either the Beishan entrance or the Customs Road entrance depending on which fork you took later on the path.

I took the step route. First there were a couple of pavilions, but they didn't have any good views, so after a quick look I headed along the trail. I came across another pavilion, which was pretty busy as there were some great views of the bay from here, too. I could make out the bridge linking Shenzhen and Hong Kong. Also the weather had got better, it was clearer now and sunny. Further on, I came to some kind of corridor. It reminded me of the one in Nanjiecun, which protects children from the elements on their way to school and serves as a place for the older folk to lounge around in, I don't know the purpose of this one, but it was nice. Just after this the descent down the mountain started. There were lots and lots of steps. The first part of the descent lead to another pavilion, this one had great views over the city. It was just a sea of high rises, what looked like a park in the middle and mountains in the background. It was a great view and it was hard to take my eyes off it. As the trail continued to snake down the mountain I was treated to more great views. There were quite a lot of high rise apartment blocks nearby and I wonder what their views of the mountain were like.

After a couple of kilometres, the trail came out onto the road. It was nice to not have to deal with steps anymore. There were also a couple of people selling what I think was honey, as it looked like there was a small area covered with hives. After about ten minutes or so, I reached the exit/entrance. This seems to be a lot stricter than the one I entered by as people were having to show their health codes and were getting frisked with a handheld scanner. On the other side, the guards don't leave their huts. Checking the map, I was still about a kilometre or so from the subway station. The walk to the station was a nice one through Lilin Park. The park is pretty nice, there doesn't seem to be much to see or do there, but still nicer than walking along a busy road. All the trees and plants also provide some shade from sun. I saw more signs warning of snakes, but luckily I didn't see any. When I came out of the park, the sky above was a gorgeous shade of blue with soft fluffy candyfloss looking clouds. I really enjoyed this longer hike on Nanshan. It wasn't too strenuous and gave me more great views of the city.

---

Comments

[RENanDREW]

Wow!
What a lovely trail. If you hadn't labelled your photos I would have sworn a couple of them were a partial view of Hong Kong Island from the peak :) I haven't logged into TB for a very long time, so just catching up on blogs now.

[Zephyr]

Thanks
It's a great little trail and does look similar in places. Hope you are keeping well.