Our Shandong travels, continued…
Tai Shan is the holiest of China’s five holy peaks.
Blossoms were still out as we started our climb.
The more than six thousand stairs, mounted for centuries by Emperors who came to pay tribute to the holy peak, almost have the look of the Great Wall.
They’re also kind of steep.
Prayers and offerings of giant incense are still very much a part of the climb today.
And the views and temples at the top are worth the climb.
This was my favorite shot from the day’s extensive, experimental collection of pictures of Chinese tourists who took pictures of me.
We spent the last day of our trip in Zhujiayu, a tiny village that looks much like it did five hundred years ago.
The town is situated in a gentle, terraced basin.
My parents made some new friends there, a wonderful couple who left their work in the fields to have us over for tea.
Many of the old homes are abandoned, but all retain a gentle, clay-colored charm.
Back in Qingdao, Lacey and I took one of our regular tramps out the back door and up Fu Shan, our own local mountain with great views of the city.
It was a good trip.