Nature is abundant, everywhere you look, even in the middle of downtown, there are trees and birds. Now that it is spring, magnolia, cherry, orchid, and other types of trees are in bloom, making the city pink and beautiful. Birds are singing louder than ever and hopping around all over the place... have you ever seen cartoon birds that are small, round, and hop? Those are the types of birds that I see everywhere here, they are so cute!
Wangxiang Mountain is a relatively small mountain and is a lovely place to take a stroll and relax. The loud hustle and bustle of the 2.5 million people and their honking cars disappear, and a peaceful tranquility ensues.
An ancient gate at the entrance to the mountain.
The sun was quite bright!
The back side of the gate.
A vendor selling snacks for the journey up the mountain. We bought two types of pickled carrots, sweet and spicy. I really like pickled vegetables, they are a good snack.
Starting our way up the mountain path.
I'm not sure what this structure is for...but it's pretty!
Cutouts in the wall depicting animals and plants.
Carvings depicting Herons.
The path up the mountain.
There were homes at the base of the mountain.
Looking back towards where we started the climb from. I have a lot of practice walking up hills since I lived in San Francisco for many years...all that training paid off!
Up, up, up...
A pagoda, towards the top.
Detail of the pagoda roof.
A nice place to sit and relax.
This was the largest pagoda I saw on the mountain.
The area surrounding the pagoda.
A stone path.
I was told these are memorials to the workers by one person, another person said they are memorials to the soldiers. So, I'm not sure, however, it's a beautiful area and tribute, to whomever.
Another pagoda, in the middle of a pond.
It just so happened that the two children playing near the pagoda are students of mine. As I walked closer, I heard shouts of, "It's Jenny!" I'm so famous, everywhere I go people know me! Ha, ha!
Shadows on the walkway.
The bridge to the pagoda.
The pond had Koi leisurely swimming about.
A child atop a tiger statue.
The sunlight was beautiful!
Playing cards.
Looking down through the bushes towards the Oi River.
A twisted tree and another pagoda.
Someone had their comforter for their bed airing out on the bushes.
The path down the other side of the mountain.
This wall reminds me of a dragon's back. Perhaps it was meant to?
Wall cutouts on the descending side.
I like the juxtaposition of the rough stone and smooth concrete.
Me and Jina.
An interesting wall and gate around some homes.
Little pink flowers.
The gate we exited was undergoing some renovation. It's good to see that China and its people care about preserving their history.
A brick path.
A view of apartment buildings.
A church just outside the park, at the base of the mountain.
Kites for sale.
It was a perfect day! I plan on going back to Wangxiang Mountain to take some "proper" photographs with my camera. I only had my cell phone, so all the photos were taken with it. I think they look pretty good actually, however, they won't look good larger, or in print. Plus, I can spend hours taking pictures and for that I should go alone. Who wants to stand around and wait for me to photograph every inch of someplace!?! Well, perhaps only another crazy photographer!
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PS. Trees were being trimmed since it was the beginning of spring, and the weather was nice. I don't know if there was any advanced notice given, in the form of signs being posted or something, but I do know it isn't a good idea to park your car under the trees being trimmed! Here's a photo to prove that...
I bet the owner of that car is going to be a bit upset! Several other cars were completely covered. I didn't realize there were cars under the mounds until I saw this one!
