Wudang Mountain: Delighting in Scenic Beauty, Dwelling in Elegant Rooms, Starting a Poetic Life

This year's annual leave has finally begun! After much deliberation with friends, I decided to go to Wudang Mountain to fulfill my youthful dream of a martial arts world, the dream of wielding a sword and roaming the horizon!

Taking the high-speed train G1589 from Beijing directly to Wudangshan West Station, night had fallen when we exited the station. The driver picking us up was already waiting outside early. The guesthouse we stayed at is called "Shifu de Shan Boutique Guesthouse" (Master's Mountain Boutique Guesthouse), which was in its trial operation period in July. At the time of booking, I was a bit worried about the environment, style, hardware, etc., of the guesthouse, but upon arrival, I was completely amazed by the scene before us!

At night, the ground lights in the square were just turned on, like fireflies dotting the bushes. Our ears were filled with the chorus of cicadas and crickets. Falling asleep to such wonderful music, what a beautiful summer night dream we would have!

The interior decoration of the courtyard is minimalist, with cotton and linen bedding that is soft and comfortable. The high-ceilinged living room is bright and spacious, allowing us to completely relax after a day of travel fatigue. Every room has windows, with the green hills so close at hand; just looking up, we could see the verdant mountains.

Today, I don't want to go anywhere; I just want to lie around in the guesthouse until I lose track of time! Since we checked in quite late the previous day, we hadn't really seen much of the guesthouse's true appearance. This morning, the moment we stepped out of the courtyard gate, we were utterly stunned by the scenery here!

The guesthouse consists of eight independent courtyard houses arranged around a central green square, backed by the verdant mountains, facing each other. Clouds drift among the mountains, and mist rises leisurely from the bushes. The buildings have brown walls and black tiles, with single-sloped roofs slanting to the ground. From a distance, they resemble an old man with a fairy-like aura, wearing a bamboo hat and bowing his head in meditation. The central square is surrounded by a winding stream, and the silhouette of the mountains is reflected in the water. The mountains embrace the water, the water surrounds the mountains—full of elegance!

Each courtyard is equipped with a housekeeper sister, who is responsible for the guests' daily needs. It is said that the sisters underwent professional training before starting their duties, and their cooking skills are especially impressive. After eating the food prepared by the sister, we looked forward to every mealtime with great anticipation.

Guesthouse - Thousand Island Gallery

We heard that the sunrise at Shiyan's Thousand Island Gallery is very beautiful, so we got up early and set off from the guesthouse at 5 a.m.

It took about an hour to drive from the guesthouse to Thousand Island Gallery. Located in Wugu Temple Village, Niuhe Forest Area, Danjiangkou City, this place features overlapping peaks and vast, sparkling lake waters. When we arrived, the morning sun was just peeking out from the clouds. The rosy clouds gradually spread across the sky, and the water and sky merged into one—it felt like wandering in a fairyland.

Thousand Island Gallery - Danjiangkou Reservoir

After watching the sunrise at Thousand Island Gallery, we headed to the next destination, Danjiangkou Reservoir. Located in the middle and upper reaches of the Han River, spanning Hubei and Henan provinces, Danjiangkou Reservoir is the largest artificial freshwater lake in Asia and the water source for the national South-to-North Water Diversion Project (Middle Route). The reservoir area has rippling blue waters, towering mountains, picturesque lake and mountain views, stretching endlessly. Gazing at the magnificent dam, we imagined the surging waves during flood discharge—how majestic!

Danjiangkou Reservoir - Tai Chi Lake

"Seeking the Way at Wudang Mountain, Nourishing Life at Tai Chi Lake." It took only ten minutes to drive from Danjiangkou Reservoir to the Tai Chi Lake Scenic Area. Tai Chi Lake is surrounded by mountains, with beautiful scenery like a painting, rich in negative oxygen ions that refresh and invigorate the mind. At Tai Chi Lake, you can take a water route to Wudang Mountain for pilgrimage, or row a boat on the blue waves, resting on the lakeside islands while listening to the waves, experiencing the carefree and divine joy.

We planned to spend a whole day at Wudang Mountain, but later we realized that if we wanted to explore all of Wudang Mountain, one day is absolutely not enough. It is simply too vast. It took more than half an hour just to take the shuttle bus from the visitor center to Qiongtai. The winding mountain road coiled like a giant dragon lying dormant among the mountains. The rolling hills were covered in lush greenery.

Wudang Mountain is known for the saying "72 peaks bow to the summit, 24 streams flow everlong," and has always been admired by emperors and literati through the ages. When we climbed to the highest point of Wudang Mountain—the Golden Summit—besides marveling at the magnificent views of continuous mountains shrouded in clouds and mist, we couldn't help but exclaim in admiration at the extraordinary architectural wisdom of the ancients.

The eternal lamp at the Golden Summit has never been extinguished.

As the saying goes, "Ascending is easy, descending is hard." It took us a full three and a half hours to walk down from the Golden Summit! Sometimes up, sometimes down, sometimes gentle, sometimes steep. By the time we reached Nanyan and boarded the shuttle bus, our legs felt as heavy as a thousand pounds and could no longer bend... Fortunately, it was extremely cool on the mountain. Towering ancient trees blocked out the sun, and everywhere we looked was lush green. From the top to the bottom of the mountain, we could truly feel the temperature difference caused by the altitude.

On the way down, we met a child practicing martial arts.

Leisure time is always so short! Today we have to return to Beijing from Wudang Mountain. Overall, this trip was truly worthwhile. We saw magnificent landscapes and encountered a unique guesthouse—Shifu de Shan. What you think of will surely resonate; if there's a chance, I will definitely come back. Next time, I won't go anywhere—just spending a few days sitting in the guesthouse courtyard would be absolutely wonderful!