Climbing 3,500 Steps at 3 AM to the Peak of Central Plains for Sunrise: A Tired but Joyful Unforgettable Experience

Recently in Luoyang, Henan, we had an extremely unforgettable travel experience. One day, the walking data on my phone was over 30,000 steps, climbing over 200 floors, and carrying a camera bag weighing over 20 jin (about 10 kg) the whole time. It was truly a tired but joyful and unforgettable memory.

The night before, I set an alarm for 3:30 AM, then groggily woke up in the morning. A few friends gathered, and we drove from the hotel to the foot of Yuhuang Peak in Baiyun Mountain, Luoyang, which is the highest peak in Central China, the main peak of Funiu Mountain. When we got out of the car, we saw a sky full of stars—one of the most beautiful starry skies we've seen in recent years. The Milky Way was right above us, visible to the naked eye. Unfortunately, I didn't bring a tripod, and we were in a hurry to climb the mountain to catch the sunrise, so we didn't have time to photograph the stars.

Although the sky was full of stars, the visibility on the ground was extremely low—almost pitch black, you could barely see your hand in front of your face. We had to keep our flashlights (or phone flashlights) on the entire way, slowly climbing up the winding mountain path.

At the beginning, the first section was a flat road, and we felt it was relatively easy. But then we started climbing, and it was all stone steps, step by step. After less than 300 steps, we were all panting heavily. Especially after a particularly steep flight of stairs, we had to stop and rest.

We had photographed sunrises before, but usually not this early. We had climbed mountains for sunrises before, but we usually stayed on the mountain or took the cable car up, and only needed to walk a short distance to a viewing platform to wait for the sunrise.

However, to our surprise, when we stopped for the first rest, we asked our local friend who was accompanying us, "How much further?" We thought, after climbing for so long, we should be about halfway, right? But the answer was, "About one-tenth!" What? No way? We were stunned. We were already exhausted, yet we had only climbed one-tenth.

Though surprised, we had chosen this path and had to continue. So after resting a bit, we kept climbing upward. We knew it was a long way, so we deliberately slowed down to reduce the load on our bodies and improve endurance.

However, when we reached about step 600, we couldn't go on again. Fatigue was one thing, but the temperature was too low—probably around zero degrees Celsius. Heavy breathing made us inhale a lot of cold air, which was very uncomfortable. And we were wearing a lot: thermal underwear, sweater, and a windproof jacket. Climbing with such a load quickly made us sweat; by the end, my thermal underwear was almost soaked through.

We walked and stopped like this. At one point, we even thought about turning back, but by then we had climbed over 1,600 steps, nearly halfway, and we didn't want to give up. Moreover, we encountered many other tourists along the way, some of whom were over seventy years old. Thinking that they could persist made us feel ashamed, so we encouraged each other and continued upward.

We walked and rested, and as the numbers on the steps grew larger (every so often a step number was marked on the stairs), the sky gradually began to brighten. Finally, after more than two hours, we reached the summit of Central Plains (the sunrise that day was at 6:40, and we arrived at the top at 6:30)—the 2,216-meter Yuhuang Peak of Baiyun Mountain.

At the summit, there was a viewing platform of several hundred square meters, said to be the best spot in Central China for viewing sunrises and seas of clouds. Around the platform were stone railings with iron locks attached. In the center stood a magnificent hall with carved beams, painted rafters, and upturned eaves. On the southern side, in the middle, two large characters "Jin Dian" (Golden Hall) were inscribed above the door. Inside the hall were statues of the Jade Emperor and the Four Heavenly Kings, all gilded, solemn and majestic. Some said they were covered with gold foil, others said they were made of pure gold—the exact details were unknown.

Beside the Golden Hall, there was a huge rock inscribed with the four characters "Zhong Yuan Ji Ding" (Central Plains Summit), with the altitude marked below. From here, you could capture a panoramic view of Yuhuang Peak, giving a feeling of "standing at the top, overlooking all the mountains."

Some netizens asked, "Is it worth climbing such a high mountain so early?" Actually, when we saw the sun rise, all the hardship was forgotten. Was it tiring? Definitely! Was it worth it? Of course! The climbing experience is a gain, the beautiful scenery is a gain, and the photos we took are also a gain. Speaking of photos, let me briefly talk about online image theft. Some time ago, I hired a rights protection company to sue many companies and websites that stole my photos. Some people might say, "What's the big deal about using them?" Actually, if they had contacted me in advance, it would be fine—I usually grant permission because sharing is also a joy. But some people not only fail to contact me, but also directly and rudely remove my watermark, even adding their own, turning it into their original work—a blatant theft of others' labor. You must know that behind these images, the author puts in a lot of hard work and sweat. It's okay to use them, but basic respect should still be there. What do you think?

To be honest, although the sunrise came that day, we didn't capture the stunning shots we had hoped for. There was no sea of clouds, no colorful clouds; instead, there was some haze on the horizon, and visibility was not very high. Although we captured the rising "salted egg yolk" (the sun), it wasn't a perfect sunrise. After climbing for more than two hours, there was some regret, but no remorse. Travel is not just about seeing scenery and tasting food; sometimes it's also a challenge to oneself. Every experience is a valuable treasure. After all, sleeping in an extra day won't bring any gain, but getting up early to climb the Central Plains Summit of Baiyun Mountain is an unforgettable experience. What do you think?