The Lost Horizon (Part 2)

Continued from the previous article 'The Lost Horizon (Part 1)'

D3. Jingting Mountain ~ Moon Bay Scenic Area ~ Shuimo Tingxi Scenic Area ~ Taoling Highway ~ Banqiao Village ~ Fangtang Township ~ Luoyushan Scenic Area, total 143 km

After breakfast at the hotel, Brother Gen came and led me up Jingting Mountain.

I know of Jingting Mountain because of the poem 'Sitting Alone in Face of Peak Jingting' by Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty:

All birds have flown away, so high;

A lonely cloud drifts on, so free.

We are not tired, the Peak and I,

Nor I of him, nor he of me.

Jingting Mountain is a famous historical and cultural mountain in China, the soul of Xuancheng culture. It is located in the northern suburbs of Xuancheng city. Originally called Zhaoting Mountain, it was renamed Jingting Mountain in the early Jin Dynasty to avoid the emperor's personal name. It is a branch of the Huangshan range, stretching over ten miles from east to west.

This is a temple halfway up the mountain.

Jingting Mountain has 60 peaks of various sizes. Its main peak is Cuiyun Peak ('First Peak') at an altitude of 324.1 meters. You can basically see it from anywhere in the city. The mountain runs from southwest to northeast, with three main peaks: First Peak, Jing Peak, and Cuiyun Peak. The highest is Cuiyun Peak. The surrounding 60-odd peaks cluster around First Peak like birds paying homage to the phoenix or stars surrounding the moon. Although not very tall, Jingting Mountain rises abruptly from the hilly region. From a distance, it looks lush green with drifting clouds and mist, like a crouching tiger. Up close, the forests are deep and valleys serene, with babbling springs, appearing especially graceful.

In the video above, the second scene I thought was Taibai Solitary Sitting Tower, but it's actually to its west. That shows I didn't do my homework well. If you slow down the video, you can see a part of Taibai Solitary Sitting Tower. I did fly, but it was at the height of an old fool, not the 270° view of an old fool. I missed it. From this, I learned a philosophy: you need both height and perspective to succeed.

Although the Twin Pagoda Temple is free, the gatekeeper wouldn't accept the health code on Alipay; he insisted on using 'Wan Shi Tong' (Anhui local app), very resolute. It's painful to verify your phone in the sun, so I didn't enter.

After visiting Jingting Mountain, Brother Gen took me to his office, brewed tea, prepared dried fruits, and brought out baijiu... Originally I planned to enter the Southern Anhui Sichuan-Tibet Highway from the east entrance (Ningguo direction), but looking at the map, it was a bit out of the way. I decided on the spot to enter from Cai Village in Jing County (west entrance). So I politely declined Brother Gen's offer to accompany me the whole way. I declined at least five times, and he repeatedly told me to be safe. We bid farewell reluctantly. Soon after leaving the main urban area of Xuancheng, following Sister Zhiling's directions, I saw the Cai Village entrance.

Turning into the road, the highway suddenly narrowed! There were traffic jams from time to time. A white egret swooped past the hood of my car, which seemed like a good omen.

Let me borrow someone's wonderful comment about this route: 'The experience of driving through the mountains is definitely one of the most enchanting self-drive routes in the Jiangnan region! It has the beauty of Guilin's mountains and waters, the wonder of Yunnan's Stone Forest, the danger of the 318 Sichuan-Tibet Highway, and the essence of Southern Anhui's landscapes. It's tortuous and thrilling, with unique scenery: green mountains or endless bamboo forests, occasionally vast reservoirs—a great place for self-driving and cycling.' I was full of anticipation...

Is the road always like this? So rough on tires. Even the Sichuan-Tibet Highway I drove back then was smoother than this.

Jing County Moon Bay Rafting Scenic Area is located in Dakang Village, Cai Town, known as 'China's First Bamboo Town,' about 18 km from Jing County town.

As I drove in, I was greeted by bursts of cool breeze mixed with the fragrance of bamboo; the view was filled with towering green mountains and a quietly flowing river; there was silence all around, occasionally punctuated by the boatmen's chant from afar... This area has also been chosen as a location by several film studios. The scene where Li Shuangjiang sang 'The Red Star Shines on My Battle' in 'The Sparkling Red Star' was filmed nearby. The lyrics are familiar:

A small bamboo raft drifts on the river,

Green mountains move along both banks,

The revolutionary burden is on my shoulders,

The Party's teachings are in my heart...

In addition, many other classic films and TV works, such as 'The Laughter of Moon Bay' and 'Reconnaissance Across the Yangtze,' have shot exterior scenes here.

There are bamboo forests on both sides, reminding me of scenes from 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.'

Looking at the appearance and color scheme of this small building, it seemed designed; it looked very unusual deep in the mountain valley.

After a dusty journey, the windshield was too dirty. The dashcam recorded the warmth of the people of Jing County!

There has been little rain this year, so the creek wasn't very wide. Bamboo rafts moved in single file, impossible to overtake.

Entering the Shuimo Tingxi Scenic Area was severely congested. This is a viewing platform outside it.

When I reached the Taoling area, the road was so narrow that only two cars could barely pass. The center line was not the usual yellow but green, white, and red, matching the Italian flag. This road was built in the 1970s by Wang Leping, the Party secretary of Jing County, who led local people to build an 18-kilometer road in over four years. With their hands and shoulders, the hardworking Taoling people built this sky road with the spirit of the Foolish Old Man who moved mountains, ending generations of isolation. Later, this road was named 'Happy Road.' Two drivers who were passing each other rolled down their windows and started cursing, causing a man-made traffic jam. Even motorcycles and bicycles couldn't get through; everyone had to queue patiently. Actually, if the mountain side had been dug out just 20 centimeters wider, passing would have been easy. I guess Secretary Leping didn't anticipate today's traffic conditions 40 years ago.

At this time, the opposite lane was empty, but I didn't dare to overtake against the flow. It had been congested for a long time.

Let me use an actual example to explain what 'elbow bend' means.

Let me illustrate repeated elbow bends + traffic jam + hill start — a string of Harbin red sausages hanging before my eyes. Whenever I see this kind of map on Amap, I recall biology class when we studied the digestive system... How much leek and pepper stir-fry would one need to eat for dinner that day!

This is Liudao Bay Observation Deck. There is no parking lot at all. Everyone takes advantage of the traffic jam to run down, take a few photos, and quickly run back to their cars. Police officers are there keeping order and not allowing stops. I don't know what the point of setting up an observation deck here is. The photos didn't capture the winding and thrilling feel.

At this moment, I received a notification SMS.

I drove out about two kilometers and found a viewing platform with six parking spots—seven cars already parked. Considering that if I went further, I wouldn't be able to fly the drone, I squeezed in and became the eighth car. See position P in the image below.

The video ends at this parking lot.

It was completely dark. The dashcam is fully automatic, and the footage looks like dusk, but actually it was pitch black. The road was still very narrow. The best method was to follow the car ahead and watch its taillights.

A week ago, Brother Gen had booked a homestay for me—Tan Family Courtyard, outside the Luoyushan Scenic Area. Although not far, the road didn't allow for speed. At a little past seven, I finally arrived. I was so focused on driving that I missed the planned Banqiao Nature Reserve. The four parking spots in front of Tan Family Courtyard were all full, and roadside parking was not allowed. The landlady, with her graceful figure, led me to a nearby parking lot. She said she gets very excited when she sees a Beijing license plate. I thought she was just being polite, but later I found out she wasn't...

Clean and tidy stairs.

This bed is a double bed; it's not a camera stretch effect. The room's color scheme is also very fashionable.

After washing up, I prepared to eat. Then Brother Gen sent me a picture of a silk banner that read: 'Full of Warmth, Wholeheartedly for the People.' It was specially customized to thank Officer Sun and Officer Sha of the Aofeng Police Station from last night.

The landlady asked the chef to whip up two dishes. They were really appetizing! She sat beside us chatting. Her second daughter is a female soldier in the Beijing Central Guard of Honor of the People's Liberation Army. She showed me photos in uniform. That's why she was so excited to see a Beijing car. The walls and corridors were full of scenic photos of Luoyushan taken by famous photographers. The most beautiful season should be autumn, and it was still a bit early. A certain businesswoman had leased this land and planted redwoods suitable for growing in water. After more than 20 years, they've finally grown into a forest. Initially, the landlady was working as a migrant worker in Suzhou or Hangzhou. When she saw the beautiful redwood scenery on a poster at the train station, she thought, 'Isn't this right at my doorstep?' So she returned home to develop tourism. Among the four homestays by the roadside, she is a native and started her homestay using her own house. She has the bronze, healthy skin that Westerners admire, and she is very gentle, thoughtful, and meticulous.

My mother and I finished off a whole pot of rice. Then we went upstairs to sleep.

D4. Redwood Forest, Chujiatan, Huiyun Zen Temple, Qinglong Bay, Chaoyang Temple, Huzhou, total 221 km

I woke up a little after five. No rooster crowing—just naturally awake. The sun hadn't appeared yet; the sky looked like the belly of a yellow croaker. This lake connects with the water system of Qinglong Bay. Looking at the map, the entire water system really looks like a flying dragon.

Early in the morning, there were already bamboo rafts on the lake, occasionally accompanied by gulls or herons. The second transition in the video was my drone diving into a cloud. This was a flight maneuver I had long anticipated. The moment it emerged from the cloud, I felt like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon. When I was editing the video, I happened to see a classmate sharing ADELE's 'Easy on Me' on WeChat Moments. The effect was quite good.

Countless photographers have captured the Luoyushan Redwood Forest. This year the weather is abnormal, so the colors haven't reached their peak brilliance.

The mountains were cloaked in a thin mist. I had a panoramic view of these four homestays.

The top picture was taken at 6 a.m., and the bottom one at 7 a.m.

This ladder leads directly to the rooftop terrace. The landlady suggested I go up and take a look. I climbed up shakily.

The view was indeed different.

This photo of a boat on the water was taken with a Nikon D3. The camera was heavy, and the carbon fiber tripod was large—both left idle in the car. Last night I had planned to shoot star trails, and I even praised the stars with my mother for being very bright, but I completely forgot to take photos.

An oversized spider. 'Raising your head to see joy'—a memento.

After breakfast, I said goodbye to Mr. Tan and the landlady.

Planned to visit Huiyun Zen Temple, but it was on a peninsula in Qinglong Bay, far away, so I gave up. The road was very smooth, and I could pick up speed. Occasionally motorcycles flashed by. At first, I thought they were leaning very low, but when I rewatched the video, it was just an illusion caused by meeting cars at higher speeds.

Driving along the road, I reached Chujiatan. It is located in Longge Village, Qinglong Township, downstream of Qinglong Bay, which is known as 'National Water Conservancy Scenic Area' and 'National Forest Park.' Nestled by mountains and rivers, with misty scenery and a ten-mile gallery, I thought it was a paid attraction, but actually it's a great place for BBQ, playing in the water, camping, and also an excellent spot for photography enthusiasts and film production teams. It is truly a shining pearl on the Southern Anhui 'Sichuan-Tibet Highway.'

The entire shore was covered with sunshades set up by BBQ stalls.

The farther east I drove, the wider the road became. Along the way, there was a strong cultural atmosphere.

China Tree Expo Town.

I didn't drive in; I just looked from the air.

Seeing this sign, I knew I was almost at the east exit of Ningguo.

This route is suitable for in-depth travel. Although it's only about 100 km long, each section has a different flavor. It's not strictly the 318 National Highway; it just resembles a certain section of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway. The Sichuan-Tibet line has dangers, endurance tests, high-altitude hypoxia, etc., but here the narrow roads are quite characteristic. Even for elbow bends, it's not too dangerous. To some extent, it tests patience—not just your temper in traffic jams, but also your ability to hold your pee...

This is Chaoyang Temple, recommended by the landlady's eldest daughter. It was under renovation. Here's an aerial view.

The rural road next to Chaoyang Temple looks like a Van Gogh abstract painting.

The Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway is always congested because it's free, so I took the 318 National Highway instead. Actually, the national highway is easier to drive, except for the 70 km/h speed limit, which is hard to exceed. I planned to visit Anji's Big Bamboo Sea and then Mogan Mountain, but after seeing so many bamboo forests along the way, I was satisfied. Moreover, Amap showed many red sections on the road, so I decided to head straight to Huzhou. When Sister Zhiling told me I had entered Zhejiang Province, there were many photovoltaic solar panels on both sides of the road.

A butterfly with lake-blue spots.

Village entrance on the 318 National Highway.

I had already entered Huzhou territory. I found a small restaurant. The hostess cooked very tasty dishes at reasonable prices. The Malabar spinach was very fresh!

This dish looked like tiger-skin green peppers.

Actually, the peppers were stuffed with meatballs, very flavorful and goes well with rice. My mother and I finished another pot of rice again. Despite not much exercise, we really could eat. After eating and drinking, I asked the landlady what fun places there were in Huzhou. The couple said in unison: 'Dragon Dream! Dragon Dream!'

I drove a bit on the expressway. A sign showed one way to Dragon Dream and the other to the city. I chose the latter in half a second. Entering downtown Huzhou, there were many traffic lights. The landmark building of Renhuang Mountain Scenic Area appeared on the left.

Since I had decided to come to Huzhou on a whim, I hadn't researched any attractions. I just checked into the hotel.

After dinner, I went for a walk. The arch bridge was beautiful. Huzhou's nightlife was quite lively: under the willow trees by the moonlit river, locals were playing mahjong despite mosquito bites.

This bridge is called Camel Bridge. Actually, the picture above should be called Camel Bridge.

I wasn't wrong; the name is engraved on the bridge.

Next to the bridge is 'Laoniangjiu' fast food. Actually, these three characters originate from the classic Shanghai-style sitcom 'Laoniangjiu,' produced by Shanghai Oriental Television (predecessor of SMG). It aired from September 1995 to December 2007, spanning 12 years, focusing on the daily lives of ordinary Shanghai people and was widely acclaimed. The term 'Laoniangjiu' is very popular and beloved in Shanghai, southern Jiangsu, northern Zhejiang, and other Wu-speaking regions.

Going back to sleep. To be continued. Stay tuned for 'The Lost Horizon (Part 3).'