Qing Cheng Mountain

Već dve godine živim u Chengdu-u, u Kini. Na mom blogu ću pisati svoje iskustvo o životu u ovom gradu, ali danas planiram nešto drugačije, jer ponekad jednostavno prija pobeći od prepunih gradova i provesti dan u prirodi.

Ako planirate da posetite Chengdu, svakako bi trebalo da planirate da ostanete nekoliko dana duže i da putujete na neku od planina. Sichuan je poznat po prelepoj prirodi i mnogim mestima za planinarenje.

U potrazi za jednodnevnim planinarskim izletom otkrila sam planinu Qing Cheng. Nalazi se na oko 70 km zapadno od centra grada Chengdu, što ga čini savršenom destinacijom ako imate malo vremena, ali ipak želite provesti dan u prirodi.

Planina je pokrivena zimzelenim šumama pa je popularna destinacija tokom cele godine. Front Mountain prostire se na 15 kvadratnih kilometara i glavna je atrakcija planine Qing Cheng. Takođe je veoma dobro organizovano, pa tako ljudi koji nisu voljni ili nisu u mogućnosti da hodaju dugo mogu doći do Pengzu vrha.

Kada stignete do prednje kapije nalazi se autobus koji vas može odvesti do ulaza. Po mom mišljenju to nije neophodno jer šetnja nije duga i možete uživati u prirodi. Kada prođete ulaz imate mogućnost da se idete peške do vrha. To traje oko 3 do 4 sata, u zavisnosti od pauza koje pravite. Druga opcija je da uzmete žičaru kako biste stigli do vrha.

Tu su i dve opcije za spuštanje. Ako se odlučite za šetnju potrebno je da započnete putovanje rano ujutro. Ako planirate da se pešačite gore i spustite se žičarom ili čak da idete žičarom i gore i dole, dovoljno je planirati poludnevni izlet.

Na putu gore moći ćete da vidite mnoge hramove. To je zato što se Qing Cheng smatra jednim od mesta rođenja Taoizma (daoizam - kineski: 道; pinyin: Dào). To je takođe jedan od najvažnijih taoističkih centara u Kini. Qing Cheng ima veliku istorijsku i umetničku vrednost u istraživanju filozofije taoizma. Paviljon Laojun se nalazi na najvišem vrhu.

Kada treba da idete?

Vrlo zanimljivo i lepo mesto za posetiti, svakako bih preporučila da odete tamo ako planirate jednodnevni izlet u prirodi ili ste zainteresirani za Dao filozofiju. Međutim, ne bih preporučila odlazak tokom praznika ili vikenda. Kada je u pitanju izbor sezone, mislim da je ovo mesto lepo tokom svake sezone, ali ako živite u Čengdu, leto je pravo vreme da uživate u svežem vazduhu i ugodnoj temperaturi za razliku od grada.

Kako da stignete tamo?

Najbolji način je da odete metro linijom 2 do stanice Xipu. Odatle brzim vozom stanice Xipu iz Chengdu-a. Potrebno je oko 30 minuta da stigne. Moguće je rezervisati karte online ili ih kupiti kada stignete na stanicu. U tom slučaju možda nećete imati karte za voz koji planirate, pogotovo ako idete tokom vikenda, ali ima mnogo vozova svakih 20-30 minuta.

Kada stignete, možete uzeti didi ili autobus 101 do Front Mountain-a.

Koliko košta?

Autobus od prve kapije do glavnih vrata je 10 CNY  (oko 150 dinara)

Cena ulaznice za Front Mountain je 80 CNY (oko 1200 dinara)

Žičara je 35 CNY (jedan smer) ili CNY 60 (oba smera)

. . .

For the past two years I have been living in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. I will be writing on my blog my experience about living in this city, but today I have to say that sometimes is just nice to get away from the crowded cities and spend a day in nature.

If you are planning on visiting Chengdu, you should definitely plan to stay few days longer and have a trip to one of the mountains around. Sichuan is famous for beautiful nature and lots of places for hiking.

Looking to have a one-day hiking trip I discovered Qing Cheng Mountain. It is located around 70 km west of Chengdu city center which makes it a perfect destination if you are short on time but still want to spend a day in nature.

The mountain is covered by evergreen forest so it is a popular destination all year round. Front Mountain covers an area of 15 square kilometers and it’s the main attraction of Mount Qing Cheng. It is also very well organized, so even for people who are not willing or able to walk for a long time can get to the Pengzu peek.
Once you arrive to the front gate there is a bus that can take you to the entrance. In my opinion this is not necessary because the walk is not very long and you get to enjoy the nature. Once you’ve passed the entrance you have a possibility to walk to the top which takes around 3 to 4 hours depending on the breaks that you are talking. The other option is to take the cable car to get up.
There are also 2 options to get down. If you decide to walk down it is recommended to start your trip early in the morning. If you are planning on hiking up and taking the cable car down, or even to go both up and down it is enough to plan half day trip.

On the way up you will be able to see many temples. That is because Qing Cheng Mountain is considered one of the birthplaces of Taoism (Daoism - Chinese: 道; pinyin: Dào). It is also one of the most important Taoist centers in China. Mount Qing Cheng has a great historical and artistic value in researching the Taoism philosophy. Laojun Pavilion is located on the highest peak.

When you should go?

Very interesting and beautiful place to visit, I would definitely recommend to go there if you are planning one-day trip to nature or you are interested in Dao philosophy. However, I would not suggest going during the holidays or weekend. When it comes to choosing the season, I think this place is beautiful during each season but if you are living in Chengdu summer is a good time to enjoy the fresh air and comfortable temperature unlike the city.

How to get there?

The best way is to take the subway Line 2 to Xipu Station. From there you take the bullet train from Xipu station in Chengdu. It takes 30 minutes to arrive. It is possible to book tickets online or just buy them once you arrive at the station. In that case you might not have the tickets for the train you’ve planed, especially if you are going during the weekend but there a lot of trains every 20-30 minutes.
Once you’ve arrived you can take a didi, or the bus 101 to the Front Mountain.

What is the cost?

The bus from the first gate to the main door is CNY 10
Entrance fee for the Front Mountain is CNY 80
Cable Car is CNY 35 (single trip), CNY 60 (round trip)