China-2023: Wulingyuan, Zone three – it’s such a sight to see! | Nota Bene: Eugene Kaspersky’s Official Blog

Wulingyuan – Zone 1: done;

Wulingyuan – Zone 2: done;

Guess what’s next?…

Yes, there is a Zone 3, and yes – that’s what next, of course! For there were still plenty of wonderful rock formations ahead for us to check out – all nicely presented with solid touristic infrastructure (minus the crowds) to make the experience all the pleasanter… ->

It goes without saying this is another AAAAA-grade (= KKKKK – my grading:) tourist attraction. It could hardly be anything less now could it? Just look! ->

Yes – AAAAA/KKKKK, for sure, but aren’t these unique rocky landscapes becoming… a bit samey? Perhaps. My thought on that a bit later…

Meanwhile, let’s simply look, admire and marvel! ->

One day this is going to topple over ->

Perhaps leaving a perfectly flat, horizontal peak behind, like this! ->

Of course, strong zoom lenses come in handy (thanks DZ) ->

I wonder what funny names could be given to this here rock finger? Dear readers – your best efforts -> in the comments!

This assemblage is called “Five Fingers” ->

Warm-up completed; from here the movement of tourists is only up! ->

Rewind…

Up early in our hotel on this sunny day, we Chinese-breakfasted (yum!), and by around 9am were on a coach and heading to Zone 3. After alighting, it was a short walk to the entrance, which of course resembled more a food court ). Btw – that’s us in the bottom right of the pic ->

Back to our trusty map of the various zones – today’s Zone 3 is marked in blue:

But before that: quick photo of the posse – still fresh before the day’s exertions! ->

We pass a romance-themed special photo spot; apparently, loved-up couples (or anyone seeking love, maybe secretly – maybe like on Valentine’s Day, but I digress) get their picture taken here – and the relationship’s confirmed safe and sound ) ->

We were expecting plenty of walking today, so we took it real steady and with plenty of stops for photos…

There’s a cable car (normally) takes you up most of the way to the tops here; however, we’d been told it was closed for repairs. So you can imagine our relief when we get to its base station to find the repairs were finished. Hurray!…

Woah – wonderful cable car. Oh how the Chinese are just the best when it comes to tourist infrastructure…

Minutes later and we were approaching the peaks ->

Once up top, first thing’s first – we check out the map. And yet again – it looks indecipherable! ->

Actually, it turned out to be rather straightforward: you simply walk around in a big circle. Zone 3 is basically the wide-area peak of a large rock formation. It’s probably clearer what I’m trying to say by looking at the following map:

All righty. Up top we were. Next – walkabout. And next here in this post – expect… tons of photos, since we decided to walk the full circle (clockwise) – and that’s a lot of walking. And that equals a lot of mind-blowing views ->

Some of the views down – oh my giddiness! ->

As per – all paths, platforms, steps and safety rails – top-notch quality; also as per – no tourists about (in the week after Golden Week) ->

Onward…

Down there (see the arch in the wall?) is one route down (besides the cable car), but we took a different route ->

The various routes are well-signposted; it’s just that the signposts aren’t clear – at all! We managed somehow to find our way (more from our sense of direction, I’m sure:)…

And what’s that over there? ->

…Zooming in – yes, it’s the bridge we crossed twice the other day (the first time – when packed with tourists; the second (in the evening) – empty), from which there’s a great view of the thousand-meter-tall Hallelujah rock pillar! ->

Once we’d come full circle – then what?…

Then – a nice look around the serene setting up top: Buddhist temple, gardens, landscaping. All well-manicured, pleasant and serene ->

After a quick stroll thereabouts – it was time for us to be heading down. There are three options – cable car… ->

…Or by foot on one of two paths ->

But, you know me – of course we took one of the paths. But though it was downhill all most of the way, when the distance is so great, and the number of steps must be in the tens of thousands – it still takes its toll on the poor old knees! ->

Oddly, though main idea is that you’re descending down from the tops of the rock formations, occasionally the steps suddenly start going up. Eh?!…

Hmmm. Which way now? Heavenly Book Treasure Box or Commanding Platform?! ->

We plumped for Commanding Platform:

The same cliffs look quite different from down here:

Beware the “cute” macaques! ->

If you pass one without stopping, they look at you all offended/reproachfully ) ->

…While if they’re given something – don’t expect any gestures of gratitude! ->

Very cute indeed. And not such distant relatives, either!

A little further, and we were at the bottom…

Sure – our knees were not happy at all, but we all agreed on one thing: given the OMG-views all the way down – the path sure beat the cable-car option.