I went to climb Mount Tai in early October and autumn, which was a rare day after an autumn rain. According to local friends, there are more than 160 days of fog in Mount Tai every year, only 10 of sunny days in summer and more than 20 days in autumn, which is a good time to climb Mount Tai. Autumn in Mount Tai also comes earlier. When the city is still in good condition, it is like red, yellow, purple and orange, and nature has given Taishan the strongest color in late autumn.
From the foot of Mount Tai to Daiding, there are four hiking routes: Hong Men in Middle Road, Tianwai Village in West Road, Tianzhu Peak in East Road and Taohuayu in North Road. Hongmen in Zhonglu is the oldest traditional route, where 13 emperors went to Dengfeng to offer sacrifices.
I also followed the footsteps of my ancestors and looked at the mountain scenery carefully. What appeared in front of my eyes seemed to be not Mount Tai, the head of the Five Mountains, but the landscape ink painting written by the painter, which slowly unfolded from the bottom Dai Temple and Dai Zongfang archway. As the north wind gradually rises, the brushes become more diligent and render layer by layer, gradually revealing the Queen Mother of Yaochi and the radiant Stone Valley Wonderland.
Perhaps attracted by ancient legends, perhaps because of the aura of Wang Mu pond, I unconsciously want to walk into this ancient temple to rest my feet. The pond in Wang Mu is very quiet in autumn. Occasionally, tourists passing by like me rest on stone benches. The ginkgo trees in front of the main hall are all golden yellow, and the alarm bells hanging on the ancient temple occasionally jingle, scaring the fish in the pool.
To say that the pond in Wang Mu was painted with wet strokes, the stone valley not far from Doudou Palace was engraved with the meaning of seal and grass. With the erosion of wind and rain, there are only a thousand words left in this stone carving on the granite creek bed, but it is still shocking to be there. Its majesty and grace can bring people into a deep and clear Buddhist realm, and the surrounding mountains and rivers are like frost leaves, which adds a lot of poetry to this Zen.
As the mountain rises, the picture scroll continues to unfold, and the vegetation along the way changes from dense cypress to lush Gu Song. In front of us, the Songshan Mountain is mountainous, and the dark green old pine is dotted with cotinus coggygria, five-pointed maple leaves and purple linden trees. Make Mount Tai extraordinarily enchanting.
When you come here, you might as well imagine yourself as a person in a painting, standing on the pine pavilion opposite the mountainside. You can see the inscriptions and stone carvings left by poets of past dynasties from an excellent perspective, and you can also watch the mountains and valleys quietly. With the sound of pines like nature, you can understand the phrase "The most wonderful thing about Daizong is that it is so strange" that Qianlong lamented in those years.
Along the corridor, the Nantianmen is placed at the end of the hanging valley of Songshan Mountain, and a long jade belt hangs down a ladder like the top of the mountain. This is the famous eighteen sets, and it is also the most dangerous and tiring part of climbing Mount Tai. From slow 18 sets, to medium 18 sets, and finally to tight 18 sets, the inclination angle can reach 80 degrees, and the steepest part rises by 400 meters within one kilometer. At this time, I have no intention to look at the painting, just wondering who is the hand that climbs so steeply to the sky?
However, when I climbed to the worse door and walked on the flat street, I felt refreshed and even my steps became light. Looking back on the ancient road, I thought I had just crossed the long river of history. Dusk has begun to fall, and the fog is hazy everywhere. It seems that I can reach out and catch the clouds, and continue to climb to the Jade Emperor's top while the scenery in front of me is not hidden in the night.
Jade Emperor Peak, as the top of the main peak of Mount Tai, is 1.545 meters above sea level. Remember this figure, thanks to Mr. Zhu De's jingle: "Mount Tai is not high, 1,580." Seeing the zenith stone in the Jade Emperor Temple marks the highest point of Mount Tai.
In Daiding after the autumn rain, I was lucky enough to meet two wonders, the sea of clouds and the sunset glow. When there is no wind, white clouds are suspended between heaven and earth like a jade plate, and mountains in the distance are hidden from time to time, like an unpredictable fairy island; When the wind comes, the residual cloud is like a dragon dumpling, and the sunset breaks the cloud and washes the world. Such a beautiful sight makes people jump for joy.
Before I arrived at Mount Tai, I was wondering why Mount Tai was called the head of the five mountains, with an altitude of less than two thousand meters. Really standing here, commanding, can be relieved. Although I have never seen the land of Lu, I have seen the magnificent sea of clouds, as if I felt the beating pulse of Mount Tai. This piece of vast expanse, not only because it is a holy place for meditation, but also because of its stunning scenery and profound cultural heritage, makes it worthy of being the "first mountain in the world".