Nia Hao!

Now that twowheelswhirled has found a spot to base ourselves for a few days we can finally bring you some photos from our journeying over the last few weeks - just in case any of you doubted that we were still in China :-)

We had not left Datong for long when we bumped into these cyclists on the road who were as keen to meet us as we were them :-)


The road had been flat riding away from Datong (the wind made up for it though!) but would eventually become a little hillier.


Ah, a much needed break from the wind for a moment. Note the designer Burberry's rack trunk on K's bike...just one of those designer copies available in Hong Kong :-)


Along the roadside we saw more villages that looked as though they had been abandoned but when we looked further we noticed that there were a few people around. The colour of the abodes was exactly the same as the landscape and sometimes it was easy to confuse the rubble with natural rock.



Next to these villages we also saw much land that was cultivated and was being prepared for new crops.


On our first climb into the first set of hills we saw these 'doorways' which had been carved into the rocky hillsides to make a manmade cave. We have seen these throughout our travels over the last few weeks and are not sure if people used to live in them or whether they are used for storage.


Taking in the view on our first climb.


So, the first day on the road with all of the luggage and yours truly manages to get a puncture just after our first big climb and just as I started a very fast descent. I managed to bring the bike to a steady stop without any blunders and then had to wait for my accomplice who had sped off downhill to come back (more character building for her to climb back up again). My hands were too cold from the sleet and wind, thankfully K was keen to carry out the repair.


Looking out towards our destination after the climb with Hunyuan somewhere in the distance.


The air around Hunyuan was not exactly the cleanest...

...further demonstrated again in the morning.


The next day we took a ride out to the Hanging Temple and monastery.

We passed this marker next to the turn off for the temple....the sky gets blue when you get up above the smog!


It was spectacular to see it suspended from the rock face.



We had not expected the temple to be so amazing when we climbed up to see it close up and found ourselves equally overwhelmedby it's magnificance.


It was very narrow.


..and there were lots of steps and steep slopes to climb up and down.




Posts hold up the structure solidly despite their humble appearance. It is suspended at least fifty metres above the floor of the gorge.



The roof tiles and decoration of the eaves were also beautiful.


The temple contained images that represented Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.







Many shrines have a soft cushion for devotees to kneel at and pray as well as a donation box.


Amongst the many halls and rooms which contained religious images we came across a small room which had this traditional style bed, you can see whereby underneath a fire would be lit to keep the sleeper warm.


There was a lot of decorative painting on panels - surprisingly it had lasted so well.




Chinese characters were carved into steles. It is very frustrating to be ignorant of what they say.


The nearby dam across the gorge which keeps the river at bay from flooding the nearby area and threatening the very temple itself.


There was still a lot of frozen snow on the hillsides.


Next it was a climb up to Heng Shan one of the holiest hills for Taoists.

We really enjoyed climbing up the winding road and eventual switchbacks without the weight of the luggage.



Amongst the beautiful hillsides there was another coal mine with accompanying resident blocks.


A lot of the land had been used in some way, whether it was quarrying or growing crops. Interstingly the steep slopes were not always terraced and we could see steps carved into the mud.



As we climbed higher up the views became more and more spectacular.


Looking up at the Taoist temples above us - we had to lock the bikes and proceed on foot.


The statue of Lao Tse in the parking lot where we locked our bikes. There were many people who had come up in cars and tour buses and were surprised to see us on two wheels each - we felt especially happy to have climbed so far with the use of our own legs.


The first of many temples located high up on the mountainside of Heng Shan.


Some of the temples were built into the rock.

We both lit incense that we had carried up with us.


More steps to climb! To get to the top temple we had climbed about 500 meters on the bicyles and then another 500 meters on foot!


This temple was decorated with a lot of painted panels.


Some examples of the detailing adorning the temple.





It was very atmospheric when we approached this temple (after having climbed more steps) we could hear chanting, we were also met by a Taoist holyman.


There were temples everywhere...



...and when we were done walking up and down the mountainside steps to see the temples we decided to head back to town to eat having used all of our energy up. We were rewarded with a great descent in order to get back to our hotel in Hunyuan :-)


Thanks for looking :-)