Fubo Hill and Diecai Mountain

Sunday morning the rain continued from the night before, but the group pressed on. The first stop was Fubo Hill, another of Guilin’s small mountains, also on the Li River. It must be reiterated that the city was built around these mountains and so, when one climbs to the top, one sees a city dappled with sloping shapes rising from the spread of concrete and covered in green.

Fubo Hill is as high as any of the other mountains the group had climbed before Sunday, yet its base was practically hollow, with four wide cave-like paths cut from four corners. The students were happy to escape the rain and walked down steps and through the tunnels to reach the opposite sides of the mountain. Nestled in one cove was a Buddhist temple. Although cameras weren’t allowed, students were able to peek in to inhale the incense and watch as visitors wrote incantations to ancestors or prayed to the Buddha. Several nuns wore robes of mustard or saffron color and smiled benevolently at the curious students.

On the opposite side of the mountain, through the longest tunnel was an opening out to the waters of the Li River. In a cave similar to Seven-star Park, several Buddha sculptures had been carved into the stone walls, along with other inscriptions and texts. One particularly interesting Buddha had a foot worn smooth and shiny from hand after rubbing hand. Yu Laoshi informed the students that this Buddha was the savior of procrastinators, especially students. Several of the students gave the Buddha’s foot a good rub, thinking of the impending midterm examination.

The students climbed Fubo hill, and reaching the top, were able to find the old campus and the hill climbed the previous week. They were able to get their bearings, having climbed several of the mountains up to this point and managed to find the new campus and the international dormitory before climbing back down and returning to the bus for the ride to Diecai mountain.

While no higher than Fubo hill, Diecai is shaped more like a mountain in that its elevation gain is much less drastic than the other egg-drops where one literally walks up an enormous flight of stone or marble steps, as if along a gigantic spiral staircase, in order to reach the top. The group split into smaller groups and climbed the mountain from various directions. One group visited a small bird sanctuary, which housed various songbirds from the region, as well as peacocks. One student purchased some feed and when he tried feeding a particularly aggressive peacock, was surprised to find that the cup of feed was moving and that the peacock greedily eyed the cup and not the feed scattered on the ground at its feet. Suddenly the student became aware that the cup was full of maggots and that what he thought was feed was for the maggots, not the birds. This realization led to a quick departure from the sanctuary and a desperate search for a bathroom and soap and water.

Another egg-drop climbed, the students returned to the bus with growing appetites as the rain started to wane. The students ate lunch in town at a local restaurant and afterwards were given the rest of the day off. Dinner was held back on campus in the dormitory and students shared their various adventures from around town. After dinner, while waiting for the dessert of fresh fruit, a few students sat and talked with Yu Laoshi about Chairman Mao and about China’s current position in the world and society’s thoughts and feelings in this day and age. The students that shared in this special moment were of all ages and are pursuing various degrees. It was an incredible opportunity for all to learn from each other and from Yu Laoshi. Once the fruit had been eaten and all questions had been asked, everyone departed for bed and to prepare for the second week of classes.