One thing I noticed in this province is all treeless hills and mountains. you can tell they have all been cut down centuries ago. But there are some areas where they are really trying to get some trees back. It looks like most trees have been planted in the past few years. I notice Chinese people take trees and lakes as rare things. Hopefully they won’t be so rare forever.
Last night I was the only person in my dormitory room. I don’t think there are many people staying in this hotel. I’ve seen more staff than guests. I got up early again and got on a 7:30AM bus to Wutai shan, a famous mountain. The 5 hour bus ride was surprisingly good. The bus wasn’t full and it moved quickly to get all the way there.
On the way, the bus passed Mt. Heng, one of the Five Famous Mountains of China. For a few seconds the bus stopped at the base of this mountain and I could see the Hanging Monastery in the distance. I was hoping the bus would stop longer, but no luck.
After arriving in at Mt. Wutai, some hotel owners tried getting me into their rooms.I declined and wanted to look some more. I ended up staying at the place listed in Lonely Planet. There was a large radiator and it was warm in there, so I was sold. However, there was a strange thing, they did not give me a key. I had to ask them every time to lock and unlock my door.
I took a look around town, visiting Shancai Dong, Qifo, Tayuan, Wanfo, Luohou, and Guangren Temples. Then it was back to my warm room and first hot shower in a couple days.