Day 4 - ShenNongJia

NATURAL BRIDGE The drive from XingShan to ShenNongJia took about 1½ hours. It was cold, misty and drizzling and had been so since last night. We were delayed at the entrance waiting for the ShenNongJia Guide (Xiao Wang) to appear with the entry cards. Xiao Wang was 22, a Tourism Graduate and a very pretty girl. Our middle finger was scanned and the entry card tapped upon a scanner before we cleared the entrance. Senior Citizens were given free entry. ShenNongJia Global Geo-park was listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2016. Tourists, researchers and scientists gravitate towards this forest zone because of its natural scenery, rare foliage and endangered animals. This is home to the legendary *Yeren (Chinese Yeti). * yeren (Chinese translation for Wild Man)

Wet and cold with lots of waterfalls

In 1975, a female yeren and her child stole some food from a village of the Ba tribe. (Indigenous to these parts.) They were beaten up, then released. After that, the alpha Yeren made an appearance. What happened then was lost in the translation as Ms Helena had mistaken the Mandarin she spoke for English.

That was the last time the yeren was sighted.

Shortly after the entrance to the hiking trail, a signpost announced that photo-shooting services were available for any tourists desirous of having their picture taken with the Yeren substitute. However, all photography sessions were closed today due to bad weather. The Yeren in a raincoat or umbrella is not a pretty picture.

Waterfalls were around every bend of the trail. As it was wet and cold, we stepped gingerly onto the  slippery steps watching the wonders of nature unfold. At the end of the trail, Ba tribesmen and women who occupied this area offered native produce for sale.  Wild mushrooms, turquoise stone, various assortment of wine,  beef jerky, almond, walnut, wild honey, wood carvings plus unknown herbs were sold for a song. A small jar of rice wine cost RMB30 each, 3 cans of melon seeds for RMB50, Fresh walnut RMB20. Ms Helena saw our shopping bags and thanked us for supporting the local community.

SHENNONGJIA ALTAR SCENIC AREA In Chinese mythology, ShenNong was said to be born with the head of a bull and the body of a man. He established a stable agricultural society in China. His catalog of medicinal plants became the basis for herbalogical studies. The story goes that ShenNong spoke after 3 days, walked within a week and could plow a field at age 3.

Bull Horn the symbol of ShenNong

More Bull Heads

"Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is a thousand year old iron fir tree. Please do not take any pictures. Some time ago, some tourist took a picture of another tree near here. That tree was struck down by lightning. So please do not take any picture," said Ms Helena in her soft spoken manner. The picture on the right was taken just before Ms Helena's appeal.

1000 year old iron fir tree

"Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. We have reached the ShenNongJia Altar Scenic Area. There is a holy ground in the middle surrounded by pebbles. Please do not take any pictures here. You may stand outside the holy ground and the pebbled area to take pictures."

Holy ground (Left of picture) Pebbles on the perimeter

LUNCH Some ShenNongJia cuisine Wild mushrooms found only in ShenNongJia. Roast Duck Assorted Vegetables

Wild mushrooms stir-fried with eggs

SHENNONGJIA NATURE RESERVE Although the weather forecast for the day was between -6°C to 16°C, we did not expect any snowfall for it was still autumn. "Good Afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen. We are now going to the Highest-Stop at ShenNongJia Nature Reserve but I just heard from the driver that it is snowing heavily up there. So heavy snow means dangerous and no entry so we will visit the Second-Highest-Stop instead."

Third-Highest-Stop

It was cold and foggy up there at The Second-Highest-Stop. The temperature was -2°C. We were given 15 minutes to hang around in the cold. We scurried to the public washroom and after a quick job returned straight to the coach. There was nothing to see. If there were other tourist around, they could not be seen. Visibility was poor.

The coach descended to the Third-Highest-Stop. It was sleeting and the ground was wet and slippery. Other tourist were seen in the immediate vicinity but they did not stay long. We took quick selfies right outside the coach, then descended to the Fourth-Highest-Stop.

The rain and cold made the Fourth-Highest-Stop another uncomfortable experience. I was wearing a long-sleeve extra warm heat-tech top, a thick blouse, an alpaca wool sweater and two down jackets. Over and above all those layers was a raincoat. My glove and shoes were wet from the rain. I was chilled to the bones and the bone rattling moment came. After watching the golden-hair monkey and a dozing black bear, I retreated to the warmth of the coach.

Golden Hair Monkey

The coach was parked outside a heated gift shop so I went into the shop instead. Wild mushrooms native to these parts were sold. Crystals and stones of all color and shape were displayed inside glass cases. Soon, I was joined by the others. We left with another load of goodies stamped with Ms Helena's approval.

My fitness tracker read 7208 steps.