Climbing Tai Shan for sunrise

Travel Tips

• The walk– although it’s called a mountain, it’s more of a hill and only 1,533m / 5,030ft in altitude, so you don’t need any special equipment or anything like that.  But, it is quite steep and a lot of steps (something like 7,000 in total if starting from the First Gate of Heaven), so be prepared for 4 hours or so to the top
• Time of year – we went in March and the crowds were quite a bit reduced, mainly because of the cold, but the best time of year to visit is September to October when the temperature has dropped a bit and the air is cleanest
• Stay in one of the guesthouses on the top – when we stayed for the sunrise we slept on the floor of a restaurant, who were happy for a bit of extra cash.  This is a risky strategy as they may not be so hospitable, and doubt it’ll be much fun staying through the night exposed at the top.  Instead, stay in one of the guesthouses they have available
• Weather – the weather is going to play a key role in your overall experience.  Difficult to do, but if can be a bit flexible on avoiding rain, it could make the different
• The sunrise – the sunrise is quite magical if you get the weather.  The cable cars only start at 730am in the summer and 830am in the winter, so its just you and the others who stayed the night there to explore the top before the cablecar (aka cheaters :)) visitors arrive

Some tips on Travelling in China:

• China is vast – both in terms of its sheer land area, population, economy, but also its history and culture.  You could spend a lifetime travelling China and still only scrape the surface.  Very much like a continent on its own and, in recommending a book to read or movie to watch, it’s a bit like recommending a book to read on “Europe”.  However, I did find that the book Wild Swans by Jung Chang, gave me good context on modern Chinese history.  The book tells the true story of 3 generations of women living in China from 1909 to modern day and I’d highly recommend
• The Chinese people – it’s often difficult to interact with locals in China – there are certainly strong cultural differences that go deeper than you would experience in most other parts of the world, but the main problem is of course the language.   Get out google translate for simultaneous translation.  You’ll be surprised how keen the locals will be to speak to you, and just how interesting you may find their stories
• Frustrations – travelling in China can often be difficult . . . scream-out-loud, pull-all-your-hair-out, call everyone a c**t, never-ever-going-back style difficult.   The language barrier, the often radically different way of doing things, the combo of an often world leading digital country mixed in with archaically manual processes can all make it feel at times like a challenge rather than a joy.  I lived in China for 2 years and experienced a lot of these frustrations.  My advice is simply to go with it, its all part of the adventure, and above all don’t lose your temper.  Shouting at someone or generally showing frustration will just be viewed by the Chinese as embarrassing and, at worst, a loss of face for them, which means you’ve got very little chance of them helping you.  Patience, politeness and a smile will often see them wanting to help you.  They’re not trying to be difficult . . . most of the time 🙂