Guest Welcoming Pine 迎客树
It seems like we have been walking forever and my knees have begun to hurt from all that walking. When we came upon this clearing which seemed rather important. There were a lot of Chinese calligraphy etched on the rock only confirmed that this was a rather significant place. A large crowd of people were gathered by a tree off to the side of the clearing. It was a well known pine tree Guest Welcoming Pine 迎客松. I don’t really know the significance of the pine tree. I could only deduce from the name they gave since it is at one of the entry points into Huangshan, this tree would be the first ones visitors see.
Small Clearing Halfway Up Huangshan 黄山
We got our chance to photos here despite the large number of people here. Our Chinese companion specifically had to take a photo with the tree as his mother asked him to. I guess it is that well known. As it turns out, this is also a major fork in the road. From here you can decide to continue on the western steps or wuss out and take the cable car down. It was a mix of dismay and relief that my companions decided to continue on the western steps. The British guy was the one who persuaded me the strongest to keep walking, most probably because he I’m the easiest person to talk to in our group.
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