Climbing higher, aiming for the next summit
On 16 October the Minton outdoor team set off for Wugong Mountain in Jiangxi for a two-day climb. Leaving Fenglin Villa in Longshan village at 9.45, the group reached the boundary stone at Fayunjie after six hours and spent the night at an inn on the summit of Qianzhang Rock. They set off again at 6.50 the next morning through thick mist, passed Haohan Slope and Despair Slope, and reached Diaomazhuang inn by 12.30, a kilometre short of the Golden Summit, before beginning the descent at 12.40.
Life is more than the drudgery in front of us: there is poetry and there are distant places. Work is more than the daily shuttle between office and home: there are also mountain walks decided on the spur of the moment.
On 16 October the "On the Legal Trail" outdoor team of Shanghai Minton Law Firm set out on a new journey, this time to Wugong Mountain in Jiangxi province.
Wugong Mountain lies in the central-west of Jiangxi. Its massif consists mainly of gneiss, granite and limestone, its terrain is steep and towering and its scenery fine, with a height difference of 1,600 metres; it is a landscape of unusual granite and migmatite, with red, yellow and yellow-brown soils and alpine meadow distributed in bands by altitude. Because of geological
structure, lithology, climate and the action of internal and external forces, the mountain is crowded with remarkable peaks and is magnificent.
Wugong Mountain has a long history and a culture of great antiquity, and countless precious inscriptions have been left there. Xu Xiake, the great Ming dynasty traveller and geographer, climbed the mountain and left behind the celebrated lines "A thousand peaks tower like hairpins of green jade; the five ranges are fit to be compared with Wugong Mountain."
Only by climbing high does one see far, and heaven and earth are then gathered in the heart. Climbing is hard, but what counts more is the process and the spirit. Reaching the summit takes more than strength: it takes resolute confidence and a spirit that strives upward.
In a gentle breeze the team set out at 9.45 from Fenglin Villa in Longshan village, and after six hours finally reached the boundary stone at Fayunjie at about three in the afternoon. Tiredness and excitement kept surging through them, but with good company and good scenery shared, it all became deeply worthwhile.
Pressing on without pause, they climbed for another hour to the boundary stone at the top of Qianzhang Rock, passing one boundary stone after another on the way.
That evening they rested at the Qianzhang Rock summit inn. Together they enjoyed the quiet and calm of the mountain, and the sound of wind and rain in nature accompanied them to sleep. After a night of good dreams the fatigue and pressure of the past were smoothed away.
The next day at 6.50 in the morning the group set out from the Qianzhang Rock summit inn through frost and mist, and at about 8.10 reached the first boundary stone, Haohan Slope.
Thick mist covered the whole forest, silent and deep, with nothing to be heard but the endless birdsong and the drip of morning dew on the leaves. In that density the group held one another up and encouraged one another.
At about 9.40 they reached the boundary stone at the start of Despair Slope, and it took nearly another 40 minutes to climb it. Pressing on, the group reached Guanyin Dang, the best camping place on Wugong Mountain, at about 11.30.
They walked and stopped, talked and laughed, heedless of aching backs and streaming sweat, eager to reach the summit. On they went, and at 12.30 they reached Diaomazhuang inn, with only one kilometre left to the Golden Summit.
This was the true view from a height, and looking at the scenery before them, everything was worth it. Standing on the peak they took in the whole landscape of Wudang Mountain, and as far as the eye could see the trees were thick and green. Mist and cloud wound among the mountains: it is indeed "the finest immortal mountain under heaven".
They lingered over the scenery, wandering among the mist-wrapped slopes of Wugong Mountain and breathing the fresh air. Standing on the summit and looking down, they saw only cloud and mist, and felt for a moment like immortals riding the clouds.
At 12.40 the Minton outdoor team began its descent from Diaomazhuang inn, and the two-day, one-night climb came to an end.
Everyone was tired and happy, their faces full of contented smiles. Climbing is a challenge to oneself and a test of physical limits, and at the same time an expression of teamwork and cooperation. On this climb they went at it with spirit, dared to climb, worked together and looked after one another; they strengthened their bodies and broadened their
minds. Let us go on together on the new journey, clearing obstacles and pressing forward.