The Yellow Mountains

In Christmas 2004-5 I had the good fortune to spend several weeks with Sri Chinmoy during a cultural trip to China. Apart from the daily meditations and prayers, the highlight of the trip for me was visiting the fabled Yellow Mountains. Our happy group was stationed at a hotel on the outskirts of Huang Shan a small rural town about 2 hours from Mountains. Prior to this I had spent a large part of my time in the larger cities of China and was literally dying for some fresh air. I had heard that the Yellow Mountain were worth visiting, but being there was simply awesome. From the base of the mountain our happy party of 6 decided to hike the 2 hours up the mountain rather than take the cable car. For the first 90 minutes we pushed onward and upward immersed in thick cloud until we suddenly popped into the dazzling sunlight. The mountains are simply spectacular. They rise out of the earth with shear faces 1000’s of feet up toward the sky. In many places the narrow paths hug the rock face with only a thin bamboo rail separating you from a plunge in a swirling abyss of cloud below. I have always found meditating in the mountains a delightful experience and the pristine beauty and breathtaking scenery added to the experience immeasurably. I all was able to spend 2 full days exploring this mountain paradise, one day in the sunshine and the other in the angelic snow. Precious experiences.