We’re very blessed to live on the edge of town, allowing us to hike straight out of our apartment and into the nearby mountains. On Sunday after church, I clicked on “My Tracks” as we headed out the door: 
The five mile hike is the easy part – it’s the 1000+ foot ascent that can take your breath away. A number of things have changed since we took this hike last fall, including a new approach trail through an old quarry that reminds us of Georgia red clay:
Of course, the nearby skyline always changes as new apartment buildings go up each month:
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it is hard to appreciate the size of these projects unless you see them in person. We live in the complex on the far right, and many of the buildings are 34 stories tall:
As we crested the first mountain ridge, we also saw something else – a new Buddhist statue overlooking the valley:
Like everything in China, it is quite large:
On this hike, we encountered more animals than usual, including a burro and some cows:
We also weren’t too sure what to do when a flock of goats came running down the road in our direction. Fortunately, another nearby goat herder jumped into action to protect the food of his own goats from the intruders (click Goats for video).
This weekend was the Qing Ming Holiday, the time when families gather to clean and decorate the tombs of their departed relatives. Many tombs are scattered throughout these mountains:
Offerings of food (and sometimes liquor) are left at the tombs:
Traditionally, families burn fake money for the departed. Many tombs have a small fireplace for this purpose:
But this has become a fire hazard due to the recent drought, so the money is either scattered at the tomb or left in packages:
In order to access the tombs, some convenient rock stairs have been built against the cliffs, making the hike a bit easier for us:
But still, some of the best parts of the trail are the least traveled ones.
I like the guy trying to scare the goat with the bell. and the “hell” bank note. Wish Cai and I were there so we could go hiking with y’all!
So is that fake money? Do they have a lot of people that loot the tombs after they leave things there?
Yes, the money is fake. I suppose that printing “Hell Bank Notes” covers all the bases, since you probably wouldn’t need anything if you went to heaven. As for looting the tombs, I think most people here are too respectful or superstitious to take the tomb offerings (although I don’t see as many cigarettes lying around anymore).
I think those stairs are pretty cool!