Wednesday, July 15

Today was the second day of touring Zhangjiajie. Yesterday was very sunny and clear at the park, but today started out very overcast with gray skies. I was looking forward to having a different view of the pillars. They were enveloped in clouds and provided a very mystical sensation. We started out with another 2 hour wait in line for a cable car up the mountain. This line at least had a bit of order and there were gates that made everybody stand single-file. There were a few times when people would hop the gates to cut in front of the lines. People scolded the line cutters but didn't do anything else, I thought they should have forced them back to their original places if not further back in line. We finally got to the top of the mountain and I was glad to see the pillars from a different perspective than yesterday. The clouds also helped a lot with the temperature. We pretty much did the same thing as the day before, walked around the mountain looking at all the sights. After lunch we went down to the bottom of the mountain, where we walked along a trail that followed a stream. Most of the group stopped to rest by the water, but me and a few others continued on the path. At the end of the trail were towering pillars all around us, it felt like when you're in a big city downtown and looking up at all the skyscrapers. The highlight of the trail was definitely the fact that there were lots of monkeys playing across the stream, it was the only wildlife I saw on the trip.

After dinner we went to a cultural show that displayed local Zhangjiajie art forms. There was traditional tribal dancing as well as other dance forms. There was a guy singer (definitely gay) who proudly showed how high pitched he could sing (it was ear shattering) and how flexible he was (while standing up he pulled one leg up to his head). There were also two women who amazed me with their feats of strength and flexibility. After the main show everybody went outside for a show by a bonfire. There was a man who walked in the fire as well as old martial arts guys who had huge stone blocks broken over their chests with a sledgehammer. After the show it was late, but after two long days of walking a group of us went to get a foot massage. It was a bit painful but felt good overall. I got home around midnight and went immediately to sleep.