3 Day Weekend: Meiji Shan

Photograph taken by M. Verillaud

 

I went to Tianshui, met a fellow PCV M. who traveled from Lanzhou and crashed with a welcoming PCV, L. who bought a humongous chunk of beef.  She had a grill on her balcony and I spent an hour using paper and small green sticks trying to light big chunks of black coal.  Fanning the smokey fumes my knitted red sweater has a new perfume that I am not sure will ever come out.  

One thing I have learned during my life abroad, persistence and patience often leads to success.  Don't give up even if you have very little expertise in lighting fires.  You know the theory so just do it.  Don't give up if your eyes are crying from smoke and you feel your confidence dying as the freakin chunks of coal won't light into hot white embers.  The challenge of starting a fire teaches new skills and no I haven't changed the world, but as a PCV we redefine success.  Et voila I started a fire and felt the sparks of happiness about that tiny accomplishment. Success!  We had yummy grilled steaks.  

I love steak!  I do not like Chinese western restaurants' imitation of steak and have stopped ordering them so having a thick slab of grilled beef was heaven.  Plus L. also made a wonderful eggplant coconut curry served along with Korean kimchi bought from Xian.

Travel tips: Meiji Shan

1.  Tianshui has two cities.  The train station is in one of them.   Then if you want to go to the main city, take bus 6 (3 RMB) from the train station.  It is about a 30 minute ride through the countryside to the main city.  

 

2.  If you are traveling to and from Lanzhou, train tickets are sometimes hard to get, but there are MANY buses to and from Tianshui, a bit more expensive than a train ticket but more comfortable.  Train or bus, both are about 4 hours.  There are buses in front of the train station as well as buses at the long distance bus station in the main city.

 

3.  In front of the train station, there are buses to Meiji Shan, 5 RMB (bus 34 or other random buses whose money collectors will just shout Meiji Shan).  It is about a 30-40 minute ride.

 

4.  Tickets are 70 RMB unless you are a student.  Then it is half price.  If you have a group of 10 people, then the ticket will be 62 RMB.  If you don't want to walk up to the mountain you can take a shuttle for 8-10 RMB.  The walk is about 30 minutes up an easy incline along a concrete road.

 

5.  If you have free time, you can spend a day hiking and exploring the surrounding hills.