The journey to Shanghai had taken five hours

The journey to Shanghai had taken five hours

The journey to Shanghai had taken five hours, and naturally, I was exhausted. I had never been accustomed to flying by then, and the hours on the flying box were filled with a mix of fear, excitement, and a sense of profound hope. We had arrived in Shanghai, but this was just a pitstop. The journey to the Yellow Mountains, also called Huangshan in the Anhui Province, was not yet complete. After resting in Shanghai at an uncle’s place, albeit briefly, we set out to Huangshan, a four-hour journey by speed train. I was excited to see the paradise that my father had talked to us about for so many years. I looked across at my younger brother. He was fast asleep and pitied him because of his lack of excitement. Nevertheless, I was excited to be a part of this trip, just me, my father, and my younger brother, experiencing what my father had always called heaven.

I was eager to see where my father had spent most of his childhood as the son of a shop owner in one of the old towns in the maze that is the dense natural maze that is the Yellow Mountains of Anhui province. My father had always talked about the Yellow Mountains. This was the place where he grew up in a small village called Xidi. He always talked about how he would go swimming in the rivers that maneuvered in the valleys of the mountain range, how he fished, and played with the sons of farmers. For me, all his stories about the Yellow Mountains sounded surreal because I had never been to a place that was reportedly so unperturbed by the urbanization of China. For most of my life, I was raised in the Chinese coal manufacturing town of Yangquan. I had the same friends since I was a child and had attended the same school throughout my life. Even though this may sound boring, I loved the routine nature of my life, and unfortunately, the routine of this life, in some way, had narrowed my view of life.

We had arrived in the Yellow Mountains. Like anyone who witnesses the dominating Yellow Mountains for the first time, the first emotion that befell me is fear and astonishment. China is a very urbanized nation, and seeing this place where nature flourished was not only frightening, it also evoked a sort of cognitive dissonance, that almost froze my feet. I was not so sure that this was the place for me. At this moment, my dad patted me on the back and told me, “This is home.” The fear quickly faded away, and a deep resolve emerged in me to explore this scenery.

I was mesmerized by the harmonious way of life that flourishes in the Yellow Mountains as it has for centuries, unperturbed by the distant din of modern China. The serene fields, forests, and villages, we are immersed in the mystique of hidden China, as ephemeral and beautiful as the mist that veils the surrounding peaks on a sunny morning. As we journeyed to the village where my father grew up, I connected with him on a level not attained before. My father is an industry man, and even though he lived with us, I rarely got the chance to talk to him. In this environment, my father was in his element. He knew the name of all the trees, and was excited with every animal and bird he saw along the way. I realized that the city life had constrained him, but here in this natural environment, he was a behemoth. My father’s energy during the trek to the small village of Xidi, was so refreshing and infectious that even my younger brother became excited. It was almost as if the calm and peace of the natural environment of the Yellow Mountains had taken over his person, and in front of me was the man I had idolized all my life.

Once you are deep in the maze of the Yellow Mountains is when you realize just how much urbanization changes the world. Yangquan, where we lived, was the epitome of urbanization. It was a very busy city, crowded with people, and was tinged with noise. The city of Yangquan was doused with heavy smog, like many coal manufacturing cities in China. However, for us, the residents of the city, these features seemed normal to us. Our environment characterized by bustling activity, noise, and men and women going to work, children going to school in traffic jams was what forged our identity and my perception of China. Therefore, it was not until I took this trip to the Yellow Mountains that I realized that China was a richly diverse nation.

The fresh air of the Yellow Mountains was therapeutic, and the calm and quiet of the mountains stilled my soul. Even my younger brother was visibly astounded by this new environment. The Yellow Mountains grandeur showed me that China was a diverse nation. Seeing the people living in the Yellow Mountains, the people around whom my father grew up, and yet had starkly different lifestyles to the one I had been accustomed to in the city struck a chord in me. This experience created a resolve in me to strive to go beyond what I expected of myself, to broaden my vision and further my aspirations. It is because of the resolve to see more of the world and appreciate its rich diversity that partly influenced my decision to travel for further education in the United States.

The journey from the train station to the village of Xidi involved a trek, two cable cars, and another trek. These two cable cars were joined at one of the peaks of the mountains that made up the range. At the peak, my father told us to stop and appreciate the view from this position. Fortunately for us, it was not misty on that day, and the view was clear. Standing at the top of the mountain, I saw the vast expanse of the Yellow Mountains, the rich green of the bamboo and forest vegetation, and the craggy mountains that make the scenery of the Yellow Mountains. One thing that surprised me then was just how far I could see. I had been on heightened grounds before. In Yangquan, I had been to the top of the highest building in the city. I remember even on that day; I could not see as far the next building because of the overwhelming smog. Juxtaposed with this view from one of the peaks of the Yellow Mountains, the view from Yangquan skyscraper seemed so morose and perverse. At the Yellow Mountains, I felt that I could see to the ends of the world. The view was expansive, and the bright blue sky that was a very rare sight. Everything seemed so peaceful. At that moment, I realized that the world, nature in itself, was not hostile. More than ever, I felt that I belonged to the world, and there was no reason to feel afraid. In a profound way, I felt the spirit of my great ancestors, the glory of the Yellow Emperor that ascended to heaven from the very peaks where I stood, and the legend of Mr. Lu Millionaire, which inspires everyone who can trace their roots to the Yellow Mountains. I imagined my father standing there as a young man and what ambitions he had then. As I was lost in thought, my father said, “What you see is the character of China.” These words stayed with me forever. Even though China had made significant progress in other sectors such as manufacturing, I realized that it forgot its most important aspects, which was the richness of its environment. I remember thinking to myself, what Yangquan would look like at its natural state, without all the buildings and roads and people. Something deep inside told me that it was also beautiful. At the peak of the Yellow Mountains, I realized that the world was beautiful and everything in it was part of that beauty. A sense of regret filled me when I considered how many Yellow Mountains had been destroyed all over the world because of unsustainable human practices, and for the first time, I realized the importance of conserving the environment.

As we walked through the ranges enjoying the fresh air, I kept thinking of my sister and mother, who had been left behind. I knew that they would have enjoyed this experience. I looked at my father and my brother, and wondered what thoughts this environment evoked in them. I wondered if they had the same thoughts of family, connectedness, and peace as I had during the trip. What I knew for sure is that they wondered what it would have been like if we lived among these Yellow Mountains, and that my sister would not be sick if she breathed the fresh air that engulfed the Yellow Mountains.