Meeting Them X

Sleeping lightly, waking to readjust the sarong or pull it closer, to shift positions on the rock, to shiver. After a couple of hours the cold is stronger than the the need for further sleep, and the traveler wakes. Shivering, looks around. More people have arrived over the last couple of hours, a surprising number in matching coats. Thick coats. Looking around, she finds the source. A man with a small shack rents them out! Well worth ¥20 ($3) plus deposit. Snuggling into a big warm Russian coat, her head wrapped in a sarong-turned-babushka, she curls into the rock and sleeps once more.

The sky lightens.
A shout! The sun is coming! The traveler wakes. People rush the edge of the cliff, jostle for position. Needlessly. "Calm down, settle back," a man says. It's still half an hour away. Woken by the false alarm, the traveler looks about. A handful of foreigners are among the growing crowd, recently emerged from their lodgings. The light grows.
Slipping under the chain, the traveler gains a spot in front. Sitting between a cyclist from Lithuania and a young Chinese couple, she awaits the sun.

It comes up, fiery red, beyond fiery -- fluorescent red. An unbelievable red. No picture would do it justice, and this one doesn't come close.
The crowd watches the progress of the bright sun through the clouds, tries in vain to capture its image, dissipates.

The sun risen, light spreads over the mountains. The white rock which glowed under the moon is lit by the sunlight. The morning air is crisp.
Leaving East Peak, the traveler now heads towards the highest peak, South Peak, shedding clothing along the way.
Ancient trees balance on the rock.
Upon attaining the South Peak, the traveler is warm once more.
A look down from near South Peak.
There is not much time to enjoy the scenery, if the traveler is to make Bingmayong before leaving Xi'an this evening. She moves quickly, running when paths permit.
Passing many, many chains with locks thick on them like so many barnacles. She flies down the mountain.
From the North Peak, she takes the most direct way down possible. With a cable car to herself, she has a great vantage point from which to appreciate the beautiful mountainsides one last time.