China’s Mt. Huashan is home to one of the deadliest staircases you’ve ever seen, but waiting at the top is a mysterious treasure coveted by many adventurous folks.
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Located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi province, Mount Hua has a long history of religious significance. Daoist temples have been sprinkled throughout the mountain since as early as 2nd century BCE. Now, at the top of its southern most peak, one of these ancient temples has been converted into something no one would expect by looking at the path you have to take to reach the top.
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The base of the mountain is called the “Heavenly Stairs,” although climbing them may feel more like Hell.
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Ascending them is also the easiest part if you’re planning on making it to the peak.
If you’re like these crazy people, you’ll climb through that Hell just to get to what awaits you at the top. You’ll pass little “towns” along the way, which have popped up in order to support the temples.
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After you’ve climbed even higher, you get to poop your pants on a gondola ride to the southern peak, where you’re not even close to being done.
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Once you exit the gondola, a short path becomes more and more narrow until all that is left is a few wooden planks and some chains to hang on to (you know, as a courtesy).
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This is the safer version of what the path used to be – before extra planks and chains were added, a lot people were dying. The mounting fatalities finally caused someone to take action in the name of safety.
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If you run into someone who’s either on their way back down or turning around (probably to increase their chances of life), the only option is to back up to the nearest platform so that you can pass each other.
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Handstands are advised, because, if you haven’t figured it out already, what the hell, you’re probably going to die anyways so you might as well show off.
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But, if you haven’t died/quit/passed out/pooped too much, here you reach the final stretch which begins with a quick climb. No worries – someone cut out toe holes and added more chains to cling to. For safety.
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Then there’s more stairs… but the end is near! The stairs lead you to the peak, where you’ll find… *cue drumroll*
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…a tea house.
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What used to be the southern temple is now a tea house, probably because the daily meditation of the original inhabitants incorporated lots of tea drinking. Thousands have faced death just to reach the top and enjoy a cup.
So relax, admire the view, and drink massive amounts of tea, but make sure you use the bathroom… because now you have to climb back down.
Photo Credit: Youtube, @glenep
