A Travelogue of Wugong Mountain: The Way of Breathing in the Meadow in the Clouds
As the cable car pierced through the last wisp of cloud, the Golden Summit at an altitude of 1,918 meters suddenly burst into view. The vast alpine meadow stretching over 100,000 mu undulated like waves in the April breeze, as if a deity had tailored the Hulunbuir Grassland and laid it over the mountains of western Jiangxi. This sacred mountain, known by hikers as the "Holy Land of Hiking in East China," is reshaping people's perception of mountains with the pulse of green grass and the breath of the sea of clouds.
Initial Exploration of Tianlu: Touching the Clouds on a Green Carpet
Starting from the Dengshankou Entrance in Shenzi Village, the first 3 kilometers of bamboo forest and stone steps still retain the elegance of the Jiangnan region. When you arrive at Diaoma Stake, the landform suddenly changes. The granite peaks recede into the background, and the tender meadow spreads from your toes to the skyline. The midday sun penetrates the clouds, and the grass waves refract twelve layers of gradual change, such as emerald, peacock blue, and turquoise green. Only then do you realize that the "Wugong Green" mentioned by the ancients is not an exaggeration. You may encounter backpackers on a reverse route, shouting to each other across the air. The echoes are repeatedly refracted between Jiulong Mountain and Fayun Boundary, forming a natural reverb.
The Golden Summit is not the end, but a Zen seat for watching the clouds. At 5:00 am, wrapped in a military coat rented from the inn, waiting for the sunrise, you will see the sea of clouds waking up before the sun. Milky white mist surges up from Guanyin Dang, and in a flash, it engulfs the vast meadow, leaving only the altitude monument floating like an isolated island. When the first ray of light pierces the clouds, the entire meadow is instantly gilded, and the morning dew evaporates into tiny rainbows. You can vaguely hear the mountains stretching their bones in photosynthesis.
Stars as a Quilt: The Galactic Narrative of Campers
The night of Wugong Mountain is an insulator of light pollution. In the Guanyin Dang tent camp, 300 transparent domes are scattered across the meadow, like a group of stars falling into the world. At 8:00 pm, the handle of the Big Dipper is pointing towards Diaoma Stake, and the Milky Way flows from Fayun Boundary to Jiulong Mountain, occasionally cut into a waterfall of crushed diamonds by passing satellites.
What's even more surprising is the midnight theater: fireflies fly out of the Pinus armandii forest of Tieti Peak, and dance a tango with the beams of the hikers' headlamps on the tips of the grass; the inn's night watchman plays the Xun, and the ancient melody awakens the sleeping meadow. When the night wind blows, 100,000 Miscanthus sinensis resonate in unison, and the rustling sound echoes the rhythm of "High Mountain and Flowing Water." When you lift the tent at 3:00 am, you will see the sea of clouds and the sea of stars kissing at an altitude of 1,600 meters, and you can't tell which are the frozen stars and which are the undropped mist beads.
Hiking Secrets: The Spiral Ascent of Pain and Enlightenment
The hiking philosophy of Wugong Mountain is hidden in the details: the 70-degree steep slope of Despair Slope teaches people to use the "Z" shape to borrow strength, the Starry Sky Glass Plank Road tests the psychological limits of those who are afraid of heights, and the 5-kilometer meadow road from Diaoma Stake to Guanyin Dang is the ultimate test of foot massage. Every 500 meters along the way, you can see bamboo tube supply stations, where you can fill up with mountain spring water for CNY 20, and get dried bayberries dried by the mountain keeper as a gift.
The real soul supply is at Fayun Boundary. In front of the old wooden house, 75-year-old Grandma Liu supports a briquette stove to sell Qing Tuan, the Artemisia argyi is picked from the cliff stone crevices, and the bean paste is boiled all night. While gnawing on it with the clouds and mist, she pointed to the red paint arrow on the rock wall and said, "This was painted by Shanghai hikers thirty years ago, and now their children are still following the arrows to find their way."
Survival Guide: The Wisdom of Dancing with the Mountain
🚠 Transportation Code
Take the high-speed train to Pingxiang North Station, and a shared car will take you directly to the east gate of the scenic spot (Shigusi cable car) for CNY 40. Hikers on the west line prefer the Longshan Village entrance.
Cable car segmentation philosophy: Zhong'an cable car (saving 2 hours) is a must-ride, and it is recommended to walk if the queue for the Golden Summit cable car exceeds 1 hour.
🏕️ Accommodation Code
Golden Summit Inn: Tatami room with sea of clouds when you open the window (CNY 460/night), including sunrise wake-up service
Baihe Peak Tent: The king of cost performance (CNY 128/double tent), providing dirt-proof sleeping bags and warm babies
Secret Realm Choice: Fayun Boundary Backpacker Inn Datong Shop (CNY 60/person), experience the mountain people's night talk around the stove
📸 Light and Shadow Law
Wear bright-colored windbreakers for meadow shooting, and use polarizing filters to darken the sky and highlight the layers on cloudy days.
1 hour before sunset at the Golden Summit, shoot silhouettes of hikers against the light, and the grass waves will present a molten gold texture.
Bring a red light headlamp for starry sky photography, and you can shoot star trails around the Guanyin statue at Tieti Peak at midnight.
Mountain Spirit Revelation
When going down the mountain, choose Anfu Ancient Road. Corydalis and Anemone flaccida emerge from the stone steps, and Xu Xiake's straw shoes should have been stained with mud here eight hundred years ago. The brown river crow flew out of Lei Yan Cave, and its wings swept off the moss on the rock wall, revealing the three characters "Grass in the Clouds" carved by pilgrims during the Wanli period. Suddenly, I realized the magic of Wugong Mountain - it uses the softness of the alpine meadow to dissolve the majesty of the traditional mountains, so that every climber becomes a child rolling on the cloud blanket.
Looking back at the mountain ridge line gradually disappearing into the clouds and mist, those backpackers carrying heavy loads have turned into moving punctuation marks, writing a new chapter for Wugong Mountain. Perhaps the real conquest is not to plant the flag on the Golden Summit, but to let the mountain wind blow away the wrinkles of anxiety brought by the city, and find the most authentic rhythm of life in every breath of the meadow.