---
title: Notes from Qingcheng Back Mountain
date: 2026-06-27
excerpt: "A hike through Qingcheng Back Mountain with classmates, covering the ride, the trail, and the small scenes along the way."
tags:
  - 成都
  - Essay
updated: 2026-07-07 22:27:02
lang: en
i18n:
  cn: /qingchengshan
  translation: 2
---

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## Setting Out

### Morning Assembly

I got up at seven today. Lei and I went downstairs to buy drinks and bread, which counted as a deliberate breakfast for a full day of hiking. After all, my usual schedule runs late, and I normally eat only two meals a day.

After buying breakfast from the vending machine, we went back to the dorm for the final round of packing and charging.

At almost half past seven, the four of us gathered on time: me, Lei, Hu from my dorm, and Xu from the dorm next door.

We went downstairs and called a ride. On the way, the four of us chatted and joked around, and we also stopped by the supermarket at the school gate to buy a few bottles of water. After we got in the car, the driver said we needed to pay an extra 40 yuan for the empty return trip. After some bargaining, we settled on a total price of 130 yuan, on the condition that we cancel the platform order and pay him privately through WeChat.

The driver insisted that we pay in advance instead of settling after the trip. Lei suggested paying half first, but he refused that too, so we had to go along with it.

### Things Seen Through the Car Window

After getting in the car, we started a round of Honor of Kings. By the time the match ended, it was just eight o'clock, and the car had already left Chengdu's Third Ring Road and reached the intersection of Huangjin Road and Shuxi Road.

At 8:17 A.M., the car passed through Xipu Interchange and arrived at Gaoxinxi Service Area. The vegetation on both sides of the road was still dense and green. One stretch was lined with weeping willows, lush enough to make me think that Chengdu really does have good urban greenery.

For a long while after that, we drove along Xiyuan Avenue. My alma mater's Qingshuihe campus is nearby, and several things along the way left a strong impression on me:

- Sapling ads and "knotted" trees by the roadside: there were many billboards advertising hackberry trees. This kind of large ornamental-tree market is rare in the city, but it appears everywhere on the suburban road into the mountains. Stranger still were the crape myrtle trees shaped into Chinese-knot forms by the roadside. They looked completely unlike the trees' natural growth patterns, which made them rather eerie.
- A low-flying agricultural drone in the distance: it looked more than a meter across and was spraying pesticide over the fields.
- Cyclists: four men in cycling gear bent over their bikes and pedaled hard. They looked powerful 👍.
- A watermelon stand in the wilderness: a truck parked by the road, loaded with watermelons. There was no village or shop anywhere nearby, and I deeply doubted whether he would make a sale that day.
- A strange signboard: we passed a restaurant whose sign read "Xiong Blood Curd," which could also be read as "Bear Blood Curd." Is that legal? Or... is the owner actually surnamed Xiong?

At 8:55 A.M., we crossed the hundred-meter-wide Min River over Pengqing Bridge, then entered Jiaqing Road and continued toward Qingcheng Mountain.

Before reaching the entrance road to the back mountain, we saw a traffic notice: because the road has many sharp bends, vehicles with more than 20 seats are forbidden. The mountain road into the scenic area has two lanes, one in each direction, with dense bends, tight corners, and limited passing conditions. As expected, we were stuck there for more than ten minutes, but once we passed the bend-heavy section, the traffic opened up. The forest along the road covered the sky, very much in line with the old phrase "Qingcheng is the quietest under heaven."

## Hiking

### Entering the Back Mountain

The car stopped at the parking lot of the Back Mountain scenic area. Ride-hailing cars could not go any farther. The four of us got out and walked toward the ticket office.

After buying tickets through the online mini program, we used our student IDs to pass the entrance checkpoint and entered the park, then followed the scenic walkway at an easy pace. The first section was flat, much like a city-park path. After about one kilometer, we reached Tai'an Ancient Town.

Since food inside the scenic area is expensive, none of us planned to eat lunch on the mountain. We found a supermarket in the old town and planned to buy some dry food. I bought a Snickers bar and a pack of spicy beef. Seeing this, Lei laughed and teased me: "Spicy strips again, huh?"

After leaving Tai'an Ancient Town, the real uphill mountain road began. I opened the beef jerky and ate while walking. Guesthouses and inns lined the way. Quite a few tourists choose to stay in mountain inns and start night hikes later.

### Playing on a Bamboo Raft

> Running water, whether as large as rivers or as small as streams and ravines, is all running water. It moves outwardly yet is still in nature; its substance is soft yet its spirit is strong, unlike the still water of lakes, marshes, ponds, and pools. Yet river water is muddy, while stream water is clear, and here too there is a difference.
>
> <cite>Li Shizhen · Compendium of Materia Medica</cite>

Near the Wulonggou hiking entrance, we came to a mountain-lake area and spent 20 yuan to try bamboo rafting. It was the most comfortable stretch of the whole trip. The lake water was clear enough to see the pebble-covered bottom. A stone bridge stood in the middle of the lake, with swings and hanging chairs beneath it. The woven rope-net structure instantly reminded me of the dreamcatchers in Death Stranding and Red Dead Redemption 2. It felt rather dreamlike.

The four of us each held a bamboo pole and fumbled our way across the lake, occasionally bumping into other tourists' rafts by sheer chance. After a few tries, we figured out the trick: pushing off the rocks by the shore, or directly bracing against the riverbed, was much easier than simply striking the water to move forward.

When we drifted under the stone bridge in the middle of the lake, Lei sat down firmly in the hanging chair. We immediately paddled the raft away and "released" our roommate in place, making nearby tourists laugh. After taking a few photos of him, I switched in and sat there for a while too.

In the end, we pushed the bamboo raft under the bridge and against the current all the way to the edge, where there was a miniature waterfall about 30 centimeters high. The water ahead was too swift, and even with everyone straining, we could not move any farther.

The water near the edge was shallow and very close to the shore, so Hu simply leapt onto the rocks on land and used the higher angle to take a few group photos of the three of us.

### Fruit Stalls Beside the Plank Road

> Float sweet melons in a clear spring; sink red plums in cold water.
>
> <cite>Cao Pi · Letter to Wu Zhi, Magistrate of Chaoge</cite>

<text-image-section image="https://assets.vluv.space/2026-07-04-rednote-000225.avif" alt="Fruit stall © Xiaohongshu">

On the way up the mountain, we stopped several times.

There were many vendors along the route. Some diverted mountain spring water into channels and used this "natural refrigerator" to chill cucumbers, watermelons, oranges, and orange juice. Others ran more traditional stalls, selling cured meat, toys, corn, and so on.

Lei, who was with us, bought orange juice for 15¥.

The plank road follows the mountain terrain. Most of the steps are built from mountain stones, with no attempt to make them perfectly uniform. Some steps are higher, some lower, and the corners vary even more in width, so you always have to watch your footing. On flatter stretches, we could finally look up at the forest on both sides. But there were also several small bridges paved with long stone slabs. The surfaces were flat, but the gaps between slabs were more than ten centimeters wide, and one careless step could easily get your foot stuck. Because of that, I also heard a few complaints from passing tourists.

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### Wulonggou's Three-Pool Mist Spring

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Farther ahead, the sound of water drowned out the insects in the forest, and a waterfall came into view. It fell in layers from a fractured rock body: the upper flow poured out from the top of the cliff, struck the middle rock platform, then split into two streams that dropped separately into the deep pool below, forming a clear two-stage fall.

The view naturally drops lower here. The pool has a cold deep-blue-green color, and under the shadow of the rock wall it looks especially deep. Locals call it "Jinwawa Tuo." It is said that at noon on sunny days, tiny golden flecks appear on the water surface. Folk legend says that golden boy and jade girl once played in the water here, which is where the name comes from.

Around the mouth of the pool is a ring of damp rock ledges, worn down by long-term scouring. Four stone pillars stand on them, spaced a little unevenly. Each pillar has an animal stone carving on top, though the outlines have already become somewhat blurred. Red cords wind between them, darkened by the water vapor. The pillar bodies are covered with fine green moss and almost blend into the wet rock.

The water passes between them, spills out of the main pool, and falls into the lower pool. The lower pool is not large, and its color shifts more toward emerald green. This forms the so-called "Three-Pool Mist Spring."

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On both sides are rock walls covered in dense vegetation, with vines hanging down. The sunlight is cut into fragments by the tree crowns, leaving bright spots on only a few leaves.

The plank road on the right-hand rock wall extends into a platform very close to the waterfall, with wooden posts and ropes simply marking off the safe area. Several tourists stopped there to take photos. So did we. We randomly found an idle tourist to help take a group photo of the four of us, then continued along the plank road as the sound of the waterfall gradually faded.

### Washing Feet and Falling Into the Water

We had been walking along the plank road for a long time. Xu was probably getting sleepy, so she found a spot that did not block the way and rested. Beside us was a pool. A little girl was playing in the water while her parents stayed nearby. Looking at the water, I joked that if anyone had an empty bottle, they could go help fetch him some foot-washing water.

A joke is a joke, but looking at the cool stream, I could not help wanting to go down and soak my own feet. Since drying them would be a little troublesome, I asked the others first. Everyone agreed to rest a bit longer, so I went down, found a stone to sit on, and rinsed my feet.

The water was still very cold. Mountain spring water is extremely cold, and after soaking for a while it even began to feel faintly piercing. I noticed a little forktail fledgling bathing, its tail bobbing up and down, terribly cute. While soaking my feet, I unexpectedly found a little forktail fledgling bathing by the water nearby, its tail bobbing up and down, extremely cute. Just as I was watching it in a daze, Lei barged over carelessly to wash his feet too. The moment he stepped into the water, he scared the little forktail away. I could not help grumbling internally: Fei Yangyang, you are so crude.

Looking up from where we rested, I saw many mani piles, or stone piles, stacked by tourists on a huge rock above us, about the height of a person. Lei and I got the impulse to climb up and stack a few too, and Hu followed when he saw us. After climbing up, we noticed a signboard lying at our feet, apparently fallen there long ago. Our "Jiahao" personalities took over, so we simply held the signboard on the left and right and posed for a photo, while Hu directed the camera angle from below. After the photo, Hu also wanted to come up and join the "illegal photo," so we asked Xu on the bank to take a picture of the three of us.

After cooling off below for a little longer, we prepared to leave. I went to retrieve the phone, power bank, and Lei's shoes that I had placed on the bank. But because I was stepping on moss, the moment I was about to walk back, my foot slipped, and I landed solidly in the water on my backside. In an instant, my shirt and pants were soaked. Fortunately, Xu has good habits and had packed an extra spare top.

As for the soaked pants, there was nothing to be done. I could only wring them out as much as possible. My wicked teammates immediately posted my "wet fall into the water" photo in the roommate group chat 👿.

### Youyi Village and Baiyun Cableway

> Smell is the hardest thing to put into words. It cannot be written, only smelled; you have to be there and smell it yourself to understand. Smell is even hard to remember. Only when you smell it again can you recall all its feeling and meaning.
>
> <cite>Shi Tiesheng · The Temple of Earth and I</cite>

<text-image-section image="https://memories.vluv.space/photos/青城后山/柳杉林.webp" alt="Cryptomeria forest">

Wearing wet pants, I finished the remaining mountain road and passed through a layered forest of cryptomeria. The soft wet dirt road was mixed with gravel, and the damp smell of plants and trees rushed toward us. Hu also noticed that smell, but smells are hard to describe:

The towering cedars shot straight into the sky, their branches and leaves interlacing into a deep green corridor. Ahead, only Lei's lone figure slowly walked deeper into the forest. The mountains were so quiet that only the sound of running water and leaves remained. The muggy summer heat was completely sealed outside by the dense woods. A few more steps forward, and the scattered farmhouses of Youyi Village came into view.

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The name Youyi Village is a good one. It probably comes from the line "where hills and streams seem to end, dark willows and bright flowers reveal another village." As soon as we entered the village, Xu generously treated us and ordered each of us a 15-yuan grilled sausage. After all, this was a scenic area, so a markup was unavoidable.

A TV in the distance was playing the 1986 version of Journey to the West, an episode with Sun Wukong in the Jade Pool. As background music, it was quite elegant. Lei went to the toilet. According to his description, it flushed urine away through a constant stream of water. The toilet also charged a fee, but it did not matter, ~~Lei runs fast~~.

After the meal, we took away our food waste, left the dining area, and before we had time to appreciate Youyi Village's infrastructure, we arrived at the Baiyun Cableway ticket office. We then entered the cableway and rode for about 20 minutes to the terminal station.

Looking out from the cable car, the surrounding mountains rose and fell in layers, all tightly covered by dense vegetation. At the time, I thought that if I had a drone's perspective, the scene would probably be ten times more stunning.

### Baiyun Ancient Village

After leaving the cableway, we passed through this place and took a short rest. I first went to the toilet and found only three squat toilets and three urinals inside, with no partitions between them at all. Facing this overly candid spatial design, I could not help joking in a Mei Yangyang voice: "Boys are only called bold when they are like this~" At the same time, I secretly felt lucky that I had no urge to poop then.

After leaving the toilet, we continued forward and passed a sculpture of the God of Wealth. The platform at the base of the sculpture was covered with dense red prayer ribbons, though the statue itself looked a little rough.

There is an observation deck here. As soon as you step onto it, you can see one of those influencer signposts that seem to be "copy-pasted" across every scenic area. It reads: "I miss you at Qingcheng Back Mountain / Baiyun Ancient Village, elevation 1314 m." Below the platform railing hangs a dark-brown wooden board carved with four emerald-green characters: "Towering Qingcheng." Leaning on the railing and looking out, well, all I could see was thick green mountains and a gray-white sky. Perhaps because the elevation here was still too low, we ultimately had no chance to see the mist-wreathed fairyland kind of view.

### The Drizzly Ferry at Cuiying Lake

The route after the cableway was mainly down steps. When going down steps, you have to be especially careful not to miss a step or slip. During this section, Xu fell twice. Fortunately, she was fine.

<text-image-section image="https://memories.vluv.space/photos/青城后山/净瓶观音.webp" alt="Guanyin with a Pure Vase" width="400px">

On the way down, we reached Cuiying Lake. The entire path was submerged by lake water, and the only way to reach the other side was to take a small wooden boat. The water rippled shallowly. Trees leaned down from both banks, tinting the whole lake a warm jade green. A stone stele bearing the three characters "Cuiying Lake" stood beside the lakeside rocks, its lettering simple and old-fashioned.

Beside the stele, near the water, stood a statue of Guanyin holding a purification vase. An old cloth umbrella was propped at an angle over Guanyin's head, shielding the statue from mountain wind, rain, and dew. A red silk scarf draped from the statue's head, while a bright yellow embroidered robe covered the shoulders. The robe was embroidered with vivid red peony patterns, and the hem was edged with strings of pink floral ornaments. After years of sun and rain, the colors had faded slightly, and the silk at the corners showed a pale gray.

In front of the statue sat a red-lacquered donation box, its paint mottled and peeling. A roll of red-wrapped incense candles lay across the top, while several burning red incense sticks were inserted at the side of the box, a tiny flame quietly swaying. One tourist went even farther off the ordinary path and laid a cigarette horizontally across the mouth of the purification vase 🚬

Although Qingcheng Mountain is a famous Daoist mountain, Buddhist temples and statues can be seen everywhere in the mountains. They are especially common around Baiyun Temple, which we did not explore deeply, though many of the Buddhist sculptures there are quite rough. My hometown's Dazhu Mountain is also a place where Buddhism and Daoism coexist. Many famous mountains in China have this same phenomenon.

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The ferry experience was still the same as the last time I came to Qingcheng Mountain. One by one, everyone squeezed onto a packed "big-pot boat."

But our place in line happened to be lucky. When we boarded, every seat was taken, so we naturally stood at the open, unobstructed bow and got a full lake view without blind spots.

The weather also did us a favor. Just as we were waiting for the ferry, a fine misty drizzle happened to begin. Several times last year, when I visited Suzhou gardens, the weather was always sunny. The misty-rain mood I had been longing for arrived unexpectedly today. The rain fell densely and finely onto the emerald lake surface, opening layer after layer of ripples.

Quite a few frogs were floating scattered across the water, each belly-up, making me grumble internally: dude, aren't you an amphibian? 😡 There were also many living frogs doing the breaststroke. (No one knows breaststroke better than frogs.) Only when we approached the shore did it seem that one frog had a "lucky collision" with the ferry. I hope it was not actually hit.

Looking across the water, an old building sat at the end of the crowd. Its blue-gray cylindrical tiles spread in layered rows, the eaves lifted lightly, and its whole body was wrapped in dense shade, with mottled green moss covering the roof. In the fine rain and slight breeze, it was full of Jiangnan mist-and-rain charm. 👍👍👍👍👍👍

### Back to the Ancient Town

After getting off the boat, we continued forward. The sounds of mountains and water, cicadas, and frogs still filled our ears. This section is called Wulonggou, where waterfalls, streams, old trees, and huge rocks interweave. The scenery is also extremely rich.

Qingcheng Mountain's level of commercial development is actually quite surprising. Along the way, we met more local mountain vendors than I could count. By the latter half of the route, Xu's strength was completely exhausted, and she felt as if she was about to faint. We quickly found a shady spot for her to rest. There happened to be a vending machine nearby, and its prices were surprisingly fair, without the usual scenic-area rip-off routine. I spent 9 yuan on a cup of coconut milk, while Hu and Lei chose hot milk. Unfortunately, I personally have no interest in hot drinks.

Worried that Xu might catch a cold if she fell asleep there, we rested for about ten minutes and then prepared to keep moving. Ahead, we needed to cross a long suspension bridge. At the bridgehead stood someone who seemed to be an unlicensed driver. He actively came over to sell us a ride, saying there was not much good scenery ahead, asking where we were going, and strongly recommending that we take his car down the mountain.

We ignored him, quickly crossed the suspension bridge, and returned once again to Tai'an Ancient Town.

## Postscript

1. Bilibili video [A One-Shot Tour of Qingcheng Back Mountain](https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1CTTs6FEJW/). The creator's route is the reverse of ours, but many scenes overlap. Watching it again made everything feel vivid.
2. During the hike, stone piles were everywhere, in rapids and on rocks. A Zhihu [article](https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/669650150) introduces the related custom.