Plate G8.no14: The Garden of Longevity – Huangyaguan (China)*

The Garden of Longevity – what a title…and what a place.
This is where we stayed on the first night of the trek. I’m not sure if it’s a reconstruction; regardless, I sense it is true to the original, even if not – and it remains a treasured memory, of a trek packed with numerous treasured moments.
I suppose it’s partly because it was so unexpected. I thought we’d be trekking, endlessly, and rendered exhausted from the off. But it wasn’t like that. The trek was hard, no question – but there were many, many moments of calm, and opportunities for introspection and solace. I was desperately in need of the latter, for sure – this place, I recall now, wondering through it and feeling such a sense of……time, and future, and relief…

*Further comment can be found in:
E Books – A Walkers Diary (Vol 3)/Trek Reflections – China 2016