Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,
 
Hanging Temples hey.
I'm kind of thinking that every backyard should have one.
 
Having walked here there and everywhere in, out and around town for over  six months over the weekend I was determined to put a few of my walks together and make one ride out of them that would take around an hour or so to ride.  Friday being May Day and a public holiday gave me the opportinuity to spend the afternoon on the bike and out in the fields on known roads and tracks trying to find off shoots that would connect at least two of them together. 
 
After five hours of dead ends I headed back into town and home for a beer.
 
Saturday found me back in the saddle and I headed to the end of town (east) past the teachers college and then I headed north east out past the train tracks and from there along a road I walked many months ago.  After about an hour it ended so once again I had to turn back.  When I was nearing town I noticed a bridge over the small river so I decided to head across and follow the road up the mountain and then down the other side.  Thankfully when I got to thebottom it turned south and after following it I found myself near the two pagodas on the hill at the East End of Town where I spent my birthday last year.
 
Not the longest ride I've ever found but it's a good start.
I think I will add my river ride that takes me all the way to the west of town.
The ride in total should end up being around hour and a half and that's more than enough..
 
From there I headed way across to the freeway as I have always wanted to ride through the villages that run along the foot of the mountains.  When I arrived beneath the freeway I noticed several tables full of incense  for sale which in most countries means only one thing, there is a temple nearby.  I looked around but couldn't find the temple and then one of the ladies figured out what I was looking for and simply pointed upwards and there it was!
 
I've got a bloody Hanging Temple in my town, now that has to be the coolest thing!
 
In four years and all my travels I've only had a chance to visit several of the more famous ones.  They of course were ancient and very famous, I doubt the one in my back yard has much of a history or more than a local following.   But that doesn't mean much at all, the fact is I have a hangling temple hanging in my back yard.  For anyone who is near by and has a day to waste, it can be found around three kilometers wouth east of Shangzhou city and is built upon the face of Jing Quan Shang which is just over eight hundred meters high
 
The Chinese from what I can gather, have been hacking into cliff sides, creating rooms, carving stone statues and then building and attaching wooden facades at the mouth of it all since the Tang Dynasty which is around one thousand five hundred years. 
 
But they have been hacking into cliff sides without attaching wooden facades for much longer.
 
I spent the next two or so hours on the hill, first at the temple and then I climbed around the back of the temple to the top of the mountain.  Of course that wasn't enough for me and I had to climb across to the top of the next hill and after four hours of bike riding prior my legs were so jelly like when I finally reached the bottom.  I then followed the village that ran for about five kilometers the along the bottom of the hills and new stilted freeway to where I found a road that allowed me to head back into my city. 
 
Sunday found me way out in the villages somewhere behind the Hanging Temple mountains.
 
Oh yeah, thats my NEW New Bike you can see in the photos as my Old New Bike was stolen last week.  This ones very much the same as the last one as there are only a few bikes with twenty six inch frames to be found in the entire city.  Well they say they are twenty six inch frames but they always feel much more squishy than the twenty six inch frames back home.  This ones racy black so its much faster than the last one. 
 
I hope the man who stole it stole it to feed his family.
I'm liking that thought anyhow.
 
Beers N Noodles toya.....shane
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The soundtrack to this entry was by an awesome Aussie band, Died Pretty
The album was the mighty Pre Diety
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Click here for an amazingly long and boring video adventure of the Jing Quan Shan Temple
This is my page on the stunning Hanging Temple at the Taining Geo Park.
The is my page on one of China's most famous Hanging Monastery found on Heng Shan.