Posts by Elijah Dove

Enlightenment is just a short queue away – by Elijah Dove

Climbing a mountain to beat the sunrise – by Elijah Dove

As we approach the staircase, flashlight beams sweep through the midnight mist-smog. Chanted words drift from behind them, and as we draw closer, shambling figures reveal themselves as street vendors, hawking canes, incense and assorted trinkets. No rest for the working. We walk briskly past them and begin our ascent on steps leading up between hulked, darkling shadows; shops by day are now become anonymous, shuttered spectres.

We are on our way to climb Mount Tai, the most renowned of China’s five great mountains. It carries the claim of being the most-climbed mountain not only in China, but in the world.