九歲的兒子(剛升四年級)不太喜歡寫作文, 老師說他常常是能寫多短就寫多短, 缺少細節, 讓我們鼓勵他平時多寫日記.

暑假在國內的幾周, 兒子常常把去過的地方和見過的新鮮事記下來. 回家後對青城山一游津津樂道, 在老師的鼓勵下寫了這篇Essay. (注: 全文在老師的要求和指導下加修改過)

讀了這篇文, 我發現孩子對於給他們印象深的事物, 還是能夠寫出細節的, 於是在此帖上拙文.
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Climbing Mt. Qing Cheng
青城山遊記

In August during my China vacation, I went to the Qing Cheng Mountains (青城山) outside the city of Chengdu (成都). I wanted to go to the Laojun Pavilion (老君廟), summit of Mt. Qing Cheng which was 1260 meters in the sky. It was the top of the mountain.

I went with mom, dad, mybrother, grandmather, greatgrandmother, and other relatives from China. I was very impatient when we got there. We had to drop my greatgrandma at the teahouse on the foot of the mountain, because she was 91 years old and was obviously too old to climb.

It was so hot I was melting. The mountain was home to more than one thousand types of species, such as grass hoppers, woodpeckers, and many others I could not pronounced the names. There were many cicadas in the trees, much louder than the ones I saw back in the US. All the temples along the way were Tao (道家) temples. Tao is one of the three main religions in China. China believes that Tao is the force that flows through all life. Tao is also the force of the universe.

We went to the path which was mostly stone steps and we saw a creek that mom thought was ice cold. I walked off the trail to feel how cold the water was, but it was not. I heard nice Chinese ancient music along the way, I was curious, turned out to be the speakers on the mountain. At a higher level of the mountain, we saw some clean spring water that was nice and cool for me. I was surprised to see that there was a lake in the middle of the mountain! We walked through the boiling sun to a ferry ride across the lake, taking pictures along the way.

On the boat, I stood in the very front right behind the chain that kept us from falling off. On the other side of the lake, was a cable lift station which we rode to the upper level of the mountain. I noticed that it was not as high as ski lifts for blue trails. Either way it was still a big drop to the bottom. While sitting in the lift, I saw some fresh spring water running through the rocks. I do not know why but I got nervous.

From the upper station, I rode in something called “Hua Gan” (滑竿) that I sat in the middle and two people carried me. When I could see the palace, dad kicked me off the “Hua Gan” and made us walk the rest of the way. I had a very painful climb to the summit!! I burned candles and incense, prayed to the Laojun statue at the Pavilion, but I can’t tell you what I prayed for. At the very top of the summit palace, I looked through a telescope and saw the city and the cable lift. I thought it was an extremely nice view. I could see many trees and other mountains from far away.

On the way down we had to walk back to the cable lift and rode the ferry back across the lake. The walking down was much easier than the walking up. I saw a bug that looked like a green leaf, and another one that looked like a small bamboo section. There were people saying that they saw a snake, but I did not see it. Mom handed me a dried cicada skin that she found on a tree, but I did not dare to touch it. We stopped at a clear running creek to wash hands and faces which refreshed us.

When we finally reached the bottom, my legs and feet hurt so much I was ready to scream! I was covered in sweat, very exhausted, but, very proud!