After living in Weishan for 17 months, I only then learned that besides a living ancient city and the mountains surrounding the Weishan basin, there is also an alpine meadow hidden deep in the mountains that can heal the soul.
We couldn't pinpoint the exact location of this alpine meadow on the map. What we heard from friends was that this meadow is at the junction of two villages, Damadu and Houshan, and is accessible by car. The video and message provided by our friends inspired us to set out early in the morning with our seven-and-a-half-year-old child. Having spent a long time in the ancient city and visited the nearby mountains many times, I always felt that my vision was covered with a layer of dust, and nothing seemed clear. The alpine meadow held an irresistible allure for us. When I first heard that Weishan also had an alpine meadow, my heart stirred with an indescribable anticipation, longing to go deep into the meadow, breathe in nature without any outside disturbance, and be as free as the wind sweeping across the wilderness.
At nine o'clock, the mountains were bright, lofty, and spacious. The village was hidden like a bird's nest under large, dense walnut trees. We didn't meet any villagers, only a duck with messy hair waddling slowly and comically in the middle of the path, looking as if it had just woken up. It showed no alertness to our arrival, unlike those village dogs that barked relentlessly at us, dutifully guarding their territory early in the morning, only to be scolded by their owners. We parked the car outside a very ordinary courtyard at the end of the cement road. The hostess came out and exchanged pleasantries. We explained our purpose and asked for directions to the alpine meadow. She gave detailed directions and kindly added, "The road is far."
A villager who was herding sheep in the mountains walked with us for a short distance and told us there was a shortcut to the alpine meadow. I was very tempted, both to save time and enjoy the wind on the meadow longer, and for the steep and beautiful scenery along the mountain path. But I forgot about the two people accompanying me. After wandering in the general direction the villager pointed for an hour, we were turned back by steep slopes blocked by thorns. Exhausted physically and mentally, we had to return to the main road. Finally, at an abandoned quarry in Damadu, we met an old man herding sheep. He pointed to a hidden valley behind the flock of sheep he was tending and distinguished left from right to indicate the general direction. Perplexed but with no choice, we took that path, which looked primitive but was actually a road used by locals.
At the end of the valley, there was a steep slope covered with pine needles in a forest of Armand pine. I went ahead to explore and found the disappeared road at the top of the slope. We returned to the road and, based on the positions of the two villages on the map, fumbled to determine the direction forward. Finally, at 1:30 PM, we arrived at the long-awaited alpine meadow (if we hadn't taken the wrong path, we should have arrived at 11:30 AM). We reached a pass, and a small meadow came into view. The only herder family on the meadow was grazing cattle and sheep at the pass. She glanced at us and then hurried off to chase the herd.
When we truly ventured deep into this little-known alpine meadow in Weishan, the previously overcast sky began to clear. White clouds rolled above the Armand pine forest surrounding the meadow, and large patches of blue sky reappeared in our view. Standing in the center of this alpine meadow, we felt like a ship sailing into a vast sea with no land in sight, drifting endlessly. The wild wind swept past our ears, carrying whispers away, then bringing back nature's responses: the scent of grass evaporated by sunlight, the intimate murmurs between squirrels and hoopoes in the valley, the timidity of a fleeting brown muntjac disappearing into the jungle, the curiosity of a cow licking fingers with its long tongue, and the maze of giant rocks in the center of the meadow resembling a miniature village...
I had never seen such a diverse alpine meadow: grasslands full of gentian flowers, scattered megaliths in the elongated meadow, large patches of low ferns on the periphery, and the primitive, silent Armand pine forest. All these distinctive landscapes were concentrated in this alpine meadow at an altitude of 2,600 meters, leaving me in awe. Walking through the center of the meadow, the sound underfoot was a sharp clash of life against life. But when stepping into the swampy, decaying Armand pine forest, the footsteps produced a soft, sighing melody—a sense of life submitting to the earth, a feeling of independence without interference. Humans here became a rare species, probably in a ratio of 1:100 compared to the cattle and sheep scattered everywhere on the meadow, or even less. So when passersby met us, they would always stop enthusiastically to chat. I think, in such pure depths of nature, they rarely have the chance to show human superiority, being no different from the cattle, clouds, sky, flowers, and grass.
When my friend told me we could drive directly into this secret alpine meadow in Weishan, we still chose to park the car at the end of a cement road in a village 8 kilometers away and came on foot, crossing mountains and streams. This meadow is just beginning to be discovered by the world, with little pollution and trampling. We couldn't bear to leave an empty water bottle in the grass, let alone let car wheels crush it. We only hope that future visitors, when they come to explore this refreshing alpine meadow and feel the wind in this wilderness, will also take away everything that doesn't belong here.
