云台山1

李悦

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到达焦作的第一天我们便来到位于市东北郊修武县的云台山，作为国家 5A级自然景区，云台山的管理运行经常被作为国家其他景区的典范，数字化的科学管理使硕大的园区彼此紧密相连，车辆的调度和游客的统计与疏导做得井井有条，光是一项指纹化门票管理就足以让很多国家公园望洋兴叹了。

这次游览的第一站是云台山的标志性景观，红石峡，又名温盘峪，号称华夏第一奇侠。走进园子，只见山崖间架起一座石桥，向两边望去，深深的沟壑让人毛骨悚立，定睛一看，原来谷底有栈道相连，豆大的人影穿梭其间，峡谷的险峻尽显无疑。有山有水有栈道的地方一向是我的最爱，于是来不及拍照，随着人流，我踏上了这段探险之旅。

沧海桑田，地质变迁，由于岩石中铁质矿物的氧化作用，经年累月的崖壁呈现出了红色，顾得名红石峡，它集秀、幽、雄、险于一身，素有“盆景峡谷”的美誉。看着泛红的山石，我不禁想到了六月在美国科罗拉多州的丹佛市游览红石公园时的景象，红色的岩石，雄峻的造型，虽然云台山和科罗拉多州的大峡谷国家公园是生态环境相类似的姐妹公园，但是就红石峡这一景区来说，还是更多和红石公园有着几分相似，不过，红石峡的潺潺流水，霏霏瀑布，让华夏的红石峡平添了几分秀丽和灵动。http://s11/mw690/0027DBflgy6NscV81Tkba&690

走出红石峡，一片广阔的湖面映入眼帘，形如楼阁的大坝矗立峡顶，围拢住了“藏”于山间的子房湖，这里湖水清澈幽静，四周峰峦起伏，2002年有人在湖内发现了桃花水母，由于桃花水母对水环境的要求极高，可见子房湖的自然生态环境品质极佳。据史料记载，这里曾是古代张良练兵习武的地方，因而得名子房湖，看着不太宽敞的湖岸，我不禁纳闷千军万马如何摆的开架势，难不成几百年前的子房湖曾是另一番景象？

出了子房湖，便看到两列大巴车停在不远处，一列驶向茱萸峰方向，一列开往小寨沟，看看时间尚早，我们选择了第二条旅游线路。车开到小寨沟景区，还是同样的指纹刷卡入园，第一站直奔猕猴谷。

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都说猕猴聪明，真是不假，光看其选择的这个依山傍水的地方做家就可见一斑。或许是由于游客过于频繁，野生猕猴早已“见过了大世面”，一听到有人声，猕猴便从林中跳上步道，尾随游客讨要吃食。走在我们前面的是一对青年夫妇和一个五六岁大的小男孩，只见孩子手拿一块奥利奥饼干刚刚指向猕猴，猕猴便说时迟那时快地伸手抢了过来，那敏捷的速度和熟练的动作泄露了它们经常被游客喂食的生活习惯，一块不大的夹心饼干被小猕猴捧在手里显得大而瓷实，它们啃嚼的吃相让你不禁联想或许猕猴也早已被香甜的夹心饼干所销魂倾倒，一块吃完，小猕猴意犹未尽，还追着小男孩走出老远。爬到山顶，一间50多平方米的铁丝笼中关了十几只被救助的猕猴，只见他们不时地把手臂伸出铁丝网，抅食游客手中的食物，有点处女座小洁癖的我，用树枝插住一枚冬枣，伸向其中一个成年猕猴，真是“心有灵犀一点通”，小猴子很配合地凑到离我最近的网边，伸出手臂，几个手指灵巧的扣住枣子摘了过去，整个动作轻松连贯，行云流水，野生猕猴真不愧是高智商种群。

在猕猴谷的前方是世界地质博物馆，这里展出了云台山地貌图片、标本，以及姐妹公园美国科罗拉多大峡谷的介绍。

在景区的另一侧是有华夏第一秀水之称的小寨沟，随着云台山名声四起，近些年被换了一个高端大气上档次的名字——潭瀑峡。作为云台山峡谷极品的代表，潭瀑峡有着“三步一泉、五步一瀑、十步一潭”的美誉。情人瀑，水帘洞，蝴蝶石，洗砚池，一个个景点映入眼帘，美得让人如痴如醉，难以停下手中的相机。山水、山水，好山好景怎能缺了泉水的点缀，小寨沟集太行山夏雨冬雪之精华，融汇出不老泉潺潺流出崖间，游客纷纷或仰脖狂饮，或取杯灌壶，里里外外全身心地享受着大自然对云台山的慷慨馈赠。

泉瀑峡紧邻潭瀑峡，俗名老潭沟，峡谷深处“藏”着云台山第一高瀑——云台天瀑，当地人讲山有多高，瀑布就有多高，说的正是这个山雄水秀的地方，由于秋季缺水，从谷底仅能隐约看到白烟般微弱的水流，不过从地势的落差和两侧的山峰还是可以想象出夏季雨水丰盈时峰高瀑急的壮观景象，银河飞落，擎天玉柱，再美的词语似乎都毫不为过。

由于时间紧任务急，我们如急行军般把重要景点地毯式扫过，无暇休整便奔向最后一个景区——茱萸峰，到了大巴车前却被工作人员告知，由于当天山区雾大，茱萸峰景区已于4点关闭，看着手表指针指着4点半，遗憾的只能作罢，但是完全忘记了劳顿的我们，满脑子想的都是怎么能在闭园前再去个其他景点，于是我们选择了离住的地方不远的万善寺。或许是由于云台山值得饱览的景区太过纷繁，万善寺的人气明显逊色不少。

晚上在岸上服务区买到了早上就让我垂涎的山药酥，地黄味、核桃味的拼成一大袋，晚饭还品尝了河南的特色烩面，夜里回到客栈简单洗漱，倒头便进入了梦乡。

（作者新浪微博：@ Domiteaux 联系方式：YL785.cynthia@yahoo.com）

The Yuntai Mountain 1

Having arrived in Jiaozuo, we drove to the Yuntai Mountain first. As a National 5A Touristic Attraction, the Yuntai Mountain has been highly acclaimed as the paragon for national park management. Digitalized operation system connects separated individual parks closely with one another. The deployment of park buses and collection of tourists’ statistics are well-presented in front of staff on a big screen. Just one simple aspect of fingerprint recognition technology for park entrance management is advanced enough to overshadow its peers who are lagging far behind. 

The first scenic spot, which the park bus takes us to, is the Red Stone Canyon. Here a narrow stone bridge linking two cliffs leads the way into the canyon. Overlooking under the bridge is a deep valley, accessible only from the wooden trail. Small sight of people reveals the depth of the canyon and its precipitous landscape. Since places with mountain, water and hiking trails have always been my favorite, I set foot on the adventure without further ado.

Combining secluded, steep and stunning scenery into one, the Red Stone Canyon has won the nickname --- “bonsai canyon.” As time brings great changes to the world, years of geological movement and oxidation have turned rocks into red color. The red landscape is reminiscent of the Red Rock Amphitheatre in Denver, Colorado, where I visited this past June. Although the Great Canyon in Colorado is sister park with the Yuntai Mountain as a whole, in my eyes, the Red Stone Canyon in itself is more similar to the Red Rock Amphitheatre by appearance. However, the running springs and flying waterfalls enliven Red Stone Canyon, giving it a distinctive cover with oriental characteristics.   

Climbing to the top of the canyon, you will find a wall of dam circling a lake hidden inside mountains. Water crystal-clear and tranquil, mountain rising ups and downs, this place is named after a famous Chinese general, Liang Zhang, who had led troop training in ancient times. Looking at the narrow banks along the lake, I can’t help but wonder how he was able to put the army into wartime patterns during training. According to the tour guide, peach blossom jellyfish was found in the lake in 2002, which speaks for itself of the area’s excellent and untapped natural environment, as this particular kind of jellyfish is known for its high requirement on water quality to survive. 

After Zifang Lake, we get on the bus to Xiaozhai Gully where the same fingerprint entrance is required.

Based on the map, we come to the Macaque Valley, named after its primary residents. Macaque has always been praised as smart and agile. Just looking at the picturesque valley where macaques choose to call home, I don’t think further evidence is needed to prove their intelligence. With endless streams of people visiting the valley on a daily basis, macaques have long accustomed to tourists’ hospitality. Once having heard people’s sound, they will jump on the trail from forests and follow their generous “guests” until getting fed by all kinds of “exotic” food. There was a young couple with a five or six year-old child walking in front of us. Once the little boy takes out an Oreo cookie, the agile macaque stretches out its hand and grabs Orea away in a blink. The small cookie with cream filling seems to be such a big and fulfilling meal inside the small macaque’s palm. His way of eating the cookie seems that he knows this is a special meal. Intoxicated by the delicious taste, the macaque keeps following the little boy for a long time after finishing his first treat. A dozen of more macaques are enclosed in a wire mesh cage, rough 50 square meters, on the top of the valley. Being a bit mysiphobia of Virgo character, I put a fresh winter date on top of a small tree branch and stretch it out to an adult macaque. It seems telepathy that the macaque climbs to the spot horizontally closest to me in the cage, stretches out its arm through the wire hole, and takes the date away from the branch with its slender fingers. Its fast and skilled movement left me lost in wonder: wild macaque is indeed intelligent animal.

In front of the Macaque Valley is the World Geological Museum where pictures and samples of the Yuntai Landscape and introduction of its sister park, the Great Canyon in the United States are displayed.

On the other side of this scenic zone is Xiaozhai Gully. Due to the rising fame with visitors from home and abroad, the Gully has been renamed with a new and more upscale version, Tanpu Canyon. Being the most representative of the Yuntai Mountain’s beauty, Tanpu Canyon is famous for its reputation of having a spring within each of three steps; a waterfall within each of five steps, and a lake pond within each of ten steps. Lover’s Waterfall, Water Curtain Cave, Butterfly Stone, as well as Wash Inkstone, scenic spots come into sight one after another. Feeling enchanted, I couldn’t stop clicking the camera. Water and mountain always constitute breathtaking sceneries. Tanpu Canyon collects rain from Taihang Mountain and merges them into running springs. One of the springs is named as Tuck Everlasting, and therefore attracts visitors drinking and filling bottles with this magical water. In a word, people fully indulge themselves with nature’s general gift inside and out.

Next to Tanpu Canyon is the Quanpu Canyon. At the end of the canyon is the highest waterfall, the Yuntai Sky Waterfall. It is said by the locals that the waterfall of Yuntai Mountain can be as high as mountains. It is the Yuntai Sky Waterfall that validates this statement. Due to a lack of water in autumn, weak stream of water falls down the cliff like white smoke. However, the cliffy landscape still enables people to image the once magnificent scene during rainy summer times.

Pressed by a tight schedule, we rush to important scenic spots one by one from a must-do list. Finally we are ready to hit the road to the last scenic spot of Zhuyu Mountain, but only to be told that it has been closed at 4 o’clock due to heavy fog in the area. Looking at the watch pointing to half past four, we feel so discouraged to have missed it. Although tired and hungry after walking all day long, we nevertheless start to rack our mind of figuring out where else we could go before the park closes at six o’clock. In the end, we head to Wanshan Temple, a scenic spot close to where we live in the touristic resort. Compared with its peers in the Yuntai Mountain, Wanshan Temple is much less favored by visitors. Scattered crowds of people enter into the temple and the number of which can be easily counted.

At night, we bought Chinese yam cakes at a local shopping street. Flavored by rehmannia and walnut, the yam cake is too yummy to be skipped by a sweet tooth like me. Nevertheless, it serves as a perfect energy boost with its rich taste and ingredients. In addition, we ordered the most authentic local food, stewed noodles, for dinner. After taking a simple shower, we quickly go into dreamland after getting back to the family hotel. We call this long and intensive journey a day, and await the next exciting one to come tomorrow.