It was a grey and drizzly day when we arrived at Wugongshan, so we couldn’t really understand why everyone was telling us we were lucky to see the sacred mountain that day.

当我们到达武功山时，那是一个灰濛濛的细雨天，所以我们真的不明白为什么每个人都告诉我们那天能看到这座圣山是幸运的。

Soon enough though, we would be standing atop the highest peak in Jiangxi in the sunshine, looking down on the sea of clouds.

不过，很快，我们将站在江西最高峰的阳光下，低頭望着云海。

Wugongshan is one of a chain of mountains in Northern Jiangxi province. It’s an ambitious weekend trip from Nanjing, but after our first eight weeks in China my friend Hannah and I were badly in need of some time outside the city. We chose Wugongshan because we had heard you could camp in the alpine meadows at the top of the mountain.

武工山是江西省北部的山脉之一。 这是一次从南京出发的雄心勃勃的周末旅行，但在中国的前八周后，我和我的朋友汉娜非常需要一些时间出城。 我们选择武宫山，因为我们听说你可以在山顶的高山草地上露营。

Before moving to China, I was aware that wild camping was something of a new concept here, but that hadn’t stopped me from stuffing all my outdoor gear into my suitcase. I’m glad I did. What we found was beautiful, memorable and certainly wild, albeit in a very Chinese sense.

在搬到中国之前，我知道野外露营在这里是一个新概念，但这并没有阻止我把所有的户外装备都塞进手提箱里。 我很高兴我做到了。 我們發現的很美，令人難忘，而且肯定很狂野，尽管在非常中国的意義上。

Wugongshan is one of the best camping trips I’ve taken so far in China. It makes a great alternative for anyone put off by the overwhelming crowds of Huangshan or looking for a hill that can accommodate various fitness levels. You can hike the whole thing and carry your own camping gear, or take cable cars and rent a tent at the summit. However you get there, there’s an amazing view waiting for you at the top.

武功山是迄今为止我在中国最好的露营之旅之一。 对于任何被黄山人山拥挤的人群所望而去或寻找可以适应各种健身水平的山丘的人来说，这是一个很好的选择。 你可以徒步旅行，带上自己的露营装备，或者乘坐缆车，在山顶租一个帐篷。 无论你如何到达那里，顶部都有令人惊叹的景色等着你。

Getting to Wugongshan from Nanjing is easy. We boarded a 12-hour sleeper train from Nanjing on Friday night and were in Pingxiang, the nearest town to the mountain, by 10 the next morning. (There’s a 6-hour fast train as well) From there, we took a 20-minute bus ride to the base of the mountain and wandered through the typical mix of cheap restaurants and oversized, underused buildings until we found the ticket office.

从南京到武公山很容易。 周五晚上，我们从南京登上了12小时的卧铺列车，第二天早上10点前就到了离山最近的平乡镇。 （还有6小时的快车）从那里，我们坐20分钟的公交车到山脚下，在典型的廉价餐厅和超大、未被充分利用的建筑中漫步，直到我们找到售票处。

Being that this was a typical Chinese-outdoors experience, there was a steep entrance fee and a tourist bus to the trailhead. We knew we had finally reached the mountain when we passed through a temple and saw endless stone steps snaking up the mountain beside a creek.

由于这是典型的中国户外体验，有高昂的入场费和前往步道起点的旅游巴士。 当我们经过一座寺庙，看到一条小溪旁的无尽的石阶爬上山时，我们知道我们终于到达了这座山。

Since it was raining and already close to noon, we opted to take the first cable car. It whisked us up over a thick bamboo forest and into the clouds. From there, we followed a plank walk (complete with a rope bridge and glass balcony) towards the trail to the summit. By now, we were in the thick of the clouds and couldn’t see more than a hundred feet in front of us.

由于下雨了，而且已经接近中午了，我们选择了乘坐第一辆缆车。 它把我们从茂密的竹林中吹到云端。 从那里，我们沿着木板走（配有绳桥和玻璃阳台）前往通往山顶的小径。 到现在，我们正处在厚厚的云层中，看不到前面一百多英尺的地方。

From the plank walk the trail turned sharply upward through a birch forest. This section can’t be skipped over on a cable car, so the trail was full of curious Chinese families. We were the only foreigners we saw all weekend.

从木板步道开始，小路穿过桦树林，急剧向上转。 乘坐缆车不能跳过这一段，所以这条小路上到处都是好奇的中国家庭。 我们是整个周末唯一见到的外国人。

After an hour or so of climbing, we reached the second cable car. It didn’t take us long to decide to treat ourselves to another lift. It was still raining a bit, and we wanted to make sure we had enough time to set up camp at the summit before dark.

经过一个小时左右的攀登，我们到达了第二辆缆车。 没过多久，我们就决定再给自己送一次电梯。 天还在下小雨，我们想确保我们有足够的时间在天黑前在山顶安营扎寨。

Within minutes of hopping on the cable car, the clouds suddenly melted away. Blinding sunlight filled the car and we stared out in awe at the sea of clouds.

跳上缆车的几分钟内，云朵突然融化了。 刺眼的阳光充满了汽车，我们敬畏地凝视着云海。

I’ve climbed in the Andes, the Canadian Rockies and the Alps. Nothing quite compares to looking down on a sea of clouds. The closest thing that comes to mind is sailing way out to sea with nothing but blue as far as you can see. Imagine that view, from 6,000 feet above. Here, it’s white clouds rippling out in every direction to the horizon.

我攀登过安第斯山脉、加拿大落基山脉和阿尔卑斯山。 没有什么能比得上低看云海。 想到的最接近的事情就是航行出海，就你所看到的只有蓝色。 想象一下，从6000英尺高空看那个景色。 在这里，白云向四面八方向地平线涟漪。

As we climbed the last hour to the summit, Wugongshan’s last surprise materialised. Far from an empty alpine meadow, the “Golden Summit”, as it’s called, was a wooden platform already filled with colorful tents. As the sun went down, the boardwalk-style steps leading to the top filled with more and more tents.

当我们爬到山顶的最后一小时，五公山的最后一个惊喜实现了。 远离空荡荡的高山草地，正如它所称的“黄金峰”，是一个木制平台，上面已经摆满了五颜六色的帐篷。 随着太阳落山，通往顶部的木板路式台阶上摆满了越来越多的帐篷。

There must have been several hundred people at the summit. There were serious hiking clubs, multi-generation families and young couples in street clothes, all settling in for a night of “wild camping” (within a few metres of a stand selling instant noodles). The atmosphere was festive and relaxed.

峰会上肯定有几百人。 这里有严肃的徒步旅行俱乐部、多代家庭和穿着街头服装的年轻夫妇，都安顿下来过夜的“野营”（距离卖方便面的摊位只有几米）。 气氛喜庆而轻松。

Hannah and I found a quiet place in the grass behind a small stone temple and pitched our tent. The clouds churned around the mountains below us as the sun sunk into the white sea. We snacked on tuna sandwiches, shared a bottle of red wine and listened as our neighbours broke out the baijiu and liar’s dice. The stars that night were the best I’ve seen anywhere in China.

汉娜和我在一座小石庙后面的草地上找到了一个安静的地方，并搭起了帐篷。 当太阳沉入白海时，云彩在我们下面的群山周围翻动。 我们吃着金枪鱼三明治，分享了一瓶红酒，听着邻居们拿出白酒和骗子的骰子。 那天晚上的星星是我在中国任何地方见过的最好的。

The real attraction, however, is sunrise. We were out of the tent by 5:30 the next morning, freezing and wrapped in our sleeping bags waiting for first light. It was worth the cold to watch the sun break through clouds, which hadn’t dissipated through the night.

然而，真正的吸引力是日出。 第二天早上5:30，我们走出了帐篷，冻僵了，裹着睡袋等待初光。 寒冷值得看着太阳穿过云层，这些云彩并没有在夜里消散。

After sunrise, we packed up and began the long, knee crushing decent back down the mountain. There’s another trail heading east off the summit that takes walkers around the second cable car, but meets up with the first one. Dramatic cliffs lead back down into the forest. We marveled at the crystal-clear water in the stream beside us.

日出后，我们收拾好行李，开始漫长的、膝盖挤压的体面地下山。 另一条小路從山頂向東走，帶領步行者繞過第二輛纜車，但與第一輛相遇。 戏剧性的悬崖通向森林。 我们惊叹于我们旁边溪流中清澈见底的水。

Finally, we dragged ourselves off the mountain and back to Pingxiang station, where we boarded our train home to Nanjing, exhausted and satisfied. We had come to Wugongshan with no idea what to expect and left with a uniquely Chinese camping memory.

最后，我们拖下山，回到平乡站，在那里我们疲惫而满足地登上了回南京的火车。 我们来到武功山，不知道该期待什么，带着独特的中国露营记忆离开。

If You Go: Wugongshan is about 2,000 metres tall, so don’t underestimate it. Weather conditions at the top will be colder and more severe than at the base. We hiked the mountain in early November saw a major swing in temperature between night and day.

如果你去：武功山大约有2000米高，所以不要低估它。 顶部的天气条件将比底部更冷、更严重。 我们在11月初爬山，看到白天和黑夜之间的温度大幅波动。

Hiking the whole mountain will take at least 4-6 hours. There are two cable cars which cut down on hiking time significantly, but there’s no way to reach the top without walking. The last stretch to the summit is straight up wooden stairs.

徒步整座山至少需要4-6个小时。 有两辆缆车大大缩短了徒步旅行时间，但如果不步行，就没有办法到达山顶。 通往山顶的最后一段是笔直的木楼梯。

Being that this is a Chinese mountain experience, there are plenty of shops selling tea eggs, instant noodles and bottled water on the way up. If you’re hiking in high season when the shops are open, you can get away with buying food along the way.

由于这是一次中国山区的体验，路上有很多卖茶蛋、速食面和瓶装水的商店。 如果你在商店开门的旺季徒步旅行，你可以一路上买食物。

When you reach the top, there are locals with tents for rent along the boardwalk. There’s also a guest house about 20-minutes west of the Golden summit on the ridge (They sell hot meals and have a fantastic deck).

当你到达山顶时，沿着木板路有当地人租帐篷。 在山脊的黄金山顶以西约20分钟的地方还有一家宾馆（他们卖热菜，有一个很棒的甲板）。

There’s much more to Wugongshan than the Golden Summit. You can hike the whole ridge over several days, or continue on from the summit to another plank walk and then descend. If you have the time, the park is best explored over several days.

武功山不仅仅是金峰。 你可以在几天内徒步整个山脊，或者继续从山顶到另一个木板步，然后下降。 如果您有时间，最好在几天内探索这个公园。

While it may not be uncrowded or a truly “wild” experience, this should not deter you. The mountains are beautiful and it is possible to get off the main tourist trails and enjoy nature in peace and quiet. However you do it, Wugongshan is a fantastic trip for someone looking experience the outdoors in China.

虽然它可能不是不拥挤或真正的“狂野”体验，但这不应该阻止你。 山脉很美，可以离开主要的旅游小径，在宁静中享受大自然。 无论你怎么做，对于想要在中国体验户外活动的人来说，武功山都是一次奇妙的旅行。