Crucian Carp Back

Crucian Carp Back

Crucian Carp Back is located on Tiandu Peak and is renowned for its sheer peril. Starting from the base of Tiandu Peak, holding onto the iron railing, one climbs 1,564 steps along the "Heavenly Ladder" to reach the rocky ridge at an altitude of 1,770 meters. This is the only way to the summit. The rocky ridge is over 10 meters long and just 1 meter wide, with sheer cliffs hundreds of meters high on both sides, their depths unfathomable. Its shape closely resembles the back of a crucian carp emerging from and diving into the waves, hence the name. The slope is as steep as 85 degrees from top to bottom, and when the wind blows and clouds surge, it feels as if the mountain is shaking and the rocks are moving, making the climb especially thrilling.

On both sides of Crucian Carp Back lie bottomless ravines of unimaginable depth. A Qing Dynasty poet, Xu Quanzhi, wrote a poem describing its peril: “With no intention to swallow ships and return to the North Sea, nor the desire to leap the Kunming Lake with water’s aid. All visitors here are daredevils, treading the ridge with bamboo staffs and straw sandals.”

Legend

It is said that in ancient times, there was a crucian carp that followed the carp every year to leap the “Dragon Gate” in the Yellow River. It was said that any fish that could leap over the Dragon Gate would turn into a dragon. Naturally, the crucian carp also wanted to become a dragon, so it never missed an opportunity to leap. But no matter how many times it tried, it never succeeded. How it envied those carp that had made it over the Dragon Gate. So it went to ask an immortal for advice, and the immortal told it: “You must do a good deed for the mortal world and accumulate merit before you can leap the Dragon Gate.” “How can I do a good deed for the mortal world?” it thought as it swam along, and before it knew it, it had swum to Huangshan, known as the “Yellow Sea.” There it saw that the path to Tiandu Peak was blocked by a gorge, separated by clouds and water, making it impossible for visitors to climb. A thought struck it, and it murmured to itself: “This place really needs a bridge!” So it positioned itself in the clouds and water of the gorge, raising its back to serve as a bridge for visitors. Hundreds and thousands of years passed, and countless visitors walked across its back to enjoy the boundless scenery atop Tiandu Peak. One day, the immortal who had advised it suddenly appeared on Tiandu Peak and said to it: “Little crucian carp, you have accumulated enough merit and may now leap the Dragon Gate to become a dragon.” But by then, the little crucian carp had changed its mind. It preferred to spend its life serving the visitors of Tiandu Peak and no longer wished to leap the “Dragon Gate.”

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