Hiking up Nanshan Mountain - just 700 stair-steps to an exciting view.

 

This is one view from the top of Nanshan Mountain in Shenzhen. I am quite tickled that I accidentally caught a dragonfly in the image - dragonflies are ubiquitous in Shenzhen as the city was built on a swamp and is close to the ocean. If cities had logos or brand images, Shenzhen's would have to be a dragonfly...or a BMW...or a designer bag.

In New York City I was your typical culture-vulture and there were a huge amount of cultural events to participate in, often for little money. I could go to free art gallery openings, get into museums for little money, go to recitals at Juliard, see foreign films at several movie venues, attend off-off Broadway theater productions, listen in at poetry readings...Or, I could stay home and read - buying used books from Salvation Army thrift stores was a favorite activity of mine.

Shenzhen is a new city, only about 42 years old, and the priority for its development has been economics more than culture. The one really good thing in Shenzhen, for a guy who wanted a change from New York, is the possibility to enjoy differing aspects of nature. Nanshan Mountain has always been one of my favorites.

A plaza on the way to the mountains stairs

There are a little over 700 stairs to climb to the top and while climbing you are immersed in thick clusters of trees and flowers.  The 700 stairs present an invigorating climb. Indeed, I often stop by nearby Seaworld (a collection of foreign restaurants and bars) to get a burrito and then off I go to the mountain.

On the way to the steps...

The first few steps don't really look too daunting...

On closer inspection....fake wood...but it looks nice

 

This a view down some stairs...

Seriously, it reminded me of the steps at the Lexington and 53rd Street subway station on the East Side. When the escalator isn't working (40% of the time) folks have to trudge up numerous steps. At the top people stand huffing and puffing...some New Yorkers literally stop at times to catch their breaths on their way up, which can create a logjam. Yes, this stretch of stairs reminded me of Lexington and 53rd. Yet, even elderly Chinese folks dart up and down these stairs..even in blistering heat.

A guy has to wonder what uprooted that tree...reminded me of the two tornadoes that hit Queens in 2010. Tore up so many trees...knocked the cross off of St. George's.

So I sat there, toward the top, and watched the shadows of the branches and leaves darting over this stone.

My buddy, the dragonfly. One of the most effective predators in nature. This is one of the few insects that can fly forwards and backwards.

Shadows, like a dancing language, over such a rough stone.