City of Kunming Yunnan Province

19. We Climb up West Hill (Xi Shan)

The Western Hills (Xi Shan), a band of sheer cliff faces, rise 2,000 feet above the shores of Lake Dian (elevation 6.200 feet) in the flat farmlands 10 miles southwest of Kunming. A series of paths, stairways, and tunnels --- linking a succession of stone temples, seemingly perched in thin air --- has been carved into the face of the cliff, spiraling ever upward to Dragon's Gate at the summit. Here on the trail, Bernice Noll and fellow teacher Kay Hudson rest on the way up to the top.