武功山一日 · 云中草原与日落

武功山的主入口在萍乡芦溪县，山脚有个石鼓寺，索道下站和游客中心都在这儿。上山有两条路：坐索道，或者徒步。索道分两级，一级从石鼓寺到中庵，二级从中庵到金顶附近，两级都坐最省力，加起来四十来分钟。山脚可以租登山杖、买雨衣和手套、加水；山上的东西贵不少，能带的先带。旺季（五一、十一、帐篷节）索道排队长，早来半小时能省一小时。

The main entrance lies in Luxi county, Pingxiang, with a Shigu Temple at the foot and both the cable-car base station and the visitor centre beside it. There are two ways up: by cable car, or on foot. The cars run in two stages, the first from Shigu Temple to Zhong'an, the second from Zhong'an to near the summit; taking both is easiest, about forty minutes in all. At the foot you can rent trekking poles, buy ponchos and gloves and top up water; up top things cost considerably more, so carry what you can. In peak season — May Day, National Day, the tent festival — the queues are long, and arriving half an hour early can save an hour of waiting.

中庵在半山腰，海拔一千二百多米，是两级索道之间的换乘点。这里有一片客栈和小卖部，很多人在这儿歇脚、加衣服。往上是二级索道，也可以从中庵开始步行——走「吊马桩」那条栈道，一路在草甸和松林之间，风景比坐索道好得多，但也累得多，要多留两三个小时。中庵的气温已经比山下低好几度，风也起来了，把外套穿上再走。

Zhong'an sits halfway up at over 1,200 metres, the interchange between the two cable stages. There is a cluster of guesthouses and a small shop, and many rest and add a layer here. Above it runs the second cable car; you can also start walking from Zhong'an, taking the boardwalk by Diaomazhuang, which runs through grass and pine the whole way — far finer than the cable car, and far more tiring, needing two or three hours more. The temperature here is already several degrees below the foot and the wind has picked up, so put the jacket on before moving.

吊马桩是一整块立在草坡上的巨石，圆柱形，孤零零地戳在那儿，四周全是草，没有别的石头，所以特别好认。传说是当年有人在这里拴马，所以叫「吊马桩」。走到这儿，脚下的路已经全是草甸了，往四周一看全是绿的，天很开阔。这里也是拍大景的地方：人站在石头边上，背景就是草和天。栈道从石头下面绕过去。

Diaomazhuang is a single enormous boulder standing upright on the grassy slope — cylindrical, quite alone, grass all around and no other rock in sight, which is what makes it so recognisable. By tradition someone tethered a horse here, giving it the name. By this point the path is entirely meadow, green in every direction and the sky wide open, and it is the place for a big landscape shot: a person beside the rock with grass and sky behind. The boardwalk passes under it.

金顶是武功山的最高点，海拔 1918 米，也是萍乡、宜春、吉安三个市的交界，山脊上立着一块界碑。站在顶上往四周看，草甸一直铺到地平线，中间是起伏的山脊，一根大树都没有，风一吹草就倒成一片。这里天气变得很快：可能刚才还是晴的，几秒钟云就漫上来了，人一下泡在白雾里。金顶有客栈和帐篷营地，很多人在这儿过夜等日出。

The Golden Summit is the highest point on the mountain at 1,918 metres and the meeting point of the three cities Pingxiang, Yichun and Ji'an, with a boundary stone on the ridge. From the top the meadow runs to the horizon with no tree anywhere, rolling ridges between, the grass flattening in waves under the wind. The weather turns fast here: clear one moment, and seconds later the cloud has rolled in and you are inside white fog. There are guesthouses and tent camps at the summit, and many stay the night for sunrise.

武功山的草甸从金顶一直延到发云界，连着几十个山头，是南方少见的大片高山草甸。走在山脊上，两边都是往下斜的草坡，草有半人高，风一过就成片地倒，像水一样流。云海是这里的招牌：天气合适的时候，云从山谷里慢慢涨上来，先淹掉半山腰的松树，再淹到脚下的栈道，人像站在一座岛上。云海能不能看到全看运气，雨后天晴最容易碰上。

The meadow at Wugongshan runs from the summit all the way to Fayunjie, across dozens of successive tops — a vast stretch of alpine grass rare in the south. Walking the ridge, grassy slopes fall away on both sides, the grass waist-high and going down in sheets as the wind passes, like water flowing. The sea of cloud is the signature: in the right weather it rises slowly out of the valleys, drowning the pines halfway up, then the boardwalk at your feet, and you are left standing on an island. Whether you see it is pure luck, most likely just after rain when the sky clears.

发云界是山脊上一处开阔的草坡，因为常在这里「发云」而得名，视野极好，是很多徒步者扎营的地方。再往前是「绝望坡」——一段又陡又长的上坡，走一段以为到了，抬头还有一段，所以叫这个名字。这一段是给徒步的人准备的，普通游客可以走到发云界就往回走。走的时候注意脚下的草根和石头，雨后很滑。

Fayunjie is an open grassy shoulder on the ridge, named because cloud so often 'issues' from here; the view is superb and it is a favourite camping spot for walkers. Beyond lies Juewangpo, 'Despair Slope' — a long, steep climb where every time you think you have finished there is more above, which is how it got the name. This stretch is for hikers; ordinary visitors can walk as far as Fayunjie and turn back. Watch the grass roots and stones underfoot, and be careful after rain.

武功山山上有好几处帐篷营地，金顶附近的最多，一排排帐篷支在草坡上，白的、黄的、红的，成了山上一道风景。看日落就在营地边上的草坡站着，太阳慢慢压到草线以下，天从金色变成橙色、再变成紫色，云海要是正好起来，就更壮观。晚上山上冷得厉害，夏天也可能只有几度，帐篷里一般有睡袋和垫子，睡不好可以租厚睡袋。

There are several tent camps on the mountain, most of them near the summit — rows of tents pitched along the grassy slope in white, yellow and red, itself a sight. For sunset, stand on the grass beside the camp: the sun sinks slowly below the grass line and the sky runs gold to orange to violet, and if the sea of cloud happens to rise, so much the better. Nights up here are seriously cold, possibly only a few degrees even in summer; tents usually come with sleeping bag and mat, and you can rent a thicker bag if you sleep badly.

山上没什么吃的，营地和客栈主要卖热汤面、鸡蛋、炒饭、烤肠这些简单的，也有人自己背了泡面和零食。晚上贵，但一碗热汤面、一杯热水下肚，人会一下舒服起来。吃完把灯关掉，离营地走几步，抬头就是星空——山上没有光污染，天晴时银河像一条带子横过去，流星也可能遇到。夜里风大很冷，看星星别站太久，冻着了就别硬撑。

There is not much to eat up top: camps and guesthouses mostly sell hot noodle soup, eggs, fried rice, grilled sausage and the like, and some people carry up instant noodles and snacks. It is expensive at night, but a bowl of hot soup and a cup of hot water put you right at once. Then switch off the lights, walk a few steps from the camp and look up — with no light pollution the Milky Way lies across the sky like a belt on a clear night, and you may catch a meteor. It is windy and cold, so do not stand out too long; if you start to freeze, go in.