After wrapping up our meal at Grace Seafood Restaurant, we headed out for Qiguan Peak around 1:30 PM. What’s normally a half-hour drive stretched into an hour and a half today. In the end, we managed to snag a parking spot about a kilometer from the trailhead—any closer, and we likely would’ve been left circling endlessly with no space in sight!
The second photo captures the entrance. It’s shockingly steep, packed with people, and the steps are impossibly narrow! The entire ascent was just as chaotic, climbing step by step while staring at the heels of whoever was in front of us. This was my first time scaling such a crowded mountain, and it was also the first time I had to stop not because my legs were tired but because my heart rate soared too high.
Perhaps it was the lack of oxygen; I felt like I was on the verge of collapse and had to pause several times along the roadside to catch my breath. After finally reaching the summit, it was a sea of humanity—impossible to get any decent angles for photos. For anyone considering visiting, I sincerely recommend picking a weekday instead of braving the crowds on weekends.
