We read that the front of the mountain is extremely busy so we went straight to Hou Shan (the back of the mountain!). All we can say is, if Back Mountain is quiet, then the front of the mountain must have been so full it was impossible to move. To say the least, climbing this mountain is VERY popular in China. Once you're lost in the mountain wilderness, you truly feel like a million people have walked up the same track as you, which is true in this part of the world - even this bridge looks like it's been there for a million years:
Our other mountain climbing option was Emei Shan, a famous Mountain also close by. What lured us to Qingcheng though, was the promise of 20km of 'hiking trails' and a more natural environment - however what we found, yet again, was a paved stone path and MANY steps, leading us the entire way! So we fell in line and walked, not quite the adventure we had planned on. They were definitely right about the environment though - it consistently provided us with spectacular views of the surrounding mountains where mist settled around the peaks.We wandered along the trail through the Five Dragon Gorge, following a river, past waterfalls and pools that formed below, and through caves scattered with Buddhist statues - then made it to the peak where we were rewarded with the views from Baiyun Temple.
Though the mountain, like many other Chinese tourist attractions, is made accessible to the masses by way of multiple cable-cars, we earned out medal from base to summit - we literally earned a medal! The monks at the temple engraved the date and "Adlibing" on the medal for us! 
We had intended to stay in Youyicun Village for the night halfway up the mountain, but on arrival were met with lots of people wanting us to stay in their accommodation - and with the hope of ripping us off completely - we wondered if through their smiles and laughter they were laughing about how much they could milk us Laowai (foreigners) for!! We were quoted up to 200 Yuan for rooms we knew were more likely around 50. Where we settled down for the night we paid 40 yuan, and though it was very basic it did us just fine.As the sun set on a day of crowed excertion, we ventured to the kitchen of of mountainside "resort" to order dinner! With the limited vegetarian options, we ended up with exactly the same meal we had for lunch at the base of the mountain, which suprisingly enough is similar to many of the meals we have had in China so far.
With the darkness beckoning us to bed, we happily succumbed after the days 'hiking', and fell asleep listening to the sounds of the mountains and the many insects that inhabit it!
Adlibing it through the mist to the top of the mountain.
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