对不起，天门关门: Sorry, the Gate of Heaven is closed today

红螺寺 Hongluo Temple, 31ºC, sunny

This weekend’s excursion took us to the Hongluo Temple, a revered Buddhist complex of temples, hills, bells and gates. Located about an hour outside Beijing, our teachers told us that people often came here for spiritual reasons.

We had a couple of hours free to roam around this complex. As I walked past a pond covered with beautiful pink lilies, I noticed a sign: 天门 the Gate of Heaven. I decided to follow it. I walked around the corner and found myself at the foot of some steps. Many steps. Along with three other students on the course, I climbed and climbed and climbed. It seemed that this staircase would never end. But after about 30 minutes of climbing in the burning heat of the scorching sun, we made it to the top of the peak. The first peak.

The signs kept on directing us up, and we continued to climb. After another 20 minutes or so of climbing, we did finally make it. To the entrance of 天门 the Gate of Heaven. But the Entrance was closed. We asked some Chinese people if they knew why it was closed. 三点，天门关门. At 3pm, the Gate of Heaven closes. It was 3.30pm. Perhaps we were not worthy, but at least we made it that far.