China’s greatest modern love story: Ai Qing Tian Ti 爱情天梯

Today, along with some other members of the International Women’s Group committee, I took my first local day trip and went to visit Jiangjin district in southern Chongqing, high up in the mountains and the site of China’s greatest love story. Just two hour’s drive from the main metropolitan area, the air there was crisp and clear, the sky blue (for a while), and the tree-covered mountains provided a freshness and heartbeat completely at contrast with the buzz of central downtown. We were there to see and climb the famous Ai Qing Tian Ti 爱情天梯; the Love Ladder.

The story of the Love Ladder is well-known around China and tells the tale of a 52-year long labour of love undertaken by Liu Guojiang to hand-carve 6000 steps into the 1500-meter Simian mountainside. He went through 36 homemade chisels to ensure his wife Xu Chaoqing had a safe way to descend the steep slopes from the couple’s simple house down to the main village.

Liu and Xu eloped to the place in the mountain that would become their home in 1951, when their relationship became the target of scorn and discrimination from local people in their village of Gaotan. Then 19-year old Liu was 10 years younger than 29-year old Xu, who was a widow and mother to four children by her first husband who left her penniless after succumbing to meningitis. Xu was branded ‘bad luck’ and locals were outraged when Liu began to develop a relationship with her, leaving them no choice but to elope up the mountain and start a life alone together. They lived there undisturbed for 50 years, raising four children of their own, farming, carving steps and fending for themselves using only what they had around them, until 2001 when they were discovered by a group of explorers who came across the now famous steps and followed them to the top.

Since then, Liu, Xu and their story of true love have become famous around the Chongqing region and China more broadly, attracting tourists and media attention from far and wide. In 2006 they left their mountain home for the first time for an interview with China Central Television, and in 2012 the local government pledged 2.6 billion yuan (£300 million) to preserve the steps, refurbish the couple’s old home, and provide better access to the site by road. Liu died in his wife’s arms at the age of 72 in 2007 after collapsing after a day farming, and in 2012, Xu also passed away. Upon her wishes, her children buried her next to her husband.

Their eldest son today lives at the foot of the steps with his wife, and their youngest son and his wife live at the top, in the house his parents built together, greeting tourists, providing drinks and sharing the stories of his parents’ love for one another. The site contains photos of the couple who had so very little laughing and smiling, and a film, theatre performance and poetry have been inspired by the story to preserve it as part of history.

I would wholly recommend visiting the Love Ladder if you are looking for things to do during a trip to Chongqing, not only for the site and story themselves, but for the fresh air and spectacular views. It is a steep 6000 step climb though, with *hand-carved* steps (note: that means some of them are pretty ropey and not what one would call an actual ‘step’), so wear appropriate footwear and try to avoid warm/hot days unless you’re some kind of masochist. We visited on a cool, dry, 12-degree day, and were definitely sweaty and coats-off by about a quarter of the way up. The route now operates a one-way system, so there’s no navigating-passing-people-coming-the-other-way-on-slippery-blobs-of-mud-over-a-treacherous-drop to worry about.