The love of 6208 steps

In China of the last century, it was unthinkable for a man to marry a woman 16 years his senior, let alone a widow. Such an act was considered a great violation of moral and societal rules and was even illegal.

However, there was a man who loved a woman so much that he fled from his village with her to live a solitary life in the forests of the mountains far away from civilization. They lived like this for decades until they both passed away. In order to make it easier for his beloved woman to walk, the man single-handedly built a staircase with 6208 steps in the dense forest of the mountains. This was his testament of love to the woman he loved so much.

On a day in June 1942, 6-year-old Liu Guojiang was catching crickets outside his house when he heard the sound of suona, a Chinese wind instrument. He followed the sound to see a beautiful girl, Xu Chaoqing, from a neighboring village, who had just married into his village. Liu Guojiang ran after the wedding procession and ended up breaking his front tooth. According to local legend, if a new bride touches a person's mouth, their new tooth will grow faster. The wedding procession stopped, and Xu Chaoqing reached out her slender hand through the cloth curtain and gently touched Liu Guojiang's face.

With this touch, a legendary love story spanning more than 50 years began.

Ten years later, Xu Chaoqing's husband passed away, and she was left to raise their four young children alone. One day, Xu Chaoqing and her children accidentally fell into the water, and 16-year-old Liu Guojiang happened to be passing by and rescued them. From then on, Liu Guojiang often came to help this struggling family.

As time went on, the seed of love quietly sprouted.

"I want to marry you!" At the age of 20, Liu Guojiang solemnly proposed to Xu Chaoqing.

Looking at the handsome and brave young man in front of her, and then looking at her own difficult situation at home, Xu Chaoqing hesitated. She not only refused his proposal but also gave him an "order" to leave: "I am much older than you... besides, I have a burden at home... you should not come to me in the future..."

However, true love cannot be stopped by any force. Eventually, one night, they suddenly disappeared from the village.

To avoid rumors, they kept walking and walking, deep into the deserted mountains. Finally, they settled in a half-slope with an altitude of nearly 1500 meters.

They cleared the land for farming, used mountain springs for drinking water, and burned tiles for three years. They built six earth houses with wood from nearby. To allow his lover to see the outside world, Liu Guojiang decided to carve stone steps on the steep cliff.

With only simple tools like chisels and hammers, it was not easy to make a path in the rocks. "Young man, don't do this!" Xu Chaoqing felt sorry for him and tried to dissuade him time and time again. "Old lady, don't worry!" Liu Guojiang stubbornly replied time and time again.

"Young man" and "old lady" were their sweet nicknames for each other.

For half a century, this "one-person project" never stopped. Eventually, the "Love Staircase" had 6208 steps, and more than 20 hammers were worn out. Liu Guojiang also turned from a young man to an old man with white hair.

Looking up from the foot of the mountain, one could only see the stone steps embedded in the giant rocks, disappearing into piles of clouds.

In 2001, a team of outdoor adventurers accidentally discovered Liu Guojiang's family. From then on, the story of the "Love Staircase" began to spread and moved countless people. Later, the story was made into a movie, and the "Love Staircase" became a tourist attraction.

In 2007, he passed away at the age of 71. In 2012, she also passed away at the age of 87.

What is love in this world?

The 6208 steps of the stone staircase have answered this question for the visitors who come to admire it.