Retracing mountains of spirited exploration

It preserves the most typical and concentrated remnants of Quaternary glacial landforms in eastern China, on which prominent Chinese geologist Li Siguang proposed the Lushan Glaciation theory. Liu also mentioned Lushan's Feilai Stone, a massive boulder weighing tens of tons standing isolated on a mountain ridge, which could only have been transported there by glaciers.

The scattered rocks that Xu Xiake once walked on, described as "round ones that are slippery and pointed ones that pierce shoes", are likely glacial erratics transported by glaciers, he noted.

The book's illustrator, Yushan, retraced Xu's footsteps to various famous mountains in order to illustrate the landscapes. With a decade of cultural exploration as a foundation, Yushan used contemporary Eastern aesthetics to re-create over 60 landscapes and scenes described by Xu.

Painting the landscapes Xu traveled through is also to depict his life within them — the journey's hardships, the uncertainty of finding a path, the relaxing moments, and the exhilaration of reaching the summit, he says.

"Xu leisurely traveled through the vast world and joyfully walked within his own small world," he adds.

Explaining Xu's approach and spirit in his travel explorations, Chen Qingjiang, vice-director of the Xu Xiake Research Branch of the Geological Society of China, summarizes it into four key phrases: committing wholeheartedly to a chosen pursuit, exploring vast landscapes with freedom and courage, visiting mountains as if meeting old friends, and embarking on distant journeys as acts of personal dedication.

Xu uniquely combined landscape aesthetics with scientific exploration, a rare achievement among travelers throughout history, with few able to rival him in this regard, Chen says.