Where only the bold dare tread

Xiyagou is one of six "hanging tapestry-like roads" in the southern part of Mount Taihang, on the borders of Shanxi and Henan provinces.

However, there are even more ancient trails across the mountain range now trodden only by brave souls.

The eight trails that crisscross Mount Taihang were the equivalents of today's highways. They were used for regular transport and postal services.

Their widths drastically change as topography allows.

Some of the places were so narrow that one comes to really understand the Chinese description "sheep trails".

But the precarious spots made sense for defense purposes. This concept is driven home by a spot on the Flying Fox Trail, a 20-meter pass flanked by cliffs hundreds of meters tall that looks somewhat like the setting for the Battle of Thermopylae.

The Military Capital Trail runs in part from Badaling to Juyong Pass - both hot spots for Great Wall climbing today but important for military protection then.

Most of the defense towers have worn away. The trails are either taken over by modern roads or left in dereliction.

But a 3-meter stele on the Taihang Trail bears the inscription, "This is where Confucius turned around and went home".

Legend has it that a crowd of children stopped Confucius on his way to the Kingdom of Jin, today's Shanxi province.

The sage asked for right of way when he saw the children sculpting a mud castle in the middle of the road.

The children retorted: "Living people give way to castles. How can a castle yield to a living person?"

Confucius marveled at the precociousness of the Jin people when he heard this.

"Even the kids here are so intelligent. What do I have to teach them?"

So, he ordered his entourage to return to where they departed.

Like all legends, this one has many variations.

If you're into history, behind every ruin or every rock is a story about how people of yore traveled or lived.