Hope Justman, an 81-year-old American, has built a strong bond with "Shu Road," an ancient road system with a history of more than two millennia in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Spanning over 1,000 km, "Shudao," or the roads of the Shu Kingdom, winds through rugged mountains and tumultuous streams, connecting present-day Sichuan Province with the northern Guanzhong Plain, once the heartland of ancient China.

The ancient road section is well known in China for revered poet Li Bai's classic work Shu Dao Nan (The Difficulty of Shu Roads), which likens the treacherous passage to Shu to ascending the sky.

But for Justman, a writer who lives in Philadelphia, the United States, traveling along Shu Road is pure bliss. Since 2001, she has visited Jianmen Shu Road in Jiange County of Guangyuan City 24 times.

On March 15, Justman came to Guangyuan again to journey along the ancient road. She was fascinated by everything from huge mountains and verdant trees to crystal-clear streams and winding plank roads.

For her 24th trip, Justman brought nine friends to the Cuiyunlang section of Shu Road. The woman in her 80s remained hale. She kept introducing Shu Road culture to companions along the route.

Justman's connection to the ancient road system can be traced back to her college days. As part of a course on Chinese literature and art, she visited an exhibition in Boston, where a painting named Emperor Minghuang's Journey to Sichuan, captured her full attention. She was stunned by the plank roads built onto the cliff face shown in the painting.

In 2001, Justman happened to saw a photo of a plank road in the English version of a Chinese newspaper and then she realized that the ancient road really existed.

Since then, Justman has made an almost annual pilgrimage to Shu Road and local woman Li Xiaojun is one of her tour guides.

In 2003, Justman began writing a book introducing Shu Road. She had traveled to China four or five times a year for extensive field research. In 2007, she sent her book "Guide to Hiking China's Old Road to Shu" to Chen Yang.

Justman set foot on the ancient road again after a gap of five years. She was very happy to see the small cypress trees she had planted last time growing up.

SHOTLIST

Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - March 15-23, 2024
1. Aerial shots of ancient Shu Road, mountains, plank roads along cliff
2. Various of 81-year-old American Hope Justman walking along ancient Shu Road with friends
3. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Hope Justman, American writer (starting with shot 2/ending with shot 4):
"I love this road very much. We don't have roads so old in the United States. We have very famous roads, but the oldest ones are only 300 years old. This one is 2,000 years old. I took my friends here and they were also very happy because they didn't expect to see such a beautiful road in China."
4. Various of Justman walking along ancient Shu Road with friends, flowers

FILE: New York, USA - Date Unknown
5. Various of ancient painting "Emperor Minghuang's Journey to Sichuan"

FILE: Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - Date Unknown
6. Photo of plank roads built along cliff

Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - March 15-23, 2024
7. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chen Yang, Chinese scholar (ending with shot 8):
"Probably in the spring of 2001, I was working at the Guangyuan City Library when a foreigner came to me and said she saw my photo published in the newspaper that showed the ancient Shu Road. She wanted to go there. Then I took her to walk and she left after that. But what surprised me was that she came again the second year and again the third year..."
8. Various of Justman walking along ancient Shu Road with friends
9. Justman hugging her local guide Li Xiaojun
10. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chen Yang, a Chinese scholar (staring with shot 9):
"She shows great passion and perseverance for Shu Road, and she is not afraid of hardship or fatigue. Every time I finished walking with her, she would record a lot of information with her camera. Sometimes I woke up at night and saw her still taking notes there."
11. Various of Justman taking photos, introducing Shu Road to friends
12. Justman writing down her blessings for Shu Road
13. Slips of paper with tourists' best wishes
14. Various of Justman's book titled "Guide to Hiking China's Old Road to Shu"
15. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Chen Yang, Chinese scholar:
"There are pictures, including those introducing the ancient Shu Road and local customs and those showing the lives of ordinary Chinese. I was extremely impressed. I am deeply moved by the fact that a foreigner can love, study and walk in person along our ancient road, and most importantly, spread our ancient Shu Road and Chinese culture to the world."
16. Various of Justman showing photos of her planting trees with granddaughter
17. Justman posing for photos with trees
18. SOUNDBITE (English) Hope Justman, American writer:
"It was my tree, and I planted it once by myself and once with my granddaughter. So it meant a lot to me because I feel a part of me is here on the Shu Road. And as the tree grows up, it can watch the Shu Road for a thousand or two thousand years. And that's pretty awesome."
19. Various of Justman planting trees
20. Ancient trees along Shu Road
21. Aerial shots of forest
22. Aerial shot of railway bridges
23. SOUNDBITE (English) Hope Justman, American writer (starting with shot 22/ending with shot 24):
"Li Bai said that traveling the Shudao was difficult, more difficult than climbing to heaven. But if Li Bai could come back to China now, and ride the bullet trains, he would be so amazed. I'm sure he will write another poem."

FILE: Southwest China - Date Unknown
24. Aerial shots of bullet trains running

Guangyuan City, Sichuan Province, southwest China - March 15-23, 2024
25. Various of Justman being awarded title of "Ambassador for Lifetime Promotion of Jianmen Shu Road International Tourism"
26. Justman watching Shu Road
27. SOUNDBITE (English) Hope Justman, American writer (partially overlaid with shot 28):
"I'm hoping to come back next March again. I hope to see the old road just as I've seen it before, well-preserved and beautiful and I'm hoping it will never change."
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28. Justman taking photos
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29. Various of Justman walking along Shu Road, smiling to camera

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