The Story of the “Love Ladder”
This is a true love story that took place in Chongqing, China. Fifty years ago, Liu Guojiang, a young man from Zhongshan Ancient Town in Jiangjin District, Chongqing, fell in love with Xu Zhaoqing, a widow ten years his senior. Their love was met with gossip and disapproval, so the couple eloped to a remote mountain 1,500 meters above sea level. To ensure Xu Zhaoqing could travel safely, Liu Guojiang carved over 6,000 steps into the mountainside, creating what would later be known as the “Love Ladder.” Last night, the elderly woman, Xu Zhaoqing, passed away at the age of 87.
This story began with just a glance, leading to a decade of devotion, ignoring the judgment of others. They fled to the deep mountains, and for fifty years, Liu Guojiang painstakingly carved the 6,000-step ladder. He did it for one simple reason: because of love. Although the protagonists of this love story are no longer with us, the “Love Ladder” remains. So, my dear, please believe that true love still exists in this world. There is still love at first sight, and there are still couples who grow old together.
One day, the sound of firecrackers and suona horns filled the air as a grand bridal procession arrived at the village. Liu Guojiang, then just a boy, was playing with other children in the village. He followed the procession out of curiosity because, a few days earlier, he had chipped a tooth. In their village, there was a custom that if a child with a chipped tooth let the bride touch their mouth, the new tooth would grow in healthy. Liu Guojiang eagerly hoped this bride would touch his mouth and help his tooth grow back.
His aunt carried him to the bridal sedan chair. The bride, reaching out with fingers as delicate as spring onions, touched his mouth. Nervously, Liu Guojiang bit down on her finger, and the bride lifted the curtain of the sedan chair to reveal her angelic face, looking at him with a smile. As the sedan chair moved on, Liu Guojiang stood there in a daze.
At that time, he was 6 years old, and she was 16.
He heard his heart pounding and the teasing voice of a woman nearby: “What are you dreaming about? When you grow up, you should marry a wife as beautiful as her.”
From that moment, the bride, whom he later called “Aunt Xu,” was forever etched in his heart. Even as he grew into a handsome young man, he could only steal glances at her from afar, feeling that she was too noble to be looked at directly.
When she was 13, Xu Zhaoqing was full of joy. At 16, she was married, but by 26, she had become a widow after her husband died suddenly of acute meningitis.
Her husband’s family said she brought bad luck, so she was left alone to care for her four children. Without food, she would carry her children up the mountain to gather wild mushrooms. She couldn’t even afford a pound of salt, so she wove straw shoes to sell, earning only five cents a pair.
The 16-year-old Liu Guojiang watched all of this with great concern but was afraid to help for fear of being ridiculed. That is, until the day she and her children fell into a river. Liu Guojiang jumped in to save them, finally daring to look at her directly for the first time. Afterward, he often helped her carry water, chop firewood, and take care of household chores.
After four years, their exchanged glances gradually turned into something more.
But she was ten years older than him, and she was a widow with four children. The gossip in the village was like an invisible net, suffocating them both.
They were nearly out of breath from the pressure.
So, one morning in August 1956, the villagers discovered that she and her four children had suddenly disappeared. Liu Guojiang, who was 19 at the time, was also missing.
Over forty years later, during a Mid-Autumn Festival in the 2000s, a group of outdoor adventurers stumbled upon two elderly people living deep in the mountains in a remote, almost prehistoric setting. They lived by the light of oil lamps that Liu Guojiang had made himself, in a simple mud house. Before they had the mud house, they had lived in a cave. They farmed their land and lived self-sufficiently. These two were the same couple who had disappeared all those years ago.
A television station wanted to invite them to a Qixi Festival show (Chinese Valentine’s Day). Concerned about his wife’s health, Liu Guojiang went down the mountain alone to attend the event. After the host introduced the story of the “Love Ladder,” Liu Guojiang was invited on stage. When the host asked him what he would like to say to the audience, he simply said, “I want to go home.” The audience was stunned. He then added, “I’m worried the monkeys will steal my corn.” Later, Liu Guojiang explained that his real reason for wanting to return home was his concern for his wife, though he was too shy to say it at the time.
Every morning, he would take a hammer and chisel, along with a few boiled potatoes, and head out to carve the ladder on the steep cliffs—he was afraid she might slip and fall if she went out.
The elderly couple lived on that mountaintop for 50 years. Over 20 chisels were worn out in the process. Liu Guojiang carved the over 6,000 steps all by hand, making sure that no moss would grow on them by wiping them after every rain so they wouldn’t become slippery.
The “Love Ladder” became a symbol of their enduring love, a journey from a young man to an old one.
“I feel sorry for him,” Xu Zhaoqing once told visitors, “but he always said that once the road was finished, I would have an easier time leaving the mountain. But I’ve hardly left the mountain my entire life.”
Touching her husband’s calloused hands, Xu Zhaoqing wept as she spoke to outsiders.
This is not a fictional story made to evoke tears. His name was Liu Guojiang, and her name was Xu Zhaoqing. The mountain where they lived for 50 years is called Banpotou, located in Chongqing’s Zhongshan Town.
The 6,000 steps are a testament to the love carved into the mountain. Fifty years of persistence, step by step, resulted in the creation of the “Love Ladder”—all for the sake of love! Half a century, from a young man to an old one, Liu Guojiang continued carving, even though his wife seldom left the mountain after they first moved there, and now goes out even less frequently.
“I feel sorry for him,” she said, “but he always said that once the road was finished, I would have an easier time leaving the mountain. But I’ve hardly left the mountain my entire life.” Xu Zhaoqing wiped away her tears as she held her husband’s hand.
“I can still move!” Liu Guojiang said, wiping away her tears. The couple was lost in their world, completely oblivious to the visitors around them.
“I won’t let her do heavy work. She’s older than me, so I fetch her foot-washing water,” Liu Guojiang said.
“We can’t be apart for a single day,” Xu Zhaoqing said. In 50 years, Liu Guojiang had never left her alone overnight. They had never been to Jiangjin City, and even to Zhongshan Town, Liu Guojiang had only been a few times.
Whenever one of them needed to go out, the other would wait at the footbridge by nightfall, and they would climb the “Love Ladder” home together—the bridge led to the world of ordinary people, but they never crossed it unless necessary.
For half a century, Liu Guojiang meticulously wiped the 6,000 steps after every rain, ensuring that no moss would grow and the steps wouldn’t become slippery.
These 6,000 steps became known as the “Love Ladder.”
The “Love Ladder” is located in Zhongshan, Jiangjin District. To visit, take a bus to Jiangjin Bus Terminal, and then another bus to Zhongshan.
Yesterday, Xu Zhaoqing, the heroine of this moving love story, passed away. To ensure her safety, Liu Guojiang had carved over 6,000 steps into the mountainside. Last night, she passed away at the age of 87.
The Story’s Lesson
A single glance, followed by a decade of waiting, led them to ignore the world’s gossip and flee to the mountains. Fifty years of hard work, step by step, resulted in a “Love Ladder” of over 6,000 steps. All for one reason: because of love! The “Love Ladder’s” creators are no longer here, but the ladder remains. So, my dear, please believe in true love. Believe in love at first sight and in couples who stay together through thick and thin. Believe in true love and in lasting love!
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
