14th July
At 6.00 am we left Xi’an and watched the sunrise as we made our way to Chengdu, a ten hour journey.
Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan Province of Southwest China is located on the edge of the fertile plains of the Red Basin and due to its agricultural wealth is sometimes called the ‘Land of Milk & Honey’ and is China’s fifth most populous city. It covers a total area of 12.3 thousand sq kms with a population of over 11 million and the history of it can be traced back to 2,400 years ago when the first emperor built his capital. In the 8th century Chengdu became a printing centre and produced the world’s first paper money when Tang emperor Xuan Zong took refuge here after his army mutinied over his infatuation with the beautiful concubine Yang Gifei.
At 6.00 pm Calypso pulled up outside the Zhong Zhen Business Hotel where we booked into our rooms, took a quick shower then went to Denis’s room for a pre dinner drink and to celebrate the fact that today he had just become a grandfather for the first time to Thomas McLeod, born in the early hours of this morning UK time.
For dinner we went across the road to a hotpot restaurant....a place where we chose the meat and vegetables from a cool room then cooked them in on a hotpot in the middle of the table.....absolutely delicious and was thoroughly enjoyed by the seven of us (Zoe, Susan, Mandy, Lucy, Emily, Colin and I).
Distance travelled:-793kms
15th July
This morning we left the hotel and travelled by a privately hired coach to the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base approximately 10 kms to the north from downtown Chengdu. The breeding centre was founded in 1987 and it started with six pandas that were rescued from the wild. By 2007 it had 110 panda births and the captive panda population has grown to 62...the centre has created the panda’s natural habitat in order that they have the best environment for rearing and breeding.
We had three hours of walking through the Research Centre and discovering the red Pandas, Giant Pandas and babies.
The bus returned to our hotel around midday so after a quick lunch Colin and I headed out to do a spot of sightseeing around the area we were staying in. Highlights of the walk included:-
- Qintai Rd – this street was built to imitate the traditional Chinese construction style mainly from the Ming & Qing dynasties and has been dedicated to two legendary figures, Zhuo Wenji and Sima Xiangru, two love birds who opened a shop selling alcoholic drinks on Qintai Rd. Although they were poor they lived a happy life which was totally immune to worldly trivia.
- Wenhua Park – home to the biggest Taoist temple in Chengdu, the Green Goat Temple.
- Baihuatan Park – a beautiful park with teahouses, attractive landscape and greenery, ornate bridges and ponds and where many play chess and majhon. The park covers 135 acres and in it stands a 1300 year old gingko tree.
Colin and I arrived back at the hotel early evening so decided to have a take away meal in our room then have an early night as we were tired after spending most of the day walking in the 38 degree conditions.
16th July
Breakfast this morning consisted of yoghurt and bananas from the shop next door to the hotel.....the hotel breakfast is foul so we decided to get our own. After breakfast we had an hour’s session on Skype before heading out to find the Narrow Lane & Wide Lane or Kuan Zhai Lane as it is also known.
Kuan Zhai Lane is a conservation of old architectural structures that have been implanted with modern decoration. There are three parallel arranged traditional streets and Siheyuan (courtyard houses). It is an only with recorded rich architectural and social characteristic feature about the residential building from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) till now. Both Colin and I had an enjoyable few hours leisurely wondering the two streets, discovering boutique shops, beautiful tea houses, stunning restaurants and relaxing courtyards.
At 12.30 we were back at the hotel and along with Mandy, Emily, Lucy, Sylvia, Steve. Zoe, Susan, Colin and I piled into three taxis and headed to Holly’s Hostel to take part in a three hour cooking course.
The Odyssey group had a fabulous time at Holly’s Hostel making three delicious traditional Chinese dishes with simple tasty sauces and eating them on completion.
After the cooking course Mandy, Lucy, Steve, Colin and I walked to nearby Jinli Street. This street originally appeared during the Qing Dynasty. This ancient street in Chengdu is a street where visitors can relax, admire the traditional style buildings, buy some curios and taste some local snacks.
Around 6.00 pm we farewelled Many, Steve and Lucy and continued to walk to the 24 hectare Huanhuaxi Park where we hoped to view Du Fu’s thatched cottage. Du Fu was a famous poet who lived in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the thatched cottage was his home more than one thousand years ago. However when we got to the park the thatched cottage complex was closed so we wandered through the park before making our way back to the hotel.
17th July
Colin and woke this morning around 8.00am, had a leisurely breakfast then spent several hours Skyping home, downloading photos onto Gmail and updating the blog.
Early afternoon we set off from the hotel and walked to Zongfu Rd Shopping Zone where we treated ourselves to a Starbuck’s mocha frappacino. From here we continued to weave our way through the streets till we got to the Heijang Pavilion and the Anshun Corridor Bridge, both located on the Fu Nan or Jingjiang River. Near the Heijang Pavilion there is a newly built music hall that features performances by various symphonies.
The Anshun Corridor Bridge crosses the Jin River. The veranda bridge contains a relatively large restaurant. The bridge was constructed in 2003 as a replacement of the old bridge which was destroyed by a flood in 1980’s.
From Anshun Bridge we continued on to Renmin Park or the Peoples Park. Here in the park dozens of people can be found playing mah-jong, boating on the ponds and strolling through the peaceful gardens. This is where the Monument to the Martyrs of the 1911 revolution can be found.
We left the park and returned to the hotel around 6.00 pm, having spent a solid four hours walking the streets.
After a quick shower we met the rest of the Odyssey group for a drink to celebrate Sylvia’s 60th birthday then George, our leader in China, organised for Sylvia, Russell, Andrea, Richard, Colin and I to attend the Sichuan Opera at the Qingyang/Green Goat Palace at 8.00pm.
The opera included drum and gong music, Chinese local drama, violin or fiddle solo, stick puppet show, performing folk instruments, Chinese trumpet solo, hand puppet show and the magic skills of changing faces and spitting fire. It was an hour and a half of lively entertainment which we all thoroughly enjoyed.
After the show Sylvia & Russell returned to the hotel while Andrea, Richard, George, Colin and I went to a local restaurant for a meal.
18th July
We had an early departure from Chengdu this morning as we were bound for Leshan and the Giant Buddha Scenic Spot.
Leshan of “Happy Mountain” as it translates is located on the south western fringe of the Red Basin in Southern Sichuan, about 120 kms from Chengdu. It was famous for its abundance of the Chinese flowering crab apple and long ago given the title of “Haitang (crab apple) Xiangguo (fragrant City)”. Nowadays Leshan is particularly well known as a city of National Key Tourist Attractions due to its landscape and wealth of cultural relics. It is renowned for its Giant Buddha – the No 1 Buddha under Heaven and Mt Emei Shan scenic area which has four spectacles – sunrise, Cloud Sea, Buddha rays and Saint Lamps. The area has many Buddhist temples.
Mid morning we arrived at the Giant Buddha Scenic Spot on the outskirts of Leshan and as we were relatively early and it was quiet we walked straight to the Giant Buddha before the groups gathered.
The Giant Buddha was built during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) and has been carved out of a cliff face by an 8th century monk. The stone sculpture faces Mt Emei Shan with the Dadu & Qingyi Rivers flowing below its feet. It is the largest carved stone Buddha in the world and at the time of its construction was the tallest in the world. The Buddha is 71 metres tall and is seated with his hands resting on his knees. His shoulders are 28 metres wide and his smallest toe nail is large enough to accommodate a seated person.
The Mt Emei Shan Scenic Area including the Leshan Giant Buddha area has been listed as a Unesco World Heritage site since 1996.
Around 11.00 am we left the Giant Buddha Scenic Spot and made our way to Emeishan, the hometown of our guide George, to spend the night.
Emishan gets its name from its location at the foot of the beautiful Emei Mountain, which are a famous tourist attraction site, is one of the four best known Buddhist Mountains in China and is famous all over the world for its Emeishan Bamboo Leaf Green Tea.
After booking into our rooms Colin, Sally, Sandra, Keith and I went for lunch then Colin and I returned to the hotel to have a few hours of rest out of the heat before venturing out to discover Fuhu Temple or Crouching Tiger Monastery late afternoon.
Fuhu Temple is the largest temple on Mt Emei and was built in the Tang Dynasty. The main construction of the temple is the “Precious Hall of the Great Hero”, the Huayan Pagoda and the Arhat Hall.
We returned to our hotel early evening for a light dinner then an early night.
Distance travelled:- 205 kms
19th July
This morning we left the hotel at 7.00am heading out of town on the motorway to Xichang.
Enroute to Xichang we travelled through the Jinkou Gorge, one of the top ten most beautiful gorges in China. The canyon is 2,600 metres deep and stretches for 26 kms and while passing through the canyon we were amazed at the hundreds of kilometres of new roadway (not yet open) that was being constructed and the outstanding concrete flyovers that were being undertaken.
Calypso finally pulled into the hotel in Xichang around 9.30pm.......we had been on the truck for 14 ½ hours!!!!!
Xichang lies near the border of Southern Sichuan in China and is in a rather mountainous region of the province, more than 400 kms from Chengdu. Featuring little rainfall all year around the area has attracted the Chinese aerospace industry to position a launch centre here and travellers to the area can visit many of the surrounding lakes.
After booking into our rooms we all headed out for a late dinner. Steve, Ben, Denis, Colin and I chose a locally run family restaurant to eat in. It was amusing to be ordering from a Chinese menu, where no English was spoken and the restaurateurs were taking our photos as we ate.
Once we had eaten dinner we returned to the hotel and flopped into bed fairly exhausted from the long day.
Distance travelled:- 565kms
20th July
After a much needed sleep in we once again booked out of the hotel, loaded our packs onto the truck then headed out of Xichang around 10.15am this morning bound for Panzhihua.......a 2 ½ hour drive.
Panzhihua is a city located in the south of the Sichuan province of SW China.
Some interesting facts about Panzhihua include:-
- It is the only city in China that has the name of the flower.
- Its economy relies almost on its giant mine, which is one of the biggest in China.
- It is home to the Panzhihua Iron & Steel Co, the leading steel company in SW China.
- It is China’s largest titanium and vanadium producing centre.
Before the mid 1960’s the present day Panzhihua was merely a wasteland inhabited by seven families clustered around a ferry but through the establishment of the Panzhihua Iron & Steel Co it became a booming industrial city.
Having booked in to our rooms several of the group, including Colin and I, caught a taxi into the centre of the city where we spent several hours shopping for basic items at Wal-Mart. It was such a pleasure to be able to walk around the supermarket aisles and spot various items on the shelf other than pot noodles, fizzy drink and packaged dried meats and nuts.
Sally, Melissa, Colin and I caught a taxi back to the hotel around 5.00 pm and what an experience that was....the first taxi driver didn’t know where to go so dropped us off 150 metres fro m where we had been picked up then the second taxi driver picked us up and returned us to the spot where the first taxi driver had dropped us off. It was only then that we realised that the hotel card had three different addresses on it and they were all written in Chinese so with some waving and lots of verbalisation from the four of us we managed to convince the taxi driver to follow our instructions and 45 minutes later (should have been 15 minutes) we were safely dropped back at the hotel with much relief from us all.
At 6.00 pm we met in Sylvia & Russell’s for drinks then at 9.00 pm most headed off to find some dinner while Colin and I returned to our rooms and enjoyed a large ham, tomato, cheese and lettuce salad.
Distance travelled:- 213kms
21st July
We woke to a dull smoggy morning in Panzhihua.
At 7.00 am our packs were loaded into the truck and by 8.15am we were winding our way through the streets on our way to Lijiana and another long hour travel day!!!!!!
Lijiang is in the NW of Yunnan Province in China. It has an area of 21,219 sq kms and a population of approximately 1,200,000 people. Most of the surrounding country area is sparsely populated with nature reserves, high mountains, small towns, farms and shepherds pastures.
In 1997, three ancient districts of the Lijiang urban area were included on the Unesco World Heritage List because they are in a dramatic landscape where the Han and Naxi cultures blended to ‘produce an urban landscape of outstanding quality’.
The old town has a history going back more than 800 years and was once a confluence for trade along the old tea house road. It is famous for its orderly system of waterways (it possess an ancient water supply system that still functions today) and bridges. Lijiang is the best preserved ancient town in China and the most visited.
Enroute to Lijiang we were held up on the road by a truck that had broken an axle and was partially blocking the road. In true Chinese style the road had become clogged with traffic, horns were hooting, people were standing watching and the police were doing nothing. In true Odyssey form CJ took charge of the situation and organised Colin, Russell, Denis and Keith to help with traffic control so that there was one lane of traffic getting through at a time. After Calypso had got through the chaos we left the police to their own devices.
After 11 ½ hours on the truck we eventually arrived in Lijiana around 7.30 am. By the time we were booked into our rooms and had a discussion about the arrangements for the next few days it was 9.00 pm so Colin and I just headed to bed, too tired to eat.
22nd July
After our first fall of rain for several months fell during the night so we weren’t surprised to wake to a dull but mild morning....ideal for exploring Lijiang.
With cameras in hand Colin and I headed to the tourist information centre to purchase a map of the area then we made our way to Black Dragon Pool, a park on the northern side of the city.
People believe that the gods of the Naxi people are living in the chestnut woods beside the mouth of the springs. The springs come from the god protected mountains and gather in this place finally forming the Dragon Pool. The water goes down a waterfall and pours life into the Old Town.
From Black Dragon Pool we walked back into the Old Town. The Old Town is criss crossed by canals and bridges and a maze of narrow streets........ its web of artery like canals once supplied the city’s drinking water. The Old Town occupies an area of 3.8 sq kms and was firstly built in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty and has a history of more than 800 years.
Attractions for the rest of the day included:-
- Tea Horse Rd or Tea Horse Path – this road was a central trade route for exchanging Tibetan horses and Chinese tea.
- Square Street (Sifangjie) – the centre of the Old Town where we watched local Naxi women perform a traditional dance.
- Three Pit Well – this well consists of three pits which were used for different purposes. The first pit was used for drinking water, the second for washing vegetables and the third for strictly washing clothes.
- Wanzi Bridge – the oldest bridge in Lijiang...it was built in 1734.
- Mu Palace – this very large complex was where the Mu Clan of the Naxi people ruled for over 400 years.
Having spent most of the day wandering through the narrow alleys and streets we finally plonked ourselves on a chair at The Well Bistro, had a cold drink then ordered and ate dinner.
Colin and I returned to the MSC Hotel around 7.30pm to sort through the numerous photos we had taken today and to update the diary.
23rd July
It was nice to have a relaxing morning with nothing planned so after breakfast we leisurely packed our packs then walked ten minutes to where the truck was parked. Once all the packs had been loaded into Calypso we headed out onto the main road bound for Dali.
Dali is located in NW Yunnan Province. The area is surrounded by mountains on the east, west and south and has the Erahi Lake in its centre. Present day Dali is divided into two areas – the Ancient City and the New District. The Ancient City was built in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The ancient buildings, city walls and the Old City moat are the sites most frequented by visitors.....most famous Foreigner Street in the Ancient City attracts visitors for its handicrafts and culinary delicacies.
There are about 25 ethnic minorities around Dali, which have created a unique cultural heritage amidst the areas picturesque surroundings. The main inhabitants of the area are Bai, who have thought to have settled here some 3,000 years ago.
Calypso, crew and passengers arrived in the outskirts of Dali around 5.00 pm but by the time we found out where our hotel was, unpacked the truck and got settled into our rooms it was around 6.00 pm then Colin and I along with a few others headed down to the Bad Monkey Bar in the Old Town to watch the Australian vs. South African Tri Nations rugby game. However on arrival we were told they didn’t even have a TV!!!!!! So instead we decided to have an early dinner.
On the way back to the hotel Colin and I came across a little tour operator who was willing to take us to many attractions outside the town and were on the less touristy route so we booked a tour for tomorrow at 8.00 am.
We returned to the hotel around 9.00 pm.
Distance travelled:- 213kms
24th July
This morning at 8.00am Michael from Michael’s Travel collected Colin and I from our hotel to take us on a full day excursion around Dali and surrounding areas. The tour highlights included:-
- Yan Family Mansion – this mansion is a Bai style residence....a courtyard, rooms on three sides, a screen wall on the remaining side, carved beams and upturned eaves. It was built in the 1920’s in Xizhou town and has on display old calligraphy and relics of the era. At The mansion we participated in a traditional Bai tea ceremony which included dancing. Called Sandao Tea is consists of drinking a bitter tea, a sweet tea (almond and honey) and an aftertaste tea made with ginger and honey. The tea ceremony represents the life of the Bai people.
- Xizhou Town – this town or village is beside Lake Erhai and is a main residential area for the Bai minority culture. The old houses and streets are either well preserved or are being restored to their former glory. Historically Xizhou was the place for military affairs during the period of the Nanzhao Kingdom and was one of the most important trading centres in the Yunncan Province. Xizhou is home to embroidery and wax dying. While we were here we wandered through the bustling market that sold fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, spices and tea. It was great to watch locals buy cypress trees and decoration for the Torch Ceremony to be held on Monday night and to see the women dressed in traditional Bai costume.
- Cormorant Fishing on Lake Erhai – The fishing takes place on Lake Erhai (the 7th largest lake in China) and is a traditional way of fishing for the Bai people. The fishermen train cormorants to dive for fish in the lake and return the caught fish to the fishermen without swallowing them. At the lake edge we boarded a canoe and were rowed out by a local woman to the spot where the fishermen were working the cormorants. There we sat, watched and waited while the fisherman released twenty odd cormorants into the water to hunt for fish. It wasn’t long before the first fish was caught....a 12 inch one which was scooped up with a fishing net and placed in the fisherman’s boat. While we were there we saw two fish being caught in this manner.
- Batik Workshop – At Zhoucheng we visited a family workshop that specialised in dying batik and producing articles for sale e.g. clothing & table clothes. This is a traditional art in the Bai culture for which they are well renowned.
- Zuocheng Village – this is the largest of the Bai villages in Dali with about 1,500 families living in the area. Here we wandered through the local market before visiting the Patroh God Temple. At the temple we were fortunate enough to see local women and men playing musical instruments, singing and praying. We also were privileged to view some of the women gathering to chat, complete their needle work and prepare for the Torch Festival Ceremony on Monday night.
- Shuanglang Village (Double Corridor Village) – This village is located on the north western shores of Lake Erhai and is famous for its two sandy beaches and clear water. The two beaches look like corridors so are named after their shape.
- Nanzhou Island Village – is a fishing village by Lake Erhai where we saw many fishing nets with “Chinese white bait” drying in the sun. Here they are trying to restore the village and make it into a tourist destination.
- Guan Yin Temple & Gantang Temple – are temples on the edge of Lake Ehai. Guan Yin Temple is a shrine to the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.
We returned to Dali around 4.30 pm having had a fabulous day of sightseeing.
Colin and I went into the Old Town for dinner around 7.30 pm then met the rest of our crew at the Bad Monkey for drinks. While there Zoe announced that she had asked Susan to be here partner for life so it was great celebrations amongst the Odyssey crew.
25th July
Today as we had no agenda to follow we decided to have a relaxing day so we spent the morning culling the 180 photos we took yesterday down to 80 and naming them. While I updated the diary Colin cleared the emails via the Kindle then mid afternoon we ventured into the Old Town, Colin to have a shoulder and foot massage and me to wander and explore the narrow alleys.
The Old Town of Dali was rebuilt in the early 1400’s by the Ming Dynasty and travellers visit it for its traditional architecture, minority cultures (Mostly Bai but also Yi and Hui) and simply to relax.
Dali Old Town has a population of 40,000 + in an area of over 10,000 sq kms. It is set out in grid format so is easy to get around. The major landmarks are the South and North gates with Fuxing Road running between them and Foreigners Street lined with cafes and tourist shops.
Early evening we found a table outside Kaylie’s Cafe to sit at to have dinner and people watch.......we were surprised at the number of foreign tourist that passed by.
Just on night fall we went down to Fuxing Road to watch the Torch Festival Ceremony, which is celebrated annually by the Yi & Bai communities. The Yi people tend to celebrate the Torch Festival on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month followed by the Bai people on the 25th day.
Local people decorate giant torches with fresh fruit and incense then place them outside their homes and shops as offerings to the Gods for a good harvest. Festival goers then carry towering beacons of fire to light them and throw pine resin at the flames to create tumbling fireballs. This was quite a sight to see but rather dangerous at the same time as they all seem to get very carried away with throwing resin at the torches causing big flames and sparks!!!!!!
Colin and I returned to the hotel around 9.15 pm.
26th July
This morning the Odyssey crew packed Calypso at 8.00 am, boarded the truck then drove out of Dali onto the main road bound for Kunming.
Kunming is the largest city and capital of the Yunnan Province and is well known for its diverse cultures, breathtaking natural scenery and pleasant climate. It has an area of 2300 sq km including four city districts and four rural counties which supply the city with fruit and vegetables year round. It is one of the major cities that mainland Chinese go to as tourists (over 2,000,000 per year with another 80,000 foreign tourists annually).
Kunming was important during WWII as a Chinese military centre, American air base and transport terminus for the Burma RD. It is a significant horticultural centre in China providing products such as grain, wheat horsebeans, corn, potato and fruits such as peaches, apples, oranges, grapes and chestnuts. It is world famous for its flowers and flower growing exports e.g. camellia, yulan magnolica, azalea, fairy primrose, lily and orchid, which are know as the six famous flowers of the city.
We arrived into the big city of Kunming around 3.30 pm so after a quick lunch of crackers, cheese and tomatoes we headed out to discover the city in what little time we did have available as we were leaving early tomorrow morning.
Highlights of the exploration included:-
- Shuncheng Jie – this is one of the oldest streets in the city centre that previously formed the Muslin Quarters. Until 2005 the street was full of wind dried beef, mutton carcasses, pitta bread and raisin sellers and hug woks of roasting coffee beans. Nowdays many printers and glass etchers have their business here.
- Bird and Flower Market – this famous market in Jingxing Street is the city’s biggest market. It was started in 1983 and has gradually been built into a spot for leisure, shopping and trading. The shops feature flowers, birds, fish, rabbits, dogs, mice, antiques, curios, coins, jade, jewellery etc.
While in town we ate dinner, found a supermarket, shopped for breakfast and lunch groceries before returning to the hotel.
Distance travelled:- 336kms
27th July
It was a very early start to the day today as we woke at 4.45 am to be showered and have our backpacks packed on Calypso by 6.00am.......Jim wanted to be out of Kunming before the congestion of early morning traffic in the city.
Today we made our way to Jinghong, a distance of approximately 220 kms and travel time of 9 hours. Enroute we passed fields of neatly planted crops e.g. corn, sunflowers, rice and traversed over bush clad majestic mountains into green lush valleys. To our amusement we passed several groups of women sweeping the motorway with straw brooms!!!!!!
Jinghong is located in the south of Yunnan Province where a total of 13 nationalities live together. It enjoys the fame of ‘Green Treasury’ and ‘Gene Pool of Species’ as it keeps a large area of tropical rainforest, including oil palms, coconut palms, mango trees as well as other tropical plants.
The city of Jinghong covers an area of 7,008 sq kms, it borders Burma on the south and has the Lancang River (known as the Oriental Danube) flowing through it.
Jinghong is regarded as the main pass to go to the countries in SE Asia.
After a dream run in the truck we arrived into Jinghong at 3.45pm.......alittle ahead of schedule so Jim and of course all of us were delighted with that.
Once we had been given our room numbers and keys we headed up there to off load our packs and get connected to the internet to ring home. We spoke to Amanda and Hunter who is recovering from chicken pox, Uncle John then Skyped Alana as Janelle and Kiel are staying with her and Ari in Auckland before they fly out to Melbourne for a holiday.
The rest of the afternoon was spent downloading photos to Gmail and updating the blog before going for dinner with the Odyssey crew and to farewell George, our Chinese guide.
Distrance travelled:- 532kms
No comments:
Post a Comment