HurricaneMaine

Shigatse to Gyantse in Tibet

We traveled 370 km on the last day. It was a lot of time in the van but a few gorgeous stops along the way.

Palcho monastery

Built in 1427, the most prominent feature is the giant stupa. This one is different from others and has 5 floors and 68 prayer rooms. It is named Gyantse Kumbum. In each of the tiny chapels are exquisite paintings (kumbum means 100,000 images). It is important to follow a clockwise route around which is the same in any of the monasteries. The murals survived the Cultural Revolution though some statues had to be restored.

The monastery is unique in Tibet as it houses three separate schools of Tibetan Buddhism under its roofs – Sakya, Gelug, and Kadam. The monastery has aspects of Chinese Han, Tibetan, and Nepali architecture, and is one of the highest status monasteries in Tibet. Inside the temples are beautiful statuary.

Simila pass and Manla reservoir

Simila Pass is at an elevation of 4200 meters. The pass is unique to others due to the greater amount of countless colorful Tibetan prayer flags decorating rock faces. In this winding mountain pass, the wind here waves the prayers in beautiful patterns. The Manla Reservoir is the biggest dam in Tibet.

Karola glacier

The glacier originates at Mt. Noijin Kangsang (7,191m), which is one of the four holy mountains of Tibet.

This stupa is just for decoration though monks did visit it when we were there

Yamdrotso lake

Yamdrok Yumtso, is a beautiful lake along the old Friendship Highway between Tibet and Nepal. It is at an altitude of 4,441 meters. Yamdrok is the largest inland freshwater lake in the northern Himalayan mountain range. Yamdrok Lake is one of the four largest sacred lakes of Tibet (the others are Lake Lhamo Latso, Lake Manasarovar, and Lake Namtso). According to Tibetans, the lake is a lifeline and if the lake dries up, Tibet would become an uninhabitable place. One is not to swim in it. Tibetans pilgrimage to the Lake and walk around the lake in seven days to remove their sins and earn merit. The lake’s spiritual energies are from the Second Buddha, Padmasambhava, who brought Buddhism to Tibet. It is also believed Lake Yamdrok helps to find the reincarnated soul of the Dalai Lama.

Along the way back to Lhasa, we made a few other stops due to traffic through the pass.

If you look closely in to the picture, yak poop is dried too use as fuel for cooking and heating.

To see the Himalaya mountain range

We drove a long time (8 hours and 340 km), stopped at several points, and had several checkpoints for ID. Travel was along the Shanghai Nepal road and where we stopped was at 5248 meters elevation. I definitely felt the lack of oxygen.

First glimpse of Everest along the pass.

Along the Gyitso pass we stopped for bathroom break and also to take pictures. You can purchase a prayer flag and write a recipient name on it. They tie it for you and the blessings and prayers are sent by the wind.

Here the option is to go on to Everest or continue on the other road to Nepal.

We hiked a short section to get to Everest base camp at 5,150 m elevation. The camp is located below the moraine slopes from the Central Rongpu Glacier. A moraine is the earth and rocks pushed by the Glacier when it was advancing.

One minute you can see it and the next it is converted in clouds. We are lucky to have had the weather we did that day.

We stayed in a large tent at the base camp. The blankets they use are very thick and the tent is heated by using dried sheep and yak poop. It actually gives off less ash and is more plentiful than wood. Our tour group was interesting : 1 Japanese, 1 Chinese, 1 American, 1 Brazilian, 1 Singaporean, 1 Russian, 2 Brits, and 3 Germans. We spent a lot of time together! The tent owner would cook fried rice with yak meat for dinner and an omelet or pancake for breakfast. Lowest temperature was – 4C at night.

The base camp for hiking Everest is another 4 km away. You can no longer get a permit to hike unless you have Sorvino prior experience. We are about 20 km to Nepal.

I came on this trip already with a headache and stuffy nose so not sure when or if I was acclimated to the altitude. But when I arrived at Everest base camp, I was definitely struggling. My vision pulsed with each heartbeat and I had no energy. I used a nasal cannula with oxygen for 30 minutes. I felt better and then continued to feel better as we went back down in elevation. My sports watch measures my pulse. My resting heart rate is normally 46 bpm but jumped to 68 after arriving in Tibet. No wonder it shows in under great stress.

The Tibetan name for everest is Chomolungma, meaning “Goddess Mother of the world”. This marker is the height at the top of Everest.

Himalaya means “abode of snow”. There is about 15,000 glaciers throughout the whole range. The Himalaya form an arc that separates the Indian subcontinent in the south from the Tibetan Plateau in the north. Many of the world’s major rivers, the Indus, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Yangtze all begin here. The next three pictures are the Himalayan range. A panorama would not let me zoom in so close.

Along the way we could see Tibetan farmers cutting and taking hay by hand. They did lift the hay wagons pulled by tractors. They keep the hay in their yards to feed livestock.

Shigatse, Tibet

We drove a long time to get to Shigatse. Along the way we had to present our documents at a police checkpoint. You need a visa for Tibet and permits to move from one place to another. Plenty to see!

Am alpine goat who was happy that I shared my apple with him and his buddy.

River view of Brahmaputra, the mother of all the rivers that flow from here.

After we settled in the hotel we had time to grab a quick bite. I ordered Thupke, Tibetan noodles.

View of the hotel from inside the courtyard.

Tashilunpo monastery.

It is one of the few monasteries in Tibet to weather the destruction of cultural landmarks of the Cultural Revolution. It is as if time did still, and walking on the cobbled paths that wound around old buildings. The monastery is now the largest religious institution in operation in Tibet.

The huge golden statue of the Future Buddha is the largest gilded statue in the world. Pictures are not allowed to be taken there but many would pray outside the doors, touching their forehead on the top decoration on the floor.

We walked back to the hotel and stumbled upon a Muslim night market. People have been very friendly here in Tibet as foreigners have not been seen here in about 3 years.

Lhasa day 2

At breakfast, I ate more of the barley cereal and also tried butter tea. It tastes like rich butter dissolved in hot water. A bit to get used to and I’m sure my body needs this. Next time though I’ll add it to the barley cereal. I’m sure the Tibetan people cringe when they watch us do such things.

Potala palace

The palace was built in the 7th century AD when King Songtsen Gyalpo built a fortress on it for his two foreign wives (he also had a third Tibetan wife) . The left side of the palace was created in the magnificent vision today by the Fifth Dalai Lama. The Thirteenth Dalai Lama added on the right side of the structure to what we see today. The walls are 2 to 3 meters thick making it warm in winter and cool in summer.

The left side of the palace is the winter home of the Dalai Lama (7th century) . The right side is the newest addition to the building (14th century)

This looks down in potala Square, the Tibetan equivalent to Tiananmen Square. Of course the picture of the Dalai Lama can’t be shown so instead the president of China is.

Since 1755 it has become the winter palace of the Dalai Lama. There is over one thousand rooms including the living quarters of the Dalai Lamas while they lived and their golden tombs after they died. It is the religious and political centre of old Tibet bearing witness to various political and religious moments of the past centuries. Potala Palace also holds a great amount of rare ancient cultural relics.

Later at night we went back to take a picture. Beautiful!

There are many stairs to climb and it is very challenging especially as your body is just getting acclimated to the elevation.

The tour guide big chodon in front of cloth made with yak hair. In front of open spaces like windows it protects from wind, rain, and cold.

Many Tibetans were curious about the foreigners, saying hello, and coming up to speak to us or just stare at us! One young boy called me Faguo, which is Chinese for French. I just laughed. Most guess Meiguo (American) correctly.

Outside the palace the monks walked among the people. Many who are disabled were waiting there. The monks blessed them and gave them money. Money is also given to shrines on the outside.

“The first time I stepped onto the rooftop of the Potala Palace, I felt, as never before or since, as if I were stepping onto the rooftop of my being: onto some dimension of consciousness that I’d never visited before.” Pico Iyer

Jokhang Temple was also built in the 7th century AD to house the statues of Buddha that princesses Bhrikuti from Nepal and Wen Cheng from Tang Dynasty China brought as gifts for their future husband, King Songtsan Gambo (the one who built Potela palace for them). The original statue that Princess Wen Cheng brought over 1300 years ago is the most sacred and famous one. The temple is on Barkhor Square in the center of the old section of Lhasa. Our hotel was a 10 minute walk.

Barkhor street a circular street around the Jokhang Temple in the center of the old section of Lhasa, it is the oldest street in a very traditional style in Tibet, where you can enjoy bargaining with the local Tibetan vendors for the handicrafts which are rare to be seen elsewhere in the world. Barkhor Street is one of the most important religious paths along which pilgrims walk around Jokhang Temple while turning prayer wheels in their hands through centuries. Buddhist pilgrims walk or progress by body-lengths along the street clockwise every day into deep night. For your first visit to the Barkhor, enter from Barkhor Sq, a large plaza that was cleared in 1985. The square has become a focus for political protest and pitched battles between Chinese and Tibetans on several occasions, notably in 1998 (when a Dutch tourist was shot in the shoulder) and most recently in 2008

Lhasa Day 1

Breakfast was a buffet from the hotel and I was able to taste a few Tibetan dishes.

This dish uses barley powder, dried yak cheese, and a little sugar to mix with hot water to a cookie dough consistency. Tastes like barley but I added more water to make it like oatmeal.

The barley dish with toast and yak butter.

Being active is tough here but as the day wore on I felt a bit more acclimated.

Drepung monastery

The monastery was founded in 1416 by a disciple of Tsong Khapa. Drepung had over 10 000 monks. As the biggest monastery in Tibet, the lamas helped train new Dalai Lama. There are now 600 monks. Drepung belongs to the Gelupa sect. In the past, if there are two sons in a Tibetan family, one son must become a monk. Now there is a choice. This monastery was the hole of the Dalai Lama before leaving Tibet.

Overlooking the monastery and the city of Lhasa.

In the courtyard, there will be dances during festivals and the Dalai lama would watch from the upper right window.

In front of the monastery. No pictures allowed inside.

The bathrooms are a long or with half walls. The last time I saw one like that was Yunnan.

Tibetan prayer flags (Lung tas) represent peace, wisdom, compassion and strength it is believed that the flags with the mantras and messages carry the goodwill out to others.

Sera monastery

Founded a few years later in 1419 by one of Tsong Khapa’s eight disciples, this temple became famous for its tantric teachings.

People pray as they walk clockwise around.

The paintings on this rock represent helpers. Wisdom is represented by yellow and blue is protection. These are Bodhisattvas and are male. Compassion is represented by white and longevity is green. These are Taras and are female.

Inside the sanctuary where monks meet for chant and prayer.

Other paintings

Yak butter. It is actually quite tasty.

At the end of the day, a group dinner with traditional music and dancing.

The start of seven days in Tibet

I have always wanted to go to Tibet but it has been closed to foreigners when I arrived to China and then covid happened. I had planned to go this last summer but they closed it to foreigners again. Luckily, my other tour for this holiday week fell through and I was able to scramble to get a visa and permit for Tibet! It required a few documents, a negative covid test, and a little waiting. Even with the extra hassle at checkpoints and the extra covid tests it is worth it. I will need another permit and possibly a virus test to go to Everest base camp.

Along with the shroud of spirituality, Tibet has distinct cultural traditions, intricate architecture, and a beautiful landscape. I have seen similar sights and ate some similar foods in Yunnan as these places are still along the Silk Road that connected other cultures to China and border Tibet itself.

Our first day was travel and going through the checkpoints. Along the way I met some great people. A chinese couple helped with translating and there I met a lovely woman from Scotland. While we were waiting for the second flight, two young men who wanted to practice their English chatted with us. Later on the bus I also met a couple Americans.

After settling into the room we were cautioned to take it easy as we would need to get adjusted to the altitude. In fact the next two days we will stay close to Lhasa to acclimate before going higher in elevation. Tibet is 4500 meters above sea level making the cities like Lhasa the highest in the world. Our only adventure was finding food.

Given the mountainous features of this area, Tibet is the most secluded and least populated provinces in China. It’s prominent feature is the Himalayas where the average mountain stands above 20,000 ft tall. To get from one scenic area to another will be long bus journeys. The views along the way will be amazing as this area is known for its breathtaking beauty.

In Tibet, Buddhism is not just a religion but a lifestyle. It actually is a lifestyle for many Buddhists around the world and is the way they embrace life.

Potala Palace from the bus window. That will be a lot of stairs to climb.

Tibet is also called the ‘third pole’. Tibet holds the third largest storage of water and ice in the world (after the Arctic and Antarctic). In fact, the water here is needed by 47% of the worlds population. There is a multitude of lakes, rivers, or glaciers. There is a lot of water here which makes it the center of geological and political interest. In fact, six of Asia’s largest rivers find their origin here in Tibet, including the Mekong, the Yangtze, and the Indus.. .

The diet of the people of Tibet is determined by the arid climate and high elevation. Food here include products unique to the region such as the Tibetan yak. Other foods such as yogurt and butter are popular compared with the standard Chinese diet. The most popular dishes include: tsampa (the staple composed of barley), balep (bread), thukpa (noodle soup), yak butter, yak cheese, yak yoghurt, and yak meat.

For our first meal, we tried a few items.

Noodles, vegetable Tikka, yak masala, and aloo Gobi though the spices are a little different.

These noodles are delicious and the texture is more one of my favorite.

Tomorrow we will view palaces and see sights as well as have a large introductory dinner.

Drifting and the Nangang Yao Village

Busy Saturday. I delivered meals for the homeless and then ran 10k back to my apartment before leaving on a weekend trip within the province near Qingyuan.

We arrived at the site for Drifting. It flows on an underground river through 5 mountains and villages. The caves are impressive and it was a lot of fun. I tried to take some videos with my go pro.

We then headed to an ancient village. Yao Minority is one of the oldest ethnic groups in China dating back 1000 years in the Song Dynasty. It is the best preserved ancient village in China. The village is built in the mountains and many steps go up and down and around.

The village is so peaceful and remote.

They are rebuilding many homes that have burned or fallen to ruin. The government has helped them preserve their way of life and to attract visitors by updating rooms for people to stay.

Water runs through the village from the mountains.

Villagers still live in small dwellings that hold just a bed.

A village official near the temple.

Temple.

Sticky rice wine is the local alcohol drink. It was pretty tasty.

Watching dinner being cooked was amazing. High heat cooking over a wok was quick and the smoky flavor and smells was wonderful.

Sunrise.

Breakfast.

Homemade tofu and soy milk with a hand turned mill and a large vat to squeeze the milk out.

Morning walk after breakfast.

Yao king house which is the high ranking officials home.

We then headed to Jinzi Mountain.

The peak is 1417 meters above sea level, Jinzi Mountain is the 8th highest peak in the province and had a set of stairs that have an 80 degree incline. It is relatively remote and having less tourists made it a great time hiking.

We saw this beauty near the ladder stairs.

At the top is this Buddha. Legend has that gold and silver were hidden here by the Empress dowager and saying the right phrase opens it. One person left oreos in his left hand as a tithe.

The beginning of the love ladders. It was a pretty steep climb.

This is the love ladder section showing how steep the climb actually is.

It was a great and tiring weekend. I am always excited about spending time in a village and being in nature and less crowded places!

Changing plans: covid and weather

At night we visited the south part of the wall where much of the Nanjing Massacre events took place. We looked forward to seeing the other ancient city the next day. But disruptions…

Lotus seed. I had been eating them with the green skin which made it bitter. The seed itself is delicious especially without the skin.

Pickled fish, broccoli, and salted duck.

The south gate of the Nanjing city wall.

A performance about the history of the building of the wall and events through history.

From the top of the last section of gate. See the design in the image below.

This was the first time this design had been used for fortifying the city gate.

The top of this gate is massive with ramps for moving equipment up onto the wall.

We knew a typhoon was making landfall near Guangzhou. Jack’s flight to Guangzhou was cancelled by the time we awoke the next day but no indication that our train from Nanjing to Luoyang had a similar fate. We had seen in the news there was flooding in that province but was not sure if it was involved.

We also read the news that 9 covid cases had been identified in workers at the Nanjing Airport putting it at medium risk. We flew in there two days earlier. This will mean a virus test (as it is required if you were there after July 7). Our health code will most likely turn yellow as soon as we arrive to Guangzhou.

We headed to the train station thinking it was all okay but all trains and flights were cancelled going to Guangzhou and anywhere in Henan province. We booked a ticket to Shanghai by train as going east to that city gave us more options to travel out. We also booked a flight to Guangzhou but it was for late at night and was delayed as well. We did manage to find a nice hotel at the airport that charged 150 Rmb ($25) to stay there 4 hours. We stayed a total of 8.

I was bummed that we could not go to luoyang but if we would have been there we would not be able to get out of the flood zone. They received the same amount of rainfall they get in one year in just under a week of rain. It is terrible.

The one thing we did not want to do was to stay in Nanjing any longer. At the time of our flight, the number of cases became 17. A long day to get home.

Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall

The history of Nanjing was already somewhat covered in the last post (Nanjing). To set the stage for the Massacre by the Japanese:

The last Emperor of the Qing Dynasty held no power but was used as a puppet regime by the Japanese at the time of the Mukden incident. He signed resolutions dictated by the Japanese that created poverty conditions after the Massacre.

On September 18, 1931, an explosion destroyed a section of railway track near the city of Mukden. The Japanese, who owned the railway, blamed Chinese nationalists for the incident and used the opportunity to retaliate and invade Manchuria. However, others speculated that the bomb may have been planted by mid-level officers in the Japanese Army to provide a pretext for the subsequent military action. Within a few short months, the Japanese Army had overrun the region, having encountered next to no resistance from an untrained Chinese Army, and it went about consolidating its control on the resource-rich area. The Japanese declared the area to be the new autonomous state of Manchukuo, though the new nation was in fact under the control of the local Japanese Army.

By 1937, growing tensions with Japan were at a boiling point. Shanghai was captured and the Imperial Japanese Army invaded further inland and captured Nanjing in what is now known as the Nanjing Massacre (historically called the Nanking Massacre). The Nanjing government was evacuated to Chongqing and only left about 10% of the army to defend. Approximately 300,000 Nanking residents were killed, and large areas of the city were burned to the ground. This fact later would help the communist party to take control after the war and the capital was moved back to Beijing.

The Massacre is something we never learned about as a part of WWII. The Chinese army had surrendered at Nanjing and Japanese violated every article of War, capturing all those they believed to be soldiers and not only killing them but women and children as well. They created comfort hotels where women were raped repeatedly by Japanese soldiers. They also decapitated people and buried many alive. Two captains in the army made a bet as to who could bring more decapitated heads daily. It was quite brutal.

The museum was very solemn and powerful just like the holocaust museums I have visited. Many of the videos and the pictures were taken by expats who did not flee when the Japanese invaded. They had to hide the video evidence and smuggle video and photos out to be published by western media. Here is one such silent footage: https://youtu.be/xHPPwWfBxhM

The beginning of the museum had the pictures and names of all the survivors of the Massacre.

After some initial information about the start of the invasion and bombing there is a reconstructed bombed out house you walk through that was very powerful imaging.

Comparison of Japanese and Chinese forces. Though small in population, Japan had an extensive military complex.

The dark line is the city wall and the arrows were the movement of the Japanese to take control of all the city gates at once.

Leaders of the army ordered all that were captured to be disposed of.

The museum is built upon the mass grave that was dug to bury many who were massacred.

Decapitated heads were displayed jokingly.

Many who were captured were buried alive.

A monk being shot in the back of the head. Many who were not army were still shot because they could not provide whatever the Japanese soldiers demanded.

Japanese soldiers lining up at the comfort hotel where Chinese women were held and raped. Women were taken no matter age or condition.

These are the expats that stayed in Nanjing and used their businesses and universities to provide refuge to women and children. Many had to go to great lengths to keep them safe. They also snuggled evidence out to western media.

Minnie Vautrin, an American who shielded refugees at the University.

This is the result of the war crimes tribunal that sentenced some officers to death for inhumane tactics.

I love the quote in this image. It is shown also in the image below.

This is not just for this Massacre but for the holocaust and all the present day atrocities.

Iris Chang was an American writer who learned about the Massacre from her parents and also while in China researching her first book. She did in depth research and spoke to many people including survivors, the expats who were there, and even the Japanese.

Her delving deep into this history and speaking to survivors and family, confronting Japanese ambassadors who still do not apologize or make reparations led to her death by suicide at age 36.

Nanjing

Nanjing is one of China’s most important cities, and is known as one of the Four Great Ancient Capitals of China (the other three being Beijing, Xi’an and Luoyang) . Because of its location on the Yangtze River, Nanjing served as the capital of 10 Chinese dynasties and regimes totalling 1,800 years, including the Ming dynasty and the Republic of China.

It was politically and economically prominent in dynasties prior but between the 6th and 15th centuries, it served as the capital of the Southern Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties. During the Ming dynasty, Nanjing became the capital of the entire empire of China.

After, the capital was moved to Beijing. By the way, Bei means north and Nan means south. So Beijing is north capitol and Nanjing means south capitol.

The 20th century was a tumultuous time for Nanjing. Dr. Sun Yat-sen, known as the Father of Modern China, established the national seat of government in Nanjing, and China enjoyed wealth and cultural advancement. That was the end of the Qing Dynasty. Actually Sun Yat-sen led the nationalist party to over throw the other warlords in China to establish the new government. When Sun Yat-sen dies, Chiang Kai Shek took over the party.

Confucius temple and street food

After flight delays it was late when we arrived. We headed to the Confucius temple where there was street food. Some times it is the best way to see what local people eat.

Crab soup pocket. . First you suck the soup pot of the pocket then you eat the dough and crab.

Glutinous Rice with slightly sweet black rice filling inside. Sweet here is not actually sweet as we know it in the US.

Glutinous Rice with mango. It is like a sticky thick jelly ball that is actually sweet.

Lots of people. Not my favorite place to go but it was nice to try food and people watch.

Museum of the Chinese imperial examinations. This gave nobility to wise people by merit instead of by birth but were very difficult exams. .

The next morning we went to the city wall of Nanjing. It is the largest city wall in China and the world. Some sections are no longer intact and many gates had to be altered for modern roadways.

It is different than the Xian city wall we visited last summer. That wall is all intact and smoother on the top which showed for bicycle riding around the entire perimeter.

Xuanwu gate of the inner city wall. Inside this city wall would also be a wall to protect those in power. There is also an outer city wall.

This park and lake is outside the city wall where we are. There is so another city wall beyond.

Jiefang gate. Many gates had ramps for horses and moving supplies.

These bricks came from surrounding provinces around Nanjing as supplies for building were not local there. Names of donators are carved on them. Each resident was asked to donate for protection of the city.

From there we took the metro to the Nanjing Massacre museum.