HurricaneMaine

Silk road tour, day 1 and 2, Lanzhou to Qinghai

We started our silk road tour by flying to Lanzhou.

The silk road:

Silk Road, also called Silk Route, ancient trade route, linking China with the West, that carried goods and ideas between the two great civilizations of Rome and China. Silk went westward, and wools, gold, and silver went east. China also received Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism (from India) via the Silk Road.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Silk-Road-trade-route

Due to a flight schedule change it meant that we missed the tours of the city. We made it in time to go to the night market.

Zhongshan Night market.

Spicy potatoes with chili and coriander.

Yes. Axolotls for sale. Though legal I do not approve as they are endangered.

On the left are sheep’s heads. Yes, they eat the whole parts of the head.

Large walnuts and very expensive grapes.

Tofu and stinky tofu. I don’t know how they process the black stinky tofu but it tasted much like the original to me. Spice here is outrageous. I was in search of drinks.

This is whipped cream frozen with liquid nitrogen. See the video below.

We woke up early for breakfast then to leave to visit the Kumbum monastery. Some history:

Located 26km south of the city proper, the sacred Kumbum Monastery (Ta’er si), is the best of the sights in the Xining area. This attraction is generally acknowledged to be one of the six most important monasteries along with the Ganden, Sera and Drepung monasteries in the Lhasa area, the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse and the Labrang Monastery in Xiahe. The ancient monastery, built during the 39th year (1560 AD) of the reign of emperor Jiajing (Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 AD), boasts a Tibetan name, Kumbum, which means a grand place housing 100,000 Buddhas.

The sight is most sacred due to the personages who have graced it with their presence. It was originally built upon the birth place of the founder of the Gelukpa Sect (Yellow Hat) of Tibetan Buddhism, Tsong Khapa. Two of his disciples from this region also went on to become famous in the Buddhist world, one becoming Dalai Lama, the other the Panchen Lama, both great living Buddhas. The present Dalai Lama, now in exile in India, also studied and lived here.
https://www.tibettravel.org/news/201404083599.html

Lunch outside the monastery area. Vegetarians decided they had enough eating family style with just a few veggies dishes thrown in.

There was fresh yogurt in the cup on top. It was too good to wait.

The grand vegetarian kitchen is a separate building and houses three very large woks for cooking. This is one of them.

**The Hall of Butter Sculptures** (Suyou hua tang) contains many of the famous yak butter sculptures. This art has existed for many hundreds of years, originally coming from Tibet to Kumbum in the sixteenth century. The detail is incredible.

This is the house that the dalai lama will stay in when visiting.

After the monastery, we headed to Qinghai lake which is at approx. 3000 meters elevation. There were plenty of sights along the way.

Closet to the lake we stopped to rent bicycles and ride part of the way.

White yaks are rare and are used for pictures and riding. They live here on the plateau with a lot of space to roam.

At the lake, we checked into the hotel and I walked to the lake. I missed sunset but snapped a picture with the moon rising.

Fenghuang ancient town

Street food and night boat ride on the You River

We arrived in the evening after our troubles as to whether foreigners were allowed in due to the pandemic. Small places still don’t realize that the borders have been closed since March 27 and we have been in the country for awhile. After settling in, we did a little exploring.

I ate some street food and this was so yummy. Pancake batter bread that is split then chili sauce, pickled greens, some really yummy spices, and cucumbers and peanuts. You could also get sticky rice that is pressed flat instead of the pancake. I’ll be trying that next.

This is little shrimps in a batter to make a pancake. Yummy but definitely shrimpy.

Boat tour at night

The next morning we woke early to climb a hill to an abandoned pagoda to see the sunrise. We were a little late as we had trouble finding the trail but it was spectacular.

After sunrise I went for an 11.75 km run throughout the ancient town and into adjacent farmland. I especially stored at a little island to cook if on the river before continuing.

Early morning views from my run. I would stop along the way to take random pictures.

The second morning I woke up early to walk around the part of ancient town I haven’t been. Specifically I walked to Phoenix square to take a picture of the sculpture. While I was sitting watching all the Chinese women dancing for exercise, a tour group took a picture with a Tujia woman and wanted me in the picture. So funny when you are a random foreigner they don’t always get to see. You get asked to have your picture taken often.

Random people

Huangxiqiao ancient town, Hunan

The town was first discovered in the year 687 during the Tang Dynasty.
There was often fighting between the Qing Emperor Kangxi and the Miao ethnic minority group. This town was rebuilt for military purposes (along with the southern great wall).

There are four gates. The south gate has been permanently closed. The eastern gate is called
the “lucky gate,” and is the one used most often. It is the entrance for events such as weddings. The north gate is used for funerals. The west gate belongs to the chief of the Miao people in ancient times and only he could use it.

Besides the ancient city wall, the interior of the town is similar to other villages the area. People live here peacefully. They have livestock
and local residents grow and process corn outside their houses.

In a few years, the town will be rebuilt in the style of the Tang Dynasty, and no one will live
here. While this might be beneficial for providing tourism, it is a shame
that tourists will no longer be able to see this way of life.

This game the kids played is like Rock, paper, scissors but with feet. If you choose the same footing as the champion, you lose. This young man had been game champion many times.

Southern great wall, Hunan

This section of a great wall was built during the Ming dynasty. It was used for protection against the revolt from the Miao Ethnic Group.

With a length of 190 kilometers, it has an area in the middle for armaments and soldiers and towers for check points approx. three
to five kilometers apart.

You can see at the top of the picture that the wall continues into the next hill.

In the Qing dynast the great wall was rebuilt.

After running in the morning, then walking all day, these were a lot of steps! 847… Not that we were counting!

Furong ancient town, Hunan

We traveled to a remote area halfway from Zhangziazie on our way to Fenghuang ancient town. It is not as popular as our ending destination and it is for this reason it is quaint and worth a stop to see as it is not touristy.

Furong Town is also known as Hibiscus Town. It was originally Wangcun Village but changed after a popular and award winning movie Hibiscus Town that was filmed here. It is found in the Western Hunan Tujia and
Miao Autonomous Prefecture.

Today the old town is a mix of Tujia (original people here)
and Han Chinese people. The town is beautiful. The scenery is lovely with cliffs and a waterfall to the You River.

Lunch was amazing. We are just outside of the gates of the old town. The potatoes are unbelievable and the spice here in Hunan is hot but so delicious.

Pickled daikon with red wine vinegar and tofu with lots of chilies.

The typical Tujia “Diaojiaolou” building is high on the cliff for easy defense against invaders.

This “Xizhou Bronze Column” marks the ceasefire after a long war. It is inscribed with over 2300 characters of the story of the war and teens if ceasefire.

The waterfall was closed but we went around the one side where there was no guard to go behind the waterfall. It was so hot that standing under the water felt great and just what we needed. I was waiting to be going out but we made it through without interrogations.

Some of the others on the tour “saw” us.

Behind the falls are statues of native Tujia people.

At the top of the falls.

From there we had another 2 hour ride to get to the next ancient town. As buses are not allowed into the town, we had to transfer to a shuttle bus. Unfortunately they did not know what to do with foreigners as covid-19 restrictions have changed. Finally they were able to straighten out whether it was safe to let us enter.

Zhuanjiajie, avatar mountains, day 2

We started the day at the same entrance at the Bailong elevator, this time going in a different direction than the day before.

Tianzi Shan

There narrow strip of green between the two mountains is where we hiked yesterday, going uphill to get to the beginning then going down into the valley.

A closer view of where we walked yesterday.

This naughty money listens for plastic bags then runs and breaks a hole in the bag to steal some of the goodies.

Tujia minority

One of our guides is from the minority village. They had an information center explaining much about the culture.

This outfit is 24 kg total in weight. Girls who wear this much have been rewarded with riches by a suitor.

They make there own alcohol, baiju. We tried plum but this one has snakes in the alcohol as it ferments.

Yuanjiajie

From there we took a bus to get further towards a trail that we would take to get back closer to the town. It was a lot of downhill but at least the steps here were dry.

Ten mile natural gallery

Wulingyuan national park day 1

We went to Wulingyuan National Park which is amazing. The park is dotted with sandstone cliffs that seen to have ridden out of nowhere. These quartz structures are in some dense tropical forests and reminiscent of the wonders in the movie avatar (though that is tomorrow’s hike!)

After a bus ride that took hair pin turns rather quickly, which adds to the experience we arrived at the elevator that takes you to the top. Bailong elevator takes you to the top of the one cliff and we spent time walking around the top then making our way down.

Of course there were monkeys there to see what they could get from visitors.

Of course we started in the touristy area which we quickly left behind. There were many climbs up and of course back down through the peaks. It was very slippery and if course I fell a couple of times.

One step to heaven. This took s climb up on a vertical ladder but the views were breathtaking.

Corridor in the cliffs

Golden whip stream. Finally we were on a flat area without climbing unbelievable amounts of stairs then going back down the other side. Easier and faster walk from here.

We worked out way around the base of all of these magnificent structures. It is truly humbling to be in and out of the various areas in this forest. Not many take this hike and it was very challenging with the wet rock surfaces.

Tianmen shan, Hunan

We arrived in Wulingyuan, Hunan on a late night flight. After some sleep I found some breakfast. We then walked to the cable car station that took us up the mountain.

It is a 7 km cable car ride which is the longest in the world. It took us through the edge of the city and then through farmland before climbing up the mountain for a very steep ascent.

At the top we noticed a shrine covered in locks. It is for fertility, wishing for a boy or girl. Legend is if you walk the ish to the came the type of echo will determine the child.

We walked along the cliff hanging walkway which is 1400 m above the ground and used to be made of wood planks. Now it is concrete with a rail but nothing underneath.

At the top we walked around but did not walk around the whole perimeter as it was so foggy and not many views.

In the forest of wishes where you write your wishes on silk ribbon to tie on a tree.

We took the internal escalators down to where we could see views at a lower level. We were standing at Heavens gate. This is an unusual and natural rock formation that had a hold on the middle. It is also the site of many daredevil attempts. The legend is that gods meet the mortal world here.

From there we went down the 999 steps to reach the bottom. It is approximately 4,100 feet or 1000 meters and the carved stone steps are being step and narrow.

Looking down on the stairway from heavens gate

Looking up at the views makes it obvious why generations of the people in Hunan believed that Tianmen Shan was the realm of the gods. It looked like the gateway to heaven even with the fog.

At the bottom we also snacked on some food. This is Jianbing which is a crow with crunchy fried dough in the center and of course chili spices for heat.

The 99 curves of Tongtien highway below us. This is the most dangerous road in Hunan and they have races here. We walked to get to the cable car to take us back down.

After we picked up our bags we took a short bus ride to another village to stay a few nights. We are at a local restaurant. Hunan food is spicy especially the costing in the fish and this eggplant dish that had lots of chilies and tremendous flavor.

We found tickets to an acclaimed live show that celebrated the stories of the minority people of Hunan including Yau, Bai, and Tujia.

In search of…a pool

It is pretty hot here in China. Much like the southern part of Florida. Very warm with high humidity. I run in the morning and still walk outside during the day but works love a pool.

I do miss the infinity pool at my last apartment. It is open but I moved because I wanted more space. The pool at my new place probably will not open as there are many kids. But since school is still in session for Chinese schools they may be waiting to fill the pool. Covid-19 had changed many things.

There are a few places to go and some tours to get to water. I took a tour with global friendship to a water area outside of the city.. it was a fun tour with people I know and others I have not met before.

Gulao water village

The water village is still in Guangdong province but outside the city. The ponds used for fish and the planting fields have been relatively unchanged since the Ming dynasty.

We then took a short bus ride to the restaurant that had the most awesome fish hot pot.

There are three varieties of fish we cooked in the hot pot.

Yes that is a chicken head. I didn’t eat it but the person next to me did.

We then went to a water hole but the locals were not very friendly at letting us in the water. They had us go further downstream. My friend is Chinese and was very upset that she heard then say we were bringing the virus to their village. We have all been tested before traveling (again!). It gets really upsetting.

Some images of butterflies and dragonflies…

I also went to my friend’s Trisha and Dan in Huadu. They were very generous to invite Morgana and I up to visit. I went up to enjoy their company, swim in their pool, eat dinner and then brunch, and watch a movie. I also went for a run in their much larger complex, finishing the RunOBX 300 mile run challenge with a 7k run.

Just outside the fence of Mulian residence complex is how some rural Chinese live.

The pool was lovely but even lovelier with the company.

It is blistering hot right now. 30C in the early morning and 40C in the afternoon. That is with high humidity.

Shuhe old town, Yunnan

When we left Dali, we took a train to Lijiang and then a car was waiting for us to bring us to Shuhe Old Town. Our host Shirley was great. When they changed the rules and foreigners had to register at the local police, she went with us to make sure everything was okay. She arranged us transports and walked us to a bus pick up.

Her place is beautiful.

And she has dogs. One night she went to get us apples for breakfast the next day as we could not find the market. Her poor dog howled because she left. I kept him company.

We explored areas of Shuhe old town. The Naxi indigenous people live here. They are known for their embroidery and flower cakes. They keep their town very traditional and it is lovely.

A bridge over a pond. Lots of blessings hanging from the ceiling.

There are lots of photographers and people in costume or traditional dress.

The Naxi indigenous people believe water is sacred. They have three pools at various levels. The first pool has water coming in from the spring and is used for drinking and it flows into the second pool which is for washing. That flows into the third pool which is for scouring. That water drains to the ground which filters the water as it returns to the groundwater.

And I chuckle at some of the signage…

On the last morning I walked to an ancient hotel that is the oldest in the area. It now has a market with handmade embroidery objects. I walked through many smaller villages along the way.

The hotel. It really is much older than the other buildings.

I bought a beautiful handmade jacket. It is all pieced and stitched by hand, not machine. It is also hand embroidered.

A few other places I tired before I was for to fly out. We went to get a coffee drink and have a flower cake with it. The flower cake is a flaky pastry with red bean inside and infused with rose. It is totally yummy.

This cat food everything to get attention.

Shirley was so fun. I had a great time hiking and getting to know Morgana! She teaches at a Canadian school in Guangzhou.