Sunday
– Tuesday, October 14-16 – Chongqing
We fly to Chongqing to see our son,
Joe! Happy to say he is doing very
well. Chongqing municipal area has 31
million people and has grown 10 million in the last decade. It has a larger population than Canada. The city is spread out like Los Angeles. Each area is separated by a mountain or a
river. The Pearl and the Yangtze River
run through the city. It is the
departure/arrival city for Yangtze River tours.
The area is so mountainous that bicycles never were popular.
The highlight of our stay is lunch
at a Peking Duck restaurant. Not as
fancy as the one we visited in Beijing four years ago, but the food was just as
good and the price was much, much lower.
While in town we visit:
. A
Buddhist temple. The Buddha’s were made
of various materials, much less gold plating than we have seen previously.
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| Incense sticks sued when praying to Buddah |
A
reconstructed fort. Now a seven story
shopping mall. Think of riverfront in
New Orleans.
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| Outside of 7 story mall. Modern apartment building on left. |
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| View from middle level. |
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| Bas relief sculptures tell the history of the international port. |
Old
Town. Small businesses, most of which
sell some type of food. Think Navy Pier
in Chicago but ten times bigger. My
favorite item was a slushy type dish with fresh fruit over carved ice. Joe got a custom made caramel dragon pop,
more fun to watch her make it, than it tasted.
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| Joe tries his luck. |
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| Doing better holding a dragon |
T
Tea
store. A gigantic tea store in a very
large furniture mall. We were seating in
an area near the type of tea we like, pu er.
Then a salesperson plus a tea maker, very ceremoniously served us
various teas in that variety, plus try to expand our palate. We leave with a kilo of tea!
Street
food. The Peking Duck was the only meal
we ate in a restaurant. The rest of the
meals come from small vendors with a stall with two to eight tables. None have a separate kitchen and I don’t
think they have running water. They have
propane fuel and a wok or two and a large soup pot. Our typical breakfast is egg and tomato in a
noodle broth. Dinner could be street barbecue or dumplings.
I can not talk about Chongqing
without mentioning their driving style.
The horns are honked three to four times more often than New York. Lane markings are not even used as
suggestions. Unlike Guangzhou, where
size takes right of way, in Chongqing every vehicle insists on the right of
way! Three inch clearance to move into a
lane is more than enough when proceeded by blowing your horn. And the taxi drivers would win any contest
with a New York cabby.
All the people we interacted with
were very polite and extremely honest.
More than once they corrected me when I overpaid.
We leave Chongqing on the high speed
train to Chengdu. We travel at 200 kph,
(124 mph for the 165 mile) on a route through mountainous terrain. We see many tiered areas, but it does not
look like it is used for rice production any more. Attempting to grow rice in inappropriate
areas was one of the major mistakes of the Chinese during the late 1950’s.
Upon arrival we quickly got a
taxi. With the aid of a text message
which said where we wanted to go in Chinese, we had a half hour taxi ride to
our hotel. Cost of the taxi, 44 RMB,
around 7 USD. Taxi rides are
ridiculously cheap in China.
Wednesday,
October 10/17 – Chengdu – Panda Breeding
Center
Tried to get an early start today to
visit the Panda Breeding Center, which is just north of Chengdu. We first stop at a roadside street cart for
custom made omelets. I have a
conservative omelet: egg, onion, hot dog and fried wonton. I left off four vegetables I did not
recognize and the hot sauce. It was
delicious for 3 RMB. I think we will
have another one tomorrow before we leave Chengdu.
Well the ride to the Panda Center is
longer than I expected; we arrive just before 9. This was not early enough to miss the tour
buses but was early enough to see many pandas still eating. The center is divided into multiple very
large enclosures. Each enclosure
includes a feeding area near the front and plenty of trees and brush for the
pandas to get away from view and to act like pandas. While in one sense it is a magnificent zoo,
it’s real purpose is the breeding and release of the endangered giant
pandas. The zoo portion just pays the
expenses. At 58 RMB it is an expensive
attraction to locals. (Entry to Shedd
Aquarium in Chicago is 181 RMB.)
The pandas are cutest while eating
and when getting comfortable in a tree.
We see only one case where juveniles were “fighting” for position. Even then it is a non-aggressive nudging, not
a typical juvenile bear play fight.
There were no teeth shown, no play swats at each other, just body
positioning. Let the pictures speak for
themselves.
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| You can never be the only one viewing a panda. |
After hours of walking and viewing,
we had lunch at an opulent restaurant in the center. We have a shrimp dish with greens, corn and a
rice fan; kung poa chicken; and a vegetable tower dish (unrecognizable
vegetables and not to our palate). Lunch
doubled the cost of our visit.
One meal deserves another, so we fed
the black geese and gold fish at Swan Lake.
The
taxi ride back cost only 1 RMB difference from the ride to the Center, so our
first cabbie did not take us for a ride, it is just further away than I
thought.
For dinner we go to a small noodle storefront. When we lived in Guangzhou there were little
or no wheat dishes, just rice after rice.
In both Chongqing and Chengdu wheat is king. No pasta machines here, the dough is hand
stretched and restretched, then cut into the noodle type required for each
dish. Everything from a spaghetti style
to a egg noodle style. The noodles were
delicious. Picking the topping from
pictures and Joe’s attempt at Mandarin was more or less successful.
Thursday
October 18 – Start of mountain trip
Our guide, Haba and driver, Mr. Chan
arrived before 9 AM. We are in a very
comfortable van with three rows of seats and large enough for all our gear and
then some. With only a couple of small
stops we arrive in Songpan after 7 PM.
The route includes a relatively flat
start. After a couple of hours we reach
the Tibetian mountains. Up, down, around
and thru many mountains we go. Much of
the route follows tributaries of the Yangtze River. The tunnels are magnificent, the longest was
over 4000 meters long!
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| One of many destroyed bridges |
Soon after we
reach the mountains we are going thru the area destroyed by the 2008
earthquake. Much of the road is bigger
and better than it was before the quake, however we still must detour in
spots. It is amazing how large an area
was affected and virtually destroyed.
The Chinese have kept a few of the destroyed schools to remind all of
the need for better construction. In the
earthquake, over 69,000 people were killed, 374,000 were injured and 18,000 people were missing.
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| A new village for around 30,000 people. |
It is amazing how many new residences and
towns have been built to repopulate the area.
Also , it is astonishing the expense that has been incurred to fix and
improve the roads in a very rural, lightly populated area.
We make a stop at an old Tibetan village.
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| Entrance to village. |
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| View thru the barn window. |
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| Grandma watches the kids as parents work in the field. |
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| Farmer gives us an eye. |
Our last stop is a gas station where a Tibetan sells white Yak rides.
Finally Songpan! It is an ancient village
area with only a single main road but with store after store. The mainly Tibetan Muslim population are farmers. Tourism is the secondary
industry.
After a fine Muslim hot pot dinner,
we crashed.
Friday,
October 19 – Huanglong
Huanglong Scenic Park is not too far
from Songpan, but the road is narrow and several mountains away. We drive up and down switchback trails for
three hours. We are high enough to look
down at the clouds. According to the GPS
we are over 12000 feet up. There is
enough snow for snowmen.
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| Prayer beads were welcomed as we drove thru clouds on switchback roads |
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| Horses and cattle had no problem with the snow |
Huanglong Park is the home of the
famous Five Color Pond. There are two
ways up to see it: climb 5 km with about a mile of elevation change or take a
tram half way up and walk the rest. Joe
and Haba took the trek, it took them over two hours to reach the top, both are
very fast hikers. Marsha and I who had
climbed it before, took the tram. We met
up with Joe around 500 meters from the top.
The trail is crowded with tourists. Fall colors increases the number of visitors.
For me, this day is a disaster. Somehow I left my altitude medication at
home. I already felt some altitude
discomfort in Songpan, so I picked up some herbal altitude medication from a
local pharmacy. Western medicine was not available. I was okay on the tram and the first 1.5 km
of the trail, but around 1 km from the top, I start having trouble.
At first I just toughed it out.
Then I had to stop and sit for
extended periods at shorter and shorter intervals. Soon after we met up with Joe, even with some
oxygen, which is sold on the trail, and even with some western altitude pills given to me by a
fellow hiker, I give up the quest.
Fortunately we met up with our driver at the Buddist Temple near top, so Joe and Marsha continued with him. Mr.
Chan was kind enough to take my camera gear.
I walked slowly down the 3.5 km to the base with Haba. (Those who know me, know how bad I had to feel
to give up my camera!) Fortunately I made
it back to the bottom without being carried.
We saw another person carried down on a stretcher. Over half the people
who begin this trek do not reach the top.
Less than 1 percent of the trekkers are westerners.
Here
are some of Marsha’s pictures.
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| Joe with Mr. Chan my hero today |
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| The Five Color Pond is very large |
The
drive to Juizhaigou is done in the dark.
While not far on the map, it is 3+ hours on switchback roads at
20-30 mph. We arrive after 9 PM. We skip dinner, bed is a necessity. We stay at a hostel in Juizhaigou with three
to the room because the prices were astronomical during fall color change.
Saturday,
October 20 – Juizhaigou, first day
Juizhaigou Vailley is part of the Min Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and stretches 180,000 acres. It is known for its many multi-level waterfalls and colorful lakes. Its elevation ranges from 6,600 to 14,800 ft.
Thought we started out early enough
to catch sunrise over the park, arriving over an hour before the sun. NO!
The queue for tickets was long and unruly; the wait for buses in the
park is significant even with cutting.
Since our last visit they changed the bus policy from being allowed to
get off at any bus stop you want. Now you
are forced you to go to a designated spot in the AM to spread out
crowd. Neither you nor the bus driver
know where he his going until he is contacted by the dispatcher
after he starts driving. No sunrise
shots for us on this beautiful day.
During the rest of the day there is a reasonable chance of getting a bus
driver to let you off where you want and to pick you up at a bus stop. (Remember this is peak season, with double
the normal admission fee and no second day free). A significant portion of their 3.5 million
visitors come during the time we are there.
(Think of Yellowstone in July.)
In spite of large crowds, we were able to see everything we want to see
without people between us and the viewing spots.
The altitude is still giving me
some problems.
The park is very large with three
peaks and three valleys. There are
hundreds and hundreds of waterfalls, which were even bigger and more plentiful
this year because of record rains.
Furthermore,
there are turquoise colored lakes with crystal clear water and the Fall color
change on the trees. It is no wonder why so many people travel so far to see
this magnificent area.
The first day we spend most of our
time in the valleys. We hike for several
hours and ride the buses to several starting spots. In general you ride the bus to above a
feature you want to see and then trek down to it and then trek further down to
get back to the road. If you work it
correctly you only have to trek 1-2 km per stop.
Since the last time we visited the
paths have been changed from dirt and rock to boardwalk. You would not believe the amount of
boardwalk, again think of Yellowstone and imagine every road and path being a
boardwalk. Five years ago, there was
none or almost none (at least we do not remember any). Imagine the expense and labor that went into
constructing them. At the end of the
day, we found one non-boardwalk path behind a Tibetan village. It was fun to be on dirt.
Here
are some photos from day one.
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| Shuzheng Falls |
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| Perfectly clear water flowing over a high water overflow |
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| Walking thru the meadow we saw some interesting fall flowers |
The
last thing we do in the park is to buy tickets for the second day. This saved us at least a half hour the next
morning.
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| Our guide called Joe the one-eyed dragon. |
On the way to dinner we stopped at a medical clinic. Joe had an eye infection which was getting worse. The cost of the visit 2 yuan ($0.33 USD). The medicine cost another 12 yuan. Wait time at the clinic, under 10 minutes. Wish we got that type of care in the USA.
Sunday,
October 21 – Juizhaigou, day 2
5:30 AM the rooster on my borrowed
cellphone announces the start of another day.
By 6:30 we check out and eat a breakfast bought from a street vendor:
fried dough for me, dumplings for Marsha and Joe. When the park opens at 7 we are on one of the
first buses. There were 400-500 hundred
people at the entrance at opening, at least twice that number are in line to
buy tickets. The early morning bus
drivers have more freedom. He dropped us
off at our first destination, Mirror Lake.
Today there was no sunrise, the sky is overcast. However, we get some fantastic first light
pictures here.
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| Even before dawn we were not alone |
On the bus again to a second sight, Colored Lake. This area is higher than Mirror Lake and a nice trek
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| Beautiful clear colors at Colored Lake |
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| Fall colors just add to our enjoyment |
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| Nice reflections off the calm lake |
Had enough and
take a 400 meter trail to the next higher bus stop. UNFORTUNATELY, there is a gigantic staircase up to the bus stop. It was over
25 stories of stairs. We huff and
puff and take many rests. Not quickly. A
stop every three stories or so. Some
just resting, some sitting down.
We get back on the bus to visit one
of the most popular sights in the Park, the Pearl Drop Falls areas. First we hike thru the pre-falls area.
The Pearl Drop Falls area is the most changed since our last
visit five years ago. I remember holding
on to trees and taking side steps to walk down to this area. The path was very narrow. You could walk single file or at most two
across. Now it has a wide boardwalk,
with two different routes down the stairs to the base of the falls. At the base, the boardwalk is a platform big
enough to accommodate a couple thousand people and it has a large toilet
area. I do not remember the base area
being accessable on our previous visit. Now you can follow the falls all the
way to the far end. Many smaller
waterfalls exist on the far end. In any
other part of the world, these smaller falls would be enough reason to visit an
area. Everyone is smiling.
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| Near the top of Pearl Drop Falls |
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| Near the base |
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| Almost identical to an image I took in 2007. The falls is significantly more powerful this time. Record rains have increased the flow rate. |
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| Covered bridge leads to run-off area. |
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| Mini-falls at the far end of the trail. (above and below) |
What a wonderful and full
morning. Onto the bus, it is time for
lunch. That is a mistake. After lunch we are exhausted, yes just Marsha
and me.
We take a ride up to the last peak and make a decision not to hike at 9000 feet.
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| Only area with snow! |
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| Chinese tourists dress in Tibetan outfits rented at 9000 ft level. |
Instead we take a bus down to
another Tibetan village.
Then we go back
to the entrance and a visit to the Juizhaigou Museum.
The Museum lets us understand why
all the changes in the 5 years. When we
visited in 2007, they had the highest attendance year until 2011. There were 3.5 million visitors in 2007. In 2008, there was a devastating earthquake;
around 70,000 people died. The road thru
the mountains from Chengdu was destroyed. The only way to visit was by airplane. There are still detours and bad road
conditions in spots. During this lull in visitors the
government brought in an army of workers to build the boardwalks in the park.
This kept the local population employed, kept the lodges and restaurants from
failing and built major
improvements. Just think, this is what
the USA did during the Great Depression.
Monday,
October 22 – Back to Chengdu
Before heading back to Chengdu, we
have breakfast at Emma’s, an almost western style restaurant with the dirtiest
table cloths I have ever ate on. The
plates were clean and food was good,
just don’t put your fork down on the table.
We
take a short walk to the old walled city of Songpan. The town is protected by an ancient wall. The northern gate is
the best-preserved section. Two characters engraved on the gate describe the
town's old name, Songzhou. The imperial court is said to have dispatched a
distinguished general to build the city wall, due to the town's strategic
importance. Each brick weighed 30 kilograms. Construction lasted five years.
The entire structure is 6,200 kilometers long and more than 10 meters tall.
Seven arched stone gates punctuate the wall, each inscribed with relief
sculptures. The remaining north gate is decorated with a crane and deer motif.
The old
city is now a pedestrian mall basically for locals.
At the south end is a
farmer’s market.
To the west of the city
another large wall was built near the top of a neighboring hill (mountain), without
it the Tibetans could easily have destroyed the city with catapults.
We leave Songpan and begin the 6-7 hour drive back to Chengdu. We are retracing our Chengdu to Songpan route.
A final stop is
made at the epicenter of the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake. We visited the memorial remains of the
Beichuan Middle School, which has been left as it was after the quake. Shoddy construction has been blamed for its
collapse and the relatively high percentage of students killed.
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| Memorial - May 12, 2008 5:12 PM, the time of the earthquake |
Due to a variety of factors we do not reach our hotel in Chengdu until
after 9 PM. Oh well, 4:45 wake-up call
tomorrow.
