China, Sichuan Province

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.

Incense sticks sued when praying to Buddah

   A reconstructed fort.  Now a seven story shopping mall.  Think of riverfront in New Orleans.

Outside of 7 story mall.  Modern apartment building on left.

View from middle level.

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.

Joe tries his luck.

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.

      

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!  

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.  

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.

Entrance to village.

View thru the barn window.

Grandma watches the kids as parents work in the field.

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.

Prayer beads were welcomed as we drove thru clouds on switchback roads

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.

Joe with Mr. Chan my hero today

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.

Shuzheng Falls

Perfectly clear water flowing over a high water overflow

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.  

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.

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

Beautiful clear colors at Colored Lake

Fall colors just add to our enjoyment

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.

Near the top of Pearl Drop Falls

Near the base

Almost identical to an image I took in 2007.  The falls is significantly more powerful this time.  Record rains have increased the flow rate.

Covered bridge leads to run-off area.

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.

Only area with snow!

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.

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.