The Paradise on Earth



Jiuzhaiguo

Is there a Paradise on earth? Yes, I believe there is.

Couple of years ago, we went to Jiuzhaiguo (九寨沟) and we found Paradise there. The scenery is so beautiful that we thought we were in Paradise, at least in my opinion, this place is extraordinary, not from this world. The landscapes, the waterfalls, the many lakes with clear and colourful water, water features and the surroundings, they look so different from all other places I have visited.  This place is unique and in a class of its own.No wonder the 6-star hotel there is also called Jiuzhai Paradise.

 

Jiuzhaigou iterally means "Valley of Nine Villages" is a nature reserve and national park located in northern Sichuan province of south western China. Jiuzhaigou is part of the Min Mountains on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and stretches over 72,000 hectares (180,000 acres). It is known for its many multi-level waterfalls, colorful lakes, and snow-capped peaks. Its elevation ranges from 2,000 to 4,500 metres (6,600 to 14,800 ft). Jiuzhaigou Valley was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992 and a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997.

 

Lake in blue hue

Jiuzhaigou can be difficult to access by land. The majority of tourists reach the valley by a 10-hour bus ride from Chengdu along the Minjiang River canyon, prone to occasional minor rockslides and in the rainy season, mudslides that can add several hours to the trip. For our trip to Jiuzhaiguo, we flew to Chengdu, then we took a local flight directly to Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport on a 11,311 ft (3,448 m) high mountain side near Songpan County, and then a 90-minute bus ride to Jiuzhaigou. This was before the May-2008 earthquake that rocked the region. The highway that had been  badly damaged during earthquake has now been repaired. Further repairs from Mao Xian to Chuan Zhu Si are still ongoing but the road is open to public buses and private vehicles. Due to the large number of tourists that come to this place, more flights have been added daily from Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Beijing, Shanghai and Hangzhou. Since opening, tourist activity has increased every year: from 5,000 in 1984 to 170,000 in 1991, 160,000 in 1995, to 200,000 in 1997, including about 3,000 foreigners. Visitors numbered 1,190,000 in 2002. As of 2004^[update], the site receives an average of 7,000 visitors per day, with a quota of 12,000 being reportedly enforced during high season to ensure minimum damage to the environment of the region.       

 

Jiuzhaigou's landscape is made up of high-altitude karsts (landscapes formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks including limestone, dolomite and gypsum) shaped by glacial, hydrological and tectonic activity. It lies on major fault lines on the diverging belt between the Qinghai-Tibet Plate and the Yangtze Plate, and earthquakes have also shaped the landscape. The rock strata is mostly made up of carbonate rocks such dolomite as well as some sandstone. The valley includes the catchment area of three gullies (which due to their large size are often called valleys themselves), and is one of the sources of the Jialing River, part of the Yangtze River system.

 

Jiuzhaigou's best-known feature is its dozens of blue, green and turquoise-coloured lakes. The local Tibetan people call them "Haizi" in Chinese, meaning "son of the sea". Originating in glacial activity, they were dammed by rockfalls and other natural phenomena, then solidified by processes of carbonate deposition. Some lakes have a high concentration of calcium carbonate, and their water is very clear so that the bottom is often visible even at high depths. The lakes vary in colour and aspect according to their depths, residues, and surroundings. Some of the less stable dams and formations have been artificially reinforced, and direct contact with the lakes or other features is forbidden to tourists. Some tourists come to this place during the four seasons of the year to enjoy the views of different seasons. Generally, the best time to come to Jiuzhaiguo is during late October period where the plants and flowers blossom and the whole region becomes very colourful. In winter, everywhere is covered with snow, again if you don't mind the cold. The view can be spectacular.

Scenic view of Jiuzhaiguo

Jiuzhaiguo

Shuzheng Village, the busiest Tibetan village in the valley

Scenic view of waterfall

There is this little Huanglong  小黄龙 in Jiuzhaiguo that closely resembles the true Huanglong, a scenic and historic interest area in the northwest part of Sichuan, China which is located in the southern part of the Minshan mountain range, 150 kilometres (93 mi) north-northwest of the capital Chengdu. This area is known for its colourful pools formed by calcite deposits, especially in Huanglonggou (Yellow Dragon Gully), as well as diverse forest ecosystems, snow-capped peaks, waterfalls and hot springs.


Calcite ponds



Plenty of water in this region

The ponds in little Huanglong with its distinctive brownish colour of calcite deposits.
The water in the lake in Jiuzhaiguo is so clear that you can see the things that are submerged underneath the water.


Clear water in Lake

Black panda

One icon tourists won't miss when they are in Sichuan is the giant panda. This lovely animal, an endangered speci-es, is easily recognised by the large, distinctive black patches around its eyes, over the ears, and across its round body. black panda.


The black panda

The red panda

The other species is the red panda which is slightly larger than a domestic cat; it has reddish-brown fur, a long, shaggy tail, and a waddling gait due to its shorter front legs. We were able to see these two different types of panda when we visited the local zoo which is actively involved in the breeding of the endangered species, the black panda.

Beautiful Dongbei

Northeast China, historically known as Manchuria, consists of the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The region is sometimes called the Three Provinces of Dongbei (东北三省).

This region was one of the earlier regions to industrialise in China. It is, on the whole, more heavily urbanised than most parts of China, largely because it was the first part of the country to develop heavy industry owing to its abundant coal reserves. Major cities include Shenyang, Dalian, Harbin, Changchun and Anshan, all with several million inhabitants. Harbin, more than any other city in China, possesses significant Russian influences: there are many Orthodox churches that have fallen out of use since the Cultural Revolution. Shenyang and Dalian, meanwhile, have sizable populations of Japanese and Koreans due to their traditional linkages.

Recently my wife and I went on a 8-day tour to Dongbei and visited cities like Shenyang, Dalian, Changchun and Harbin. There are many tourist attractions in this north eastern region of China. For instance, there is the Red Beach in Panjin, not far from the city of Dalian; Imperial Palace of the Manchurian dynasty in Shenyang; Changbaishan and Tianchi in Jilin. We even had a glimpse of China's first aircraft carrier docking in a shipyard in Dalian under refurbishing work.

 

When we were at Harbin, we went to the central street and Gougell Street, the most prosperous street in Harbin. It is also an architecture art gallery, with the most influential architecture schools in western-style architectural history, such as Baroque, Eclecticism and so on. Everywhere, we noticed the strong influence of Russian culture in buildings and parks. It is amazing to find a large church in the city which was built based on Russian style architecture. This is the St Sophia Orthodox Church which is the most impressive and attractive structure of orthodox churches and Russian style facades in Harbin. .

St Sophia Church

Russian church

 The large dome of the church building has a distinctive bluish hue. The church looks grand and magnificent from far. There are also quite a number of similar buildings around when we arrived at Volga Manor where we stayed one night and watched a Russian style show, performers were all Russians.  Every building in this manor is authentic Russian style and all the construction materials were imported from Russia.


The Changbaishan region is the most interesting part of the tour. Changbaishan was still covered with patches of snow even during the period of late March when we were there. However, the best part of Changbaishan is undoubtedly Tian Chi or Heavenly Lake. The lake was formed in the crater of Changbaishan, which is the source of  the Songhua, Tumen and Yalu Rivers. Changbaishan is also the cradle of Manchu, Korean and Han people.


The orthodox church

Tian Chi 天池 , the Heavenly Lake, is often covered with clouds. It looks just very mysterious, as the clouds obstruct the full view of the Lake for those anxious visitors from afar. The tour guide told us that 7 out of 10 times, the place is covered with dense clouds and the Lake is almost invisible to the eyes. So tourists only have 30% chance of viewing the magnificent view of the lake. We were also the unlucky ones (70% of the tourists) as the weather of that day was so bad that we could not even see our own fingers, let alone the majestic view of the heavenly lake, it was just disappointing.

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Russian architecture

Changbaishan - famous for Ginseng

Red Beach of Panjin

Manchurian Palace

 

Heavenly Lake 天池 on a clear day

Panaromic view of Tian Chi

The Red Beach scenic area of Panjin is a place worth visiting. From afar, visitors can see an endless stretch of reed marshes with a unique red hue. The place is like having a big red carpet spreading across the plain, hence the name Red Beach. The view is spectacular.

The Moonbay Wetland

A direct contrast to this red vision of the Red Beach is the Moonbay Wetland which is a huge field of reeds with the distinctive greenish appearance (green vision). It was relaxing to walk on raised platform and watch the reeds blowing in the wind. This stretch of vast green is indeed very soothing to the eyes.

The Red Beach

Fujian Tulou

If you plan to go to Fujian, a province of China, there are a few interesting places to visit. One of them is the Fujian Tulou, 福建土楼; a type of Chinese rural dwellings of the Hakka (a dialect speaking group) in the mountainous areas of China. They were mostly built between the 12th and the 20th centuries. 

Based on the literal meaning of the Chinese words tu (土; "earth") and lou (樓; "building"), one may think of the term "tulou" as a building made of earth. As the name suggest, a tulou is usually a large, enclosed and fortified earth building, most commonly rectangular or circular in shape, with very thick and strong earth walls between three and five stories high. These Tulous can and house up to 80 families. Within these huge peripheral walls (well reinforced with earth mixed with stones) are halls, storehouses and living areas, the whole earthen building looks like a small fortified city which is well-lit, well-ventilated, windproof and earthquake-proof.The building is warm in winter and cool in summer. Tulous usually have only one main gate, guarded by thick wooden doors reinforced with an outer shell of iron plate. The top level of these earth buildings has gun holes for defence purposes. From the 12th century to 19th century, armed bandits plagued southern China. The people of southern Fujian first built strongholds on top of mountains as a defence. These early strongholds later evolved into Fujian Tulou.

A total of 46 Fujian Tulou sites, including Chuxi tulou cluster, Tianluokeng tulou cluster, Hekeng tulou cluster, Gaobei tulou cluster, Dadi tulou cluster, Hongkeng tulou cluster, Yangxian lou, Huiyuan lou, Zhengfu lou and Hegui lou, have been inscribed in 2008 by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, as "exceptional examples of a building tradition and function exemplifying a particular type of communal living and defensive organization [in a] harmonious relationship with their environment".

A Tulou Cluster

A Tulou Cluster

The layout of Fujian tulou followed the Chinese dwelling tradition of "closed outside, open inside" concept: an enclosure wall with living quarters around the peripheral and a common courtyard at the centre. A small building at the centre with open front served as an ancestral hall for ancestry worshipping, festivals, meetings, weddings, funerals and other ceremonial functions. Ground floor plan includes circle, semicircle, oval, square, rectangle, and irregular pentagon.
Tulous were usually occupied by one large family clan of several generations; some larger tulou had more than one family clan. The residents share many facilities such as water wells, ceremonial hall, bathrooms, wash rooms, and weaponry. They even the surrounding land and farmland, fruit trees, etc.   Nowadays newer houses with modern facilities are popping up in rural China. Many residents have bought these modern houses and moved out, or live in a larger town or city for better jobs. However they keep their ancestral tulou apartment homes under padlock, only returning home during festival for family reunion.

Livestock

Buildings in neighbourhood

The thick outer walls of tulous were immune to arrows and gunfire. The lower one- to two-metre section of the outer wall was sometimes built with granite blocks or large river cobbles. This granite or cobble section was immune to digging, since the outer layer of cobbles was purposely laid with the smaller ends pointing outwards—it would be futile for bandits to dig out such cobbles. Digging a tunnel under the wall was not possible either, because the cobble section wall was extended deep down more than one metre. In this way, the Tulou is well fortified against attacks from any enemies.

The interior of Tulou

In front of a Tulou

We visited one such Tulou when we were in Fujian sometime ago. The building is still very sound after so many years even tough it is not made of concrete, amazing isn't it.

Another scenic attraction we visited in Fujian is the Wuyishan. The landscape of Wuyishan is characterised by winding river valleys flanked by columnar or dome-shaped cliffs as well as cave systems. Peaks in the western portion of the Wuyi Mountains typically consist of volcanic rocks, whereas peaks and hills in the eastern area are made up of red sandstone with very steep slopes but flat tops. The Nine-bend River (Jiuqu Xi), about 60 kilometres in length, meanders in a deep gorge among these hills. The highest peak in the area is Mount Huanggang at 2,158 metres (7,080 ft) on the border of Fujian and Jiangxi, making it the highest point of both provinces; the lowest altitudes are around 200 metres (660 ft).  The mountains of Wuyishan have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, for its cultural, scenic, and biodiversity values since 1999.


Sceniv view of Wuyishan

This region is also famous for a special tea called the Dà Hóng Páo ( 大红袍 literally means "Big Red Robe"), a prestigious Wuyi oolong tea. According to legend, the princess of a Ming emperor was cured of an illness by this tea, and that emperor sent great red robes to clothe the four bushes from which this tea originated. Three of these original bushes, growing on a rock on Mount Wuyi and reportedly dates back to the Song Dynasty, still survive today and are highly valued. Known for its highly expensive value and quality, Da Hong Pao tea is usually reserved for honoured guests in China.

Enjoying Wuyi tea in a local teashop

The Beauty of Zhangjiajie

More than 30 years ago, a renowned Chinese artist Wu Guanchong was once looking for inspirations for his art works and he discovered Zhangjiajie (張家界). As he was an artist by training, he straight away noticed that the mountains in Zhangjiajie were very unusual. The most notable geographic features of the park are the pillar-like formations that are seen throughout the park. They are the result of many years of erosion. The weather is moist year round, and as a result, the foliage is very dense. Much of the erosion which forms these pillars are the result of expanding ice in the winter and the plants which grow on them. These formations are a distinct hallmark of Chinese landscape, and can be found in many ancient Chinese paintings. As an artist himself, these scenes (landscape) were far too familiar to him. He was so amazed and marvelled at the finding of this beautiful scenic attractions in China that prompted him to write an article in the press. In his article, he borrowed a phrase in the song/poem 長 恨 歌 (The Song of Everlasting Regret by Bai Juyi in the year 806 to describe the love story between Yang Guifei and the Tang emperor which read like this 養在深閨人未識) to describe the beauty of Zhangjiajie. This phrase 養在深閨人未識 means a beautiful lady kept inside her bedroom and nobody has noticed her. What he actually meant was that the beauty of Zhangjiajie is well hidden and awaiting discovery.


A pillar like mountain

A lake by the mountains

After his article was published, it created a stir in the the tourism circle and people began to flop to Zhanjiajie to see this heavenly place themselves. Over night, Zhangjiajie became a famous icon, well know and a darling destination for the tourism industry. The government began to pour in money to develop this region into a sought-after tourist attraction. There was even a joint venture between Chinese and German firms to build an elevator on the side of one of the mountains. The Bailong Elevator (百龙电梯) (literally Hundred Dragons Elevator) is a glass elevator built onto the side of a huge cliff  that is 1,070 feet (330 m) high. The time we visited Zhangjiajie, the elevator was in operation. We were able to take the elevator directly up to the top of the mountain and at the same time, enjoy the scenic view of the surroundings through the glass panels of the elevator. The experience was terrific as the elevator is claimed to be the highest and heaviest outdoor elevator in the world.    


Just like Chinese painting

Zhangjiajie ( 张家界) is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan province in China. It comprises the district of Yongding (永定) and counties of Cili (慈利) and Sangzhi (桑植). Within it is located Wulingyuan Scenic Area which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 as well as an AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration. The three-character name (张家界) can be interpreted as follows: "Zhang" (张) is a common surname in China; "jia" (家) can be translated as "family"; and "jie" (界) can be translated as "homeland", giving the completed translation of "Zhang family homeland." The official version of its name is linked to a Han general, Zhang Liang, who resettled in the area after a suspicious Liu Bang, the Han emperor, started to persecute his staff and generals who had contributed to his success of establishing the Han Dynasty. It was so named to signify that the Zhang family had set up home there.




Bailong Elevator

The city itself was previously known as Dayong (大庸), Zhangjiajie City was adopted in 1994, after the National Forest Park in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area (武陵源) in order to give it more prominence and after this site had been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. Tourists who like to visit the national park can fly directly to an airport recently built in the city.


Tienmen Mountain

Glass panel walkway

Another attraction not to miss in the region is the Tianmen Mountain National Park with a noticeable big hole in the mountain. In the past, there was an international event organised for many small planes to fly through this narrow passage through the mountain. Recently glass panel type of walkway was erected round some mountains so tourists can be closer to the surroundings, but not for the weak heart. It must be certainly both challenging and fascinating to walk on such a walkway. You have to be there to admire the wonders of nature, the heritage of the world.

Planes flying through the opening in the mountain

Fortified Towers - Dialous

Our visit to Kaiping of Guangdong two years ago brought us to see a different type of buildings called Diolous or fortified towers. Lou in mandarin has the meaning of tower, Diolous are also common in other counties such as Enping, Taishan ans Xinhui. The early laboureres to North Ameriac, Australia and South East Asia wer mainly from these four counties of Guangdong.

The first towers were built during the early Qing Dynasty, reaching a peak in the 1920s and 1930s, when there were more than three thousand of these structures. Today, approximately 1,833 diaolous remain standing in Kaiping, and approximately 500 in Taishan. Although the diaolous served mainly as protection against attacks by bandits, a few of them also served as living quarters. Kaiping has traditionally been a region of major emigration abroad, and a melting pot of ideas and trends brought back by overseas Chinese. As a result, many diaolous incorporate architectural features from China and from the West.

In 2007, UNESCO named the Kaiping Diaolous and Villages (开平碉楼与村落) in China as a World Heritage Site. These Diolous displayed a complex and flamboyant fusion of Chinese and Western structural and decorative forms. They reflect the significant role of émigré Kaiping people in the development of several countries in South Asia, Australasia, and North America, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the close links between overseas Kaiping and their ancestral homes. The property inscribed here consists of four groups of Diaolou, totalling some 1,800 tower houses in their village settings.

Entrance to Li Garden

Statue of Owner, Li Garden

Another corner at Li Garden



Furnishings inside Li Garden

View of Dialou

Garden inside Li Garden

Some of the more prominent Diolous are Ruishi Diolou, the Majianglong Diolou, Li Garden, Fangshi Denglou, Bianchouzhu Lou and the Tianlu Lou. Ruishi Diaolou, located behind Jinjiangli Village, Xianggang Township. Constructed in 1921, it has nine floors and is the highest diaolou at Kaiping. It features a Byzantine style roof and a Roman dome. The Majianglong diaolou cluster spread across the villages of Nan'an Li, Hedong Li, Qinglin Li, Longjiang Li and Yong'an Li. Li Garden, in Beiyi Xiang, was constructed in 1936 by Mr. Xie Weili, a Chinese emigrant to the United States. Fangshi Denglou - Built in 1920 after contributions from villagers, this Denglou is five stories high. It is referred to as the "Light Tower" because it had an enormous searchlight with a brightness much like that of the beam of a lighthouse. Bianchouzhu Lou (The Leaning Tower), located in Nanxing Village was constructed in 1903. It has seven floors and overlooks a pond. Tianlu Lou (Tower of Heavenly Success), located in Yong'an li, was built in 1922 and is seven storeys tall plus a roof top floor.

The Dialou we visited was the Li Garden which has big garden inside with man-made lake and mountains. I took a picture of the bronze statue of the owner in front of the Dialou. The furnishings inside the Dialou was a  mixture of modern and traditional style, with a lot of old Chinese wood furniture. This was typical of a combination in architectural features of the east and west. There was even one western style toilet cistern which remained in good conditions, probably not being used before. The Dialou was built with massive concrete walls to fend of attacks from bandits which were active during that periods. Another reason for such heavy fortification was to protect the buildings from natural disasters such as floods and typhoons, which were also common those days. The compound inside the Li garden was so big that visitors can easily lose sense of direction inside. Nowadays, the villagers have left the Dialous and seek better and more modern houses that the government provides. Many of the Dialous are no longer occupied and some less prominent towers do not even have care takers to carry out essential maintenance work.

A bronze statue inside Li Garden

Silk Road by Train

Come join me to explore Silk Road by train, not on a camel's back. I am serious. In early days, the only mode of transport on Silk Road was by camels, the animals that would survive the harsh conditions across miles and miles of deserts and wastelands. Now we have the luxury and comfort to travel on an express train, no doubt it might not be as comfortable as buses, but certainly it is better than on the back of a camel. Anyway, it didn't come cheap as we charted the whole train for our very own use, just to take us (no other passengers) across the deserts, on the Silk Road Trail.

The Silk Road or Silk Route is a term referring to a historical network of interlinking trade routes across the Afro-Eurasian landmass that connected East, South, and Western Asia with the Mediterranean and European world, as well as parts of North and East Africa. Extending 4,000 miles (6,500 km), the Silk Road gets its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade along it, which began during the Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD). The central Asian sections of the trade routes were expanded around 114 BC by the Han dynasty, largely through the missions and explorations of Zhang Qian (an envoy who explored the North during the Han Dynasty), but earlier trade routes across the continents already existed.

Our portion of the silk Road is only limited to the northern China portion between Xi'an and Urumnqi in Xinjiang. Last year we joined a tour organised by a travel agent here who deals mainly on Silk Road by Train (other tours may use buses to cover the whole journey). The advantage of train is that at night, while the tourists are sleeping (the noise from the rattling train is a constant nuisance), the train can continue its journey. In this way we saved valuable travelling time and the Silk Road tour can be covered in just over 7 days compared to 14 days or more by bus. Bus driver had to sleep at night, so the tourists bundled into hotel every night.

We began out tour by first flying to Xi'an, taking a local flight to Urumqi, then boarding an express train and travelling eastward back to Xi'an. When we were at Urumqi, we visited Ghost City where gust of wind and sand produced howling scream of ghost. A famous tourist attraction is the Kanas Lake with breathtaking scenery, the sky and the lake almost share the same hue. It was beautiful. We also visited places like the Tuwa village, Flaming Mountain, the Grapes valley and Karez well in Turban. We were welcome by the chief of a local tribe at Turban to taste the grapes at his residence. As usual, he would then do his part (sales promotion for extra income) to promote the different types of raisins produced by the local farmers.

Kanas Lake

A whole roasted lamb

From Turban, we then arrived at Liuyuan train station. The place was filthy (rubbish thrown everywhere) with local people sleeping on the streets, pavements and even at the centre of roads. Beside them, heaps and heaps of rubbish with flies on the garbage. I supposed nobody care about cleanliness and health issues. Everybody is just passing by, ready to go to their next destination. Yes, and they were all waiting for their trains to take them out of here. As we were VIP (if you were visitors, you enjoy different status), we were able to bypass a lot of local people and went inside the station directly. Once inside, we waited for the train to arrive. We boarded the Express train to continue the next part of the journey on train. We all checked in our little twin sharing cabin, this would be our home for the next 4 days of our tour. One problem tough, there was no bath room/toilet in our little cabin, so the 10 of us would have to share a common bath room/toilet at the end of the coach. We needed to create a  roster so that every one can take turn to have shower. A piece of paper was placed in front of the bath room and we started to book our slot to take bath. Each was only allowed to at most 15 minutes to finish the bath. I remembered the first night on the train, by the time the last person had taken his shower, it was almost midnight. After we had settled down it was dinner time. As there were other passengers on this charted train, we had to have dinner in two batches. Dinner was served on a two separate coaches called the Restaurant Coach. There was also a bar serving wine and alcohol to guests. After dinner and having taken the shower, we went back to the cabin to rest. As it was dark, there was nothing to see and we went to bed early. I can tell you it was almost impossible to sleep due to the rattling noise from the train and the tight "bed" (actually our seat by day). By the time we opened our eyes, we could see beautiful sun rise from the windows of the train. Then again, we began to do the usual morning task like changing clothes, brushing teeth, going to toilet, etc.

Liuyuan Train Station

Having dinner onboard the train

Our little cabin, not as cosy as a hotel room tough

One of the highlights of this tour was a visit to the Mogao Grottoes (also known as Dunhuang Caves) in Dunhuang. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987. It also has the reputation of caves of the thousand Buddhas, from a system of 492 temples. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist arts spanning a period of 1000 years. The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three most famous ancient sculptural sites of China. We were amazed at these sculptural works, all crafted following the pattern of the caves, some even extending to the roof, some site contains so much Buddha statues that it was impossible to count their number. The tour guide told us that quite a good portion of these statues were stolen in early days by foreign visitors who were shocked at the beauty and magnificent works of Buddhist art. Most of these Buddha statues ended up in museums all over the world. The destruction caused to the ancient treasures was beyond description.

Mingsha Hill

Mogao Grottoes

A visit to the Mingsha Hill, a place full of sand and sand hills, just like the desert,  was also unforgettable. We had to loan from vendors a pair of cloth shoes (looked just like socks) to cover our footwear as we wondered into the wilderness of the land of sand. This was to prevent sand from getting into our shoes. Tourists can choose to ride camels or sit on camel carts to tour the desert. I missed the chance for a camel ride but later made it up in Jiayuguan where I mounted on a camel for photo shooting purpose. The experience was plain awkward, I really pity the travellers of those good old days, they had to endure the discomfort (not to mention the smell coming from the animal) on the back of a camel for miles and miles of journey across the deserts. When eating is concerned, one thing worth mentioning in Xinjiang is the roasted lamb. It is very tasty and the texture is equally good. It can come in the form of one whole roasted lamb or more commonly in pieces of lamb on sticks. They are equally good to eat although your cholesterol level may rise, but who cares, anyway.

Riding a camel, but not in Mingsha Hill

We also visited Jiayuguan or the "First and Greatest Pass under Heaven" and viewed Mt Qilian from far. Other places of interest included the Great Wall City Museum and the Xuanbi Greatwall. Fianally we boarded the train and headed for Lanzhou, the last leg of the tour. At Lanzhou, we visited the waterwheel Garden, the White Pagoda Hill and the Mother River Statue. After Lanzhou, the train would go on to Xi'an, the last stop of the tour. As we had been to Xi'an on another occasion, we did not join the group. So we said bye bye to the rest and flew home from Xi'an.


Xuanbi Greatwall

Outside the train with a staff







Farewell party at Lanzhou

Beautiful sun rise