(English version from the text posted in Jun/2014)
[clear]
[clear]
The Kunming railway station more closely resembles an airport’s boarding rooms, with baggage check, ticket verification, and with its various gates, each identified with the train’s number and destination, and where efficient Officials validate tickets, and from which passengers are directly referred to the boarding pier. At the door of each of the carriages, is a formal employee, wearing an authoritative and complex uniform of military appearance, in a dry gesture direct the passengers to the respective carriages.
[clear]
At the entrance of the train, we are greeted by the sound of a classical music orchestra, whose epic tone evokes the arrival of the cavalry that grows in intensity, while the passengers search the place and accommodate the luggage, until reaching the peak at the exact moment in which the Train begins its march. There follows a long sequence of instructions or information, spoken in Chinese, which passengers seem to ignore, absorbed by various electronic devices, entertained with games, messages, photographs and telephone conversations, food and drinks.
[clear]
This trip, like the one previously held between Kunming and Dali, offered great comfort, not only for the quality of the carriages but also for the good condition of the road, which appears to be relatively new, offering ample stations with generous passenger berths, apparently oversized for the present demand.
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[hr]
Info
[clear]
For information about China trains timetable, prices and duration of the trip:
Youth Hostels (YHA)… cheap and good accommodation in China
(English version from the text posted in Jun/2014)
[clear]
Definitely, the best solution in terms of accommodation in China are the Youth Hostels that despite the name are not limited to welcoming young people.
[clear]
They are generally well located, in city centers, near bus or train stations, or near tourist attractions. These type of accommodation are scattered all over the country, and there are at least two or three for each province of the vast Chinese territory. They offer good conditions, with double or single rooms, with private or shared bathroom. However the most popular option is the dormitory or shared room, of four, six or eight beds, always in the bunk system, that can have or not a bathroom inside the room.
[clear]
The YHA hostels are presented with good decoration, clean and airy. Filtered, hot or natural water is always available free of charge. They have security lockers, usually by the bed or sometimes at the front desk. The shower and sometimes the sink have hot water. A hairdryer is usually provided at the front desk upon payment of a deductible which is refunded upon return.
[Clear]
Depending on the climate of the region, the rooms are sometimes equipped with central heating, fans and even some with air conditioning. In regions where winters are harsher, it is often found electric blankets to warm up the beds. Only in the big cities, it’s possible to find a laundry service in this hostels, however, there are always washing and drying facilities. There is also the option of using the washing machine costing around 10 yuan per charge.
[clear]
Depending on the location and the size of the hostel, they may also have a restaurant, a TV, lounge room, snooker, games, a small library but mostly with Chinese books… the best ones have even small green spaces such as Hello Chengdu, which make you forget that you are in the center of a city of more than four million people.
[clear]
At the reception of these Youth Hostels, there is always someone who speaks English, who is able to provide information about transport and places to visit in the vicinity. In the hostels located in the big cities, it’s possible to book bus and train tickets for a commission, as well as tours and organized visits to the more touristy places.
Free wi-fi.
Prices for dorms range from 30 to 40 yuan but may be higher depending on the conditions offered and the location, being generally more expensive in large cities compared to the one located in smaller settlements or remote areas. With a Member Card, with the annual cost of 50 yuan, it is possible to have discounts in the various hostels and the value of one night in a dormitory can have a discount of 5 to 10 yuan.
[clear]
//www.yhachina.com/index.php?hostID=2
Kunming: Upland Youth Hostel
//www.yhachina.com/ls.php?id=288&hostID=2
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
Dali: Spoor Youth Hostel
//www.yhachina.com/ls.php?id=347&hostID=2
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
Dao Cheng: MaMa Hotel
//www.yhachina.com/ls.php?id=217&hostID=2
[clear]
Dao Cheng: Yading Backpacker International Youth Hostel
//www.yhachina.com/ls.php?hostID=2&id=208
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
Foto: Litang: Summer International Youth Hostel
//www.yhachina.com/ls.php?id=367&hostID=2
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
Kanding:
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
Chengdu: Hello Chengdu International Youth Hostel
Chengdu… without the pandas!
(English version from the text posted in Jun/2014)
[clear]
The day dawned strangely silent as if a cloak had muffled the usual sounds of the city. Despite the characteristic almost permanent overcast sky covering Chengdu, this morning presents itself much worse with a kind of fog that in spite of the warm temperature stubbornly stays in the city erasing the top of the tallest buildings.
[clear]
The city, with more than four million inhabitants, is not that confused or noisy. However, the fog that almost permanently covers the city is partly due to pollution coupled with the hot and humid climate of the city.
[clear]
Most of the visitors that arrive in Chengdu has the Panda Research Center in the top of the list of things to do in this city, that doesn’t have much more to offer than commercial areas, shopping center and a wide range of delicious Chinese food.
I decided not to visit the Panda Center as I don’t appreciate to see the animals being used as entertainment… and as shopping is not my “thing”, I was left with the Chengdu food experience, guided by my Chinese friends with who I have been hitchhiking in the last five days!
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
Population: 4.100.000
Elevation: 500 m
Larung Gar… looks like a dream
(English version from the text posted in Jun/2014)
[clear]
Larung Gar, located in the Sertar district in the western region of Sichuan province, is the largest Tibetan Buddhist school, housing about 40,000 monks, forming almost a town in the Larung Valley.
[clear]
Through the hills surrounding the main building are thousands of small houses, which evenly cover the slopes, forming a pattern similar to small squares painted with maroon color, the same color adopted by the Tibetan monks who follow the Mahayana current of Buddhism.
[clear]
The gray of the sky with its heavy clouds contributes to the mystical atmosphere that surrounds the place, intensified by the morning mist that comes out from the slopes covered with a mantle of fine green grass.
From the fireplaces of the small wooden houses comes out a thin column of smoke that slowly mix with the heavy clouds.
The houses, located very close from each other, create an intricate labyrinthine of narrow streets and uneven steps.
[clear]
It was a special day, with the celebration of a ceremony attended by the founder of the institute, Lama Jigme Phuntsok, whose image can be seen in houses, cars, restaurants, and shops, in the neighbouring villages such as Sertar and Lughuo, as well as hanging around the neck of many Tibetans.
[clear]
The vision and atmosphere of Larung Gar, which until recently was barred to foreigners, is too impressive to be recorded in pictures and even less in words, having been one of the most remarkable places of trip in China.
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
… hitchhiking by Kangding, Tagong and Sertar
(English version from the text posted in Jun/2014)
[clear]
Because of a misunderstanding between me and the Litang taxi drivers, as a result of my poor Chinese pronunciation and the limited knowledge shown by the Tibetans about Mandarin, I ended up going to Kanding, near Garzé instead of Ganzi… instead of going North, I was on my way to Chengdu, East, forcing me to spend a night in the uninteresting city of Kanding.
[clear]
But everything happens for a reason and the disappointment brought a succession of events that become positive: in the hostel where I slept in Kanding, I met two Chinese on school vacations that were planning to travel in the western region of Sichuan.
[clear]
So, it began a pleasant three-day adventure hitchhiking through the Kangding region, which took us to the green hills of Tagong, to a sky burial near Luhuó and the incredible monastery town of Sertar.
[clear]
The Chinese generosity was evident during these days, with countless vehicles stopping to offer us a ride (with the exception of the trucks that are forbidden to carry foreigners) being available to arrange space even when the car was apparently full, offering us water and food. Along the way, our drivers stop at temples, monasteries, and viewpoints to appreciate the wide landscapes of this region, where the Tibetan presence is evident and the Buddhist religion has a strong presence, visible by the numerous stupas and prayer flags that stand out at the top of the hills.
Easy, easy hitchhike in China, but it’s necessary to speak the language or travel in the company of Chinese!
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
Tiãnzàng… Tibetan sky burial
(English version from the text posted in Jun/2014)
[clear]
The so-called “sky burial” (tiānzāng, in the Tibetan language) is an ancient tradition of Tibetan Buddhism that considers the body only as a vehicle to go through this life; once a body dies, the spirit abandons the body leaving it useless.
[clear]
Giving the body as food for the vultures is a final act of generosity toward the world of the living and is part of the life cycle. The vultures themselves are revered and believed to be a manifestation of the god Dakinis.
In addition to spiritual significance, Sky Burial is also a practical way for Tibetan plateau populations to rid of the bodies in an area where temperatures keep the soil frozen during most of the year, in a place where wood is scarce and can’t be wasted on funeral pyres.
[clear]
The ceremony, more practical than ritualistic, is usually held in the morning on a hillside, further away from the villages. On one side small groups of people wait, almost exclusively men, many wearing the traditional Tibetan coats that with the help of the excessive long sleeves keep tied to the waist. On the other side groups of vultures forming brown spots on the green of the terrain, wait calmly. Not far away, another group is distinguished by the colourful clothes and trekking equipment: it is mainly Chinese tourist who visit these areas along the route between Chengdu and Lhasa, one of the most popular adventure travel routes among the Chinese tourism, which sees Tibet with a primitive and wilderness area… a kind of discovery of the “last frontier” in their own country.
[clear]
From the bodies that are waiting on the ground, a smell of seven days of decomposition is released, which the gentle breeze brings up along the hill. As the men in charge of preparing the bodies do their work, the various groups of vultures gather, flying low over the place and down the hill in a slow but determined walk, forming an impressive group.
[clear]
At the discreet signal of a monk attending the ceremony, the groups of vultures begin with semi-open wings the descent of the hill, towards the bodies, which in seconds disappear under the undulating brown cloak formed by the birds, greedily cut and tear viscera, skin and flesh, from which abruptly a nasty smell kick out most of the spectators, provoking ravages of agony and vomiting, despite the scarves that cover the faces.
After less than half an hour, little remains of the corpses beyond the bones, which are methodically broken against a stone, with the aid of hammers, until they become small pieces that are mixed with barley flour and served again as food for the vultures, which as trained animals, wait patiently, at close distance, for the second part of the feast.
[clear]
Despite the apparent relaxation with which Tibetans attend this ceremony, without lamentations or exuberant emotional manifestations, the sky burials are intense and disturbing, remaining forever the memory of the smell of death that sticks to the skin of the living and the heavy beating of the vultures’s wings, flying lower and lower as they run to the corpses.
All this ceremony is enveloped under the majestic calm of the green landscape and the intense blue sky of the Garzê Hills.
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
Litang… the Chinese “wild, wild West”
(English version from the text posted in Jun/2014)
[clear]
Wild, Wild West… are the words that best fit the image that one has on arrival in Litang: dusty, paved streets, pigs eating scraps of food in the middle of the main road, forcing old and noisy trucks to get away, releasing clouds of black escape and raising the dust of the road that seems to cover the whole city, robbing it of the colours and leaving an uniform grey tone.
Groups of men gather along the sidewalks, leaning against the walls, the poles, and the trees, wearing heavy, thick jackets, chatting and watching the street movement, with a strong, dark-skinned face, half-covered by the flaps of felt hats, rolling the beads of the rosaries in their fingers.
[clear]
The city is famous in the region for the annual horse races that in August bring together several ethnic groups of this region, some still nomad, living from the cattle raising, to exhibit their talents and equestrian skills. However, these races were banned last year by the government due to protests against the Chinese presence in the region.
[clear]
Around Litang, a small and compact city lies a vast plain of agricultural fields where cattle pasture, which extends to the mountains with rounded ridges, almost deserted, which dominate the landscape. This produces an interesting contrast with the intense blue of the sky, which characterizes these regions of dry air and high altitude of the Tibetan plateau.
[clear]
In spite of the evident Chinese presence, which stands out in the dozens of restaurants that line the main street, Tibetan culture clearly dominates, with a large part of the population resisting the adoption of Mandarin, with the exception of children who learn it at school.
[clear]
At night, the people gather daily in the central square, built in a modern, organised Chinese style, to perform traditional Tibetan dances, with the ladies seeming to compete in the display of the traditional long dresses adorned with colorful aprons, characteristic of Tibet. Around the square, several groups of policemen watch over the participants, as these gatherings provided before a pretext for demonstrations against the Chinese presence in Tibet.
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
Population: 51.300
Elevation: 4014 m
Yanding Natural Park… more than beautiful
(English version from the text posted in Jun/2014)
[clear]
Dao Cheng is also a starting point for anyone planning to visit the Yading Natural Park, popular for its mountainous landscapes whose snow-capped peaks frame valleys of spring vegetation, where the Gongga Silver River gently winds.
[clear]
Throughout the park there are several rails, all properly identified and where a great part of the route that begins next to the Chonggu Temple, is made in wooden or metal platforms that accompany the ground, facilitating ascents and descents with steps and smooth ramps. From these structures, it’s possible to reach Luorong Pasture and take a walk to the Milk Lake located at 4600 meters of altitude and which is one of the main attractions of the park.
[clear]
The whole area of the park is well organised with information, maps, rest areas, bathrooms …. practically all the rails can be visited without great effort but without great space for adventure, but where the constant human presence does not take away Beauty to the stunning scenery.
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[clear]
[hr]
How to reach Yanding Natural Park
[clear]
- Bus from Dao Cheng to Yading (the buses starts from Dao Cheng bus terminal, in the center of the city): 7 AM; 10 AM; 14 PM; 17 PM.
Cost: 50 yuan.
For the same price you can use the service of mini-vans and shared taxis, whose drivers gathered in front of the bus terminal, charge the same value but don’t have a fixe schedule, departing when they have the car full; however the mornings always the most favorable time to try to find transportation. If you chose to make the trip to Yading in the evening you may lose the beautiful landscape on the way.
- Entry ticket: 150 yuan + 120 yuan for the bus from the Visitor Center to the Park entrance, Chonggu Temple, around 37 km; It’s impossible to buy these ticket separately; the ticket valid for one day; it’s possible to buy two days ticket.
- Transport inside the park: 50 yuan or 80 yuan, return ticket, to make approximately 6.5 km in electric car that leaves the visitors in the end of the metal and wooden paths constructed along the river valley; this journey take less than 2 hours;
- Transport by donkey from Luorong Pasture to the Milk Lake: 300 yuan; the other option is to make it hilling that takes about 4 hours, both ways.
- The last bus leaving the Park, Chonggu Temple, to the Visitor Centre is at 17 PM.
- Bus from the Visitor Center to Dao Cheng: 10 AM and 17 PM; the other option are the mini-vans and the shared-taxis taht cost from 50 to 100 yuan.
- Lodging: You can stay lodged in Yading, close to the Visitor Centre, or alternatively in the small village of Aden in the middle of the mountain, between the Park entrance, Chonggu Temple, and Yading.
[clear]
[clear]
[hr]
Xiannairi Snow Peak: 6032 m de altitude