Sadly, all three of those books could not have prepared me nearly as well as Josh Summer’s Turpan: Exploring Xinjiang’s Ancient Ruins.  It should be obvious by the title that his FREE (for now) eBook would not be much help anywhere else in Xinjiang beside Turpan.  Nevertheless it is a great resource I so wish I had way back when I was there.

Frankly, I was a bit disappointed on my trip to Turpan and, while I disagree somewhat on Josh’s opinion on visit-worthy sites, I know his eBook would have been a great help in the enjoyment of my visit.

First off, I’ll never admit that the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves is worth visiting.  That’s probably the biggest disagreement I have with Josh.  Other than that it’s simply a matter of preference.  I definitely agree that you should not pay any money whatsoever to view the Flaming Mountain.  Just drive right by it, snap a picture, and buy a postcard.  Much more effective.

I also completely agree that the Astana Tombs are a waste of time.  I didn’t go to the Turpan Museum but if they have the mummies there then that’s good enough.

One more thing that I’ve never seen advertised and only inadvertently discovered: at the Turpan Hotel they do have some dorm rooms at a negotiable rate.  I paid 50 RMB a night, while a group of people paid 40 RMB each for three-person rooms.  The accommodations were not good by any stretch of the imagination, but I wasn’t about to complain considering I was paying one-third to one-fourth the regular price.

All said, I think Josh’s eBook is a fantastic resource and I really do wish I had it before my trip.  His attention to history (which is paramount in Turpan) alone puts his book a cut above the rest of other guide books.  And I would know, I read three of them.

Far West China is a great website that I have been an avid reader of for a long time, so I hope you all give Josh, his website, and his eBook the attention they all deserve.

Related posts:

1. My Last Stop in Xinjiang: Turpan
2. Yet Another Lake in Xinjiang

It’s easy to run through an exhaustive list of all the big things that China has done.  To call out all of the sweeping expanses, the seemingly unending mountain ranges, and raging rivers that run for thousands of miles.

One thing China does really well is big.  There’s no doubt about that.  But over the course of my one year stay, I have come to realize that there’s more to it than that.

I try to notice all of the little things, the minor details that are not immediately obvious.  It must be the engineer, or the obsessive compulsive, in me.  With that in mind, I’ve compiled this photo essay that portrays some of the little details you may not notice but are beautiful nonetheless.

I’ve tried my best to go for a diversity of subjects as well as locations.  It would be easy to fill this essay with close-up pictures of urns and wall carvings from Beijing.  To be honest, some of these pictures are not my favorites.  I really did want to include a lot more pictures from Beijing.  But I think that no matter where you go in China, there is a certain beauty you can find in the little things.  And I wanted to maintain the theme I was going for.

With that in mind, I give you my first ever photo essay.  Enjoy!

Backdrop Buddhist carvings at Leshan, Sichuan.

Little red people stapled to a tree at Fuxi Temple, Tianshui.

My guess is these are "good luck" or "good fortune" prayer squares. They are tied to one of those giant urns at a small temple in Beihai (North Lake) Park, Beijing.

Columns supporting the roof of the High Mosque at the Aba Khoja Mausoleum, Kashgar, Xinjiang. With over 100 columns, each one is topped by a completely unique muqarna.

A large door at the Daxingshan Temple, Xi'an. I've never seen another door with a chain on it like this one.

A dragon (or is it emperor?) run at a temple near Lingyin Temple, Hangzhou. I found the blue accents particularly striking.

Usually the immediate impression you get upon seeing temple buildings is the sheer size. But sometimes you need to stop and appreciate the intricate woodwork that is going on under the eaves of the roofs. This one is from Heavenly Lake, Xinjiang.

The top of a wall inside the Yu gardens, Shanghai

Some kind of prayer charms at a temple (the name escapes me) in Lijiang, Yunnan. The lot of them made a beautiful noise when blowing in the wind.

I imagine that this dragon is breathing fire. Taken at another small temple at Beihai Park, Beijing.

Related posts:

1. Tangent Time! … Where Do I Live?

And how many months has it been since I was actually in Xinjiang?  It’s almost embarrassing that I’ve allowed so much time to pass before actually getting around to writing about the place.  I was there in the beginning of October and now it’s March.  Not good.

The final leg of my trip in Xinjiang was a stop in Turpan.  The city is at an elevation of 98 feet above sea level and is known for very cold winters and very hot summers.  While I was there it was easily in the 70s.

Turpan is known for its large production of high quality fruit.  This is a result of the combination of the hot, dry summers and a vast, ancient irrigation network.  And let me tell you, the fruit I ate there was really delicious.

If you want to visit all of the major sites around Turpan, you need to rent a car for the day.  These sites are scattered all about and it’s just too far to go on your own.  I was approached by a man putting a minibus tour together and I signed up with him.

Our first stop was at some culture museum.  I did not go in.  I was on a tight budget after splurging to get to Karakul Lake and the place’s big attraction was a spring.  I’ve been to places like this and I could tell from a glance that it would be a big waste of time.

The driver, a nice Uyghur man, asked me, “Are you going in?”

“No, I don’t think it is interesting.”

“You’re right, it’s not.  I don’t know why Chinese like this place.”

“Me neither.”

As it turned out my highlight of the day, despite all of the places we visited, was hanging out with the driver chatting.  It was fun practicing my Chinese and he was a very nice man.  I feel lucky I had this driver to talk to because most of the tourist attractions are not worth visiting.  They are a big waste of time.

After the cultural museum we drove past the Flaming Mountain (we didn’t stop and neither should you, buy a postcard if you must) and stopped at the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves. I think it should be renamed the 10 Buddha Caves. There’s nothing there. Almost all of the carvings and murals have been destroyed. I was in and out in 20 minutes, about half as long as it took to get there. A waste of time.

We also stopped at a burial ground where only three tombs were open.  Another 20 minutes wasted.  And we stopped at a place where a lot of grapes are grown.  Yawn.

Another stop was at Gaochang, one of the two ancient cities outside of Turpan. If you’re really into the ancient history and historical sites, it can be worth your while. I am into that stuff so I thought it was pretty neat. Unfortunately there is not much left of the city. There are plenty of mounds of what used to be buildings and some walls like in the picture above. And there is a large temple at the back that is impressive.  Other than that, not much to see.

Jiaohe is definitely the star attraction in Turpan.  This ancient city is mostly still standing.  Granted that ‘mostly’ is just the walls, but you can clearly see the delineation between different buildings.  Situated on a large plateau, the city provides for hours of wandering.  It was a surreal experience and reminded me very much of wandering through Pompeii.  So if you’re into that, you’ll love Jiahe.

Jiaohe was the last stop for the day, so we arrived a little late (around 5 or 6 PM I think).  Right in that “golden hour” for photography.  Although it meant I didn’t have nearly as much time as I would have liked to wander and explore before it got dark, I did come away with plenty of amazing photographs.

I think it’s pretty hard not to take a great photo when presented with this maze of ancient buildings kissed by the setting sun.  In that hour before the sun finally went down, the place was just beautiful.

So that’s it for Turpan. My advice? Visit Jiaohe and skip everything else. It’s really not worth the expense and the time. Take that extra time and relax, eat fruit, drink beer, and enjoy the warm weather.

Related posts:

1. Traveling to Xinjiang? Read This Book!
2. Yet Another Lake in Xinjiang
3. Kasghar: Uyghur Culture Meets Chinese Development

Unfortunately, Urumqi is much like any other cookie-cutter city in China. It has very little character; it has no soul. What uniqueness it does get is from the resident Uyghur population. In my opinion, the Uyghur culture present in Urumqi is the only reason to actually visit this city. Otherwise it seems lifeless and boring without much to hold one’s attention.

My reason for stopping in Urumqi was for something far outside the city. About 110 km outside, in fact. That reason was Heavenly Lake.  At an elevation of 2000 m, the lake covers an area of 4.9 km².  It is, simply put, an amazing sight to behold.

The weather was much better during my visit to Heavenly Lake than my stay at Karakul. I would have to say that Heavenly Lake is much more beautiful. However it is also much more touristy. It is a large tourist draw for the region and the government has built up the area a lot (an $100 million project) to accommodate the people.

This resulted, for me at least, in a much more inauthentic, plastic experience. In comparison, my night at Karakul Lake was exhilarating. We were way up in the mountains, completely isolated and so far from civilization.  It was amazing. While Heavenly Lake is incredibly beautiful, the overall experience paled in comparison.

A lot of the information and guidebooks that I’ve read bill Heavenly Lake as the place to spend a night in a yurt.  I say screw that.  Obviously I don’t know what it’s like there, but judging from the kitschy feel of all the other tourist crap I assume you would have an infinitely better experience staying up on Karakul Lake.  That’s just me, though.

There are a few other tourist attractions around the lake, like this small temple going up the side of the mountain. I believe it is called the Temple of Maternal Grace, but I can’t remember for sure. From the main tourist area it’s about 1 km walking around the edge of the lake. Of course, they don’t tell you until you’ve walked all the way there and climbed half-way up the mountain that you have to pay an extra 20 RMB to visit the temple. A very common, very annoying trick to bleed tourists for money in China.

There’s not much to look at in the temple; it’s much like any other one I’ve seen in China (but I’m not going to get into that again). However, one bonus is a great view of the lake from high up on the mountain.

Well, there’s not much else I can say. In summary: Heavenly Lake is gorgeous but it is chock full of tourists (I was there during the off-season and there was still a ton of people). It really is an amazing sight, though, and I’m very glad I made the trip out. If you only have one day to spend in Urumqi, as I did, I strongly suggest you use that day to visit this lake.  Oh yeah, and don’t waste your time visiting any of the other “tourist sites” in the area.

Related posts:

1. A Night on Karakul Lake in a Yurt
2. My Last Stop in Xinjiang: Turpan
3. A Few Days On the Lake

Yep, that’s right.  I went to the provincial hospital here in Xi’an to get tested.  My results came back and I passed!  With a ‘+’!  That’s good, right?

Not so much.  All my traipsing around China has finally caught up with me.  I’ve got the swine flu.  I’m quarantined inside my apartment for a full week, after which I have to go back to the hospital to get tested again.

Swine flu isn’t all that bad, really.  It’s not unlike any other flu I’ve ever had.  However, what I’ve read is that it is particularly dangerous for asthmatics (i.e. me) because of how it affects the lungs and breathing.  So I need to be especially aware of how my breathing is.  If it becomes worse I need to go straight to the hospital.  My presumption is that if I don’t it could lead to serious complications.

So I get to spend my Christmas and my vacation alone in my apartment.  Yippee.

This ain’t a pity party though.  Rather, I think this is a great opportunity to show all of you how annoying China’s medical system can be.

I started my Monday by going to the campus medical clinic to get tested for H1N1.  They did the perfunctory exams and told me I had something like swine flu but it couldn’t be confirmed.  I had to go to the hospital to get checked for sure.

At the provincial hospital, I first walked all the way to the back (the place is like a small campus) to the foreigner’s building.  The guard at the gate said I couldn’t go in but would not explain why (in my experience you rarely get an explanation from police or security in China).  So I had to wait for 5 minutes for a nurse to come out and show me where to go.

Following her I had to walk back to the front of the hospital, where I had originally entered, to another building.  The doctors there told me I had to go register in the main building, at a window down a hallway off the entrance room.  It cost 3 RMB to register and I took the receipt back to the doctors.

The doctors examined me a little bit and asked me about my medical history and all the usual stuff.  Then they said I had to go back to the window where I registered to pay for the medicine and the tests.  So I did.  The medicine was 197 RMB and the test was 200 RMB.

First I had to take the receipt for the medicine to the pharmacy to pick up the Tamiflu and some cough medicine.  Then I brought the other receipt back to the doctors so they would test me.  Finally done!

Keep in mind that, during all of this, no one spoke a word of English.  The only way I was able to navigate this labyrinth was because I had my school’s foreign teacher liaison with me translating.  I take pity on any foreigner  that has to go through that who can’t speak really good Chinese and doesn’t have a friend/coworker with him.

At the time I was still very sick and not so steady on my feet.  My only thought was, “Geez, this is a lot of walking for sick people in a hospital.”  My translator’s response was, “Yes, it’s not so convenient.  But usually people in China have family members with them.”  To me, that doesn’t make it OK to be wildly inefficient.

So this is your little window into how screwed up things can be in China.  All the walking back and forth is absolutely absurd, especially for people at a hospital (assuming, of course, that one is at a hospital because one is extremely sick).  That’s the downside. 

Systems like this are in place in many different ways in China.  You must register with one person, pay with another, and pick up with another.  My assumption is that this system intentionally creates more jobs, which China is in desperate need of (regardless of how redundant they are).  That I can understand.  But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

On the up side: my entire visit, examinations, and treatment cost me a total of 400 RMB ($58.58).  So, China’s medical system may be very inefficient but it sure is cheap!

No related posts.

For reasons I can’t remember, I had decided that Karakul Lake was the main reason why I came all the way out to Kashgar.  Leaving without seeing this famous lake would be a big defeat in my book.  And I just can’t have that, now can I?

It was surprisingly easy to arrange for a travel permit and a guide through my hostel.  For anyone thinking of visiting Kashgar, I strongly suggest staying at Kashgar Old City Hostel.  It’s an awesome, laid-back place with a very nice staff whom all speak very good English.  To top it all off, the hostel is right on the edge of the Old City.  Or at least what’s left of it, anyway.

I ended up forking over 600 RMB for my permits and guide.  And another 50 RMB for my stay in the yurt.  Obviously if I could have waited around for some other travelers to join up with it would have been much cheaper.  But I was on a tight schedule and was determined to make sure I got to Karakul no matter what.

I’m serious about never going back to Kashgar.  So what’s 650 RMB for a once in a life time opportunity?  Money well spent, if you ask me.

The 5 star accommodations of the night. There are five of these cement yurts sitting in a row. Each yurt is about 15 feet in diameter and 12 feet high at the peak.  Each has a single stove in the middle to generate heat and cook food.  There’s not much greenery to speak of, let alone trees or bushes.  Therefore the Uyghurs use animal manure in the stove.  Although it does burn well, it creates a none-too-pleasant odor that stuck to my clothes for the next few days.  That is definitely one part of the experience I would not want to repeat.

Being that I was visiting during the off-season there were only two yurts open. The other three lay empty.  In the background you can see a sliver of Karakul Lake and the mammoth Muztagata Mountain partially hidden by the clouds.  We slept literally a stone’s throw away from the lake and in the shadow of the mountain.

A proper look at Karakul and Muztagata. I’ve read that during the summer the water is like a mirror of the mountains and sky. Unfortunately the cold winter winds never stopped blowing, resulting in the choppy water before you. The surrounding area was generally cold, damp, and gray. Not surprising, really, considering it was October.

Despite the fact that I didn’t get to see the “mirror lake” I was still surprised at how beautiful it is.  For the most part the clouds obstructed the full view of the mountains.  Nevertheless they made for an impressive sight.  The pictures don’t really do them justice, I’m afraid.

I implore you. Don’t make the same, stupid mistake I made. I went up to Karakul Lake with only the clothes you see me wearing. And a vest. Holy crap is it cold up there. And in October? Forget about it. Literally within 5 minutes of being outside my limbs were numb. It was incredibly stupid of me not to think that a lake at 11,800 feet would not be cold at that time of year. Even in the summer I imagine it gets chilly.

Anyway, here I am reclining on one of the many bright, colorful sleeping pads the family laid out for me. It was surprisingly soft and the equally colorful blanket they gave me was quite warm. Sleeping inside the squat, round, cement home was definitely a pleasant experience.

You’ll also notice I am holding a beer. I was joined in my yurt by four foreigners traveling together. It just so happened to be one of their birthdays so they had brought a case of beer up into the mountains to celebrate.  They were kind enough to share with me.  They all made it through one beer before passing out due to the altitude. For some reason I had no problem with it. Either it was the first few days spent in Kashgar (4,100 feet) acclimating me or my asthma medication (I have no idea why that would help, I’m just venturing a guess here). Actually, you would think that due to my asthma the altitude sickness would hit me worse, no?

We were treated to this wholesome breakfast in the morning. Possibly the hardest bread I have ever attempted to chew. It was like a rock. The Uyghur bread is very flavorful, but also very difficult to eat. The easiest way to eat it is to soak it in the infamous Yak milk tea.

I would describe Yak milk tea as an acquired taste. Immediately following the first sip I nearly gagged. But after cautiously sampling it throughout the morning, I came to conclusion that it is indeed possible to enjoy this concoction. Yak milk tea is regular green tea with, you guessed it, Yak milk in it. Also, a TON of salt. It is really, really salty. It reminds me a lot of Turkish ayran; a salty yogurt drink. But this Uyghur drink is hot and more liquid-y. Basically a lot more unpleasant to drink.

By the end of breakfast I was nearly half-way to actually enjoying it. I enjoy almost anything I eat or drink so that can give you an idea of how bad I think it is. But I do see the merits of it buried way down underneath the salt. It might have been the delicious bread I was dipping into it, i don’t know. Regardless, this salty drink is not for the weak stomach’d traveler out there. You have been warned.

Despite the overcast skies the day before, the sun did decide to come out bright and strong the next morning. There was a thick fog coming off the lake, providing for a really beautiful glow over the water. The previous day’s weather disappointed me a bit; I was expecting much more picturesque scenery.

By the end of my stay on the lake, in a yurt, I was in high spirits and satisfied that all of the trouble and expense I went through to get there was well worth it. I can only imagine what the lake and mountains look like during the spring and summer. Absolutely beautiful, I’m sure.

Related posts:

1. Yet Another Lake in Xinjiang
2. A Few Days On the Lake
3. Why I am Never Going Back to Kashgar

Frankly, there is not much in the way of tourist destinations in Kashgar. I think of the city as a jumping off point for other sites such as the Taklamakan Desert, Tashkurgan, Karakul Lake, and access to neighboring countries. Despite some difficulties I did manage to visit Karakul Lake but I didn’t have time for any of those other things. Fortunately, I did manage to find a few things to do to keep me occupied during my stay.

But really the reason to go to Kashgar is for the above sites and the culture.  Even though Chinese modernization is quickly steamrolling through the city, it is still completely saturated with Uyghur culture and their way of life.  It is so radically different from the rest of China that it’s like stepping into another world.

In my mind, that reason alone is good enough to make the journey to Kashgar.  And I suggest you do it quickly.  Eventually the Old City will be replaced with high-rise apartment buildings and shopping malls.  The fantastic character of this unique city will be gone forever.

Near the center of town you can find the 59 ft (18 meter) tall statue of Mao Zedong. I’ve heard somewhere there is a saying that the further you get from Beijing, the bigger the Mao statues are. I don’t know if that’s true but this one is pretty darn big. Unfortunately the location is not exactly the most grandiose place.

The statue sits in front of some banal government building facing a small square and a less-than-stellar park.  Being not so picturesque, I think visiting the giant Mao is more for novelty’s sake than anything else because it really is a huge statue. Go see it, take some pictures, and leave. There’s not much else to do in the immediate area.

The Id Kah Mosque is the largest mosque in China and is located inside the Old City. It was built around 1442 and can house up to 20,000 people at one time. The entrance is quite striking and rather large (as so many things are in China) though it didn’t exude the deep feelings of culture and history that I had originally associated with such an important site.  To be honest, I think the Great Mosque in Xi’an is way better. Other than a series of lackluster gardens, there’s not much to see inside the mosque itself. I suggest forgoing the 20 RMB entrance fee and sticking your head in for quick peek. That’s really all you’ll need.

Id Kah Mosque sits at the center of a large square surrounded by a plethora of shops and stalls selling all manner of trinkets and snacks. Couple that with the fact that the Old City is just a few blocks away in any direction makes for a pretty neat area to visit. There is a very big downside, however. While I was there I always saw a platoon of soldiers “guarding” the square. They literally stood there all day staring at the mosque. During prayer times there were three or four platoons, about 100 soldiers in all.

Given the riots that occurred back in July it doesn’t surprise me that there was a large military presence. But I find it offensive that the government thinks it’s necessary to station troops outside a place of worship. I’m not religious in any way, but I can easily see how someone would be disgruntled by soldiers standing outside his church/synagogue/mosque/what-have-you watching him like a hawk. The heavy-handed gesture of placing soldiers there really typifies my perception of government attitudes towards China’s minorities.

Kashgar’s Old City is really the biggest draw for the town itself. You could spend hours, if not days, wandering the streets of this quickly disappearing area. I wrote about this place way back in October, and I don’t think there’s a better way to sum up my feelings than what I’ve already written:

The Old City is a glimpse into the traditional Uyghur style of living that, unfortunately, is slowly being demolished to make way for high-rise apartments, plazas, and reproductions of Islamic architecture. If for whatever reason this is of interest to you, I implore you to make the journey to this town before the demolition is complete. It’s a tragedy that an area so full of history and culture is being swept away for the sake of industrialization and modernization. It’s so full of character and charm while the high-rise apartments I see being erected all over China are so completely lacking in it.

Kashgar is known to host two very big markets every weekend: the bazaar and the animal market. Can you guess which one I went to?  Unfortunately I only had time for one over the weekend due to my overnight stay at Karakul Lake.  I’ve seen plenty of different bazaars all over the world.  Also at that point I was on a pretty tight budget so I wasn’t planning on buying any souvenirs so early in my trip. Therefore it was an easy decision to head to the animal market.

I’ve never actually been to anything like an animal market before and let me tell you I was not disappointed. There must have been thousands of animals for sale. Sheep, goats, cows, donkeys, horses, chickens, and all manner of fruits and vegetables. The animals seemed to go on forever. It is a really impressive sight. Though I must say that the smell isn’t pleasant at all.

I spent about an hour walking around viewing the animals and watching the mass of Uyghurs conducting business. For only the price of a bus ticket, visiting the animal market is a great way to kill a few hours.

The Aba Khoja Mausoleum is an easy bus ride about 5 kilometers outside of town.  Built in 1640, the tomb is supposedly one of the finest examples of Islamic architecture in Xinjiang.  As you can see from the picture, it is very large and very beautiful.  It is covered in green and blue glazed tiles that glitter in the bright sun.  The building is a tomb so there’s not much to see inside aside from coffins.  But the outside was more than enough for me.

There are a number of small attractions in the area, including two decaying mosques, an orchard, and a graveyard.  General admittance to the mausoleum also allows you to visit the two mosques.  While they have fallen into disrepair, they are still nice for a quick visit.  You will be charged extra to visit the other sites (a common tactic to get your money in China).  I didn’t bother with those as it didn’t seem to be worth it.

So that wraps up my stay in Kashgar.  Coming up next is my trip into the mountains to visit Karakul Lake where I stayed in a yurt overnight with a Uyghur family.

Related posts:

1. Yet Another Lake in Xinjiang
2. Why I am Never Going Back to Kashgar
3. A Night on Karakul Lake in a Yurt

So anyway, I present to you the last step on my summer trip through China.

Huangshan is a mountain range in the Southern part of Anhui province, near Tunxi.  In 1990 it became a UNESCO world heritage site and today is one of China’s biggest tourist destinations.  There are over 50 kilometers of footpaths in over 140 areas of the range, as well as numerous cable cars in the more popular areas.  There are a variety of hotels at the top of the mountain for tourists to stay.  I’ve been told that the sunrise at Huangshan is an incredible sight.  Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to spend the night.  For me it was up and down in one day.

There are two important things to know about Huangshan.  First, it’s expensive.  Just to enter the park is over 200 RMB.  If my memory serves me correctly, my entire visit cost me over 400 RMB.  That’s including a shuttle bus to and from Tunxi, a small city about an hour away where I spent the night.  Also, food and drinks are incredibly expensive on the mountain because you literally have no other option unless you’re willing to lug that stuff around all day (I wasn’t).  A bottle of water costs 8 RMB up there.  When a bottle will cost you 1 to 2 RMB everywhere else in China, that’s highway robbery.

The second thing to know is that Huangshan is big.  Like, really big.  I spent seven hours hiking all over that damn mountain and there were still plenty of areas I didn’t have a chance to visit.  To see everything, to get the full experience, you need to spend the night up there.  And don’t forget to get up for the sunrise!

Huangshan is notorious for it’s fog and rolling clouds. Sometimes they literally take you by surprise. One minute your hiking a trail on a nice, clear day and the next you’re completely enveloped in fog. It got so bad at times that I couldn’t even see more than 20 feet!  It was especially creepy when you would find yourself looking out over a ledge into a fog bank, and a minute later it would blow away to reveal a thousand foot drop.

There were so many missed opportunities for fantastic pictures because I had to pause and absorb the beauty before reaching for my camera. And wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I had my camera out a big cloud would come rolling in and ruin the shot. Foiled again, as they say.

As you can probably imagine, there are a ton of stairs on the mountain. Stairs going up, stairs going down. Stairs, stairs, stairs! On the initial climb of the mountain, it seemed like the stairs would never end. I must have spent a good two or three hours just getting up to the first peak. How exhausting.  A favorite sarcastic joke of mine that day was, “Oh look, more stairs.  I did not see that coming.”

Traversing the many peaks requires you to continuously climb up and down stairs. In most places it wasn’t so bad, but sometimes I came across an area packed with tourists and would have to wait. Hanging on to a steep staircase in a precarious position with many people in front and behind is not fun. Needless to say, I had nightmares about climbing stairs for a few days afterward.

Huangshan has some pretty unbelievable scenery.  From the ancient trees, to the rock formations, to the peaks, to the valleys, to the small lakes.  Huangshan has it all.  It’s no wonder that this mountain has been the focus of countless stories, poems, paintings, and pretty much any other kind of art form found in China, for thousands of years.

Related posts:

1. A Night on Karakul Lake in a Yurt
2. Visiting the Second Tallest Building in the World
3. Finally Home

The view from my balcony. Snow!

This past weekend was the Xi’an International City Wall Marathon, in which myself and a few other teachers participated in.  I’ll get around to doing a full write-up once I can find whoever has pictures from the darn thing.  Thankfully the weather was not too cold but the pollution in the air was exceptionally bad.  It was like running through soup.  We only did the 5k run, but by the end my throat and lungs were on fire and, due to my asthma, it felt like I was breathing through a straw.  I almost vomited.

Anyway, after the nice weekend we were hit with a cold snap which has continued until today.  It seems like all week the temperature has been hovering just above freezing.  Finally, yesterday the temperature dropped below freezing and we had our first snow.  There wasn’t much to look at but overnight it got really cold and continued to snow.  Waking up this morning I was greeted with a winter wonderland outside my window.  I am very thankful someone decided to turn the heat on a few days early this year (normally the heat doesn’t come on until November 15).

By about 10 AM the sun was well up and the snow started melting.  It’s about 3 PM and 37 Farenheit right now, therefore the snow is disappearing fast.

I’m off to Beijing for the weekend where the weather report says it will be below freezing the entire time.  Hooray (insert fake enthusiasm here).  Anyway, I need to visit Beijing before it gets colder and I may not be in the country any more when it gets warm again.  My friends and students think now is a bad time to go, but really if I wait any longer it will just keep getting colder!  Besides, I think seeing the Great Wall covered in snow will be a pretty cool experience.

Sorry about the lack of posts.  I do have some things milling about but I’ve been fighting a cold all week.  I’m just about over it and here’s hoping it doesn’t make a comeback while I’m off traveling.

Related posts:

1. Stranded by Snow
2. That Whooshing Noise
3. Visiting Plattsburgh: 1/30 – 2/1

OK, I know the above photo is probably the worst splicing you’ve ever seen.  I don’t care!  I didn’t take these two photos with the intention of sticking them together so I didn’t try to line them up.  But there’s not much missing between the two, so what you see is pretty much exactly what West Lake looks like.

I traveled to Hangzhou with the express intent of visiting West Lake.  Up to that point, so many people had told me how beautiful West Lake is and how much they enjoyed visiting the city.  So I figured, after my stint in Shanghai, that the short bus ride to Hangzhou was warranted.  Besides, I really wanted to visit Huangshan and this city happened to be on the way.  So why not stop in for a few days?

Hangzhou is a very nice city.  West Lake is a beautiful lake.  The fact that such a large reservoir of water is man-made makes it even more impressive.  But to be perfectly honest, I was a bit under whelmed.  From all the talk I had heard, I was expecting something much more grand.  Growing up on Long Island I’ve had easy access to the ocean for as long as I can remember.  Seeing this lake seemed ho-hum comparatively.

It’s as if I went there and thought to myself, “OK, there’s some water.  There are some pretty plants and flowers, and some nice buildings.  What else?”  Definitely a “been there, done that” sort of feeling.  My CouchSurfing host in Shanghai had similar sentiments.  He grew up in Minnesota, the land of 10,000 lakes, and therefore was equally unimpressed with West Lake.

Now don’t get me wrong.  West Lake is a great place to visit and I did spend hours walking all around it.  I did enjoy my time there, and from the picture above you can see it’s a beautiful place.  I don’t mean to discourage anyone from going there.  I think anyone with an interest for nature and natural beauty should see it.  It’s just that my gut reaction was not positive because I have lived on or near water pretty much my entire life.  But I am still very glad to have gone there and seen it.

I had a pleasant time walking around the shore of West Lake and over the Bai Causeway to Solitary Hill Island (Gushan).  The island is basically a large recreational park with some pavilions, ponds, and terrific spots to absorb the view of the lake and the surrounding flora and fauna.  The Zhejiang Provincial Museum can also be found there, but I don’t find those sorts of places terribly interesting so I didn’t visit it.

A statue and pavilion on Solitary Hill Island

Walking along the southern part of the lake led me straight to the Evening Sunlight at Thunder Peak Pagoda (Leifeng Xizhao).  Originally built in 975 AD, the pagoda collapsed in 1924 due to disrepair.  The current tower was completed in 2002 and on the bottom floor you can view the active archaeological sight of the original brick foundation, which I thought was a pretty neat feature.  There are also two elevators for an easy ascent to the top, as well as other modern features.  The top of the pagoda provides excellent views of the surrounding area, especially West Lake itself (the top pictures were taken from there).

Lingyin Temple is easily the most impressive temple I have visited thus far in China.  Each of the yellow buildings are so large that I couldn’t fit one in the frame of my camera; they’re just that big.  The buildings contain statues that are simply massive and incredibly imposing.  I wish for your sake that I could have taken photos.  Words alone can’t describe the feeling of being overwhelmed I had when I stepped into the darkened, cavernous shrines and came face to face with the monstrous statues.  Though, to be perfectly honest I don’t think photos could have done it justice anyway.  It really is something you have to go and see for yourself.

Lingyin Temple was founded in 328 AD during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.  From the very beginning, Lingyin has been a famous temple and even today attracts large numbers of tourists.  It is also regarded as one of the richest temples in all of China.  Despite it’s fame and fortune, the temple has not been spared from destruction, having been rebuilt 16 times.  During the Cultural Revolution, the temple was protected by Premier Zhou Enlai though it did not escape without some minor damage from the Red Guards.

The hills surrounding Lingyin Temple are littered with ancient stone carvings.  There are a few in particular you’ve probably seen in many guide books (presuming you’ve ever picked up a guide book for China).  The particular one above is smaller than I had imagined, but impressive nonetheless.

There are several other smaller temples in the mountains which I made a point to go visit.  It’s nice to see the big, important tourist attractions like Lingyin.  But sometimes it’s even better to go off by yourself to some secluded, quiet place where there are much fewer people around to disturb you.

There was a ton of walking and climbing steps; it was totally exhausting.  Little did I know that it couldn’t hold a candle to what awaited me in Huangshan.  Despite being dead tired and barely able to stay on my feet by the end of the day, I had a great time.

If you ever go to Hangzhou, make sure you visit Lingyin Temple.  And be sure to take the time to visit the other temples.  Walking through the peaceful courtyards and climbing the mountains completely by yourself is surreal (if you’ve ever been to China, you know how rare it is to be totally alone when touring around).  Sure they’re not as grand or famous, but they are no less beautiful.  For me it was an experience on par (if not better) than visiting the big ones.

On a path leading to some small temple

Related posts:

1. Yet Another Lake in Xinjiang
2. A Night on Karakul Lake in a Yurt
3. The Past Few Days