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.

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1. Tangent Time! … Where Do I Live?

When I last wrote here, I was in Lijiang resting up after hiking the incredible Tiger Leaping Gorge. From there I was planning on continuing to write throughout the course of my journey, but unfortunately things did not work out that way. Dali was great but my hostel did not have the capabilities for me to write a blog post. Not a major loss, I think.

Dali is a fantastic little town and I enjoyed doing a whole lot of nothing for four days. I spent a lot of time on balconies reading books and sipping beer on bright, sunny days (which was every day). And the food. Oh, the food. Dali is apparently home to an endless string of Western food, cafes, bars, and the like. Normally I don’t go in for that sort of thing when I’m traveling, but for some reason it just seemed totally appropriate in Dali. I gorged myself on Western-style food and had my fair share of milk shakes.

Unfortunately the food in Dali was my downfall. I must have ate something bad which resulted in the worst case of diarrhea I have ever had in my life. I was confined to my hostel for my entire time in Kunming (three days). I didn’t see a single thing while there; I couldn’t even make it out to view the eclipse.  At one point I tried taking some medication for it, which I must have had an allergic reaction to because it caused me to vomit twice.  Quite annoying, really.  It was a big disappointment to me that I didn’t get to go see the Stone Forest.

But on the other hand, I have seen a lot of stuff in China and I’m totally OK with passing up one or two things along the way. At this stage in the game, it’s just not as important to me anymore. Yes, I would like to see all these really cool sites, but if I don’t make it, no big deal! There’s still plenty of other things I can go see or do.

Now that I’m home in Xi’an, I am just exhausted. Coming off my latest sickness, as well as my recent bought of swine flu has left me tired, weak, and missing a few pounds (I’ve gone down over two belt loops since the beginning of the semester).  I feel like I just don’t have the energy to get out there and travel for the remainder of my time in China. And how little time I have left! I leave on January 29, only eight days from now, to return to the US for good. My one year of teaching English in China is up. I would have liked to stay longer working as an engineer, but it didn’t work out that way. Oh well, life goes on I suppose.

I will be sad to leave China, but I will also have an exciting new stage in my life to look forward to. Where I will end up, I have no idea, and that’s kind of a cool feeling.

I’m not sure what I’ll be doing with myself for my last week in China.  I’m considering taking a quick two- or three-day trip somewhere.  But like I wrote, I’m exhausted.  And I’m a bit traveled-out.  Despite my significantly slower pace of travel in Yunnan, my illnesses over the past month have really taken their toll on me.

But you know what?  Despite all the trouble I’ve been having over the past month; despite my terribly swollen ankle and my stomach “issues,” there’s one thing that made it all totally worth it.  Tiger Leaping Gorge:

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1. Resting Up in Lijiang

Let me first say that Lijiang if boring.  Like, really boring.  At least for me.  Lijiang is famous for it’s old city district, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  It is a nice place and there is definitely a certain charm about it.  The architecture, the winding cobble-stone alleys, and the small streams quietly burbbling away give the impression of a time in China when a place like this was simple and peaceful.

Unfortunately, a lot has changed since that time.  Lijiang’s old town is a much different place.  It has been completely invaded by people looking to take advantage of the glut of tourists that regularly visit.  This place seems like an endless maze of guest houses, restaurants, bars, and shops.  If you like shopping, eating and drinking, and absolutely nothing else, then the old town is the place for you.  At the moment I am incredibly bored.  There’s nothing to do!

It’s uncharacteristic of me to be spending an entire day relaxing while traveling because I am pretty gung-ho about getting out and seeing the sites, as it were.  I always try to make sure I have something to do or some place to go to during my days precisely so that I don’t find myself sitting around in a hostel doing nothing.  But given my recent rash of travel fatigue, I’m trying to take things a bit slower.  I’m trying to take a little more time to enjoy some R&R and the beautiful weather down here in South China.  It’s hard to believe it’s January; I’m only wearing a t-shirt and jeans as I write this.

I think this day of rest is especially important for me because over the past two days I had an awesome and exhausting experience.  I hiked Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.  It was just so incredible alking along the deepest gorge in the world.  Everything about it was amazing.  Words alone fail to describe what I experienced for two days; unfortunately you will have to wait until I return to Xi’an to see some pictures.

The hiking was pretty harrowing.  7 hours the first day going straight up the side of the gorge and 8 hours the next day coming down the other side.  My ankle is pretty badly swollen right now and my entire leg hates me.  Hopefully today will ease some of the pain and I can recharge my batteries for when I head further South to Dali.

Traveling as I am right now is kind of a liberating experience.  I have no set plan, I have no itinerary, I have no return plane ticket.  I will simply keep traveling until I don’t feel like it anymore, and then return to Xi’an.  It’s great to be able to say “I have no idea” when people ask me what my plans are.  I’m just going to go where inspiration takes me and stay for as long or short a time as I feel like it.  The world is my oyster, as the saying goes.

Last week I had read a long string of New Year’s resolution posts, and decided that the world has seen enough.  Despite that, I found myself writting up a post detailing my goals for 2010.  Not resolutions, mind you, real, achievable, measurable goals.  In my opinion resolutions are for people who like the idea of change but aren’t really willing or committed to putting in the effort.  I have goals for 2010 and I will achieve them.  Or die trying.

I was planning on uploading the unfinished piece so that I could work on it while on the road.  But unfortunately I forgot in my rush to pack and get out the door.  A piece of advice: whenyou have to leave for the airport at 8 AM don’t stay up until 1 AM drinking with friends without having packed a bag or done the mess of dirty dishes in your kitchen sink.

That’s all for now.  There won’t be any photos for a while but given myslower pace of travel I should have plenty of time to write. Until next time, when I will (probably) be writing to you from the back-packer haven of Dali.

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