The Journey - 2011
My second trip to Asia. This time, friends from Campbell River joined me for part of the adventure. The idea was to meet in Beijing, then take the train to Xining and set off to Lhasa from there. But our plan fell through at the last minute. Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise. We ended up exploring a part of Qinghai instead, something we might never have chosen otherwise. Qinghai almost feels more "Tibetan" than the Tibetan Autonomous Region.
My friends still had a few days left, just enough to visit the Terracotta Army and stroll through Xi'an. My next solo destination was Kunming before I returned to Beijing and then concluded my journey with a visit at friends in Seoul, South Korea.
We flew together to Beijing, stayed again at the same Holiday Inn and first visited most of the sights that I had seen last year: Temple of Heavens, Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square and Jinshan Park.
When I'm on my own, I rarely dine at formal restaurants. Usually I eat in small shops along the streets and at markets. Chinese cuisine is meant to be enjoyed together: You order one dish per person plus one or two in addition, make it a balanced selection of meat and vegetable dishes, and then share the food. Tasting the renowned Peking duck at the famous Qianjude restaurant therefore wasn't an option last year, but a treat we all indulged in this time.
I'm not a fan of the "cheap" guided tours that take tourists to the hot spots, shopping stops included. Often the time at the attraction is relatively short compared to the time spent at the "factories" where skilled -or desperate- sales people put quite some pressure on everybody to buy. Years later I learned from a friend that the small commission from those sales is usually the ONLY income tour guides get. Considering that tipping is not common in China, it's not surprising that the guides seldom look happy. Personally, I'd rather pay a fair price for a good service.
The preserved sections of the Great Wall in the Beijing area are not easily accessible by public transportation. We only had a few days, so we bit the bullet and signed up for one of those day trips to Mutianyu Great Wall, 73 km north of Beijing. As the famous Chinese saying goes "You are not a real person until you've climbed the Great Wall" (=fig. to get over difficulties before reaching the goal. 不到长城非好汉 - bù dào cháng chéng fēi hǎo hàn). It truly felt special walking on these remnants of ancient times.
Back in Beijing a few weeks later, I stumbled on a strange temple with all kinds of "offices" for "bestowing" happiness, good marriage, making a fortune, health and recovery – anything desirable one can think off. I concluded my stay with a visit to the Summer Palace, a huge park that I wouldn't mind exploring further one day.
Visited: Temple of Heaven – Forbidden City – Tiananmen Square – Quanjude - Qianmen Street – Jinshan Park – Great Wall (5 days) – Dongyue Temple – Ritan Park – Summer Palace (3 days)
Ancient Qianmen Street with a history going back to 1200, now all rebuild. The famous Peking duck restaurant Quanjude is also located here.
Chinese people of all ages can nap at all times, at all locations, and for any duration. This is a typical sight in parks everywhere.
At night, the sidewalks adjacent to our hotel transformed in a maze of little eateries. One specialty are these skewers sold everywhere in China. Beef and lamb kebabs are more common, but you can find anything that can be put on a stick and grilled: squid, veggies, birds, bugs, tofu - you name it!
"Factory" stop at a jade shop. We endured two shopping opportunities, but we couldn't be convinced that jade jewelry or such sculptures are still a status symbol everybody desires nor did we think it was the right time to drag a winter comforter along.
That's why you want to avoid taking the subway at rush hour. I once was firmly positioned next to the door to exit at the next stop. At arrival, three sturdy men pushed their way in, and I ended up squeezed in at the opposite door, forced to fight my way back to get off at the next stop.
Dongyue Temple with the strange "offices". One read "Department for Bestowing Happiness. The function of this office is to bestow happiness on material side. Its guideline is that people should be vigilant in time of peace, be on guard against leading a loose and idle life so as to be able to make reasonable profits and be better off." Now you know…
Visiting the Tibetan Autonomous Region as a foreigner requires a special permit and travelers must be part of a tour group with a driver and a guide – no exceptions. There are certain times every year when no permits are issued, and it is never quite clear when those times start and end. Snow Lion Tours, our travel agency with offices in Xining and Lhasa, had applied on our behalf and even secured our train tickets for the 24-hour journey to Lhasa. Just a few days before our scheduled in arrival in Xining, we learned that we might not get the permits this time. Still hoping for a last-minute miracle, we flew to Xining as planned. But it wasn't meant to be.
So, no Tibet visit this year… Since we were already there, what's interesting in this region? Snow Lion Tours quickly put a 4-day-trip together for us and off we went. We never expected to find ourselves in the middle of Tibet!
Less than half of the Tibetan population in China lives in the Tibetan Autonomous Region, which Google simply labels "Tibet" (red area on the map).
The other half mostly lives in Qinghai, Sichuan, and parts of Yunnan and Gansu (orange). The area we visited is highlighted in yellow.
What brought us to Xining in the first place? It is a popular choice to allow for acclimatization to the high altitude of Lhasa (3,656 m) and the train ride on the Qinghai–Tibet railway, the highest in the world, offers spectacular views through parts of the country otherwise inaccessible.
Visited: Xining – Shachung Monastery (Xiaqiong) – Rebkong (Tongren) – Rongwu Monastery - Sanggeshung Artist Village – Gomar Monastery – Labrang – Kumbum - Xiahe (4 days)
Note: We saw so many small towns, monasteries, and temples. Many names are transliterations from Tibetan and my notes are incomplete. I apologize should there be any inaccuracies in the Qinghai picture captions.
One of many buildings at Shachung Monastery built on a steep cliff. Reminds a little bit of Bhutan's famous Tiger's Nest. Do you see the building in the back?
This was a quite common and surprising sight: Monks posing and taking pictures with their iPhones. That was at a time when I still used a compact camera because of the poor picture quality of my smart phone.
It was my friend and travel partner Joanne's BIG birthday! With our guide Andy and driver Mr. He who gifted her the white scarf or khata, which symbolizes purity and compassion. No better way to celebrate.
Locals offering fruit on a bridge over the Yellow River. My mouth is watering remembering the sweet flavorful watermelons and many other varieties of China's fresh fruit!
Donkeys, yaks, and sheep are well adapted to the mountainous terrain, but we also saw a few pigs wandering through the narrow alleys.
Inside one of the temples. The open display of the Dalai Lama's photo in almost all of them surprised us. One of the monks with a better command of English didn't hold back voicing his critical opinion about the government.
How many stories does this photo tell? He's a teenager now. How did his life unfold? A hard, meager existence herding yaks? A carefree monk? A skilled
builder or painter at these amazing constructions? Maybe an excellent hardworking student?
A good friend from another part of China told me that this photo reminded him so much of himself when he was little. He never owned a matching pair of shoes –
only the shoe beyond repair got replaced… He has a brilliant mind, a PhD in chemistry, and is a loving husband and best daddy.
We had picked up fresh yak milk yogurt at a nondescript mud building, then just sat down in the middle of the grasslands and savored it. Best yogurt that I had since a visit in Turkey in the 70s. Searched for it all over China since and never found something so tasty again. Thanks for an unforgettable time, Mr. He and Andy.
Revisiting all these places, I feel extremely fortunate and privileged that I had so many opportunities to explore and enjoy this huge country full of surprises.
My friends only had a few days before returning to Canada, just enough to visit the main attractions. I stayed for 10 days, which gave me time to catch up on work. Starting in 2011, all my trips have been a well-balanced combination of exploring and visiting, working remotely, and studying Mandarin. As a custom software developer, I can never completely walk away but I do have the freedom to juggle my projects and take them with me wherever I go. As long as I have reliable internet, it's all good!
I also like those stretches where I stay in one place. It allows me to walk the streets in my neighborhood, find my favorite little restaurants and parks, and connect with the people around me.
Visited: Drum and Bell Towers – City Wall and surrounding parks – Wild Goose Pagoda – Muslim Quarter
Drum and Bell Towers in downtown. At daytime there are drumming and musical performances at both towers, at night they are beautifully lit.
Overlooking the center square from the Drum Tower. Notice the cars parked on the sidewalks? These are all designated parking spots with someone around collecting the fee. Sometimes it can get tricky to find your way through the parked cars and you might have to take a detour on the street.
I have no desire to drive in China, happy to take public transportation if it's too far to walk. Xi'an seemed to have an equal distribution on vehicles: one third private cars, one third taxis, and one third busses. In other cities, masses of bicycles and electric scooters also contribute to the ever-present traffic chaos.
Rob, one of my travel companions, couldn't resist the temptation. I was glad that no officer was to be seen when I took the picture! These are real police vehicles, suitable to reach any spot on the 14 km long wall. On Tiananmen Square they used Segways…
What is HE doing? His clothes are too clean to assume that he calls this place home. He probably was collecting recyclables from blocks slated for demolition. It always surprised me how quickly somebody would appear out of nowhere to grab a bottle out of a garbage can just seconds after it has been discarded. There's a big recycling and repairing culture all over the country.
It's very seldom that only one building gets replaced. Usually one or more blocks are completely flattened.
New residential construction usually looks like this. For many years I thought it must be awful to call such a place home. My own experience in Harbin completely changed my view. Read more about it on High Life in Harbin .
Almost everywhere along the outside of the city wall are meticulously landscaped parks where young and old are having a good time.
What were they hoping to accomplish? So focused and determined, but obviously enjoying themselves.
Looking for a nice background – or model – for a photo shoot? Or need a quiet corner to practice tai chi, play instruments or sing with your peers, want to study or read – the parks are the place to go.
I only found banners like this in the city wall parks in Xi'an: promoting condom use – humorous and conveniently with English translations for us foreigners!
The history of the Wild Goose Pagoda goes back to 650 AD and was last rebuild after a massive earthquake in 1556. It is surrounded by a beautiful park and offers spectacular views.
Xi'an's Muslim Quarter is a well-known tourist attraction famous for its culture and traditional foods. I've seen large mosques in many cities in China, all impressive architectural sights. Buddhist and Taoist temples and churches are always open for visitors, but I haven't had the opportunity to see a mosque from the inside yet.
Where to go next? I considered a few cities, but the weather forecast didn't look all that great. Then I stumbled on an ad from Keats School in Kunming. Learning a little bit more Mandarin would give me something interesting to do even if it poured day and night. Two weeks one-on-one classes, 4 hours a day, sounded great. It didn't rain, but I discovered a travel style that fit me perfectly and for years to come I would first attend classes for four weeks before heading off to new destinations.
The advantages of being able to communicate with locals in their own language are obvious. Culture and language are inseparable, even more so if we want to get a deeper understanding of an Asian country. Attending classes and living at school exposes us to local lifestyle and customs. Working so closely for hours every day with a teacher usually results in a close friendly relationship. There's always somebody there to help and answer questions. We share the same strong interest with international students of all ages which means there is no lack of buddies to venture out with. Most schools offer a variety of evening or weekend activities which can get us to places we would never find otherwise.
As so often before, it was pure chance -a wet weather forecast in this case- that steered me in a whole new direction and has enriched my life profoundly since then.
Visited: Western Hills – Jinri Building – Green Lake Park - West Temple Pagoda - Confucius Temple - Zhenqingguan Taoist Temple
Kilometer-long pathways along both sides of the river lead to Yuantong Temple, the Zoo, and other parts of the city. Always something to discover in the little parks along the way: live music, singing, even traditional opera performances in full costumes and makeup…
Yunnan is famous for its tea, in particular Pu'er tea. This is the biggest pressed Pu'er tea "tower" that I have seen. When I was back in Kunming 7 years later, it was still in front of the store.
The steep stone stairs lead up to the famous Dragon Gate at Western Hills, passing plenty of stone carvings, grottoes, and inscriptions. Well worth the climb.
Touching the gate is said to bring luck. Being able to travel to all these amazing places IS pretty lucky!
I quickly connected with Genevieve from New York and we often explored Kunming together. She had a special interest in Taoism and was a former lead singer of a punk band. Talking about meeting interesting people when travelling! We stayed loosely in touch for a while. As I was preparing this post, I reached out to her but can't find her anymore. Her website isn't online any longer, and I got no reply to my email. Hope she's doing well!
Once more, I noticed that Chinese people really can sleep at any time and in any position! See the incense stick seller on the left?
Back in Kunming, the East and West Temple Pagodas are very similar and close by. Originally built during the Tang Dynasty around 824, the West Temple (pictured here) underwent many repairs. The pagodas resemble the Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi'an (see Xi'an story on this page).
The original Jinri Building was demolished in 1950 and rebuild in 2002 to add to the "old Kunming" feeling of the area.
These fellas had a lot of fun on the staircase "slide". And I had just as much fun watching and photographing them.
Green Lake Park is a big and popular gathering point in the middle of Kunming. Very pretty when the lotus flowers bloom. The park is also a mingling place for all the different ethnic groups. Yunnan has a truly diverse population and people often come out in their traditional costumes and sing and dance together.
Confucius Temple. A popular place for mostly older local folks to meet and play mahjong or cards in the surrounding park. Foreigners stand out!
At the Keats library with my teacher Pei Xi. Such a sweet person! We lost touch. Back then, there was no WeChat (extremely popular Chinese chat app). Like all my other teachers at Keats in the years after, she left after a year of teaching. In 2018 I heard that she had a restaurant with her husband for a while but after that there's no trace. She thought about it for a long time before she gave me my Chinese name Kang Ning (康宁) which translates roughly into "healthy and undisturbed / peaceful". Everybody has confirmed that this a very good name and suits me well. You'll always have a special place in my heart, Pei Xi!