Путешествие в Китай.
Travelling in China.
Viajar por China
旅行 中国
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Music: Tocotronic – Hi Freaks
L’Age D’Or 2002
Duration : 0:6:16
Tag Archive: trip
Nov
25
Travelling in China. Китай 2011.
Some things to think about before heading off to 
Sep
26
“Tiger Flying Jumping Leaping Gorge” Worldofbintang’s photos around Lijiang, China (travel pics)
Preview of Worldofbintang’s blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/worldofbintang/round-the-world/1145433840/tpod.html
This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator.
Entry from: Lijiang, China
Entry Title: “Tiger Flying Jumping Leaping Gorge”
Entry:
“The journey from Chengdu was typical China – can’t they make this country any smaller??? We took an overnight train and then 14hours later, half-asleep, emerged into another city which has two names, neither of which are pronounceable. Right outside the train station we were glad to see the no.64 bus which we needed to catch to take us across town so we jumped aboard – but not as quickly as the locals who bagged all the seats. We then stood for 40mins watching for anything that looked like a bus station, wondering if we had missed our stop, until finally the bus station appeared and the conductor motioned for us to get off. We always think we are on a big adventure in these foreign countries but in reality all the backpackers head to the same places so the locals know exactly where you are going even without asking! We bought tickets to Lijiang (no thank you, none of that expensive air-con – we want the cheap bus!), bought some dumplings for breakfast and then sat in the waiting area along with all the locals who had decided that the no-smoking signs obviously didn’t apply to them. The bus journey was 8 hours into the heart of Yunnan Province and amazingly we gradually left behind the smog which had seemed omni-present throught China. On arriving in Lijiang we were met by about 15girls surrounding the bus shouting ‘hotel’ and ‘cheap room’ but a quick blast of “buenas tardes, habla espanol???” confused them for long enough for us to get our dusty bags off the top of the bus – I knew that my limited Spanish would come in useful again! After being directed onto a very short local bus ride (we would have walked the 600yds up the hill but most people obviously don’t…) we made our way into the old town of Lijiang. The old town is amazingly well preserved with narrow cobbled streets, lots of little c****s filled with goldfish and trout, water-wheels, little scenic bridges and flowers aplenty. All these things combine to attract what seems like a million chinese tourists each trying to carry several shopping bags of souvenirs while taking pictures of everything. Not the quiet oasis we had imagined…. but luckily we did find our our own quiet retreat at the Old Town Carnation Hotel where the staff were friendly, the courtyard was sunny and the rooms very comfortable – all for 50yuan a night (4pounds UK). The next few days were spent relaxing, walking around the town and sampling the traditional Naxi food. My (Paul) Chinese visa only had a couple of days left so I eventually tracked down a very nice policeman at a small office on the main street. Ten minutes later and for the sum of 160yuan he filled the last blank page of my passport with a 30day visa extension… any new countries from now on can have fun trying to find space for a stamp! The next day we took a 2hr local bus to Qiaotou, the starting point for the hike along the mountains above Tiger Leaping Gorge. After a few helpful tips (and a map) from Margos Tiger Gorge Cafe we headed off up into the mountains in the bright sunshine. The scenery is spectacular with vistas of the gorge and river with snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance. Luckily there are small family guesthouses every couple of hours and so plenty of opportunties to stop for a rest and some food and drink. The first day we walked for about 4 hours including one very strenuous section called the ’28bends’ (it felt more like 50..) which we handily timed right in the midday heat and just after a huge lunch. On hand were local women in traditional dress to tempt you to stop for cold drinks and fresh honey which was great for an energy boost! You could also hire horses to take you up the steep sections but we resisted and made our …”
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/worldofbintang/round-the-world/1145433840/tpod.html
Photos from this trip:
1. “Mandy at waterwheel in Lijiang old town”
2. “Lijiang – full of Chinese tour groups!”
3. “By the stream, Old town Lijiang”
4. “View of Lijiang from our room”
5. “Mandy in Lijiang square”
6. “Naxi horseman in traditional dress”
7. “Tiger Leaping Gorge – start of the trek!”
8. “Paul at Tiger Leaping Gorge”
9. “Lunch stop at Naxi Guesthouse – day one”
10. “Dinner with friends,Tea-Horse Trade Guesthouse”
11. “Mandy making friends with the goats”
12. “Hiking through the mountains..”
13. “Waterfall across the path!”
14. “View back along the gorge and river”
See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00bb-9308-5676?ytv4=1
Duration : 0:2:0
Sep
26
“Zhongdian – China’s Shangri-la” Glenn_christie’s photos around Zhongdian, China (travel pics)
Preview of Glenn_christie’s blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/glenn_christie/rtw_2005-2006/1145822400/tpod.html
This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator.
Entry from: Zhongdian, China
Entry Title: “Zhongdian – China’s Shangri-la”
Entry:
“After a day back in Lijiang to sort out odds and ends, and saying goodbye to Mama, we boarded the bus in the morning for Zhongdian, now renamed as Shangrila. (Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the novel, Lost Horizon, written by British writer James Hilton in 1933 – now many countries around the Himilayas claim that it is their country which he wrote about. China has staked their claim to it as well, and have gone so far as officially changing the name of Zhongdian to Shangrila!). The first part of the trip worked its way past the same area as we went to Tiger Leaping Gorge, except this time at a convenient toilet stop we were able to buy some of the strawberries being sold along the roadside. They were delicious. Probably even more so since it had been quite some time we had eaten whole strawberries. Further on, the bus passed under a construction site – it was a dam being constructed – scaffolding supporting the roof above. Yes, a little scary, and we were relieved to see the other side of it. Arriving in Zhongdian, we first noticed how cold it was compared to everywhere else we had been. Even though it was only 6 hours from Lijiang, the elevation was much higher (3200m) and in the distance snow capped mountains reminded us of why it was so cold. We had seen a notice at Mama’s for a place to stay – Harmony Guest House, and had decided to seek it out, but trying to ask directions at the bus station soon made us realise that English wasn’t as common here as we had been used to, and with no name or address in Chinese we were on our own. We organised a taxi to take us to the Tibetan Restaurant (our guidebook had the chinese characters for it), but we were dropped instead at the Tibet Cafe (a few blocks away). We went inside and asked them for directions (with our taxi driver) and although they didn’t know the place, they seemed to know the street, so our taxi driver set off, and turned the corner (wrong direction), stopping a bit further up at another guesthouse (Kevin’s Trekker Inn). Our driver seemed surprised when we said it was wrong again, but this time we decided to walk it and find it ourselves. We wandered around the old town, using the guidebook map (turns out to be not a very good map) and after failing to find the guesthouse, we stopped at a few guesthouses along the way to check them out. We found one that had been recommended by Mama, but it seemed a bit too basic and rundown for us, so we decided to keep looking. Some other ones seemed a little better, but with either no or very limited hot water available, and the weather freezing outside we thought better. Finally after about 2 hours of frustrating searching (and no luck finding the Harmony Guesthouse), we made our way back towards the original Tibet Cafe (which had good but expensive accomodation). We decided to check out Kevin’s Trekker Inn first – not in our guideboook, and we were glad we did. This place had hosts which spoke excellent english, were very friendly, the double rooms were cheap, very clean, with electric blankets (great for the freezing weather) and most importantly – piping hot water 24hours! It was a great find. Pity we didn’t look at it when the taxi pulled up outside 2 hours earlier! Nothing like acclimitising to altitude with a 2 hour hike around town with heavy backpacks. Zhongdian is a tibetan town, but is rapidly being expanded with the bland chinese buildings that are sweeping cities all over the place. The old town retains some of the old tibetan architecture, but is also being redeveloped with new “old style” buildings replacing the old town – preparing it for another tourist town like Lijiang we suspect. Settling in, we had some dinner and as then went into the main square …”
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/glenn_christie/rtw_2005-2006/1145822400/tpod.html
Photos from this trip:
1. “Dancing In The Streets (1)”
2. “Dancing In The Streets (2)”
3. “Monastery (01)”
4. “Monastery (02)”
5. “Monastery (03)”
6. “Monastery (04)”
7. “Monastery (05)”
8. “Monastery (06)”
9. “Monastery (07)”
10. “Monastery (08)”
11. “Monastery (09)”
12. “Monastery (10)”
13. “Monastery (11)”
14. “Monastery (12)”
15. “Monastery (13)”
16. “Monastery (14)”
17. “Monastery (15)”
18. “Zhongdian Old Town (1)”
19. “Zhongdian Old Town (2)”
20. “Zhongdian Old Town (3) (The Big Prayer Wheel)”
21. “Zhongdian Old Town (4)”
22. “Zhongdian Old Town (5)”
See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00bb-8e44-4b3a?ytv4=1
Duration : 0:2:27
Sep
19
“Beijing” Patandsaoyuth’s photos around Beijing (Pekin), China (travel pics)
Preview of Patandsaoyuth’s blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/patandsaoyuth/aroundzeworld/1175998740/tpod.html
This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator.
Entry from: Beijing (Pekin), China
Entry Title: “Beijing”
Entry:
“We get tired in Beijing
It took us two days to reach Beijing by train from Lhasa. The train was slower than we expected but it was confortable. We had already seen some of the most beautiful sceneries in Tibet during our 5 days jeep tour so the landscape we saw from our window didn’t seem as impressive…As we moved towards Northern China we could see the landscape change, it was much more industrial, flat and grey than Southern China; and we also saw muslim Chinese boarding the train as we got closer to the Western part of the country.
We didn’t plan to stay too long in Beijing but at that time we were a bit tired of moving around with our big backpacks and needed a home. So instead of staying 5-6 days, which would have been sufficient to visit the city, we ended up staying 10 days, skipping the hanging temples of Datong which we were planning to see. We based ourselves at a youth hostel located in the city centre in one of the last hutongs.
A hutong is the name of Beijing old quarters with tiny one floor houses and narrow streets. Being rather old, they lack the confort of the modern world such as water pipes and toilets. To compensate there are public toilets that inhabitants can use, some of them so smelly that you have to cover your nose and mouth each time you walk by. Sadly the hutongs are progressively being pulled dow by the city authorities to be replaced with modern housing and shopping centres. Thousands of people who haved lived their entire lives in the hutongs are being forced to relocate in the suburbs and pay a higher rent. This is a shame to see these historic quarters which make the charm of Beijing, disapear as towers continue to mushroom in the city.
Compulsory visits: the Forbidden City and the Great Wall
We made all the compulsory visits one should make in Beijing (Tianamen Square, Temple of Heaven, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Great Wall) but we took it easy. Of all those monuments, we have been very happy to see the Great Wall which is a unique piece of human ingenuity, the portion we saw from Simatai to Jinshanling (10 km) sits in the mountains and that’s what make it so beautiful and impressive. From afar you see it going even higher in the mountains and when overcast, it can disappear in the clouds. Given the lenght of the wall, its remotness and the unlikely event an army would attack, it must have been miserable and lonely for the guards to be stucked at their post. Built as a mean to protect the country from invaders, it was actually not very efficient. We even read that bribing the guards has been used sucessfuly! 10 km is not very long to walk but with Patrick behind the camera, it took us 4 hours! Unfortunately as you will see on the photos, we had a rainy day so they are not postcard perfect. Despite the rain we had a fun time on the wall and it was nice to get out of the city for a day.
Entertaining ourselves in Beijing
To fill up the gaps in between sites we spent much time sampling more food and having tailor made clothes done for both of us. Given the enormity of the city, it is impossible to visit the city only walking. We started using the bus but soon realised that it was not a very flexible mean of transport, especially if you cannot read Chinese! Armed with an English map we rented bicycles and peddaled around the city like the locals. It’s actually easy, fast and enjoyable to cycle in Beijing, drivers are used to cyclists and there are plenty of cycle lanes so it feels safer than in the streets of Paris or London. Nowadays many people own a car, and with modernity comes other troubles such as traffic jams. It must have been very enjoyable to see Beijing when the city had …”
Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/patandsaoyuth/aroundzeworld/1175998740/tpod.html
Photos from this trip:
1. “Beijing train station”
2. “Pet grooming”
3. “On Tianamen square”
4. “Electric repair”
5. “Fruit glazed with sugar”
6. “Temple of Heaven”
7. “Detail of roof tiles”
8. “South gate of Tianamen Square”
9. “kite at night”
10. “The people hall”
11. “Building lit up at night”
12. “Star fish for snack”
13. “bicycles”
14. “Portrait of Mao”
15. “Tianamen Square”
16. “Flying his kite”
17. “Flying kite”
18. “Beijing at night”
19. “Locals having a break”
20. “Brushes and bird pet”
21. “Engraving a stamp”
22. “Local restaurant”
23. “Practicing caligraphy”
24. “Congestion on the lake”
See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00e5-cf92-0ab2?ytv4=1
Duration : 0:2:30
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