rkkwan's Gansu trip report and photos, 5/2010.
Aug 19th, 2010, 02:33 PM
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rkkwan's Gansu trip report and photos, 5/2010.
I am going to keep this very brief, while you can check out the many photos in these albums for details of the trip:
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/gansu0610
My parents and I went on a 9-day trip (from Hong Kong) with a volunteer (and my friend) Margaret to visit some schools in Gansu Province (甘肃省) in NW China that have received support from Sowers Action or are asking for help. Sowers Action (苗圃行動) is a Hong Kong based non-profit that helps rural Chinese counties to fund their school buildings - mostly primary school. This was my 4th trip with them, having visited Yunnan (2006) and Sichuan (2007, 2009) prior.
It was my first time to this part of China, so we used this opportunity to do some sightseeing as well. In fact, 60% of this trip was sightseeing, 40% work.
Day 1: Flight from Shenzhen to the capital, Lanzhou (兰州). Our flight was delayed for 7 hours due to weather, but China Eastern put us at a hotel and gave us two meals. We didn't get to our hotel until 2am next morning.
Day 2: Sightseeing in Lanzhou. Yellow River, Zhongshan Bridge, etc.
Day 3: Morning sightseeing at Lanshan in Lanzhou. Afternoon travel to Weiyuan (渭源).
Day 4: Visited five schools in Weiyuan.
Day 5: Final meeting with officials in Weiyuan and visit the Baling Bridge. Afternoon travel to Tongwei (通渭). We were supposed to visit a school that day which is named after my aunt, but rain the previous day and night made the steep 10km/6mi unpaved road impassable. instead we went straight to the county seat.
Day 6: Visited one school in Weiyuan in the morning, then traveled to Tianshui (天水), the second largest city of Gansu Province. Visited the Fuxi Temple (伏羲庙).
Day 7: Sightseeing at the amazing Maijishan Grottoes (麦积山石窟). Not as famous as Yungang, Longmen or Mogao, but it ranked right behind them, along with Dazu. Afternoon switched car and traveled to Jingning (静宁).
Day 8: Busy day visiting three schools in Jingning (including one that's named after my aunt) and visiting some students' homes. After dinner, we crossed part of Ningxia Province (宁夏省) to get to Pingliang (平凉), Gansu.
Day 9: Hiked up the Kongtong Shan (崆峒山), one of the famous scenic/religious mountains in China. Afternoon traveled to Xian and flew back to Shenzhen.
Unlike the schools I've visited prior in remote parts of Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces inhabited by minority (non-Han) groups, this part of Gansu on the Loess Plateau we visited is mostly Han, and the area is the origin of the Han Chinese culture. The quality of the education provided is a lot higher, and the parents care about their kids' education a lot more. Stark difference.
Check out the albums for Days 1-2, 3, 6 (PM), 7 and 9 to see the sightseeing parts of our trip. Days 4, 5, 6 (AM) and 8 for the schools and kids.
http://rkkwan.zenfolio.com/gansu0610
My parents and I went on a 9-day trip (from Hong Kong) with a volunteer (and my friend) Margaret to visit some schools in Gansu Province (甘肃省) in NW China that have received support from Sowers Action or are asking for help. Sowers Action (苗圃行動) is a Hong Kong based non-profit that helps rural Chinese counties to fund their school buildings - mostly primary school. This was my 4th trip with them, having visited Yunnan (2006) and Sichuan (2007, 2009) prior.
It was my first time to this part of China, so we used this opportunity to do some sightseeing as well. In fact, 60% of this trip was sightseeing, 40% work.
Day 1: Flight from Shenzhen to the capital, Lanzhou (兰州). Our flight was delayed for 7 hours due to weather, but China Eastern put us at a hotel and gave us two meals. We didn't get to our hotel until 2am next morning.
Day 2: Sightseeing in Lanzhou. Yellow River, Zhongshan Bridge, etc.
Day 3: Morning sightseeing at Lanshan in Lanzhou. Afternoon travel to Weiyuan (渭源).
Day 4: Visited five schools in Weiyuan.
Day 5: Final meeting with officials in Weiyuan and visit the Baling Bridge. Afternoon travel to Tongwei (通渭). We were supposed to visit a school that day which is named after my aunt, but rain the previous day and night made the steep 10km/6mi unpaved road impassable. instead we went straight to the county seat.
Day 6: Visited one school in Weiyuan in the morning, then traveled to Tianshui (天水), the second largest city of Gansu Province. Visited the Fuxi Temple (伏羲庙).
Day 7: Sightseeing at the amazing Maijishan Grottoes (麦积山石窟). Not as famous as Yungang, Longmen or Mogao, but it ranked right behind them, along with Dazu. Afternoon switched car and traveled to Jingning (静宁).
Day 8: Busy day visiting three schools in Jingning (including one that's named after my aunt) and visiting some students' homes. After dinner, we crossed part of Ningxia Province (宁夏省) to get to Pingliang (平凉), Gansu.
Day 9: Hiked up the Kongtong Shan (崆峒山), one of the famous scenic/religious mountains in China. Afternoon traveled to Xian and flew back to Shenzhen.
Unlike the schools I've visited prior in remote parts of Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces inhabited by minority (non-Han) groups, this part of Gansu on the Loess Plateau we visited is mostly Han, and the area is the origin of the Han Chinese culture. The quality of the education provided is a lot higher, and the parents care about their kids' education a lot more. Stark difference.
Check out the albums for Days 1-2, 3, 6 (PM), 7 and 9 to see the sightseeing parts of our trip. Days 4, 5, 6 (AM) and 8 for the schools and kids.
Aug 19th, 2010, 03:51 PM
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Google Map of the places visited here: http://goo.gl/maps/Tszx
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