thursdaysd

Still really enjoying this, images. Sounds like you did a great job of traveling alone. I'm saddened to hear about your problems in Yangshuo, though. the first time I went to China, in '97, it felt very safe, but I stopped a young girl trying to open my day pack in Hangzhou in '04, and your experience sounds quite scary.

Images2

Well, it wasn't scary, but it made me angry and uncomfortable. It was so obvious that it was easy to stop. To many outside tourists I guess. They have such wonderful natural resources here. Too bad they can't clean up the problems in Yangshuo. In the rest of China we had no problems with theft. We felt very safe. Even on the subway in Beijing we never felt threatened. The authorities can put a stop to this behavior if they want to.

May 15

Relaxing at our hotel, we had no plans this morning. It was good to have some time just to relax. Later we had a driver meet us for the long drive back to the airport in Guilin. The trip was so pretty, again driving by the beautiful mountains, along rice fields, and farms. It’s a long drive. Lilly was booked to make this trip with us, to show us some of the area between Yangshuo and Guilin, but she cancelled.

When you check into your flight, at any airport in china we used, the check in areas were separated by airline, but not by flights. You had your choice of many counters. Lines aren’t always honored. As we were checking in at the desk, we’d already given the agent our luggage, a woman came up alongside me and handed over her passport. She didn’t even wait for us to complete our turn. I can’t get used to this. Once when this had happened repeatedly to me in China, I finally told the person to get behind me, there was a line. My hand motions explained my feelings well. You must check your luggage. No carry on of 21” luggage. You can only carry on small items. When you connect to another flight, you must collect your luggage, and then recheck it again.

ATM’s work fine at the Guilin airport. They are in the area just to the left when you enter from the outdoors. The restaurant in the entrance area on the left is actually good. It also has wifi. Once you’re at the gates, there is no more wifi available. There are not phone cards for sale either.

We were booked on China Southern Airlines again. Our luck wasn’t good. This flight from Guilin to Kunming was also delayed. We were to connect to a China Eastern flight in Kunming for our trip to Lijiang. The first flight was delayed 2 ½ hours. No employee spoke any English. As the delay became longer and longer I knew we’d miss our next flight. I tried talking to the employees, no luck there, tried talking with the Ctrip office right next to the gate, no luck with that. The woman working here had me type in my question into a computer, which translated it into Mandarin. Then she’d type her response which was translated into English. Her answer was to be patient. Once we were in Kunming find help. I’m not very good at waiting. We had a problem and I wanted to know how to solve it. We needed a new booking so there would be seats available on a flight this evening between Kunming and Lijiang.

It was getting late. I tried to buy a phone card so we could make a call without using our American phone. No wifi here so we couldn’t use SKYPE. I went to the business class lounge looking for help. No phone cards available at the shops, no English anywhere. We didn’t know how to rebook. I called 9588.com our booking agency(expensive phone call using American phone) and told him of our problem. He didn’t explain to us how this system worked. He’d let us pay for new tickets, but this wasn’t an option. We had already paid for tickets we couldn’t use, and didn’t know what time our flight would finally leave Guilin. Finally I persisted with the gate agents. I showed both of our flight reservations to them. They called their main office where someone spoke English. They informed me that we had to wait until we reached Kunming airport before any new flight could be booked. Once there, we were to go to the China Southern ticket office. This is the ticket office of the flight that was delayed. They would need to rebook our China Eastern tickets.

Finally our flight left, for the short flight to Kunming. Once we arrived we needed to collect our luggage before we could go find a new flight. It seems half the people on our flight needed a new flight from Kunming to Lijiang. Of course they had all arrived at the ticketing office before we had. Thankfully, they took our passports, found seats on the last flight out of the evening from Kunming to Lijiang and for no extra charge we were rebooked. If we tried to rebook at the China Eastern desk we’d need to pay for the new flight. You must go to the ticket office of the airline whose flight was delayed.

Needing dinner we ate at a small restaurant just above where our next flight was leaving. It was delicious! Another family arrived with their small child and all attention in the restaurant turned to the child. It was interesting seeing all the attention this child was receiving. Children are a precious treasure in China.

Our flight from Kunming to Lijiang was so short, that the flight attendants passed water bottles to half the flight before we took off. Once in the air they continued their service. We were booked at Zen Garden Hotel in Lijiang. Since we were staying 4 nights they offered free pick up at the airport. www.zengardenhotel.com [[email protected]]
We called Zen Garden from Kunming to let them know our new arrival time. A taxi was waiting for us, which we appreciated so much, since again, we arrived at our destination so late at night. Once we arrived at the town, 2 men were waiting to carry our luggage, up the slippery cobblestones, all the way to this beautiful, small hotel. Cake was waiting for us in our room, the town was silent. All traces of the thick humidity we’d experienced in Hong Kong and Yangshuo had disappeared. We slept well.

Images2

May 16

I forgot to mention that when we arrived last night we needed to pay 80rmb each for the entrance fee for the privilege of visiting the Old Town. Staying in a hotel here wasn’t enough. We still had to pay this fee. When we visit Black Dragon Pool, our ticket we received upon paying this fee, will be stamped. We didn’t need to pay the fee again. When we visit Jade Dragon Mountain, they’ll check this ticket again. Save it. If you lose it, you’ll need to pay the fee again.

After well deserved sleep we enjoyed breakfast at Zen Garden Hotel. This hotel is lovely. There are 2 beds in each room, no double size beds. They are very comfortable, and even have electric blankets if it gets to chilly. The rooms are small, but very tastefully decorated. The bathroom is modern and very clean. The grounds of the hotel are beautiful and peaceful. We found the air so refreshing, and even needed a sweater occasionally while here. The breakfast is interesting. There is enough to choose from, but some items we couldn’t eat. Unless we can peel a fruit, we don’t eat it, same for vegetables. There was yogurt, which you drink with a straw. Good breads, hard boiled eggs, mango juice, toast. Each day the selection varied. I corresponded with Yumei at Zen Garden several times before our arrival. She always responded right away and proved very helpful. We planned on booking a car and driver through the hotel for 2 days of our stay here. It worked out wonderfully and was fairly priced.

Today we planned on staying in town. Lijiang is a beautifully restored village. I realize it’s very touristy. Almost all the shops are tourist shops filled with an assortment of goods, from Yak combs, brightly colored fabric, clothing, jewelry, shoes, leather, I could go on and on. This is one area Chinese tourists come to vacation. The surrounding area is interesting also, but also geared for the tourist, with high prices to match. A map is very helpful as the village is a mass of winding streets. An English map is even more helpful of course! Our hotel lent us their last map, but we found one to buy from an old woman sitting on the side of a street in the old town. She had several different versions of maps. See if she has an English map. We were lucky and bought one from her for 10rmb. We then learned we’d overpaid. The Chinese man next to us, who now lives in the U.S. only paid 6 rmb. He knew the language and bargained much better than we did! She didn’t stay around all day. When she’d sold enough, she disappeared!

Located at the edge of the Old town is the Mansion of Mu Clan. This is a very large complex, & is filled with a mixture of Han, Bai & Naxi styles of architecture. We spent 2 hours here. Not many other tourists bothered to visit this site, but it’s well worth your time. Great photo opportunities are here. Behind the Palace is the Wan Gou Lou Pagoda. Walk up the hill and you’ll be rewarded with wonderful views of the roof tops of Lijiang as well as Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. We were blessed with wonderful weather the first couple of days and were able to enjoy the wonderful view.

Just past the Mansion of Mu Clan is one of the Three Wells. The top well is for drinking water, the middle well for washing vegetables and the bottom well for washing clothes. There is another group of three wells in town. No one was adhering to the order of the wells. Washing of vegetables was happening below the well where washing of clothes was taking place. Personal hygiene was also taking place at these wells, and in canals. Brushing of teeth, blowing of noses, etc. in canals, where they were washing vegetables. No wonder I got sick after my first lunch in Lijiang.

Our favorite market of our trip was here in Lijiang. It’s an outdoor farmer’s market, the Zhongyi Market 忠义市场. This is west of the south gate, north of Xianghe Road. Every conceivable food item is here. Some you don’t want to see. It was bustling with buyers and sellers. Our photos are wonderful. No one had a problem with me taking photos. I wish we could have eaten the tiny, juicy strawberries sold by women along the streets this spring season. Watermelon on the stick was safe to eat, and we had it many times over the next couple of weeks. People loved their corn on the cob, but some were eating it one cornel at a time. With all the fresh food we saw at the market, it’s too bad we had a difficult time finding a good meal here. We had one that I’m sure gave me the runs. Another was Yak salad, the greens and meat fried at very high temperatures at Mishi. Prague restaurant was a good fall back, Susan’s Naxi Restaurant was horrible. Frankly, after seeing food washed in the canals, I was afraid of eating here.

I loved seeing the women in Lijiang in their minority clothing. This was their normal attire. It was so beautiful seeing the variety. Many carried baskets woven of different colors of reeds on their backs. It looks like the shaker woven chair seats we see here today with alternating colors. Woven items were for sale in the market also. I wish there had been room in our luggage to carry some home with us.

While resting our feet, sitting on a bench on Sifang Square, two sophomores from the local college approached us. They were English students and their final exam was to find someone who spoke English and talk with them. We quickly discovered them to be delightful girls, not trying to pull any scam on us, but really wanting to talk. We were generous with our time and learned a lot about their lives also. Both were from other areas of China. They leave their families to attend school. Both had problems leaving home, but found great help in becoming friends with each other. We shared stories of our lives for over an hour. They so wanted my husband to quit his job in America and for us to come live in Lijiang so we could teach English. Their current teacher is from Seattle. They were also very confused why we couldn’t return, bringing our families with us to China. One hoped to become a kindergarten teacher. This surprised us since her English was so good we thought she should have a bright future. They have no hope of receiving permission to leave China. Many students have learned English so this is no advantage to them they believe. We think they should get jobs with the airlines. There is great need of English speakers at China’s airports!

If you need to use the toilet while walking around Lijiang’s streets, don’t worry. There are public bathrooms located in many spots, scattered among the shops. They are the nicest public toilets we saw in China, clean, granite countertops, very nice. Still no TP though. Bring your own.

There are so many shops to buy souvenirs in while visiting Lijiang but don’t worry if you miss shopping here. When we went to Panjiayuan Market 潘家园市场 in Beijing, most of these items were for sale. In fact, buyers were buying in bulk here, probably bringing the items back to Lijiang to sell.

The visitor Center for nature and Culture in Northwest Yunnan was an interesting small museum in Lijiang. This is a museum of photos, is free, and we enjoyed our 30 minute visit. One exhibit showed villagers documenting their daily lives in photos.

After a rest in our room we walked the easy 15 minute walk from the old town to the Black Dragon Pool park. Remember to have your Old Town ticket to show for admittance to this park. The gate attendant will stamp it. I guess this means you can only go to the park once during your stay, or you’ll need to pay the 80rmb fee again. Many Chinese tourists were walking through this park, taking photos of each other. It was fun watching the poses they used when taking pictures of each other. Never do they just stand in front of a site and take a boring picture. Posing is required. Later in the trip I’d be taught how to pose by a Chinese photographer. We didn’t think this park merited all the build up. It’s ok, but rather run down, not worth that fee. In one area of the park is the Dongba research institute museum. We entered just before closing. A student wanted to guide us through the museum. There isn’t much to see here. They decided to cut our visit short, and close. The admission was free and there was nothing much to see, so we didn’t mind. A naxi orchestra was practicing in the park and calligraphy was written by a Naxi gentleman. After walking a circle around the lake we returned to the old town for dinner.

Deciding on eating at Mishi, we were seated in the outdoor patio area. It wasn’t well kept. After ordering our dinner, two tour groups arrived. Evidentially this is where you eat in Lijiang when you’re touring the town with a large group. Oh well, too late for us to leave. The Yak salad was OK, but watching the huge wok which spit fire really high up, above the window was the interesting activity of our evening. The red lanterns were lit all over town, along the canals, and the Naxi women danced on the square. It made for an enjoyable evening. The nightclubs stay open very late and the music is very, very loud. We looked in on them, but didn’t stay. Needing our sleep, we walked back to Zen Garden, where it is very relaxing. Wifi is available in our room. We were so happy to have such easy access to email when in China. CNN was often blocked. Guess something was going on in the world that China decided its people shouldn’t read about.

dgunbug

Enjoying your report. Keep it coming! I will be bookmarking this and using it for future reference when I head to China.

indiancouple

Images2, I am envious that you managed to see the San Lujie light show at Yangshuo, which we missed because of the rain ! Now that you mention that it was a bit of a disappointment, it makes me feel better (the grapes were sour !).

I don't know why a particular poster pops up on every post on this China site, insisting that no one use a guide in China. He seems to have a running feud with all guides in the country, and is not willing to tolerate an alternate view point. He further imagines that all guides make money out of everything, which I don't think is true. There are some decent people in China, who make a decent living out of being a guide, and that should be respected.

I think it is best to let everyone know the obvious pitfalls of hiring a guide, and let them be aware of the options of doing independent travel without a guide, and leave it to the readers to decide what is best suited for them. To say that "one should simply ask upon arrival, and get independent directions" is not quite workable in China, as communication problems are severe. To say that 100 Rmb/day is overpriced for a guide in China is also quite ridiculous, as after asking around to dozens of people, and with our own experiences everywhere in China, I can confidently you will be very hard pressed to find a guide for less than that, whose English you can understand.

So let us not pounce on every mention of a guide and slander all guides everywhere, but allow some mixed reactions to prevail.

PeterN_H

I'm glad to find that after one visit to China, some of which relied I believe on advice from this poster, that you are so astonishingly well informed. The suggestion that remarks on guides are of a personal nature is itself ill-natured and quite unnecessary. These observations are based upon more than 20 years of experience of China travel, on periods of residence there, and on extensive study of the Chinese tourism industry not only by myself but other Mandarin-speaking colleagues of long China experience who have collaborated on such research.

Remarks criticising the tourism industry in China are made with the best interests of other readers of this site in what is after all a public debate, and deserve as much of a hearing as any others. No one is 'insisting' that others not take a guide. What is insisted is that those thinking of taking one understand fully the potential pitfalls, and prepare accordingly if they are still determined to take a guide. The posting above simply invites them to read the site more widely to gain a variety of opinions. In this case the very guide under discussion has proved unreliable for another traveller, as she describes in the link given. Does this information not deserve a hearing?

> To say that "one should simply ask upon arrival, and get independent directions" is not quite workable in China, as communication problems are severe.

It would be interesting to find out who has said this where. What has been said is that there are many English-language sources of information in Yangshuo, both from guesthouses and from other travellers, most of whom do all this entirely on their own, thus demonstrating that it is indeed entirely feasible to travel independently and those who prefer to do so need to know that there is no necessity for a guide.

But even where English-speakers and foreigner hang-outs are few, arriving at a destination and then sorting matters out is the normal procedure for tens of thousands of travellers without any Mandarin every single year. With a half-decent guide book and a bit of gumption, using English-speakers at hotel desks, this is not only possible but entirely normal as, if they are permitted to speak, you will find other posters here prepared to attest. You may not wish to do it (and that's entirely up to you), but others do, and it needs to be made clear for them that it is perfectly possible.

Those who choose to take a guide are of course equally free to do that, but again they need to know what they are getting themselves into.

> To say that 100 Rmb/day is overpriced for a guide in China is also quite ridiculous, as after asking around to dozens of people, and with our own experiences everywhere in China, I can confidently you will be very hard pressed to find a guide for less than that, whose English you can understand.

I'm sorry, but you simply don't know what you are talking about. Even in ultra-rip-off Yangshuo guides frequently offer services for half these prices in entirely clear English, as I am well aware from personal experience. If you choose to book in advance via the Internet you can expect to pay more for everything in China. But the initial guide price isn't even the whole issue, but also further payments gained from kick-backs at sights, shopping, restaurants, for tickets, etc,. all of which are chosen according to the kick-back paid, not according to the needs of the visitor, who indeed often remains entirely unaware that he has been duped. I'd simply like to prevent that from happening where possible.

> So let us not pounce on every mention of a guide and slander all guides everywhere, but allow some mixed reactions to prevail.

It would take really heroic efforts to slander the tourism industry in China, which is possibly only exceeded in corruption and cupidity by the construction and mining industries there. There may be completely honest guides in China, but I have never met one, although I've interviewed many, travelled with many others, eavesdropped on the conversations of still more, and even counted some as friends. The industry is packed with terribly sweet guides taking innumerable visitors for a ride, and pointing this out is indeed part of the 'mixed reactions' that need to prevail, so that other travellers may choose from a range of advice including far broader and deeper experience than simply your own. No one is attempting in any way to undermine your generous tour report (although there are in fact several other observations in it I believe to to be mistaken, quite understandably), but there are particularly important points to be made about guides, and your generosity ought to extend to refraining from attacking those who seek to bring documented problems to light for the general good, and whose observations are in now way aimed at you personally.

Peter N-H

indiancouple

Peter NH, no one denies or disputes your knowledge of China. It is also true that you have responded to some of my own queries, and helped me, as have many others, in planning my visit. However, I still find you quite dogmatic in your beliefs, and rather intolerant of alternate viewpoints in your posts.

I reproduce below a portion of your post in this same thread, made just 1-2 days ago:

"> Without Lilly and her driver I have no idea how we would have done this part of the trip.

Simply by asking on arrival, as with everywhere else."

Now, in response to my post, you say the opposite, and deny having made this suggestion, by stating :

"> To say that "one should simply ask upon arrival, and get independent directions" is not quite workable in China, as communication problems are severe.

It would be interesting to find out who has said this where."

Your above comment is a complete denial of your earlier post !

Many posters have used guides at various cities in China, and enjoyed the same, and not minded even paying upto 300 Rmb/day. I may personally find that high, but that it only my point of view. So I avoided using guides at most places, as they were "expensive" by my standards. But I found the guide at Yangshuo reasonable at 100 Rmb/day, and again, that is just my point of view. You are entitled to have your own viewpoint, but to say that I don't know what I am talking about, but that you know exactly what you are talking about, is ridiculous and stupid.

Images2 had mixed experience with the same Yangshuo guide, but in balance of good and bad experiences, still recommended using this guide to another poster. That was their opinion. You found this appalling, and in your post on June 6, you ridicule Images2 for suggesting the same ! When Images2 talk about the guide helping them buy air-tickets, you just assume that the guide made money in the process !

In short, Peter NH, please do continue to spread your good knowledge about China. But realize that the world is made up of different kinds of people, with different perspectives. Your perspective is welcome, but is not the only one which is correct. A sum of 100 Rmb or 300 Rmb has differing values to different people. Please stop your insulting comments to anyone on this forum who even remotely suggests using a guide.

Images2, sorry for hijacking your thread for this interlude. I know there will be harsher reactions from Peter NH, but I promise not to respond to them, and hijack your thread any further. Please continue your good TR, which we are enjoying.

I have been a regular Fodorite on different forums for the last 3 years, and just found the comments of this one poster on the China forum to be harsh to everyone, and felt like intervening. Sorry if I was harsh myself.

Images2

No problem, no one's hijacking this thread. This battle has been brewing for a long time.

I'm just a simple traveler. I feel there is no one way to travel. If I think I need a guide, as I did here, I'll hire a guide. It's not often we need a guide, but Lilly and her driver helped us out tremendously in this situation. We couldn't go find local transportation at 10:30 p.m. and even at a different time of day that would have been very inconvenient in this situation. We couldn’t even communicate at the airport. When we traveled to Egypt, I also hired a guide for certain days. We felt safer in that situation.

I'm all for capitalism. If Lilly can charge 100rmb per day for her services, and we're willing to pay it, good for her. If I felt it was too much, we wouldn't have agreed to that sum. I hope more Chinese people can start businesses and charge fair prices for their services. My problem was agreeing to an itinerary with Lilly and having her change it almost immediately once we arrived. This is no way to start a business. Hopefully she can correct this and move forward.

Next installment in this report will be a trip to Stone Drum Village, where we meet the Chinese army, and a day trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Images2

May 17

For the next two days of this trip we wanted a driver. Zen Garden worked with me on an itinerary and set up a driver for us to use. The driver was just that, a driver. He/She spoke only Chinese, but delivered us to each location we requested. The price was fair. This was actually two people who worked together, sharing one car.

Today we paid the driver 370rmb for a trip to Lashi lake, The 1st Bend in the Yangtze, Shigu Town/Stone Drum Town, and Tiger Leaping Gorge. We met the driver at 8:30 a.m. and returned around 4:30 p.m.

We didn’t need to start at Lashi Lake, which is the source of water for Lijiang, but the woman at Zen Garden added it to my itinerary. Unless you want to ride a horse in this area, don’t stop here. We paid our admissions and our driver’s admission, 60rmb total. There was nothing for us to see here. All the other tourists at this site were going to ride horses.

For miles we drove past farmers who were in the process of harvesting the golden rice. The fields were beautiful with golden waves of grain and piles bundled on the roadside.
Farmers were wearing their traditional clothing as they worked, baskets tied onto their backs, full of grain. Yaks and cows were tied to the trees. Small trucks passed us packed with passengers standing in the back. The countryside was beautiful.


On our drive to Shigu Town the driver stopped at a Temple which overlooked the river. We climbed down the steps to the overlook for excellent views. There were numerous tiles people had inscribed their names on. I’m not sure what this area was, maybe a Tibetan temple, but it made for a nice break. Driving further we arrived at the First Bend in the Yangtze, where the Jinsha River, which is a tributary of Yangtze River, is blocked by the Hailuo Cliff near Stone Drum Town and makes a V around the bend. After stopping for photos here we drove into the small village of Shigu Town.

A memorial hall of the Long March of the Red Army is located in this village. Our driver pointed the way, up a stone staircase which we climbed to the memorial. A large contingent of the Chinese Army was visiting this site. This was quite interesting for them and for us. We both wanted photos of this site, so I took some, with the soldiers in the foreground. After a bit, they started taking photos of us also. This site wouldn’t have been as interesting without the Chinese soldiers visit. We all enjoyed viewing each other more than the site itself. This was also a good area to take photos of the rooftops of the village below.

Iron Rainbow Bridge from the Qing Dynasty spans the river here. A couple of men were playing music at the start of the bridge. No one else was around, so we crossed the bridge, taking photos in peace. Iron chains form the guard rail. In the small village children roamed and a couple of women were selling colorful woven baskets. I bought a small woven tray holding 9 tiny baskets, banded in different colors for a very low price. I love this purchase!

Continuing on we drove to Tiger Leaping Gorge. It was a long drive, with admission 52rmb each. We never considered the hike along the gorge with a trip to Shangri-La, but I did want to see the gorge itself. There is a nice stone walkway, which is a 40 minute walk to the overlook of rushing river rapids. All along the path are signs warning you to walk close to the cliff side, to walk quickly, and watch out for falling rocks. Guards are positioned at intervals with bull horns, warning you to stay close to the stone walls. They must have some serious rockslides here, one was visible. Once you arrive at the overlooks you’re able to climb down to 2 different viewing areas. The water is powerful here.

Rickshaws are available to ride along this gorge for 40rmb one way. We didn’t do this, but were tempted on our return walk. I was a bit nervous with all the posted signs warning of the rock dangers.

The drive back to Lijiang took 2 hours. Our driver kindly stopped a few times so I could take photos of the golden rice terraces.

Strolling Lijiang in the evening is always enjoyable with the red lanterns lit. We ate at the Prague Café tonight, which didn’t have the atmosphere of the canal side cafes, but the food was safe and good. We ordered mushroom soup, Naxi ham & goat cheese sandwich, Beef and Green pepper with steamed rice. The price was 70rmb for our dinner and 2 drinks.

PeterN_H

>Your above comment is a complete denial of your earlier post !

On the contrary, if you actually quote all that was said, the post goes on to set out clearly what the position is.

To clarify (again):

Yangshuo/Guilin, where foreign visitors to China have long been cheated more frequently and in a wider variety of ways than anywhere else in the country, has innumerable sources of directions of all kinds in English from assorted guesthouses and from other visitors. There are few other places in China easier to get around without a guide, although it is simply a matter of fact that tens of thousands of visitors every year travel all over China to places where almost no English is spoken at all. Ergo, although you may not choose to do so, it is certainly possible, and a guide is never a necessity, even supposing guides in China actually provided the benefits usually expected from taking them, which by and large they do not.

Characterising others' clearly expressed opinions as 'dogmatic' and 'intolerent' simply because they disagree with your own does not constitute an argument, and is not helpful to other readers of this site. Facts provided on corruption in organised tourism in China may not in any case be characterised as 'opinions'. You may choose to ignore them, and no one is preventing you from expressing dissent, but if you have no right to expect not to be challenged on a public forum by anyone with contrary information. If you have an argument to make, set it out, and omit the personal comments. Whether you like it or not, fully independent travel even in remote corners of China is commonplace, and ripping off by guides in China is the norm.

> Many posters have used guides at various cities in China, and enjoyed the same, and not minded even paying upto 300 Rmb/day. I may personally find that high, but that it only my point of view.

Whether an individual 'minds' paying ¥300 a day is neither here nor there. It's those who come after that need protecting from the idea that that is the right or only price to pay. Whether such a price is high or not has nothing to do with a 'point of view'. It is what the Chinese themselves would refer to as a 'stupid foreigner' price, on which likely those who paid that much added what some guides call the 'stupid foreigner tax': a tip, which didn't make that right either. And the fact that someone may have paid an even higher price doesn't make paying ¥100 itself any less excessive and unnecessary.

> I don't know what I am talking about, but that you know exactly what you are talking about, is ridiculous and stupid.

On the contrary, you asserted quite clearly that a guide with good English cannot be had for less than ¥100. This is simply false, and what is 'ridiculous and stupid' is continuing to assert this just because you apparently think you shouldn't be contradicted. You booked your services ahead of time over the Internet and paid a higher price than was necessary. A willingness to pay a certain sum does not prevent that sum from being more than needs to be paid. An alternative method, if a guide must be had, is to show up in the area, speak to a few that offer services, and hammer out in detail what it wanted while at the same time, face to face, gaining an impression of that guide's likely honesty and reliability.

> Please stop your insulting comments to anyone on this forum who even remotely suggests using a guide.

Excuse me? I gently questioned the recommendation of a certain guide above given the behaviour exhibited by that guide, and described the report, which was as predicted in earlier discussions. Until you came in swinging there was a perfectly civil discussion on the matter.

But for the benefit of other readers of this site I will continue to point out the disadvantages of taking guides in China (whether you happen to like it or not) so that even if they do choose to take one are more likely to pay a reasonable price and to avoid the more common shenanigans practiced upon those new to China. I think that's more important than allowing factual descriptions of the problems in China tourism to be characterised as 'opinions' simply to preserve a single poster's self-esteem. It will probably by obvious to most that an entirely clear picture of China cannot be obtained by a single brief tour round a handful of tourist traps. Things are a little more complicated than they seem.

> I hope more Chinese people can start businesses and charge fair prices for their services. My problem was agreeing to an itinerary with Lilly and having her change it almost immediately once we arrived. This is no way to start a business. Hopefully she can correct this and move forward.

Indeed. But unfortunately all this kind of thing is commonplace, and people tend to enter the guiding business in China because of the immense profits it offers from overcharging and kick-backs, which give tour guides extremely high incomes. As I said earlier:

"The aim here is to avert what's looking like it will end up as a broadcast recommendation (albeit with some qualifications) for a particular guide at particular prices. It often happens that by accident a single name becomes *the* name on a site like this, and the next thing you know there are long lines of people directed to that name by this site, with increasing numbers absolutely insisting after the event (although you haven't done so) that they paid the best price for the best experience when their only experience is the guide in question and they have neither knowledge or experience of any alternative."

And that's exactly what now seems to be happening. There's always a possibility that this will all turn out honestly, but based on your own experiences (failure to act as agreed, shopping stop, getting pouty because you cut out a kick-back) this doesn't look likely even if it weren't anyway unheard of in China. It's been possible to watch the same arc with other guides on this site who became 'the' guide for a certain area (including another who was previously 'the' Guilin guide): ever-rising prices, substitutes sent in place of the original operator, a curious concentration on certain shops and restaurants, inconsistent or indifferent or non-delivery of promised services; then the beginnings of complaints, the appearance of spam here, and finally disappearance (at least from this site).

The truths of organised tourism are unpleasant both to read and write about, and there's always someone who wants (as above) to shoot the messenger rather than accept that everything may not be as it seems or that they might have paid less or made other choices. There will always be people who want to travel with guides, and there's nothing wrong with that at all. But it's best that in making decisions they understand the potential problems, and make their choices with their eyes wide open and their wallets firmly shut.

Trip reports that make it clear to those who doubt it (and some on this site have flat-out denied it) that independent travel is perfectly feasible, are to be welcomed, and between joining a fully organised tour and simply showing up in China with nothing booked there are indeed several middle ways.

Peter N-H

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May 18

Today we’re beginning our day with the 9 a.m. Lijiang Impressions show, and then we’ll take the cable car up to Yak meadow, followed by a trip to Baisha and Shuhe old towns. We paid 200rmb for our driver which probably wasn’t necessary. If there is public transportation to the show area, just take that, and then taxi’s to the other towns are readily available. Leave early, at least 1 hour prior to the show, as the line of cars entering the show area is long and slow.

It was best to begin our day with the 9a.m. show, since the sun wasn’t in our eyes as we watched this excellent show. Also, it’d be very difficult to arrange our time around a later show. There are 3 Lijiang Impressions shows per day. Tickets are 190rmb each for the lowest price category. We also needed to pay 80rmb each for admission to the Ganhaizi area where this show is preformed. Again, the prices are very high. This is a show for tourists, but I thought it was excellent and enjoyed the background of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Being daylight, photos came out very well. The show management doesn’t want people taking photos. No one paid any attention to this rule though. If they were told to stop taking photos, an argument ensued, and then more photos were taken. At this steep ticket price I don’t blame the Chinese tourists for wanting to take photos of the show.

As we entered each of us were handed a red hat. This hat marked us as to where our seats would be located. It’s open seating in a specific area corresponding with your hat color. Views were good of the actors and the mountain. The altitude here is 3100 meters. Warning signs advise those with heart problems or high blood pressure to beware.

After enjoying this hour long show, there are ticket offices at the exit where you’re able to buy tickets, 80rmb each, for a trip to a meadow. We wanted to make the trip to Yak meadow which is the furthest from this area. Indoors is a waiting area with no bathrooms, where you’ll wait for a bus which makes a journey up the mountainside for the trip to the cable cars. This trip has a lot of switchbacks and takes 45 minutes or so. Once arriving at the cable car area, there are nice, clean bathrooms. Coats are available for rent with it being quite cool at this high altitude. The cable car is very steep and takes about 30 minutes to arrive at the top of Yak meadow. This meadow area isn’t really nice. A Tibetan temple is located here. No food was available. Uneven wooden walkways snake up the hillside. It’s a circular route and was a bit tricky watching my footing. Yak’s were on the hillside, quite a walk from where we began our walk.

None of the other people on our bus walked up the hillside to the Yak’s locations. We thought buses would come and go from the bottom of the cable car on a schedule, so didn’t worry that we were the only ones willing to take this walk through the meadow. The Yak’s were gentle, eating the grass, paying no attention to us.

Once we finished seeing the Yak’s we needed to walk back to the cable cars and take the 30 minute ride back down. There was the same bus we had taken up the mountain filled with the same people, who waited for us this whole time. I felt pretty bad about the situation, but we had no idea they were waiting for us. Why did they come to Yak meadow if they didn’t want to make the walk around the meadow to see the Yak’s??

Once we were on board, the bus started the long trip back down the mountainside. Not too far into our trip we stopped. There was a 2 car accident on the roadside, blocking our path. The car that had been hit was so lucky to still be on the road. They’d almost been forced off the edge of the mountainside. No one would move the car blocking the road. No help arrived. The passengers on the bus all got off and discussed the situation. Finally, 45 minutes later, someone decided to move the offending car so we could pass.

Stopping at a river with a stone terraced waterfall, Yak’s were waiting for us to sit upon for photos. A Chinese man got on one yak, I got on another. His wife was thrilled to take photos of the two of us! The man who owned the yaks demonstrated poses to me so our photos would be much more Chinese! It was a fun stop with great photos too! At this point we could take any bus back to the parking area where our driver was waiting.

Our driver had waited this whole time for us in the parking area of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. She drove us to Baisha village and parked, showing us which way to walk if we wanted to see the village, but not pay the 35rmb fee to visit the frescos. We followed the vendor’s booths through town and arrived at the back entrance of the pay area. The vendors here were so very aggressive, that we couldn’t enjoy our visit in the town. The village was dirty and flies were thick.

Next we drove to Shuhe old town. Admission here was 50rmb for entrance to the village. We received a map of the town when we paid the entrance fee. We liked this village a lot, but weren’t very happy with all the entrance fees in the area. Shuhe is like a small Lijiang with many fewer people. We stopped for a late lunch here at a small local restaurant with only a Chinese menu. Three prices were on the top of the menu, 10 – 20 – 30rmb. We finally figured out that whatever they served here, it came in 3 sizes. There were no menu choices, only size choices. The lunch was Crossing the Bridge Noodles. It was excellent! Our medium serving size was plenty for the 2 of us. There were many more restaurants around the central canal area which we noticed later. Again, we watched as a bride posed for photos in her wedding dress along one of the bridges.

After strolling through this delightful village, we became lost. It was time to return to the parking area to meet our driver, but we couldn’t find it. We hired a rickshaw driver to return us to the parking area, a great solution to our problem. Taxi’s were waiting in both of these villages, so without a driver, there still would have been an easy way to drive between villages.

Somewhere I read that food at Susan’s Naxi Place was good. We tried eating dinner here this evening. We ordered our food. A huge bucket of rice arrived at our table, along with my husband’s dinner. It was horrible. My food never arrived. Finally we were told my choices were unavailable. Why weren’t we told this when we had ordered. Actually this worked out for the best. The other food was so bad, we decided not to even finish it, but to just pay the bill and leave. Back to the Prague Restaurant at No. 80, MishiXiang, Xinyi Jie we went. To find Prague, walk up the main street, north from the main square and turn right at the little stone bridge. It’s located on the left. The restaurant looks simple but we were happy with the food served here.

Walking back to the main square we hoped to find the Naxi dancing again. It had rained and the stones were very slick, so the dancing had been cancelled this evening.

Tomorrow we’ll fly to Chengdu and the flight will leave on time!!

Shanghainese

I got on a yak at the same place for photos too, the owner insisted he'd take better photos than my DH and took the camera, he also made me pose like the performers in the Lijiang Impressions show, it was hilarious.

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And he was right, the photos are better aren't they!

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May 19

During breakfast this morning at Zen Garden hotel, a woman played Naxi music in the courtyard. It was beautiful. We’ve loved our stay here in the upstairs corner bedroom with windows along 2 walls, and chairs on the verandah.

Our flight to Chengdu was an afternoon flight so we enjoyed a couple hours strolling the old town, exploring down back roads without tourists. This is a good time for photos without many people on the streets. We didn’t find Lijiang to crowded regardless. The Monastery of Omni-virtue was hidden in these lanes. Morning activities of washing clothes, hair and brushing teeth in the canals were abundant. I don’t know how the residents prevent getting sick with all the use of the canal water for personal hygiene.

Our hotel recommended Petit Lijiang Bookcafe for lunch. The owner is Belgium and he’s married to a Chinese woman. http://petitlijianginn.com/bookcafe/ben.html

We ate lunch on their outdoor terrace and had our best meal in Lijiang. The café looks rather simple, but go upstairs where they have indoor and outdoor areas to dine in.

On Fodor’s I noticed a recommendation for the Farmer’s restaurant Sour Ants Hot Pot Chicken near Lijiang 0888-6662279. We tried contacting them, but the phone number wasn’t working.

The trip back to the airport was 80rmb for taxi service from our hotel. The cobblestone streets of Lijiang are very unfriendly for luggage, so someone collected our luggage and carried it to a spot where it was loaded into a wagon. We walked outside of the old town, to a street where our taxi was located and waited for our luggage to arrive. The drive to the airport is around 30minutes. There is also a public shuttle bus if you’d rather take this.

Our Deer Air flight left on time! What a pleasure. Our flight was so interesting because a young woman, who is a professor at Chengdu’s university, sat next to us. She and her husband were “honeymooning” in Lijiang. She loved that town. She never knew such a place existed. Actually she’d rather honeymoon in France or another foreign destination but that hasn’t been possible. By the way, the most foreign tourists we saw in China were from France.

During the flight we visited with this couple, both of us fascinated with each other’s life experiences. They spoke excellent English and have been trying to get a visa to visit the U.S. but it’s been denied. The Chinese government is afraid they wouldn’t return to China if allowed to leave.

They were so worried about us finding our way in Chengdu. They couldn’t believe we could vacation in China without knowing the language. We assured them we were doing fine so far, and knew how to get to our hotel in Chengdu. I pulled out a photo of the street address marker of our hotel and a Google earth map of the satellite picture from above. The reaction I got from the people in the seats around us was amazing. They passed the Google earth photo around. Never had they seen such a picture. Opps, maybe I shouldn’t have shared that technology with Chinese citizen’s but they loved seeing it. The point of the photo was to show how close to the large stadium our hotel was. These pictures reassured them that we’d find our way. The professor had her husband write out a lot of suggestions for us to visit and eat while in Chengdu. He wrote everything in Chinese with English notes. They were very kind.

While researching Chengdu I found that they had just introduced a “Panda Card” http://www.nowpublic.com/style/panda...-hometown-free which would allow us free admission to several sites in Chengdu. The town is trying to increase tourism after the earthquake. I needed to know where to get this card. Minmin didn’t know about the card, but agreed to help us find it.

Our airplane landed very hard, with nose way to high. I wish Chinese pilots would land their planes better. This wasn’t our first hard landing. Chengdu seen from the air is such a large city. Minmin stayed with us and asked at the information center in the airport about finding the Panda card.

For only 1rmb each we were able to purchase the Panda Cards at the tourist information desk of Chengdu’s airport. The problem is you must call a phone number and spell your full name plus give them your passport number in order to activate this card. The phone call is in Chinese. Minmin stayed with us, called the number and spent the next 15 minutes activating our cards. They were also able to buy the other version of this card which is for residents of Sichuan Province. We exchanged email addresses and kept in touch the next several days. The university has a low priced event, opera, folk concert or a symphony concert each Friday evening. We had hoped to attend this on Friday p.m. but ended up not having time.

Thankfully our luggage was still waiting for us once we finally arrived to collect it. The airlines in China deliver your luggage to the terminal so quickly. We were the last passengers at the baggage terminal, and exiting to the outdoors we found many “taxi” drivers soliciting our business. Thanks to tips on Fodor’s we knew the legal taxis were on the left side as you exit the domestic arrival area. The taxi’s are marked and are green and yellow or blue and yellow. The other drivers were very annoying, trying to get our business. We had to be forceful in rejecting them. The men at the taxi stand desk will not help. Thankfully I had a picture of the address plaque of our hotel enlarged to give the taxi driver. This made the trip much easier. This paper was the best piece of identification I had while in Chengdu.

An airport shuttle for 12rmb is also available from the airport into Chengdu, running every 15 minutes. The ride is 35 minutes, but stops at the North train station. From here you must transfer to another bus or taxi, so I didn’t feel this was very convenient. Our taxi directly from the airport to the Chengdu Gulou Holiday Inn Express was 43rmb. It’s seen easily at the corner of Daqiang & Gulou.

The Chengdu Gulou Holiday Inn Express was very nice, & fairly new. The location was good. We paid 346rmb + tax, per night, for a total of 1591rmb for 4 nights. This included free wifi and free full breakfast, Chinese or American. The American choices weren’t wide, but we had plenty in the morning. The king bed was very comfortable, the room large and good bathroom and shower. We were very pleased with our choice. It was easy finding a taxi each time we needed one, which was often. Across the street are 2 small shops for buying water, juice and snacks. I bought a map of Chengdu here, but it did little good since it covered to large of an area and was in Chinese. I never could find a good tourist map of Chengdu. The hotel had none. This site gave me a general map of Chengdu, but was of little use once we arrived: http://www.chinahighlights.com/image...u-city-map.jpg



We had been told that Chengdu was a very relaxing city, full of tea gardens. Yes, it’s full of Tea Gardens, but relaxing, NO. The taxi drivers drive so fast, regarding no lanes of traffic, no direction of traffic; even the sidewalks are fair game to drive on. Almost never was there a seat belt available in the back seat. Buses were impossible for me to figure out, so we relied on taxi’s, frightening as they were. I recalled this was how Princess Diana died, in a wild car ride.

Seeing a Sichuan Opera was our hope this evening. The one Samantha Brown attended looked good to me, and I liked the idea that it was located in a park. The ShufenyayunTea House, is that opera, and is located in the Chengdu Culture Park at 23, Qintai Road. It’s beside Qingyang Palace, or the Green Ram Temple and begins at 8 p.m.


Taking a taxi, we were let out on the street, just outside this park. There is an information booth for the Opera here. We showed interest, so they walked us to the Teahouse, where we bought tickets for 150rmb each. I know you can get seats for less if you prebook. These were the lowest priced seats for walk up tickets, but they gave us seats in the middle of the tea house, on an aisle, which were listed at a higher price.

It was still early, so we walked through the park before returning for the variety show. A large group of people were dancing together, to music in the park. Kids were flying kites, others just relaxing in the tea garden. Where there are tea gardens there are ear cleaners. We were approached several times about having our ears cleaned. No thank you!


Back at the teahouse/opera, which was filled with red lanterns lit up, I decided to accept the offer of a massage while sitting in my chair waiting for the opera to begin. The 20 minute massage was 50rmb, & if you want an ear cleaning, that’ll be 40rmb. The massage was firm, it was OK, but not great!

All the tea you can drink is included in your ticket price. Our cup was refilled often. This is actually a variety show, not an opera. Parts were boring. I loved the hand shadow segment of the show. Of course the face changers are the highlight, but this only takes place at the very end, and is just 10 minutes. I think the complete show was about 1 ½ hrs in length.

Hungry, we looked for dinner after the show. Expensive, large restaurants filled the street. The back packer’s hotel along this road, serves dinner, but it’s restaurant had closed. We decided to just take a taxi back to our hotel and look for dinner in that area. Tiny neighborhood eateries lined a road around the corner. Well, one still had several people in it and they motioned for us to come on in. The look of surprise and laughs all around the room rang out as we accepted their invitation. Of course the menu was only in Chinese. I walked to other tables and pointed at a few items. They added what they thought we might like, so we had at least 5 plates of food brought to us. Some was delicious, some we just couldn’t eat. They brought more. Of course, we were to full to eat all this food, but we gave them the thumbs up so they’d understand we were happy with their choices. All this food and our drinks came to $5.
This was a good end to our first evening in Chengdu.

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May 20

Large tour groups filled the dining room this morning at breakfast. Breakfast is served early here, which was good since we wanted to leave for the Panda Base at 8 am. The taxi ride was 38rmb for the 30 minute drive. We were advised not to take a public bus, since it takes much longer. There is not a map with the bus routes that I could find. We relied on the taxis except for our trip to Leshan. Taxi fare is ¥5 to start, then increases at ¥1.4 per km. This is very inexpensive.

Arriving at the Giant Panda Breeding Research Base / (大熊猫繁殖研究中心) we showed our Panda Card and admission was free! This is great! Each time we bought an admission ticket for a site, no map was included. Occasionally, the back of your ticket will have a tiny map, but not adequate. After entering the panda reserve there are a couple of buildings on the left side. Ask here and they’ll give you a map, we felt we needed it since the site is quite spread out. A white tourist train was available to ride, but we walked, looking for the areas where pandas were. Not all enclosures actually had pandas in them.

It’s important to visit this site in the morning, since this is feeding time. The first enclosure we found with pandas had 4 sub-adults, as they call them. They were all happily munching the bamboo stalks, spitting out the waste. They have a small thumb like appendage to help hold the bamboo and only absorb about 20% of nutrients from the bamboo. A very interesting 20 minute film describing the dating and breeding habits of the pandas is available to view. When a panda first gives birth, it has no idea what’s happened. The birth happens quickly. The mother will swat the baby away and not care for it, then the keeper must quickly retrieve the newborn so it’ll not be injured or killed by its mother. The second time the mother panda gives birth, all goes much better. The time a panda is pregnant can vary a great deal. Pregnancies span from 83 to 180 days. It’s often difficult to tell if a panda is pregnant. Sometimes female pandas will pretend to be pregnant because they’ll receive more food if thought to be pregnant.

It was hard to figure out which enclosures had pandas and which didn’t. Sometimes a once empty enclosure would later have a panda in it. The care keepers bring pandas out at different times. In one enclosure the bamboo was brought out first. We waited patiently for the panda to arrive. Finally the door opened and the panda walked just short of the pile of bamboo, laid down, and fell asleep!

A nursery area held smaller pandas, but no babies while we were there. One small panda in a cage was quite active, but kept falling off the raised platform onto the floor. It didn’t seem to hurt itself.

Red pandas have their own enclosure but they weren’t as interesting to watch. There is also a museum here but it’s not very well done. Inside the museum area there is a small post office where postcards and stamps may be bought and mailed.

From the Panda Center we took a taxi to Chengdu Tea Culture Street. This area is full of tea shops. This is a description of the area I found on the internet:


It's known that Tea Culture Street, with tea market as the center, includes many streets neighboring tea market such as Saiyuntai No.1 West Road, Saiyuntai No.2 West Road, Yusai Road, etc. and 8 enterprises like Great Southwest Tea Market, Wukuaishi Texitle Market.
We had our hotel employees write the location out in Chinese before we left. It took them awhile to think of this location. It’s in the northern part of Chengdu, and was on our way back to the center from the Panda Reserve. We found the shops employees so aggressive in trying to get our business that we couldn’t enjoy just looking at the shops. Their eagerness made it impossible to browse. In front of many of the shops people were sorting through Tie Guan Yin tea and removing the stems. There is also a well equipped teapot shop here.
The grounds of Wenshu Monastery (文殊院, 近人民中路) are beautiful, contain a tea garden and a vegetarian restaurant. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the outdoor area of the restaurant. Most of this restaurant is indoors, which I didn’t care for, so we waited for an outdoor table. Lunch hour had almost passed so it wasn’t a long wait. Most of the indoor tables emptied as we ate outdoors. We asked for bottled water to drink, but they couldn’t understand our request. Water wasn’t written on the menu. Orange juice was the next best choice, but they refused to bring us the large container listed on the menu. We settled for 2 glasses of oj with our lunch. After drinking them we ordered 2 more. They thought this was pretty funny. Lunch was excellent, especially the plate of mushrooms!

A new museum, The Mahjong and Tea Culture Exhibition Hall on Wenshu Yuan Street, is in the large building at an intersecting street, just a block or two from the exit of the Monastery. I didn’t have a translation of this in Chinese, so it was impossible asking for directions. The site is in a large Hall, so should be easy to spot.


We were given a private tour of the museum in English, for our admission price of 30rmb. The tour was excellent, the museum, first class. The exhibit contains many rare mahjong sets, over 500, coming from all over the world. Descriptions are displayed in English also. A 2nd museum is of the Tea Culture, with hundreds of teapots on display. We were served tea after the tour. While waiting for the tea to cool we had a nice conversation with our guide. She was surprised that we were not afraid to travel considering the outbreak of the Swine Flu. They are much more concerned about this in China than we are here in the United States. We were again told that a friend of hers had been trying to get a visa to visit the U.S. but are unable to receive one.


After a rest at our hotel we walked to Tianfu Square where the huge statue of Mao is located. In the evening there are water fountains with music and lights here. Below this square will be the center of Chengdu’s metro system and shopping. The subway system isn’t running yet. Walking past the Square we arrived at Renmin Park/People’s Park. The tea garden here seemed dirty. Maybe it was just because it was the end of the day. We were again approached by ear cleaners but still we had no interest in this. Several people were playing badminton, kite flying, singing in groups, exercising with swords and tai chi. I loved watching the public in their parks!


This evening we decided to go to a restaurant which was recommended by Minmin. I don’t have the name of this restaurant in English, but it was out near the 3rd ring road. When we gave the restaurant name and location to a taxi driver he complained. We didn’t understand the problem, so stayed in the taxi. Finally, through grumbles he drove us to the restaurant. It was large and on the 2nd floor of the building. We didn’t order well here, since the vegetables were so hot that one bite numbed our lips and mouth for the rest of the meal! Famous Sichuan food is too hot for us! I loved the watermelon at the end of our meal! Total cost for dinner and 2 drinks, 65rmb. I love the prices of our meals in China!


Thankfully the restaurant employs door men to help with taxis when you leave. The first taxi driver refused taking us back to the center of town. Without the door men insisting the 2nd taxi drive us, we’d never have found one to return us to the center. I don’t understand the transportation rules here. We asked the driver to go to Jinli Street 武侯祠大街. The driver drove us to a Jinli Hotel near Jinli Street. I guess my Chinese translation wasn’t exactly correct.

We loved the beauty at night on Jinli Street. It was lively, full of restaurants, shops, red lanterns, ear cleaners, etc. There was also a Dairy Queen here which made me so happy! I was hungry since dinner was too hot for me to enjoy. Dairy Queen was a treat!

thursdaysd

I had a similar taxi problem one time in Beijing. I wound up taking one taxi back to my hotel, which was part-way to where I wanted to go, and then a second taxi to my final destination. They may have defined areas of operation.

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That's a great tip thursdaysd. We were really confused by the situation. I realize several short trips earn the drivers more money than a long trip, but we weren't going that far out.

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I just wanted to thank Nywoman for all the help she provided with her trip report on China last year. Where are you headed next?

Nywoman

My experience With Lilly was very similar to yours. She was actually only with me for 1 afternoon despite having booked her for several days.

I also felt the San Lujie light and sound show very over rated. I had the guest house owner book the ticket.

Shanghainese
Loved Lijiang I think often most fondly of the time we spent together.

Of the 3 guides that I used on my almost month long solo trip, the best was a young Chinese girl who spoke next to no English. I do not speak any Manadarin except Ni Hao. However she drove me to the surroundings of Lijiang, introduced me to people and showed me many, many things I would never have seen or known about. I somehow knew what she was showing me and it worked.

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Nywoman,

How interesting. You're right, the best guides are those who are passionate about where they live and want to share it with others. Not those who are out to just earn a dollar. It would be nice if all guides were like the one you met in Lijiang.


May 21

Last night we walked by an Ethan Allen furniture store near the center of Chengdu. It was just like our shop here, if not nicer! The prices were even a bit higher than they are here at home. Some people in China are doing very well.


We’re making the trip to Leshan today by public bus. Buses leave every 20 minutes from Xin Nan Men(新南门） Xinnanmen bus station. We took a taxi from our hotel to the bus station which is just south of the Jinjiang river. We had our destination written in Chinese to show the ticket agent. The bus tickets were 43rmb one way and are sold for a specific time so you must buy one way tickets. We were going to see the Great Buddha of Leshan (乐山大佛).

Arriving at the bus station at 7:50a.m. we tried buying tickets for the 8:00 bus, but it was sold out. We were given tickets for the 8:20a.m. bus. The seats are assigned and buses leave exactly on time, if not a bit earlier. All seats were taken. We had an air-conditioned bus, seat belts, which we were required to wear, and water bottles handed out to each passenger. The “conductor” or woman who assisted the driver checked seat belts several times during the two hour trip. She also made tea for the few passengers who requested it. A TV screen was playing shows during the trip.

Once we arrived at the Leshan bus station another Chinese couple, who had a guide with them, invited us to share a mini-van with them to the Dafo/or Grand Buddha. This part of the drive was 2rmb each.


Public Bus 13 from the bus station to the Grand Buddha front gate is the other way to make the 2nd part of this trip. This is only about a 10 minute drive. Our van drove to the top entrance of the Park site. I believe there was a bottom entrance also which may have led to the Grand Buddha much quicker. We bought tickets to the whole complex for 120rmb. Tickets just to the Buddha were 70 rmb. This site is huge. We’re happy we bought tickets to the entire site. There is a lot to see, but there are also many, many stairs to climb. It’s quite tiring. A restaurant is on the site, as is a tea house. From the top entrance it takes a couple of hours before you arrive at the Grand Buddha. Fortunately it wasn’t crowded, we encountered no lines at all. The only map of the site is on wooden boards.


When we arrived at the Grand Buddha several people were having their pictures taken with the Buddha in the background. Once you’re finished taking photos of the top of the Buddha you walk down a very steep staircase carved out of the rock wall. Along the way more tiny Buddha’s are carved. There is a handrail, cling to it! It’s good to take more photos as you walk down since once you’re at the bottom it’s difficult to take a good photo of the whole Buddha. The sun was also directly behind it, so that affected photos. If you’d like there is a boat you can take at the base of the Buddha so you can take better photos. Everyone had on life preservers. I’m not sure where you actually got on this boat. You may spend as much time as you’d like at the base of the Buddha. Once you want to leave, guess what, you need to climb the whole way back up to the top. My legs were so sore. This is a lot of stairs to climb. I needed to stop and rest often! Eventually you come to a fork in the road. We went to the right to see the rest of the sights on the grounds, another temple, the Mahao cave tombs, a museum and the beautiful bridge. There are some tiny food stalls along the way and stalls set up for shopping. One man really wanted us to eat at his booth, and led us to it, although we didn’t want to eat there. Once we were finished there seemed no way out, except to walk all the way back to the entrance. There was an opening, but it wasn’t a marked exit.


Rickshaw or pedicab drivers were waiting here. One man was negotiating the price. I’ve already explained on this site what happened next. My recommendation is to ignore the rickshaw people, and just walk out of this area, going down the dirt road. When the road veers to the left, walk left. This road will lead to the front entrance where you can wait for the public bus back to the Leshan bus station. It’s not a short walk though. If you take the rickshaw, you’ll most likely end up on an unticketed bus, back to a southern bus station in Chengdu, not the bus station you started at. It’s a scam. If you want to know what happened to us, look at the post Kidnapped in China!


Once back at the Xinnanmen bus station we walked east along the river. All sorts of personal hygiene were being performed. Haircuts, toe surgery, ear cleaning, I don’t know what else, but it looked like it could be a doctor’s office. I felt uncomfortable walking by. Further along we caught a taxi and returned to our hotel.


Dinner tonight was back at Jinli Street. We decided the atmosphere was better than the food. Still, it was nice sitting outdoors, enjoying the area and relaxing. Taxi back to our hotel was 12rmb.