Incomparable China: Urban/Rural & Islands
Jan 8th, 2013, 09:22 AM
#1
Incomparable China: Urban/Rural & Islands
My husband and I typically travel independently, but for China, I wanted more support. So, based on many positive TripAdvisor reviews, I contracted with a local tour operator, China HIghlights, to handle our transfers, most domestic flights, booking of some hotels and many private day tours. Our travel advisor contact person, Michael Hu, was excellent in responding quickly to emails and changes in itinerary and we felt very comfortable knowing he was just a cell phone call away (which they provided for our use) in case of any problems. The local guides were all good to excellent.
We were in China from mid-October to mid-November 2012, based in Beijing (4nts), Mutianyu (1 nt), Lijiang (3 nts), Xizhou (near Dali) (4 nts), Guilin (1 nt), Yangshou (south of Guilin) (3 nts), Shanghai (4 nts), Sanya (Hainan Island)(4 nts) and Hong Kong (5 nts), and I’d say we had almost perfect weather, with the exception of a very rainy day while visiting the Great Wall (wouldn’t you know).
We flew from Chicago direct to Beijing on American Airlines in a full and very cramped plane. It’s amazing they can’t use an airplane with a more generous pitch and seat width, but at least it was on time (and we were able to use miles for free tickets so we shouldn’t complain). At least the return flight was booked on their partner, Cathay Pacific, direct from Hong Kong. After 12 hours and 40 minutes, we arrived at the very modern international Beijing airport at 9:10 pm, quickly went through the immigration process, and was met by our first guide, Gerry, who accompanied us to our hotel with our driver Mr. Shen in a very nice, new Red Cap car sedan. Gerry was very personable with excellent English and we discussed what we’d be doing in two days (we were doing the first day on our own) and when we should start. The traffic was very good at that time of night and we arrived at our hotel Park Plaza Wangfujing about 11pm.
Upon check-in, we declined the standard upgrade offer to a Club floor for 280 Rmb which included breakfast and afternoon cocktails in the Club, and got a high floor room on the 12th floor. This 4* hotel is a bargain for Beijing, conveniently located next to subway stop, and tucked away behind the Regent in a quiet, park-like setting with a Starbucks and ATM just across the driveway. Since the breakfast buffet was expensive, we opted for Starbucks three of the four nights we were there. Our room was very comfortable, with good linens and pillow, a welcome bathtub in a pretty marble bathroom with pedestal sink. The floor- to- ceiling window gave us a smoggy view over the city and hutongs, but at that height, at least we weren’t staring into another building.
Day 1:
The next morning we got a subway pass from the Concierge, which allowed us to travel on the subway for 2 Rmb per trip and pay when we checked out...very convenient.
We were off for a 10am cooking class at the highly regarded Black Sesame Kitchen, three stops away, and a 20 minute walk. The subway was easy to figure out and not crowded at that time. We walked along a pretty, wide tree-lined boulevard to reach the hutong where the Kitchen is located....thinking all the time, where are the teeming masses of humanity? Where’s the smog that blocks out the sun, since it was a beautiful, sunny autumn morning about 70 degrees? With the help of a local, we turned off on Nanluogu Xiang, the attractive hutong alley, lined with shops and small cafes/restaurants. We had to turn off onto a smaller alley, and enter through a nondescript doorway to finally find the restaurant/cooking school housed in one room with the small cooking area at one side and a large table with 9 other students and the teacher in front. Our fellow students included three women from the Sidney, Australia symphony, a French expat, a couple from Canada and us. The class was entitled “Knife Skills” so the emphasis was on how to use a Chinese cleaver properly. First, we made Smashed Cucumber with Cilantro (pai huanggua), then Potato, Eggplant and Green Pepper Stir-fry (Disanxian), followed by Shredded Pork and Peppers (jianjiao rousi). We were given an apron and some sichuan peppers, to try the “ma” element of taste that numbs your tongue.
The class was a good activity for the first morning, but I wouldn’t call it that “hands on” since the chef did all the wok and deep frying. We basically cut up everything and then we all feasted on it with beer for lunch. Afterwards, you could have stayed longer and tried your hand at the wok, but it was 1pm and we wanted to explore. I also felt it was expensive, about $50 per person, but a good cultural activity. We had also booked their Friday night, 10 course, communal dinner for the next evening, as this gets rave reviews, and costs about the same as the cooking class with wine included. You need to book this about a month in advance as it’s very popular, even with locals. Unfortunately, we ended up canceling it the next day as we were utterly exhausted after touring....more on this later.
We took some time walking around this more touristy, I guess, but interesting hutong but I also wanted to see the Lama Temple, so walked about 40 minutes to reach the temple and explored all the courtyards filled with worshippers kowtowing three times to the various Buddha’s while touching their fragrant joss sticks first to their forehead, then mouth then heart. In the final temple was the Giant Standing Buddha, which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, and ls carved from a single piece of sandalwood and looks to be about 4 stories high.
From there, we walked through some more atmospheric hutongs, watching men play checkers and a stylish woman walking a pot-bellied pig that generated a lot of attention and petting. I should have consulted my Luxe guide to Beijing because there were some shops listed in the area that sounded interesting but I missed. However, we had to get back for our 6:30pm reservation at the acclaimed Da Dong peking duck restaurant. This restaurant was just a block away on the 5th floor of a tower building that housed Gucci and other upscale shops. The neighborhood was filled with such offerings as a Ferrari dealer, etc. This preponderance of very expensive designer shops that we saw in all the major cities surprised us and left us not inclined to do much shopping.
Da Dong was huge and glitzy with a white, reflective decor. We were seated at a quiet table in the back and served by a good, English speaking waitress and enjoyed watching several other larger tables “Gambei” each other with communal shots.
My husband loved his 1/2 duck, (plenty for two people) and I loved the shrimp dish, braised eggplant and broccoli. About $60 including a glass of wine and a beer.
Day 2
Gerry picked us up at 8a (he thought that was too early) and Mr. Shen dropped us off at Tianamen Square...the Gate of Heavenly Peace. It was another beautiful, sunny autumn day and the smog was not too bad in the morning. Once again, I’m surprised by the lack of crowds and serious traffic.
In the Square, there were several huge baskets holding flowers left over from the Oct. 1 National Holiday. We saw several large local tour groups gathering....and various piles of backpacks/suitcases being watched by someone while their tour groups were queuing up to tour Chairman Mao’s mausoleum, which Gerry said took several hours. We were glad not to do this. The square is truly huge and surrounded by imposing buildings.
At the entrance to the Forbidden City hangs Chairman Mao’s large portrait over the Gate of Heavenly Peace. I never knew that a 12 lane road bisects the square so you need to walk underground and then climb up to enter the Forbidden City,which has been a tourist attraction since 1915. Basically, we kept walking back through various courtyards and buildings (8700 rooms in all), and I was disappointed that we could only look through doors into the various Throne rooms, which were dark and crowded with people all trying to snap photos and trying to look in. Not until later, did I realize we could’ve gone into the Hall of Clocks for an extra fee, but for some reason, I had deleted this from our itinerary early on. I didn’t like the sterility of the courtyards with no trees or grass (for security reasons) but the paintings on the rooflines and ceilings were pretty and freshly renovated from the Olympics. The whole effect was less than satisfying and it seemed like there were countless steps to go up and down so we were exhausted by the time we reached the north gate and had to walk a bit to meet our car. We should’ve asked to take a break and sit down for awhile. I was very glad to have a guide and driver to help us navigate this behemoth.
From there, we went to the Capital Museum housed in a huge modern building. We wandered around for about an hour, looking at ancient Chinese exhibits including old bronzes, a few terra cotta warriors, and ceremonial headdresses. By now, we were hungry and tired so Gerry took us to lunch at Da Wan Ju for Sichuan cooking, which had a very nice atmosphere. He ordered several dishes for us to share asking for our preferences...an onion pancake, noodles in broth, spring rolls, a chicken stir fry and sauteed tofu with a local beer....all were pretty good and we enjoyed a lively conversation with him.
Refreshed, we carried on to the Temple of Heaven, a huge park complex that we walked around to the various attractions. However, by now the smog had increased so we couldn’t get more than hazy photographs. The highlight was the Temple of Good Harvest, a round, several- roofed brightly painted pagoda building in the Daoist tradition so there weren’t thrones to Buddha, but rather written prayers on sticks. We had walked along the extremely long Long Corridor with it’s pretty painted wooden ceilings with men playing cards along the side benches....through an Echo Chamber where there were too many people to hear anything....up an altar for animal slaughter...after awhile, it all started to look the same. I especially liked the unusual trees...the “dragon trees” with their coiling bark and ancient twisted cypresses that stretched toward the sky.
We got back to our hotel by 4pm and I don’t remember ever feeling so totally exhausted. We had walked and climbed beyond our limits...but perhaps this was aided by jet lag, which I hadn’t really noticed. Luckily, I had cancelled our Black Sesame dinner because the thought of walking even for five minutes was beyond our capabilities. We took hot baths, ate O'Hare airport leftover caramel corn and Tsingtao beer from the minibar and fell asleep by 9:30pm. I hated to waste a Friday night in Beijing in the hotel room, wanted to at least wander around the Night Food Market or Wangfujing shopping area but our bodies were spent. Of course, then we woke at 3am and couldn’t fall back to sleep...but that was really the worst of our jet lag. With a time difference between CST and Beijing of 12 hours, I was thankful it was that mild. I swear by the “No Jet Lag” homeopathic pills from New Zealand that we always take when we fly (along with Ambien to help sleep on the plane).
We were in China from mid-October to mid-November 2012, based in Beijing (4nts), Mutianyu (1 nt), Lijiang (3 nts), Xizhou (near Dali) (4 nts), Guilin (1 nt), Yangshou (south of Guilin) (3 nts), Shanghai (4 nts), Sanya (Hainan Island)(4 nts) and Hong Kong (5 nts), and I’d say we had almost perfect weather, with the exception of a very rainy day while visiting the Great Wall (wouldn’t you know).
We flew from Chicago direct to Beijing on American Airlines in a full and very cramped plane. It’s amazing they can’t use an airplane with a more generous pitch and seat width, but at least it was on time (and we were able to use miles for free tickets so we shouldn’t complain). At least the return flight was booked on their partner, Cathay Pacific, direct from Hong Kong. After 12 hours and 40 minutes, we arrived at the very modern international Beijing airport at 9:10 pm, quickly went through the immigration process, and was met by our first guide, Gerry, who accompanied us to our hotel with our driver Mr. Shen in a very nice, new Red Cap car sedan. Gerry was very personable with excellent English and we discussed what we’d be doing in two days (we were doing the first day on our own) and when we should start. The traffic was very good at that time of night and we arrived at our hotel Park Plaza Wangfujing about 11pm.
Upon check-in, we declined the standard upgrade offer to a Club floor for 280 Rmb which included breakfast and afternoon cocktails in the Club, and got a high floor room on the 12th floor. This 4* hotel is a bargain for Beijing, conveniently located next to subway stop, and tucked away behind the Regent in a quiet, park-like setting with a Starbucks and ATM just across the driveway. Since the breakfast buffet was expensive, we opted for Starbucks three of the four nights we were there. Our room was very comfortable, with good linens and pillow, a welcome bathtub in a pretty marble bathroom with pedestal sink. The floor- to- ceiling window gave us a smoggy view over the city and hutongs, but at that height, at least we weren’t staring into another building.
Day 1:
The next morning we got a subway pass from the Concierge, which allowed us to travel on the subway for 2 Rmb per trip and pay when we checked out...very convenient.
We were off for a 10am cooking class at the highly regarded Black Sesame Kitchen, three stops away, and a 20 minute walk. The subway was easy to figure out and not crowded at that time. We walked along a pretty, wide tree-lined boulevard to reach the hutong where the Kitchen is located....thinking all the time, where are the teeming masses of humanity? Where’s the smog that blocks out the sun, since it was a beautiful, sunny autumn morning about 70 degrees? With the help of a local, we turned off on Nanluogu Xiang, the attractive hutong alley, lined with shops and small cafes/restaurants. We had to turn off onto a smaller alley, and enter through a nondescript doorway to finally find the restaurant/cooking school housed in one room with the small cooking area at one side and a large table with 9 other students and the teacher in front. Our fellow students included three women from the Sidney, Australia symphony, a French expat, a couple from Canada and us. The class was entitled “Knife Skills” so the emphasis was on how to use a Chinese cleaver properly. First, we made Smashed Cucumber with Cilantro (pai huanggua), then Potato, Eggplant and Green Pepper Stir-fry (Disanxian), followed by Shredded Pork and Peppers (jianjiao rousi). We were given an apron and some sichuan peppers, to try the “ma” element of taste that numbs your tongue.
The class was a good activity for the first morning, but I wouldn’t call it that “hands on” since the chef did all the wok and deep frying. We basically cut up everything and then we all feasted on it with beer for lunch. Afterwards, you could have stayed longer and tried your hand at the wok, but it was 1pm and we wanted to explore. I also felt it was expensive, about $50 per person, but a good cultural activity. We had also booked their Friday night, 10 course, communal dinner for the next evening, as this gets rave reviews, and costs about the same as the cooking class with wine included. You need to book this about a month in advance as it’s very popular, even with locals. Unfortunately, we ended up canceling it the next day as we were utterly exhausted after touring....more on this later.
We took some time walking around this more touristy, I guess, but interesting hutong but I also wanted to see the Lama Temple, so walked about 40 minutes to reach the temple and explored all the courtyards filled with worshippers kowtowing three times to the various Buddha’s while touching their fragrant joss sticks first to their forehead, then mouth then heart. In the final temple was the Giant Standing Buddha, which is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records, and ls carved from a single piece of sandalwood and looks to be about 4 stories high.
From there, we walked through some more atmospheric hutongs, watching men play checkers and a stylish woman walking a pot-bellied pig that generated a lot of attention and petting. I should have consulted my Luxe guide to Beijing because there were some shops listed in the area that sounded interesting but I missed. However, we had to get back for our 6:30pm reservation at the acclaimed Da Dong peking duck restaurant. This restaurant was just a block away on the 5th floor of a tower building that housed Gucci and other upscale shops. The neighborhood was filled with such offerings as a Ferrari dealer, etc. This preponderance of very expensive designer shops that we saw in all the major cities surprised us and left us not inclined to do much shopping.
Da Dong was huge and glitzy with a white, reflective decor. We were seated at a quiet table in the back and served by a good, English speaking waitress and enjoyed watching several other larger tables “Gambei” each other with communal shots.
My husband loved his 1/2 duck, (plenty for two people) and I loved the shrimp dish, braised eggplant and broccoli. About $60 including a glass of wine and a beer.
Day 2
Gerry picked us up at 8a (he thought that was too early) and Mr. Shen dropped us off at Tianamen Square...the Gate of Heavenly Peace. It was another beautiful, sunny autumn day and the smog was not too bad in the morning. Once again, I’m surprised by the lack of crowds and serious traffic.
In the Square, there were several huge baskets holding flowers left over from the Oct. 1 National Holiday. We saw several large local tour groups gathering....and various piles of backpacks/suitcases being watched by someone while their tour groups were queuing up to tour Chairman Mao’s mausoleum, which Gerry said took several hours. We were glad not to do this. The square is truly huge and surrounded by imposing buildings.
At the entrance to the Forbidden City hangs Chairman Mao’s large portrait over the Gate of Heavenly Peace. I never knew that a 12 lane road bisects the square so you need to walk underground and then climb up to enter the Forbidden City,which has been a tourist attraction since 1915. Basically, we kept walking back through various courtyards and buildings (8700 rooms in all), and I was disappointed that we could only look through doors into the various Throne rooms, which were dark and crowded with people all trying to snap photos and trying to look in. Not until later, did I realize we could’ve gone into the Hall of Clocks for an extra fee, but for some reason, I had deleted this from our itinerary early on. I didn’t like the sterility of the courtyards with no trees or grass (for security reasons) but the paintings on the rooflines and ceilings were pretty and freshly renovated from the Olympics. The whole effect was less than satisfying and it seemed like there were countless steps to go up and down so we were exhausted by the time we reached the north gate and had to walk a bit to meet our car. We should’ve asked to take a break and sit down for awhile. I was very glad to have a guide and driver to help us navigate this behemoth.
From there, we went to the Capital Museum housed in a huge modern building. We wandered around for about an hour, looking at ancient Chinese exhibits including old bronzes, a few terra cotta warriors, and ceremonial headdresses. By now, we were hungry and tired so Gerry took us to lunch at Da Wan Ju for Sichuan cooking, which had a very nice atmosphere. He ordered several dishes for us to share asking for our preferences...an onion pancake, noodles in broth, spring rolls, a chicken stir fry and sauteed tofu with a local beer....all were pretty good and we enjoyed a lively conversation with him.
Refreshed, we carried on to the Temple of Heaven, a huge park complex that we walked around to the various attractions. However, by now the smog had increased so we couldn’t get more than hazy photographs. The highlight was the Temple of Good Harvest, a round, several- roofed brightly painted pagoda building in the Daoist tradition so there weren’t thrones to Buddha, but rather written prayers on sticks. We had walked along the extremely long Long Corridor with it’s pretty painted wooden ceilings with men playing cards along the side benches....through an Echo Chamber where there were too many people to hear anything....up an altar for animal slaughter...after awhile, it all started to look the same. I especially liked the unusual trees...the “dragon trees” with their coiling bark and ancient twisted cypresses that stretched toward the sky.
We got back to our hotel by 4pm and I don’t remember ever feeling so totally exhausted. We had walked and climbed beyond our limits...but perhaps this was aided by jet lag, which I hadn’t really noticed. Luckily, I had cancelled our Black Sesame dinner because the thought of walking even for five minutes was beyond our capabilities. We took hot baths, ate O'Hare airport leftover caramel corn and Tsingtao beer from the minibar and fell asleep by 9:30pm. I hated to waste a Friday night in Beijing in the hotel room, wanted to at least wander around the Night Food Market or Wangfujing shopping area but our bodies were spent. Of course, then we woke at 3am and couldn’t fall back to sleep...but that was really the worst of our jet lag. With a time difference between CST and Beijing of 12 hours, I was thankful it was that mild. I swear by the “No Jet Lag” homeopathic pills from New Zealand that we always take when we fly (along with Ambien to help sleep on the plane).
Jan 9th, 2013, 09:33 AM
#5
Day 3: Beijing
The next day, DH was a wreck. Both of his hip joints were killing him and he could barely get in and out of the car, much less walk. He’d never had a problem before, but perhaps there was some undetected arthritis that was aggravated by our overdoing it the day before. Our tour today started with the Summer Palace, which was a bit of drive outside the city. It was another good weather day but the smog was worse and we could barely see the lake much less the pavilions. However, I much preferred this day to the prior one and amazingly, my body didn’t hurt. Gerry and us set off along another long corridor beside the lake and set DH down on a bench to people-watch while we climbed up Longevity Hill, which overlooks the huge Kunming Lake, and visited the Buddhist Temple and pavilions....lots and lots of stairs again. The Chinese people must be in such good shape since the country is a veritable ‘Stairmaster’. Afterwards, we took a 10 minute Dragon boat ride and saw from a distance the Marble Boat Folly of Empress Dowager Cixi. I found the morning very pleasant but wish DH had felt better. We were worried that he might have done some serious damage that would ruin him for the rest of the trip.
Lunch followed at Jin Ding Yuan, another local restaurant, but i preferred the previous day’s. I didn’t like their steamed dumplings, another soup with dumplings, a chicken stir fry and a fish vegetable cake. We saw the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium from a distance and the 7* dragon shaped huge hotel, which we could hardly see through the smog.
Then, we stopped at 798 Art Zone, several pleasant leafy blocks of decommisioned military manufacturing buildings that had been a joint project with Soviet and East Germany back in the 50’s and 60’s. Now, they’ve been repurposed as art galleries, shops and cafes which made a pleasant excursion on a Saturday afternoon as young families pushed strollers and children clambered over outdoor sculptures and play areas. We sat DH down as we walked around enjoying the fine weather. We also walked up the historic Liulichang Antiques street.
China HIghlights had been very good about removing any recommended shopping stops. However, now I wanted to put one back in as I had read about two good shops on the 4th floor of the infamous (and dreaded) Pearl Market. I found the two shops but they were both high quality (eg. expensive) fine pearl stores when what I wanted was a more contemporary, freshwater pearl necklace, so I left empty handed. My original plan had been to also to visit Panjiayuan Market in the morning, but I cancelled that because I didn’t really want to buy any ‘junk’.
We got back to the hotel by 5pm, and tried to get a new, small point and shoot Canon camera for DH, who was not having much luck since his camera also died that day. There happened to be a Canon service center in the same tower as Starbucks, but they couldn’t fix it and the prices of new cameras were about double of what we’d pay in the States. We heard the same thing about buying I-phones or I-pads, which seems so bizarre since they’re made there. Apple is huge there and we saw the long lines that stretched in front of the new Apple store in Beijing. Our China HIghlights guides all carried I-pads that they used to illustrate certain attractions or topics. Anyway, my 35mm Canon EOS-Rebel would have to do.
For dinner, we walked a couple of blocks to the Peninsula Hotel to eat at their atmospheric Huang Ting restaurant, which recreates the ambience of a lovely hutong in the lower level of the expensive shopping arcade below the hotel. My lychee martini was just OK, DH had a roasted trio of suckling pig, duck and BBQ pork....very good, especially the suckling pig, and my beef tenderloin stir fry with brown sauce and vegetables was also pretty good....but the best was an excellent vegetable dish with enoki mushrooms and braised eggplant. I had a terrible vanilla cream dessert, chunks of jellied cream...I’ve learned that there isn’t one Chinese dessert that I like. Just keep chocolate in the hotel room to fall back on. It was a bit chilly walking back.
Day 4: Mutianyu and the Great Wall
The hot baths and Advil have paid off and DH is almost like new, thank God. Gerry and Mr. Shen picked us up at 10:30 for the drive to the Great Wall. Tonight, we’d be staying at an architecturally interesting hotel, the Brickyard, where rooms opened up to a distant view of the Wall. It was an ugly, colder morning with rain on the way. The drive went pretty quickly and we stopped for lunch at Xiao Long Piu, near Mutianyu. We were freezing, even in the restaurant....it was cold and drizzly, so started with Jasmine tea, chicken and chestnuts in brown sauce, fried rice with meat and vegetables and wheat flour soup....all very good. However, very rude service as I was sitting at the table waiting for Gerry & DH to return from the restroom, the waiter cleared the table and sat people down while me and our stuff was still there! They certainly can push people through!
By the time we reached the Great Wall, it was pouring out. Luckily we had umbrellas, fleece coats covered with gore-tex jackets and merino wool socks, which miraculously kept our feet dry. On the way up, I picked up a hiking collapsable stick for $15 to help me navigate the slippery rocks. Despite the fact that you can take an enclosed cable car to the top, it was still a bit of hike to reach that. The weather was such a shame because the trees were turning beautiful golden hues and it would have been gorgeous with the sunshine and blue skies of days earlier.
At the top, we did walk along the wall for awhile, seeking refuge in the periodic watchmen’s towers. Despite the clouds and rain, it still was a beautiful vista with the wall snaking up and down through distant mountains and layers of clouds.
We checked into the Brickyard at 3p, which was a very cool low-slung inn, with brick walls and levels of terraced gardens. The contemporary architecture of our room included vaulted ceilings, a brick wall with tile mosaic shards, one wall of floor- to- ceiling windows that looked out across a terrace to the Wall beyond, which was now hidden by cascading rain. All accompanied by the loud cacophony of rain pelting our roof. The open floor plan included a raised entry area where the commode, open rain shower head and pedestal sink were located.
We took our umbrellas and made our way to the reception building where a fire was going in a small room and enjoyed delicious nachos and beer. Dinner that night was at the Schoolhouse, a short shuttle van ride away in the village, and was set in an old school room with bad fluorescent lighting. We weren’t that hungry, but they served Western style food, so shared a good pumpkin soup, toasted mushroom ravioli and best of all, a belgian chocolate brownie and ice cream. It finally stopped raining. I had a 9:30 pm Chinese massage scheduled in an attractive Spa building....it felt great. This is the first time I've had this type of massage, and it's done over your clothing.
Day 5 Lijiang
This morning we woke to sunshine and could see the Wall on the distant (unnamed) mountains...could even make out the huge Chinese characters that say “Be loyal to Chairman Mao”. We enjoyed a good Western breakfast and walked around the gardens awhile as Gerry met us to take us to the airport for our flight to Lijiang.
We really enjoyed our time with Gerry as he laughs easily and speaks well and openly on a wide variety of topics. I have mixed feelings about the level of information he gave us while touring. On one hand, I feel he could have told us more ‘facts’....yet, on past trips, I’ve been bored silly with too many historical details. And, sometimes I felt a bit rushed as we walked through the gardens at the end of the Forbidden City without having a chance to savor. Part of it is my fault for not speaking up more at the time as I’m sure he would have been receptive. On the other hand, he was generous with offering interesting vignettes with what life was like for the emperor or how a Chinese marriage is conducted, etc. So, he provided good insights into lifestyle rather than all historical facts. We didn’t feel like we were getting “the party line”, although I was gently corrected when I casually would say “Mao” like we would say “Obama” and he would reply “Chairman Mao.” Although Beijing is a ‘must see’ on any trip to China, it was our least favorite place.
At the airport, Gerry helped us check in for our China Eastern flight, which was an extremely easy process as all we needed was our flight numbers and passports. The flight was delayed a bit but the plane was fine. We had a long layover at the newly built Kunming airport, which was HUGE and enjoyed walking around and around all the shops and restaurants. Despite it being their connecting flight, they couldn’t check our bags through to Lijiang, but the service desk was very accommodating and re checked our luggage and accompanied us to our connecting gate without having to go through security again.
We arrived in Lijiang at night and were met by our second guide, Cindy, a very friendly and talkative young woman. On the drive to our hotel, she talked a mile a minute so I had a bit trouble following her as I have a hearing problem. Like Gerry, she was very good at confirming with us what we’d be doing the next day, what we should wear (it would be cold in the morning) and at what time she’d get us. She helped us check into the gorgeous Crowne Plaza Lijiang and we were taken by golf cart to our beautiful Superior room. I was pleasantly surprised by this hotel, as with the name Crowne Plaza, I expected a rather generic huge resort. But, it was built impressively in the local minority Naxi courtyard tradition with soaring rooflines and generous use of wood. Our large room included a sitting area with sofa and desk, a king size bed, and a lovely bathroom suite that could be sectioned off by closing a sliding wooden screen. The floors were marble and stone, a large walk in shower with a rain shower head and a large tub with a separate commode room. The bed was extremely comfortable with great linens and pillows and a welcoming fruit basket was placed artistically on the coffee table. The hotel grounds were also lovely with many gardens, courtyards and water features and located just outside the walls of Old Lijiang.
The next day, DH was a wreck. Both of his hip joints were killing him and he could barely get in and out of the car, much less walk. He’d never had a problem before, but perhaps there was some undetected arthritis that was aggravated by our overdoing it the day before. Our tour today started with the Summer Palace, which was a bit of drive outside the city. It was another good weather day but the smog was worse and we could barely see the lake much less the pavilions. However, I much preferred this day to the prior one and amazingly, my body didn’t hurt. Gerry and us set off along another long corridor beside the lake and set DH down on a bench to people-watch while we climbed up Longevity Hill, which overlooks the huge Kunming Lake, and visited the Buddhist Temple and pavilions....lots and lots of stairs again. The Chinese people must be in such good shape since the country is a veritable ‘Stairmaster’. Afterwards, we took a 10 minute Dragon boat ride and saw from a distance the Marble Boat Folly of Empress Dowager Cixi. I found the morning very pleasant but wish DH had felt better. We were worried that he might have done some serious damage that would ruin him for the rest of the trip.
Lunch followed at Jin Ding Yuan, another local restaurant, but i preferred the previous day’s. I didn’t like their steamed dumplings, another soup with dumplings, a chicken stir fry and a fish vegetable cake. We saw the Bird’s Nest Olympic stadium from a distance and the 7* dragon shaped huge hotel, which we could hardly see through the smog.
Then, we stopped at 798 Art Zone, several pleasant leafy blocks of decommisioned military manufacturing buildings that had been a joint project with Soviet and East Germany back in the 50’s and 60’s. Now, they’ve been repurposed as art galleries, shops and cafes which made a pleasant excursion on a Saturday afternoon as young families pushed strollers and children clambered over outdoor sculptures and play areas. We sat DH down as we walked around enjoying the fine weather. We also walked up the historic Liulichang Antiques street.
China HIghlights had been very good about removing any recommended shopping stops. However, now I wanted to put one back in as I had read about two good shops on the 4th floor of the infamous (and dreaded) Pearl Market. I found the two shops but they were both high quality (eg. expensive) fine pearl stores when what I wanted was a more contemporary, freshwater pearl necklace, so I left empty handed. My original plan had been to also to visit Panjiayuan Market in the morning, but I cancelled that because I didn’t really want to buy any ‘junk’.
We got back to the hotel by 5pm, and tried to get a new, small point and shoot Canon camera for DH, who was not having much luck since his camera also died that day. There happened to be a Canon service center in the same tower as Starbucks, but they couldn’t fix it and the prices of new cameras were about double of what we’d pay in the States. We heard the same thing about buying I-phones or I-pads, which seems so bizarre since they’re made there. Apple is huge there and we saw the long lines that stretched in front of the new Apple store in Beijing. Our China HIghlights guides all carried I-pads that they used to illustrate certain attractions or topics. Anyway, my 35mm Canon EOS-Rebel would have to do.
For dinner, we walked a couple of blocks to the Peninsula Hotel to eat at their atmospheric Huang Ting restaurant, which recreates the ambience of a lovely hutong in the lower level of the expensive shopping arcade below the hotel. My lychee martini was just OK, DH had a roasted trio of suckling pig, duck and BBQ pork....very good, especially the suckling pig, and my beef tenderloin stir fry with brown sauce and vegetables was also pretty good....but the best was an excellent vegetable dish with enoki mushrooms and braised eggplant. I had a terrible vanilla cream dessert, chunks of jellied cream...I’ve learned that there isn’t one Chinese dessert that I like. Just keep chocolate in the hotel room to fall back on. It was a bit chilly walking back.
Day 4: Mutianyu and the Great Wall
The hot baths and Advil have paid off and DH is almost like new, thank God. Gerry and Mr. Shen picked us up at 10:30 for the drive to the Great Wall. Tonight, we’d be staying at an architecturally interesting hotel, the Brickyard, where rooms opened up to a distant view of the Wall. It was an ugly, colder morning with rain on the way. The drive went pretty quickly and we stopped for lunch at Xiao Long Piu, near Mutianyu. We were freezing, even in the restaurant....it was cold and drizzly, so started with Jasmine tea, chicken and chestnuts in brown sauce, fried rice with meat and vegetables and wheat flour soup....all very good. However, very rude service as I was sitting at the table waiting for Gerry & DH to return from the restroom, the waiter cleared the table and sat people down while me and our stuff was still there! They certainly can push people through!
By the time we reached the Great Wall, it was pouring out. Luckily we had umbrellas, fleece coats covered with gore-tex jackets and merino wool socks, which miraculously kept our feet dry. On the way up, I picked up a hiking collapsable stick for $15 to help me navigate the slippery rocks. Despite the fact that you can take an enclosed cable car to the top, it was still a bit of hike to reach that. The weather was such a shame because the trees were turning beautiful golden hues and it would have been gorgeous with the sunshine and blue skies of days earlier.
At the top, we did walk along the wall for awhile, seeking refuge in the periodic watchmen’s towers. Despite the clouds and rain, it still was a beautiful vista with the wall snaking up and down through distant mountains and layers of clouds.
We checked into the Brickyard at 3p, which was a very cool low-slung inn, with brick walls and levels of terraced gardens. The contemporary architecture of our room included vaulted ceilings, a brick wall with tile mosaic shards, one wall of floor- to- ceiling windows that looked out across a terrace to the Wall beyond, which was now hidden by cascading rain. All accompanied by the loud cacophony of rain pelting our roof. The open floor plan included a raised entry area where the commode, open rain shower head and pedestal sink were located.
We took our umbrellas and made our way to the reception building where a fire was going in a small room and enjoyed delicious nachos and beer. Dinner that night was at the Schoolhouse, a short shuttle van ride away in the village, and was set in an old school room with bad fluorescent lighting. We weren’t that hungry, but they served Western style food, so shared a good pumpkin soup, toasted mushroom ravioli and best of all, a belgian chocolate brownie and ice cream. It finally stopped raining. I had a 9:30 pm Chinese massage scheduled in an attractive Spa building....it felt great. This is the first time I've had this type of massage, and it's done over your clothing.
Day 5 Lijiang
This morning we woke to sunshine and could see the Wall on the distant (unnamed) mountains...could even make out the huge Chinese characters that say “Be loyal to Chairman Mao”. We enjoyed a good Western breakfast and walked around the gardens awhile as Gerry met us to take us to the airport for our flight to Lijiang.
We really enjoyed our time with Gerry as he laughs easily and speaks well and openly on a wide variety of topics. I have mixed feelings about the level of information he gave us while touring. On one hand, I feel he could have told us more ‘facts’....yet, on past trips, I’ve been bored silly with too many historical details. And, sometimes I felt a bit rushed as we walked through the gardens at the end of the Forbidden City without having a chance to savor. Part of it is my fault for not speaking up more at the time as I’m sure he would have been receptive. On the other hand, he was generous with offering interesting vignettes with what life was like for the emperor or how a Chinese marriage is conducted, etc. So, he provided good insights into lifestyle rather than all historical facts. We didn’t feel like we were getting “the party line”, although I was gently corrected when I casually would say “Mao” like we would say “Obama” and he would reply “Chairman Mao.” Although Beijing is a ‘must see’ on any trip to China, it was our least favorite place.
At the airport, Gerry helped us check in for our China Eastern flight, which was an extremely easy process as all we needed was our flight numbers and passports. The flight was delayed a bit but the plane was fine. We had a long layover at the newly built Kunming airport, which was HUGE and enjoyed walking around and around all the shops and restaurants. Despite it being their connecting flight, they couldn’t check our bags through to Lijiang, but the service desk was very accommodating and re checked our luggage and accompanied us to our connecting gate without having to go through security again.
We arrived in Lijiang at night and were met by our second guide, Cindy, a very friendly and talkative young woman. On the drive to our hotel, she talked a mile a minute so I had a bit trouble following her as I have a hearing problem. Like Gerry, she was very good at confirming with us what we’d be doing the next day, what we should wear (it would be cold in the morning) and at what time she’d get us. She helped us check into the gorgeous Crowne Plaza Lijiang and we were taken by golf cart to our beautiful Superior room. I was pleasantly surprised by this hotel, as with the name Crowne Plaza, I expected a rather generic huge resort. But, it was built impressively in the local minority Naxi courtyard tradition with soaring rooflines and generous use of wood. Our large room included a sitting area with sofa and desk, a king size bed, and a lovely bathroom suite that could be sectioned off by closing a sliding wooden screen. The floors were marble and stone, a large walk in shower with a rain shower head and a large tub with a separate commode room. The bed was extremely comfortable with great linens and pillows and a welcoming fruit basket was placed artistically on the coffee table. The hotel grounds were also lovely with many gardens, courtyards and water features and located just outside the walls of Old Lijiang.
Jan 22nd, 2013, 04:39 PM
#6
Day 6: Lijiang
After a wonderful and extensive breakfast buffet served in a large attractive dining room with huge windows that overlooked Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (think deluxe ski lodge), Cindy met us at 8am to head out to the 9a “Impressions of Lijiang” show. I had requested going to the 2pm show, but Cindy had some reason why we had to go to this early show. It was only 20 degrees but sunny so we bundled up. The massive stage looked like the side of a mountain and Jade Dragon rose up behind it when it wasn’t swathed in clouds. The show was awesome with it’s cast of 500 local minority farmers. The music, drumming, chanting, dancing and colorful costumes told the tale of the variety of minorities who live in the area...Naxi, Bai, Tibetan, etc. Cindy was very personable and shared many stories of her life (she was only 14 when the earthquake that decimated Lijiang hit, and her parents couldn’t afford to continue her education after the 8th grade, so she went to work in a shop. But, she had a strong desire to learn English and would hang out with the backpackers to practice English.) I think one of the main advantages of having a guide is to learn about the little things of every day life...which only hits home that we all have more in common with each other than we think. I also learned more about the Naxi way of life, and hadn’t realized that minorities(there are 55 in China) are exempt from the one child policy. Naxi can have two children and some minorities are able to have even more than that.
I had originally wanted to go up the cable cars to the top of the mountain for the view and hike the alpine meadows, but when I realized that the altitude at the top of Glacier Park is almost 15,000 ft (4500 meters...people bring canisters of oxygen), and even the meadows are at 11,000-12,000 ft., I decided to skip this and substitute the Impressions show because my husband suffers from altitude sickness. I’d also read that the lines for the cable car are extremely long to ascend.
Next was a stop at Baisha, an ancient, authentic Naxi village on the way back to Lijiang. First, we saw the frescoes from the Ming Dynasty that depicted various religions coexisting, but they weren’t in the best condition. Then, we walked to a local restaurant, Bai Sha Times, for lunch. It was kind of a dumpy little place and I wondered if the courtyard restaurant that was on our itinerary would have had a nicer atmosphere. In Beijing, our guide had sat with us but here Cindy sat in the back with our driver. That practice ended up being the standard for our trip. First, she had ordered a variety of dishes that were quickly brought out...the best was sauteed yak meat, very lean and tender, a cooked vegetable dish with corn and greens, and a chicken and mushroom stir fry.
After a walk through the dusty village with peek a boo glimpses of Jade Dragon above the rooftops, we drove back to Lijiang and started in the Black Dragon Pool Park. This is simply a beautiful park with stunning vistas of Jade Dragon reflected in the pools. By now, it had warmed up to about 70 and the locals were also enjoying the shady green avenues.
We entered the old town of Lijiang at the North Waterwheel entrance. Although touristy with countless shops and restaurants, Lijiang is enchanting as you walk through narrow, twisting lanes and along waterways all profusely decorated with flowers. I enjoyed watching a group of costumed women dancing in a square with others joining in as they wished. After I expressed interest in pu-ehr tea, a local specialty, she took us to a charming tea house where we sat upstairs and took part in a tea ceremony. After reading accounts of various scams revolving around tea ceremonies, I was a bit apprehensive. But, I needn’t have worried because it was quite instructional and the brick of aged pu-ehr was a good price. That was the extent of my shopping. I had considered looking at jade, which almost all the women in this region wore as a solid bangle on their left wrist (for heart health) and many wore carved neck pendants. Jade is treasured for it’s health benefits as well as it’s beauty and prices range in the thousands, similar to our diamond penchant, but buyer beware.
We returned to our hotel room at 5p and as DH’s hip pain from Beijing had flared up again, we didn’t feel like walking back into town for a restaurant. So, we ate dinner at our hotel which was a big mistake...expensive and bad food.
Tomorrow: Tiger Leaping Gorge (don’t you just love these names!)
After a wonderful and extensive breakfast buffet served in a large attractive dining room with huge windows that overlooked Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (think deluxe ski lodge), Cindy met us at 8am to head out to the 9a “Impressions of Lijiang” show. I had requested going to the 2pm show, but Cindy had some reason why we had to go to this early show. It was only 20 degrees but sunny so we bundled up. The massive stage looked like the side of a mountain and Jade Dragon rose up behind it when it wasn’t swathed in clouds. The show was awesome with it’s cast of 500 local minority farmers. The music, drumming, chanting, dancing and colorful costumes told the tale of the variety of minorities who live in the area...Naxi, Bai, Tibetan, etc. Cindy was very personable and shared many stories of her life (she was only 14 when the earthquake that decimated Lijiang hit, and her parents couldn’t afford to continue her education after the 8th grade, so she went to work in a shop. But, she had a strong desire to learn English and would hang out with the backpackers to practice English.) I think one of the main advantages of having a guide is to learn about the little things of every day life...which only hits home that we all have more in common with each other than we think. I also learned more about the Naxi way of life, and hadn’t realized that minorities(there are 55 in China) are exempt from the one child policy. Naxi can have two children and some minorities are able to have even more than that.
I had originally wanted to go up the cable cars to the top of the mountain for the view and hike the alpine meadows, but when I realized that the altitude at the top of Glacier Park is almost 15,000 ft (4500 meters...people bring canisters of oxygen), and even the meadows are at 11,000-12,000 ft., I decided to skip this and substitute the Impressions show because my husband suffers from altitude sickness. I’d also read that the lines for the cable car are extremely long to ascend.
Next was a stop at Baisha, an ancient, authentic Naxi village on the way back to Lijiang. First, we saw the frescoes from the Ming Dynasty that depicted various religions coexisting, but they weren’t in the best condition. Then, we walked to a local restaurant, Bai Sha Times, for lunch. It was kind of a dumpy little place and I wondered if the courtyard restaurant that was on our itinerary would have had a nicer atmosphere. In Beijing, our guide had sat with us but here Cindy sat in the back with our driver. That practice ended up being the standard for our trip. First, she had ordered a variety of dishes that were quickly brought out...the best was sauteed yak meat, very lean and tender, a cooked vegetable dish with corn and greens, and a chicken and mushroom stir fry.
After a walk through the dusty village with peek a boo glimpses of Jade Dragon above the rooftops, we drove back to Lijiang and started in the Black Dragon Pool Park. This is simply a beautiful park with stunning vistas of Jade Dragon reflected in the pools. By now, it had warmed up to about 70 and the locals were also enjoying the shady green avenues.
We entered the old town of Lijiang at the North Waterwheel entrance. Although touristy with countless shops and restaurants, Lijiang is enchanting as you walk through narrow, twisting lanes and along waterways all profusely decorated with flowers. I enjoyed watching a group of costumed women dancing in a square with others joining in as they wished. After I expressed interest in pu-ehr tea, a local specialty, she took us to a charming tea house where we sat upstairs and took part in a tea ceremony. After reading accounts of various scams revolving around tea ceremonies, I was a bit apprehensive. But, I needn’t have worried because it was quite instructional and the brick of aged pu-ehr was a good price. That was the extent of my shopping. I had considered looking at jade, which almost all the women in this region wore as a solid bangle on their left wrist (for heart health) and many wore carved neck pendants. Jade is treasured for it’s health benefits as well as it’s beauty and prices range in the thousands, similar to our diamond penchant, but buyer beware.
We returned to our hotel room at 5p and as DH’s hip pain from Beijing had flared up again, we didn’t feel like walking back into town for a restaurant. So, we ate dinner at our hotel which was a big mistake...expensive and bad food.
Tomorrow: Tiger Leaping Gorge (don’t you just love these names!)
Jan 23rd, 2013, 04:39 PM
#9
Day 7 Lijiang: Tiger Leaping Gorge
It was a 2 1/2 hr drive from Lijiang to Tiger Leaping Gorge, with a few stops along the way to look at a viewpoint of the first bend in the Yangtze River and another of the mountain. At one stop, there's an actual yak who's serving as a prop for people who mount him and have their photo taken. I didn't realize how cute a yak actually was...sorry about eating your meat! A section of this road was very bad due to construction.
The walk itself was about an hour (from the Lijiang side) along a level concrete path through 4 tunnels. At the very end, we walked down many steps past some small waterfalls to reach the rapids at the river’s level....very pretty. I couldn’t believe some people hired a rickshaw to take them there and back as it was a pretty tame walk. The canyon rose up from both sides of the river and it was a relatively nice view....but not spectacular.
Afterwards, we thought we were eating lunch at Tiger Leaping Gorge restaurant, which was supposed to be so-so food but great views, as listed in our itinerary. Instead, we went to a truck -stop looking restaurant with no views, which we found out the next day, was actually the Horse Tea Road Guest House. The food was not great and there was no atmosphere...just a lot of construction workers around. The toilet was in an out building. So, I was less than happy about again the change in restaurants from our itinerary. It was a long, bumpy ride back to the hotel.
Tonight, I’m determined to see more of Lijiang and find a restaurant in town. I also crave some Western food after too many meals of mediocre Chinese dishes. So, I find a pizza restaurant listed on TripAdvisor, but 3 concierges can’t seem to figure out exactly where it is (old town Lijiang is really not that large). Of course, it’s on the northern side of town, opposite of us, and DH’s hip is still not great, but we set off and admire the hustle and bustle of the shops and restaurants at night. After several inquiries, to no avail, we stumble upon “Buon Appetito” on a road north of the Waterwheel, and get a decent pizza and spinach ravioli along with a good dark Lao beer, that we remembered from our SE Asia trip. The much desired chocolate cake with (icy) mango ice cream was just OK....I’m telling you, for a desert freak like myself, China is falling flat. The proprietor tells us where to hail a cab and we head back to the comfort of Crown Plaza.
Tomorrow: The Linden Centre near Dali
It was a 2 1/2 hr drive from Lijiang to Tiger Leaping Gorge, with a few stops along the way to look at a viewpoint of the first bend in the Yangtze River and another of the mountain. At one stop, there's an actual yak who's serving as a prop for people who mount him and have their photo taken. I didn't realize how cute a yak actually was...sorry about eating your meat! A section of this road was very bad due to construction.
The walk itself was about an hour (from the Lijiang side) along a level concrete path through 4 tunnels. At the very end, we walked down many steps past some small waterfalls to reach the rapids at the river’s level....very pretty. I couldn’t believe some people hired a rickshaw to take them there and back as it was a pretty tame walk. The canyon rose up from both sides of the river and it was a relatively nice view....but not spectacular.
Afterwards, we thought we were eating lunch at Tiger Leaping Gorge restaurant, which was supposed to be so-so food but great views, as listed in our itinerary. Instead, we went to a truck -stop looking restaurant with no views, which we found out the next day, was actually the Horse Tea Road Guest House. The food was not great and there was no atmosphere...just a lot of construction workers around. The toilet was in an out building. So, I was less than happy about again the change in restaurants from our itinerary. It was a long, bumpy ride back to the hotel.
Tonight, I’m determined to see more of Lijiang and find a restaurant in town. I also crave some Western food after too many meals of mediocre Chinese dishes. So, I find a pizza restaurant listed on TripAdvisor, but 3 concierges can’t seem to figure out exactly where it is (old town Lijiang is really not that large). Of course, it’s on the northern side of town, opposite of us, and DH’s hip is still not great, but we set off and admire the hustle and bustle of the shops and restaurants at night. After several inquiries, to no avail, we stumble upon “Buon Appetito” on a road north of the Waterwheel, and get a decent pizza and spinach ravioli along with a good dark Lao beer, that we remembered from our SE Asia trip. The much desired chocolate cake with (icy) mango ice cream was just OK....I’m telling you, for a desert freak like myself, China is falling flat. The proprietor tells us where to hail a cab and we head back to the comfort of Crown Plaza.
Tomorrow: The Linden Centre near Dali
Jan 24th, 2013, 03:13 AM
#11
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Sorry to hear about your husband's hip problems. Hope he's recovered from that. It's not fun having medical issues when traveling. As for the deserts, Asians are not known for their deserts...generally just a piece of fruit after dinner. Nothing compares to the Thai's sticky rice with mango. Yummy!
Jan 24th, 2013, 03:48 AM
#12
I was actually hoping that going without desserts for that long would break me of this bad habit....unfortunately, when I hit Hong Kong, I discovered that 7-11's were everywhere with their stash of Dove ice cream bars.
Jan 30th, 2013, 08:20 AM
#19
Day 8: The Linden Centre via Mt. Shibaoshan UNESCO World Nature Site
Today we were to tour Mt. Shibaoshan and it’s temples on the drive to the Linden Centre, near Dali. We hadn’t realized that it’s a 3 hour drive to Shibaoshan, which was out of the way of driving to the Linden Centre...another 3 hours. It felt like a very long drive but it was sunny and the mountain scenery was pretty. We had a different tour guide, Martin, who filled in for Cindy due to a conflict.
We had been warned that there wasn’t a “tourist” restaurant on the way, but when we pulled up to what looked like a gas station with the front of the building open and housing a small cafe we were a bit dismayed. This appeared to be a truck stop in a small town before we hit all countryside, and we were given the one table with chairs...the locals all sat on low stools to eat. I was glad to be given a plastic sealed package of dishes, cups and silverware so I knew it was sanitized. The wok cooking was done in the open and the counter displayed an assortment of various vegetables that looked very fresh. The first dish they brought out was a platter of pork, but it looked disgusting because it was so fatty...we offered it to our tour guide Martin, who accepted it back. Then, we got another 5 or 6 dishes...the most delicious being frittered corn and red pepper chunks and an eggplant dish. There was no rest room and the public one was not recommended which made for an uncomfortable ride for another hour to Shibaoshan.
The Mt. Shibaoshan (Stone Treasure Mountain) area was one of the first national conservation sites to protect it’s cultural relics. The surrounding landscape is beautiful with rows of mountain peaks and valleys, fantastic rock formations, and lush green forests. If you're interested in touring, be sure you are able to climb up and down many steps. We began walking down many pleasantly shady steps along the side of the mountain past many ancient rock carvings to the most famous temple group, Shizhongshan Grottoes (Stone Bell Mountain) which consists of 16 Buddhist grottoes carved during the Nanzhao Kingdom by Bai people 8-9 century AD. Some showed the life of the court with KIngs, servants and officials; others showed various Buddha’s, Boddhisattas and Guardian Kings; one unusual niche displayed a large female reproductive organ...couples wanting a baby would worship here. The frescoes were very detailed and delicate and fascinating how they were carved into the side of the mountain.
We were at 8700 ft. and walking back up all those steps were a challenge for DH since his hip was still a problem, so he opted out of the next sight....the Baoxiang Temple, also known as the Yunnan Hanging Temple. Martin and I climbed up even more steps to get to this amazing temple set in a fantastic location on the side of the mountain top. It was filled with colorful statues of the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, who is very popular in this part of China, and other Buddhas. Set even higher on the mountain top was a huge Buddha statue and a pagoda. The lush setting was very meditative and tranquil with many caves set in the mountainsides. This is the site of an annual Bai music competition with singing of ancient songs.
It seemed like a very long drive to Xizhou, the village just north of Dali, where the Linden Centre is located, with stop and go traffic through some towns where markets were being held. We arrived at 6pm just as the sun was setting.
The Linden Centre has received a lot of favorable international publicity for it’s authentic restoration of a typical (if you were wealthy) courtyard home and it’s emphasis on cultural activities. We were shown to a charming small room on the upper level of the third courtyard, which I’d requested for it’s quietness. It had windows looking into the courtyard and also opposite to the farmer’s fields, a stone shower with a rain shower head and a basin sink, a desk and a carved wood wainscoting platform bed, which provided the best night’s sleep I’d had in China yet.
For our four night stay, we’d purchased a package deal for the accommodations, all food and beverages (including wine and alcoholic drinks), and cultural activities. A representative had previously contacted us at home via Skype to discuss what the options were and what we’d like to do. First on our agenda was dinner, which tonight we ate in the attractive small bar area. We met Andrew, a nice young man originally from New Jersey who’d majored in Asian Studies and Mandarin, who helped us plan out our activities for the next few days and be our guide, if we needed him. The entire staff of the Linden Centre were very sharp, pleasant young people, mostly from other areas of China, who spoke excellent English.
Tomorrow: Xizhou
Today we were to tour Mt. Shibaoshan and it’s temples on the drive to the Linden Centre, near Dali. We hadn’t realized that it’s a 3 hour drive to Shibaoshan, which was out of the way of driving to the Linden Centre...another 3 hours. It felt like a very long drive but it was sunny and the mountain scenery was pretty. We had a different tour guide, Martin, who filled in for Cindy due to a conflict.
We had been warned that there wasn’t a “tourist” restaurant on the way, but when we pulled up to what looked like a gas station with the front of the building open and housing a small cafe we were a bit dismayed. This appeared to be a truck stop in a small town before we hit all countryside, and we were given the one table with chairs...the locals all sat on low stools to eat. I was glad to be given a plastic sealed package of dishes, cups and silverware so I knew it was sanitized. The wok cooking was done in the open and the counter displayed an assortment of various vegetables that looked very fresh. The first dish they brought out was a platter of pork, but it looked disgusting because it was so fatty...we offered it to our tour guide Martin, who accepted it back. Then, we got another 5 or 6 dishes...the most delicious being frittered corn and red pepper chunks and an eggplant dish. There was no rest room and the public one was not recommended which made for an uncomfortable ride for another hour to Shibaoshan.
The Mt. Shibaoshan (Stone Treasure Mountain) area was one of the first national conservation sites to protect it’s cultural relics. The surrounding landscape is beautiful with rows of mountain peaks and valleys, fantastic rock formations, and lush green forests. If you're interested in touring, be sure you are able to climb up and down many steps. We began walking down many pleasantly shady steps along the side of the mountain past many ancient rock carvings to the most famous temple group, Shizhongshan Grottoes (Stone Bell Mountain) which consists of 16 Buddhist grottoes carved during the Nanzhao Kingdom by Bai people 8-9 century AD. Some showed the life of the court with KIngs, servants and officials; others showed various Buddha’s, Boddhisattas and Guardian Kings; one unusual niche displayed a large female reproductive organ...couples wanting a baby would worship here. The frescoes were very detailed and delicate and fascinating how they were carved into the side of the mountain.
We were at 8700 ft. and walking back up all those steps were a challenge for DH since his hip was still a problem, so he opted out of the next sight....the Baoxiang Temple, also known as the Yunnan Hanging Temple. Martin and I climbed up even more steps to get to this amazing temple set in a fantastic location on the side of the mountain top. It was filled with colorful statues of the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, who is very popular in this part of China, and other Buddhas. Set even higher on the mountain top was a huge Buddha statue and a pagoda. The lush setting was very meditative and tranquil with many caves set in the mountainsides. This is the site of an annual Bai music competition with singing of ancient songs.
It seemed like a very long drive to Xizhou, the village just north of Dali, where the Linden Centre is located, with stop and go traffic through some towns where markets were being held. We arrived at 6pm just as the sun was setting.
The Linden Centre has received a lot of favorable international publicity for it’s authentic restoration of a typical (if you were wealthy) courtyard home and it’s emphasis on cultural activities. We were shown to a charming small room on the upper level of the third courtyard, which I’d requested for it’s quietness. It had windows looking into the courtyard and also opposite to the farmer’s fields, a stone shower with a rain shower head and a basin sink, a desk and a carved wood wainscoting platform bed, which provided the best night’s sleep I’d had in China yet.
For our four night stay, we’d purchased a package deal for the accommodations, all food and beverages (including wine and alcoholic drinks), and cultural activities. A representative had previously contacted us at home via Skype to discuss what the options were and what we’d like to do. First on our agenda was dinner, which tonight we ate in the attractive small bar area. We met Andrew, a nice young man originally from New Jersey who’d majored in Asian Studies and Mandarin, who helped us plan out our activities for the next few days and be our guide, if we needed him. The entire staff of the Linden Centre were very sharp, pleasant young people, mostly from other areas of China, who spoke excellent English.
Tomorrow: Xizhou
