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China/Qinzhou Adventure travel 2008
5-28/29-08
Our train ride yesterday was spent in tunnels with quick snap shots in between of green lush valleys dotted by small villages. I (Judee) tend to be disappointed when we take alternative transportation, preferring to bicycle everywhere. Occasionally, like today, I am saved from myself. The road deteriorated to a mud track through these humongous spiky mountains.
Upon arrival in Zhuangjaijie, we looked around the terminal for a tourist office and some information on the area attractions. A CITS group motioned us to follow them 9kms into town. I was set upon by a five person sales group pitching guided tours of 4-5 days while Art snuck next door and acquired us a bright, clean room in a brand new hotel. He extricated me from the CITS people and we settled at the Jin Jiang Inn. The counter person, David, had been a tour guide and he proceeded to outline a two day excursion, complete with map for us to explore the UNESCO site on our own by bus.
We walked out to dinner and came upon a “park in the dark” where Judee heard music and spied dancers waltzing. So we joined the happy throng and Art wowed them with dips and spins which elicited smiles and thumbs up.
We catch the local #7 bus in front of our hotel to take us to the bus station where we catch the special bus to Zhanghjiajie National Park 33km up in the mountains. The day is moist, warm and over cast and threatening rain, so we take the ponchos and the umbrella in our Arkel panniers made into backpacks for our over night stay in the park.. The travel books describe the park as a mystical place filled with thousands of limestone towers, rushing streams, all misted in low clouds. We come across three college guys from Iowa as we pass through the ticket gate ($245Y - $40US p/p) and they gave us some tips on where to go as they had spent all day yesterday pounding the paths and steps, what seemed like millions of them.
Our first treat was to come across a big pack of monkeys. We understood from our new friends that they are quite aggressive and will grab bags of food out of one’s grasp if one is inattentive. Just past the monkey colony we discovered that the first cable car we had decided to take was closed for the day…so we opted for a 7km hike down a rushing river valley. What a breath-taking experience and neck straining caused by constantly looking up at the towering limestone architecture misted in clouds. A light rain blew through as we walk the stone/concrete path thronged with Chinese tour groups all lead by a guide waving a flag on a pole. Many Hellos’ and Hi’s were sent our way with broad smiles. If one felt they could not make the trip, one could hire a “man chair” (bamboo sedan chair carried by two porters) to complete the journey. The tracks were well constructed, smooth and provided sure footing even when wet. Dotted along the route were food and trinket vendors and covered pavilions where the Chinese stopped to smoke in the No Smoking areas. Places in between were often empty so we could stop and listen to the birds and animals. We spied our first squirrel. A note: out on the road we heard a bird that sounded like a cuckoo.
The park operates on two levels: top of the plateau and down in the valleys and is serviced by two separate cable cars and one elevator. There is no road in between so you walk up and down or pay a separate fee to use the lifts ($48-56Y/$7-8US p/p) each way depending on your choice of transportation. There are free buses that park visitors can use to move around to different scenic areas on each level. In our two days tromping up and down we used all three modes of lifts and we walked up and down once each way – over 4,000 steeps each way but worth every step. The WOW factor seemed to come into play at every bend in the path as we either looked down on the towers or up! The forest floor was filled with ferns, bushes and flowers almost like a rain forest. There are 550 species of trees – twice as many as found in all of Europe. In the midst of the 370 square kilometer park area live several million ethic Tujian descendents of western China’s prehistoric Ba kingdom. As we bus around we catch glimpses of their small subsistence villages and farms, not at all detracting from the beauty of the park.
Note about Bracelets: Like nomads, we gather bracelets, some given, some purchased, many broken and lost along the way. These are not a display of riches, but embody the wealth of our travel experiences.
April 14 China/Dongxing Abenteuerreise 2008 >
Our train ride yesterday was spent in tunnels with quick snap shots in between of green lush valleys dotted by small villages. I (Judee) tend to be disappointed when we take alternative transportation, preferring to bicycle everywhere. Occasionally, like today, I am saved from myself. The road deteriorated to a mud track through these humongous spiky mountains.
Upon arrival in Zhuangjaijie, we looked around the terminal for a tourist office and some information on the area attractions. A CITS group motioned us to follow them 9kms into town. I was set upon by a five person sales group pitching guided tours of 4-5 days while Art snuck next door and acquired us a bright, clean room in a brand new hotel. He extricated me from the CITS people and we settled at the Jin Jiang Inn. The counter person, David, had been a tour guide and he proceeded to outline a two day excursion, complete with map for us to explore the UNESCO site on our own by bus.
We walked out to dinner and came upon a “park in the dark” where Judee heard music and spied dancers waltzing. So we joined the happy throng and Art wowed them with dips and spins which elicited smiles and thumbs up.
We catch the local #7 bus in front of our hotel to take us to the bus station where we catch the special bus to Zhanghjiajie National Park 33km up in the mountains. The day is moist, warm and over cast and threatening rain, so we take the ponchos and the umbrella in our Arkel panniers made into backpacks for our over night stay in the park.. The travel books describe the park as a mystical place filled with thousands of limestone towers, rushing streams, all misted in low clouds. We come across three college guys from Iowa as we pass through the ticket gate ($245Y - $40US p/p) and they gave us some tips on where to go as they had spent all day yesterday pounding the paths and steps, what seemed like millions of them.
Our first treat was to come across a big pack of monkeys. We understood from our new friends that they are quite aggressive and will grab bags of food out of one’s grasp if one is inattentive. Just past the monkey colony we discovered that the first cable car we had decided to take was closed for the day…so we opted for a 7km hike down a rushing river valley. What a breath-taking experience and neck straining caused by constantly looking up at the towering limestone architecture misted in clouds. A light rain blew through as we walk the stone/concrete path thronged with Chinese tour groups all lead by a guide waving a flag on a pole. Many Hellos’ and Hi’s were sent our way with broad smiles. If one felt they could not make the trip, one could hire a “man chair” (bamboo sedan chair carried by two porters) to complete the journey. The tracks were well constructed, smooth and provided sure footing even when wet. Dotted along the route were food and trinket vendors and covered pavilions where the Chinese stopped to smoke in the No Smoking areas. Places in between were often empty so we could stop and listen to the birds and animals. We spied our first squirrel. A note: out on the road we heard a bird that sounded like a cuckoo.
The park operates on two levels: top of the plateau and down in the valleys and is serviced by two separate cable cars and one elevator. There is no road in between so you walk up and down or pay a separate fee to use the lifts ($48-56Y/$7-8US p/p) each way depending on your choice of transportation. There are free buses that park visitors can use to move around to different scenic areas on each level. In our two days tromping up and down we used all three modes of lifts and we walked up and down once each way – over 4,000 steeps each way but worth every step. The WOW factor seemed to come into play at every bend in the path as we either looked down on the towers or up! The forest floor was filled with ferns, bushes and flowers almost like a rain forest. There are 550 species of trees – twice as many as found in all of Europe. In the midst of the 370 square kilometer park area live several million ethic Tujian descendents of western China’s prehistoric Ba kingdom. As we bus around we catch glimpses of their small subsistence villages and farms, not at all detracting from the beauty of the park.
Note about Bracelets: Like nomads, we gather bracelets, some given, some purchased, many broken and lost along the way. These are not a display of riches, but embody the wealth of our travel experiences.
