The Many Faces Of Lu Shan - 廬山真面目 !
Posted On Monday, November 9, 2009 at at 9:07 PM by Alvin
The famous mountain range of Lu Shan (廬山) is located about an hour's bus journey from Jiu Jiang city (九江). During our stay in Lu Shan, we really experienced first hand of what made Lu Shan so special - its changeable weather ! We decided to stay for 3 nights at this beautiful mountain and we were based at the quaint town of Kuling (牯嶺 ). There had been many legends as to how this town was named - the funny one was that the British that gathered here to cool off from the furnace temperatures of Nan Chang (南昌) named the town : Cooling. Yeh right. Lu Shan during this time of the year - late Autumn, was a colorful patch work of different shades of red, yellow and green as the trees fought for our attention with their beautiful Autumn leaves; this mountain oozed an atmosphere of a big welcoming hug with these colors and its fresh mountain air. Our first two days were greeted with a soft Autumnal sun and we explored the many pretty forests, lakes and walkways such as 如琴湖, 蘆林湖, 仙人洞一滴泉, 石門澗懸索橋, 三叠泉, 植物園 and 含鄱口. 
We also had a long tea break after our visit to 三叠泉 waterfalls and sampled the famous local tea - 廬山雲霧茶; the tea shop owner told us that the tea leaves normally receive most of the moisture from the year-round fogs and mists which Lu Shan had been famous. We were surprised to hear that and found it difficult to imagine on this sunny blue day how Lu Shan could be foggy at all; this all changed on our last day. When we woke and looked out of the windows, we were greeted with the thickest fog I had ever come across (even including the London days) ! We could not see more than 3 meters away ! We went for a long walk and luckily we did not get too lost in this fog. Throughout the day, the fog and mist came and went very suddenly, say within 1 minute, ALL the fog would clear and we were left with such picturesque mountain and lake settings; then after just a few minutes of admiring the beauty, the fog would roll in and we would be back to extremely poor visibility again. This was such an interesting experience and Lu Shan really lived up to its reputation of never showing her many faces all at once - as the famous Sung Dynasty (北宋) poet 蘇軾 wrote during his visit to Lu Shan : 不識廬山真面目，只緣身在此山中。
The Cities Of Jiangxi (江西)
Posted On Saturday, November 7, 2009 at at 12:40 AM by Alvin
During this trip, we visited two very interesting cities in the Province of Jiangxi (江西) - Jiu Jiang (九江) and Nan Chang (南昌). Jiu Jiang was a surprise find of this trip as this city was only to be our over night stop but this city by the Yangtze turned out to be pleasant and full of memorable sights. We spent 2 hours strolling along the misty Yangtze river bank and we visited the tower of 潯陽樓 where reputedly the fictitious hero of Sung Jiang (宋江) in the famed Chinese classic novel (水滸傳), penned his famous anti-establishment poem before becoming the leader of the 梁山泊 108 rebels. We spent an hour inside the 4-storey 潯陽樓 where there was a precious set (one of only 4 complete sets in the world) of 108 porcelain figurines made from 景德镇, depicting the famous rebels as well as a large painting of these famous fictional characters. It was great fun to be sitting in this tower and imagining you were one of these 108 rebels, all ganged up and ready to rumble and cause some major damage to the empires of the feeble emperors in dynasties of centuries past. Further down the Yangtze river bank, we paid visit to the scenic sights of 鎖江樓, 長江大橋 and 琵琶亭. Jiu Jiang city was blessed with a number of fresh water lakes such as the 甘棠湖 in its inner city centre that gave the city a beautiful setting. All in all, we felt that the good part of a day we spent in Jiu Jiang was enough to appreciate its charm and character.
The capital of Jiangxi - Nan Chang (南昌) was altogether different in character. To start off with, the size of the city was immense as we struggled to cross the un-forgiving multi-lane road traffic. The city centre was dominated by the enormous square of the August 1st Nan Chang Uprising Memorial (August 1st, 1927 being commemorated as the year when the PLA was founded). The open area at the square was a welcome breathing space and solitude amidst the endless streams of cars and buses buzzling around this busy city. Undoubtedly, the landmark of Nan Chang had to be the famed tower of 滕王閣 located along the Yangtze river branch of 赣江 and was first built in the Tang Dynasty over 1,000 years ago. The poet 王勃 almost single-handedly put 滕王閣 on the map and the lips of all scholars at the time after he wrote the 滕王閣序 that contained the immortal lines - 落霞與孤鶩齊飛，秋水共長天一色. Say no more and just sit back and contemplate such beautiful poems.
Porcelain Capital Of The World - JingDeZhen 景德镇
Posted On Thursday, November 5, 2009 at at 12:20 AM by Alvin
Be careful where you walk in this city - JingDeZhen City (景德镇市) had been the Porcelain Capital Of The World for over a thousand years ! When we arrived in town, we were greeted with endless specialist shops selling the most delicate and beautiful porcelain ware I had ever seen. All different shapes, sizes, colors, usages and the lighting and displays on offer in these shops were so dazzling that I really had to be careful not to knock over a few of these lovely handicrafts. We stayed right at the centre of JingDeZhen City near the People's Square and just a few minutes walk to the various interesting museums dedicated to the culture, history, manufacturing and painting of these highly prized porcelains. We visited the Traditional Kiln Halls (古窯區) located about 3km outside town. The Halls consisted of dedicated kilns (in use today) for the production of specific porcelain wares as well as working areas where we observed the porcelains being moulded and painted by experienced masters of their crafts. One really had to hold on to their wallets here as there were numerous beautiful items on sale such as pots, plates, bowls, chopsticks, cutlery, traditional Chinese face masks, vases all made and painted with the utmost delicate touches.This was also a very educational visit as we learnt the difference between earthenware and porcelain wares and how JingDeZhen earned its worldwide fame ! An interesting fact that we had learnt was that the porcelains which didn't make the Royal Court selection were all scattered to pieces on purpose, in case they were re-introduced by mistake or re-sold as being "marketed" as "almost made the Royal Court" - a photo below shows those porcelains which didn't make the cut and had been dug up as ancient artifacts. A truly worthwhile stop on our itinerary in the Province of Jiangxi (江西省) !
Chilling Out On Mount Huangshan (黄山)
Posted On Monday, November 2, 2009 at at 12:59 AM by Alvin
Autumn travelling in China could be fun, if you like bumping into sudden cold weather fronts ! Temperatures dropped to the single digits as we entered one of the most scenic of all mountain ranges in China - Huangshan (黄山). We spent one night at the outlying city of Tunxi (屯溪) where there were characteristic buildings (徽派建築) aplenty of the Province of Auhui (安徽省). We strolled along the famous Old Street (老街) that was full of tea shops, the ever-present souvenir stalls as well as shops selling water color paintings (山水畫) of Huangshan; the Old Street had a rather relaxing feel to it and we enjoyed our excellent dinner before our climb on Huangshan in the coming days. We then spent 2 days at the foot of Huangshan, yes, two duvets required for these nights with sub-zero temperatures and the hotel was even kind enough to lend us a lamp heater for our room ! We strolled along the hot spring (温泉) areas on the first day followed by our ascent to the top of Huangshan on the following day. We were greeted by Huangshan with a blue blue clear Autumn day during our climb and we witnessed the spectacular sea of clouds (雲海) in the early morning (this was around 9AM) and of course the ever present Huangshan Pine trees (黄山奇松).The Huangshan Pine (黄山松) had been a subject of prime research interest as these trees release a particular type of organic acid that facilitate their firm-rooting into the rocks of Huangshan and could thus live to hundreds of years amid the harsh mountain conditions. We witnessed numerous odd-shaped rocks (怪石) during our hike on the top of Huangshan; the best of all without doubt, had been the "Stone That Flew Here" (飛來石 - picture on the top) where we spent half an hour just admiring this sheer stunning vista.
The hot springs(温泉), sea of clouds (雲海) , Huangshan Pine trees (奇松) and odd-shaped rocks (怪石) had been known as the four attractions of Huangshan (黃山四絕). We thoroughly enjoyed our walk on the top of Huangshan where we visited the famous land marks of 始信峰, 排雲亭, 光明頂, 鰲魚峰, 蓮花峰, 玉屏樓, 天都峰, 一線天 and 慈光閣. We spent 2 hours on our way down to 慈光閣 and enjoyed our dinner at one of the two opening restaurants (low season) chatting over our fun day !
The Beautiful Lake City Of Hangzhou - 杭州
Posted On Friday, October 30, 2009 at at 12:01 AM by Alvin
No Primary school children would forget the lessons they learnt on the famed 西湖十景 which had been the ten best known scenic beauty spots around the lake Xiwu (西湖) in Hangzhou (杭州) centre. Hangzhou had been a major trading centre since before 1,000 AD and was once a national capital in the Sung Dynasty (南宋). We spent a lovely Autumn day walking around the entire circumference of Xiwu and stopping at most of the well known places to admire the truly sparkling beauty of this fresh water lake. In particular, we visited Leifeng Tower (雷峰塔) that was made (even more) famous by the story of The Legend Of The Lady White Snake (白蛇傳). To cut a very long story even shorter, basically, one poor snake lady (a thousand year old snake goddess) with the heart of gold fell in luv with a young man and she was wrongfully trapped under the Leifeng Tower until she was later rescued, got her man and lived a long and happy life - I love happy endings. During our walk, we passed through many scenic spots such as 平湖秋月, 花港觀魚, 蘇堤春曉, 斷橋殘雪, 雷峰夕照 and 南屏晚鐘 and we ate our picnic lunch near the outer Xiwu lake where there was the famous beauty spot of 麴院風荷 with lots and lots of lotus flowers that could be found in Spring time. We spotted many leisure activities going on all around this lovely lake like kite-flying, boating and fishing but, thankfully no Karaoke, phew ! This was certainly one clear blue Autumn day to remember !
The Heroes Of Kaifeng (開封) and Zhengzhou (鄭州)
Posted On Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at at 2:21 AM by Alvin
We started our visit to this relaxing city by spending a chilled-out morning in the Kaifeng (開封) Millennium City Park (清明上河園 ); essentially a large open-space garden modelled on the famed painting by the Song artist 張擇端. The famous painting depicted life in the 1,000 A.D. Song Dynasty capital Kaifeng (宋朝 開封) and the Millennium City Park did a reasonable job in make-belief by re-creating such settings and we felt we were characters "inside" this famous painting !
The city of Kaifeng (開封) had been an ancient capital of China for seven dynasties; in particular the Song Dynasty (宋朝 - circa 1,000 A.D.) where China peaked and ebbed in its governing powers and foreign influence - this dynasty was at once flourishing and prosperous as it was feeble and corrupt. Through these tumultuous times, came two heroes praised and revered; and folklores guaranteed their immortality for generations till this very day - 包公 and 岳飛.
包公 was essentially in his days, a judge and he was known for his impartiality, selflessness and fearlessness. 岳飛 was known for his loyalty to his country and military brilliance and the injustice and ultimate death he suffered at the hands of corrupt hangers-on to the Song Emperors. We felt a sense of honour to be visiting the shrines and temples (包公祠 and 朱仙鎮岳飛廟) dedicated to these two long-ago giants.
On a completely different timeline and perspectives, we visited the 2.7 Memorial Tower (二七纪念塔) in Zhengzhou (鄭州) during our last part of this journey. The tower commemorated the bloody suppression of the railways (Jing -Han Railway linking Beijing and Wuhan that passed through Zhengzhou) strike that took place in 1923, February the Seventh. On this day, mass protests broke out against inhumane working conditions and Imperial-influenced injustice and inequality and that led to many brutal deaths and injuries. This strike and incident and these heroes who stood up, provided the added impetus that led ultimately to the founding of the Communist (and liberated) China as we know it today. Our hats off to these heroes.
The city of Kaifeng (開封) had been an ancient capital of China for seven dynasties; in particular the Song Dynasty (宋朝 - circa 1,000 A.D.) where China peaked and ebbed in its governing powers and foreign influence - this dynasty was at once flourishing and prosperous as it was feeble and corrupt. Through these tumultuous times, came two heroes praised and revered; and folklores guaranteed their immortality for generations till this very day - 包公 and 岳飛.
包公 was essentially in his days, a judge and he was known for his impartiality, selflessness and fearlessness. 岳飛 was known for his loyalty to his country and military brilliance and the injustice and ultimate death he suffered at the hands of corrupt hangers-on to the Song Emperors. We felt a sense of honour to be visiting the shrines and temples (包公祠 and 朱仙鎮岳飛廟) dedicated to these two long-ago giants.
On a completely different timeline and perspectives, we visited the 2.7 Memorial Tower (二七纪念塔) in Zhengzhou (鄭州) during our last part of this journey. The tower commemorated the bloody suppression of the railways (Jing -Han Railway linking Beijing and Wuhan that passed through Zhengzhou) strike that took place in 1923, February the Seventh. On this day, mass protests broke out against inhumane working conditions and Imperial-influenced injustice and inequality and that led to many brutal deaths and injuries. This strike and incident and these heroes who stood up, provided the added impetus that led ultimately to the founding of the Communist (and liberated) China as we know it today. Our hats off to these heroes.
Yun Tai Shan Geo Park (雲台山地質公園)
Posted On Sunday, September 13, 2009 at at 1:43 AM by Alvin
We decided to go off the China Central (中原) well-beaten tracks and headed for a lesser known (to us) destination - the Yun Tai Shan Geo Park (雲台山地質公園), about 100km north of Zhengzhou (鄭州) - the provincial capital of Henan (河南). Lesser known to us it might have been, Yun Tai Shan was an absolutely magnet to our Mainland compatriots ! We found the parking lot packed solid with countless 100 seaters coaches on the day we arrived (Saturday), yikes ! The park was swarming with visitors as we bumped into the weekend !Basically, the physical geographical characteristics of Yun Tai Shan had numerous similarities to those of Arizona and Utah and the very informative museum inside the park displayed the waterfalls, canyons, rock formations of Yun Tai Shan alongside those of Zion, Bryce and the Grand Canyons as comparisons. Truly fascinating ! The park was beautifully studded with red canyons, emerald river streams, waterfalls thundering down from heights of a few hundred metres as well as numerous cascading rock pools, such a beauty ! Luckily, there were over 200 rustic hostels (農家旅館) to cater for the sudden influx of weekend tourists and we sampled greedily the "rustic menu" after a hard day's hiking around this amazing Geo Park. What a gem !
Up Shaolin (少林寺) And Back Down From 三皇寨
Posted On Saturday, September 12, 2009 at at 9:36 PM by Alvin
The Shaoin Temple (少林寺) had been famous right round the world for its numerous martial arts skills and its respected monks, so we kept our expectations (really) low to avoid the hype and hopefully enjoy the site. We were not disappointed.
As we arrived to the nearest town Deng Feng (登封市), we were surprised to find more than 50 martial arts colleges dotted around town; each with numerous students decked out in smart sports uniforms (mostly teenager boys we noticed) lifting weights, going through their martial arts routines, running around the large training grounds, performing impossible stretching exercises and just generally keeping themselves fit - all looking serious and professional and we sensed ambitions in them.
The Shaolin Temple was as expected, not as dignified (莊嚴) as we would have liked to imagine (you know, with solemn-looking high-ranking monks mumbling Buddhist chants, each effortlessly disguising their supreme martial arts depths and so on). However, the whole visiting experience was "saved" by the 30 minutes live martial arts performance that included incredible demonstrations of the well known styles such as the praying mantis, snake in the tiger shadow and the famed 18 weapons (十八般武藝).
After visiting the Talin (塔林) where respected high-ranking Shaolin monks were buried, we cabled up the back bone mountains of Shaolin - 嵩山 and spent 3 hours visiting the backend of Shaolin - 三皇寨. The scenery was awesome as this mountain range gave us a geographical perspective of the Shaolin Temple that we found obscured in the Temple's commercial front entrance. As per usual regarding tackling any Chinese mountains, love them or hate them, we had to negotiate some 3,000 steep well-paved staircases (好漢坡 ) on our way down this famous mountain. The views were superb and we thoroughly enjoyed the hike down.
As we arrived to the nearest town Deng Feng (登封市), we were surprised to find more than 50 martial arts colleges dotted around town; each with numerous students decked out in smart sports uniforms (mostly teenager boys we noticed) lifting weights, going through their martial arts routines, running around the large training grounds, performing impossible stretching exercises and just generally keeping themselves fit - all looking serious and professional and we sensed ambitions in them.
The Shaolin Temple was as expected, not as dignified (莊嚴) as we would have liked to imagine (you know, with solemn-looking high-ranking monks mumbling Buddhist chants, each effortlessly disguising their supreme martial arts depths and so on). However, the whole visiting experience was "saved" by the 30 minutes live martial arts performance that included incredible demonstrations of the well known styles such as the praying mantis, snake in the tiger shadow and the famed 18 weapons (十八般武藝).
After visiting the Talin (塔林) where respected high-ranking Shaolin monks were buried, we cabled up the back bone mountains of Shaolin - 嵩山 and spent 3 hours visiting the backend of Shaolin - 三皇寨. The scenery was awesome as this mountain range gave us a geographical perspective of the Shaolin Temple that we found obscured in the Temple's commercial front entrance. As per usual regarding tackling any Chinese mountains, love them or hate them, we had to negotiate some 3,000 steep well-paved staircases (好漢坡 ) on our way down this famous mountain. The views were superb and we thoroughly enjoyed the hike down.
A Slow Train From Hua Shan (華山站) To Luoyang (洛陽)
Posted On Thursday, September 10, 2009 at at 12:35 AM by AlvinHaving had a good overnight rest, we boarded the train from 華山站 to Luoyang (洛陽) - a.n.o.t.h.e.r. ancient Chinese capital. Hey Man, this IS central China - (中 原) where it all happened and dynasties came and went ! We were greeted on the train, as usual, by a compartment full of hungry passengers - each and everyone carrying their ration for their journey, which typically included the omnipresent giant cup noodles (the 康師傅杯面 brand of course), beverages with mouth-watering names such as vanilla and mango vitamin yogurt shakes and of course their own 1L hot water bottles ! Amongst our travels, we found that the Chinese trains had one supreme facility - an endless supply of hot drinking water located at the end of each compartment; and with that, the problem of fulfilling one's essential meals and drinks are solved - you could have your cup noodles (康師傅杯面) and Chinese teas to your heart's contents !
We reached Luoyang by lunch time and found Luoyang a pleasant city to stroll around for a few days (slowly) as we were still feeling the strains in our calves from the Hua Shan climb ! We did venture out to the famous rock carvings and Buddhists caves at Long Men (龍門石窟 ) the next day. The Buddha images and worshipping caves were constructed over successive dynasties dated almost 2,000 years back and the caves could be visited on both sides of the Yi River (伊河). These caves and sculptures were impressive and they reminded us of those we saw in Ajanta and Ellora in Western India as well as those in Dazu (大足).
There was a also an interesting site nestled by the Yi River - the burial grounds of the famous poet and administrator of the Tang Dynasty 白居易 - 白園 (白居易墓). He spent much of his later years by the hills (香山) along the Yi River. It was also most interesting to note that there were many of his direct descendants from Korea and Japan (now all naturalised) paying tributes to their ancestor and they had contributed many stone tablets to commemorate this master poet. He wrote the following memorable lines (amongst many others) :
《琵琶行》
同是天涯淪落人，相逢何必曾相識。
《長恨歌》
在天願作比翼鳥，在地願為連理枝。
天長地久有時盡，此恨綿綿無絕期。
《賦得古原草送別》
野火燒不盡，春風吹又生。
We reached Luoyang by lunch time and found Luoyang a pleasant city to stroll around for a few days (slowly) as we were still feeling the strains in our calves from the Hua Shan climb ! We did venture out to the famous rock carvings and Buddhists caves at Long Men (龍門石窟 ) the next day. The Buddha images and worshipping caves were constructed over successive dynasties dated almost 2,000 years back and the caves could be visited on both sides of the Yi River (伊河). These caves and sculptures were impressive and they reminded us of those we saw in Ajanta and Ellora in Western India as well as those in Dazu (大足).
There was a also an interesting site nestled by the Yi River - the burial grounds of the famous poet and administrator of the Tang Dynasty 白居易 - 白園 (白居易墓). He spent much of his later years by the hills (香山) along the Yi River. It was also most interesting to note that there were many of his direct descendants from Korea and Japan (now all naturalised) paying tributes to their ancestor and they had contributed many stone tablets to commemorate this master poet. He wrote the following memorable lines (amongst many others) :《琵琶行》
同是天涯淪落人，相逢何必曾相識。
《長恨歌》
在天願作比翼鳥，在地願為連理枝。
天長地久有時盡，此恨綿綿無絕期。
《賦得古原草送別》
野火燒不盡，春風吹又生。
Watch Your Steps - This Is Hua Shan (華山) !
Posted On Sunday, September 6, 2009 at at 10:59 PM by Alvin
Since ancient times, Hua Shan (華山) had been one of the most revered and picturesque mountains in China where temples (西嶽廟 ) were built as far back as 3,000 years ago for the emperors to perform their worshipping rituals.
Hua Shan was made even more famous by the well-known Chinese novelist and historian Jing Yung (金庸) as he penned his heroes and heroines doing swords and fists battles and duos atop the dangerous peaks of Hua Shan whose sheer cliffs and precarious steep ascents offered the ultimate testing grounds for "who dares win" and "who dares not die". None more so than the "world-famous" battles of 華山論劍 between such well-known fictional characters as 東邪、西毒、南帝、北丐、中神通 !
We stayed at the foot of Hua Shan near the 玉泉院 entrance where we enjoyed the local dinners of 四菜一湯 (four dishes with one soup) for a bargain of 50 RMB ! I love this place ! Having fed ourselves well, we felt ready to tackle our itinerary the next day : 8AM start by climbing the 5 main peaks followed by the steep descent from the Eastern slopes back down to the 玉泉院 entrance where we would be met with a lovely hot shower !
Sounded easy enough, little did we know the real magnitude that awaited us - the famed Hua Shan sheer cliffs which went up and up, vertical "climb-like-Spiderman" rocky staircases that tested our agility - all performed with an extremely cautious eye to safety as we were surrounded by sheer drops on all sides of our pathways (called 長空棧道) ! We were also glad that we remembered to buy the workmen gloves before we started our hike as the gloves were indispensable to protect our hands from the rusty iron rails. The route was no easier on the way down, we could never forget the seemingly never-ending last leg of the descent - basically a 3 hours' walk down one long 45 degrees pathway ! We passed many interesting rock formations, temples and monuments such as 千尺幢 and 九天宮 and finally our downward momentum carried us all the way back to 玉泉院 at around 5PM and we relaxed over a well-deserved dinner with a few glasses of the locally Shaanxi (陝西) brewed Baiju (白酒)- 西鳳 ! Hua Shan was one of the most memorable hikes we've had !
