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UNUSUAL CHINA April 10-30, 2009
FRI, APR 10 - DEPART LOS ANGELES Our “Unusual China” adventure begins this afternoon as we depart Los Angeles on China Eastern Airlines, bound for Shanghai. SAT, APR 11 - SHANGHAI We arrive in Shanghai this evening and transfer to a nearby airport hotel. Shanghai Al Jin Hua Hotel SUN, APR 12 - SHANGHAI-LONGSHENG This morning we fly to Guilin, then drive to Longsheng to photograph one of China’s little known but most phenomenal landscapes -- the Longsheng Terraces of Guangxi. The spectacular rice terraces around the village of Ping An will be a highlight of the trip. In springtime the farmers plow the paddies and fill them with water, turning the patches of fields into sparkling mirrors, an irresistible attraction for photographers. En route, we visit a Red Yao village to see their way of life. People of the Yao ethnic minority are distinctive by their colorful national dress; Red Yao women favor red clothes, hence the name. Often the women have extremely long hair which is coiled up on top of their head. Li-An Lodge (BLD) MON, APR 13 - LONGSHENG Sitting on top of a mountain, bordering a local village and overlooking magnificent rice terraces, Li-An Lodge is built in the traditional Chinese architectural style yet offers western amenities. The lodge’s unique location has made it a favorite of photographers. Construction of the Longji (Dragon Spine) Terrace was begun in the Yuan Dynasty and completed in the early Qing Dynasty, a history of 650 years. The precipitous slopes of rolling mountains are sculpted with tightly packed terraces extending for hundreds of miles, presenting a different beauty in different seasons. Several trails from the lodge lead to scenic spots and local villages. The entire day is at leisure for you to explore and photograph on your own. Li-An Lodge (BLD) TUE, APR 14 - LONGSHENG-GUILIN Today we drive back to Guilin. Yangdi, southeast of Guilin City, is surrounded by erect green hills, with tiny cottages scattered amid lush farmland along the river. Seen from above, the landscape is especially spectacular with the ribbon of the Lijiang River flowing beside Yangdi. Daxu, one of four famous ancient towns in Guangxi Province, has a history spanning over a thousand years. Various historic buildings, mainly from the Ming and Qing dynasties, line the town’s mile-long stone street. The simple and elegant Longevity Bridge, built during the Ming dynasty, is located on the south side of town. Guilin Fubo Hotel (BL) WED, APR 15 - LI RIVER The area around Guilin owes its beauty to a geological process over time: the amazing karst formations were forced up from the limestone seabed more than 300 million years ago. Erosion then shaped the bizarre hills and globe-shaped peaks of the area and also left numerous subterranean caves in the eerie and fantastic rock formations. Chinese artists have immortalized their impression of this landscape in countless poems and paintings. Guilin and its surroundings are still mostly agriculture, but this is limited by the numerous mountains which pose a problem in the whole of Guangxi Province. The landscape is characterized by terraced rice paddies, water buffalo and bamboo groves, and peasants with turned-up trousers and cone-shaped straw hats. On the Li River are cormorant fishermen on narrow bamboo rafts, bathing children, small settlements, and women doing their washing. Today we cruise the river from Guilin to Yangshuo, then explore a bit of the surrounding area, specifically Fuli and the splendor of Gaotian. Paradise Hotel (BLD) THU, APR 16 - LI RIVER As one of the most charming places along the Li River, the water in the Huangbutan area is calm, wide, and smooth, making inverted images of Huangbutan clear and enthralling. It’s all the more poetic and picturesque with some fishing boats. Today we concentrate our photography in this area, walk Xingping’s Old Street, and visit a local fishing village. The highlight is late-afternoon and sunset photography of cormorant fishermen amid spectacular scenery. Xingping Hotel (BLD) FRI, APR 17 - XINGPING-GUILIN Sunrise photography this morning before driving to Baisha to experience its colorful market. Every year before spring plowing, paddy fields near Putao Township lie one after another like a huge piece of well-designed brocade against a background of a chain of mountains, as if waiting for eager photographers. We also make stops at Yulong Bridge and Huixian Bronze Bridge, the latter built in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), before continuing on to Guilin for overnight. Guilin Fubo Hotel (BL) SAT, APR 18 - KUNMING-JINGHONG This morning we fly to Kunming, with the remainder of the day at leisure. Kunming Hotel (BL) SUN, APR 19-TUE, APR 21 - XISHUANGBANNA Xishuangbanna, at the southernmost tip of Yunnan on the border of Burma and Laos, is noted for its exquisite scenery, but its 12 minority nationalities are the real highlight. The Dai are the most popular, recognizable by their long, flowing outfits and flowery headgear. Aini (Hani) ladies wear fancy headpieces of silver coins and feathers, Bulang women wear traditional black turbans and shirts, and the Ake can be identified by their white turbans and matching shirts. The area was opened to foreign tourism in 1985. This morning we fly to Jinghong, the capital of this region, which lies along the Lancang (Mekong) River. During our three days here we’ll take day excursions to villages and markets of the various Dai, Aini, Jinuo, and other minority groups. Dai Garden Hotel (BLD) WED, APR 22 - JINGHONG-DALI This morning we fly to Dali, capital of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture west of Kunming. Dali is the historic home of the Bai minority, one of Yunnan’s most numerous and prosperous ethnic groups. Guarded by ancient city walls, Dali nestles at the foot of Mt. Cangshan (over 13,000 feet) and slopes toward the pearly Erhai Lake. The remainder of the day is at leisure to explore the narrow streets of the old town on your own. Asia Star Hotel (BLD) THU, APR 23 - DALI Early this morning we visit the colorful market at nearby Xizhou village. Afterward, we return to Dali, where three elegant pagodas are reflected in the still waters of Dao Yang Park’s lake. Well-known landmarks of the region, they were once part of the greatest temple complex on the Dali plain. The Chongsheng Temple itself has long since disappeared and now only the towers remain. The tallest measures 230 feet and was constructed in the middle of the 9th century. The two smaller pagodas, each 135 feet high, were built 200 years later. Asia Star Hotel (BLD) FRI, APR 24 - DALI-LIJIANG We depart very early this morning for the Shaxi Valley and Sideng’s Friday market, one of Yunnan’s best. On this day, Yi and Bai minority peoples come down from their mountain villages dressed in their finest attire. The market serves as a meeting place for friends and family as well as a place to trade for goods hard to come by in the mountains. The animal market is one of its most interesting features. Shaxi was once a bustling trade station on the Tea and Horse Caravan Road, an important branch of the Silk Road. This ancient trade route connected Tibet and Eastern China. In exchange for teas from Yunnan, Tibetans traded their famous breed of horse to Song Dynasty officials in eastern China, who were defending their territory against invaders from the north. Though Tibet and China no longer trade along this route, Shaxi still has that border town feel. Old cobblestone alleyways look as they did a thousand years ago. The World Monuments Fund has listed it as one of the 100 most endangered sites in the world, therefore Shaxi has recently undergone massive efforts to preserve its ancient architecture and culture. After exploring Sideng old town, we continue on to Lijiang. Lijiang Jian Nan Chun Hotel (BLD) SAT, APR 25 - LIJIANG Lijiang is beautifully situated in a lush, fertile valley at the foot of Mt. Jade Dragon, enjoying a history of 2,000 years. It’s the center of the Naxi people, a small matriarchal tribe with a richly textured culture. Women in their traditional blue costumes and headdresses run the market and control the purse strings. Inheritance passes through the youngest daughter. Although men are by no means indolent, they were traditionally gardeners, child-rearers, and musicians. The morning is free to walk the narrow cobblestone streets beside the canals of the charming Old Town and wander in the ancient marketplace. This afternoon we visit Black Dragon Pool, with its gardens, pavilions, and exhibitions on the Naxi culture, then head into the countryside to explore villages where Naxi farmers still live as they have for generations. In Yuhu, wander amid traditional stone houses and peep into the friendly inhabitants’ courtyards. Baisha, once the capital of the Naxi kingdom, is now a good place to see the Naxi playing cards, drinking, tea, hauling produce. The last visit of the day is to Jade Summit Buddhist Temple (Yufengsi), high on a mountainside in the midst of pine woods, commanding a magnificent view over the valley. Lijiang Jian Nan Chun Hotel (BD) SUN, APR 26 - LIJIANG-SHANGRI LA The scenic drive north to Zhongdian takes three or four hours if one goes direct, but we’ll be making a few stops en route to explore small communities and photograph natural wonders. We pass farm country and fruit stands before reaching the first lookout terraces over the Yangtze River. At the First Bend of the Yangtze, as the river makes a sudden V-shaped turn before flowing eastward, lies Shigu, where today is market day. After lunch we visit nearby Tiger Leaping Gorge, so named because, according to local legend, a tiger fleeing from a hunter was able to leap across its narrowest point (which is 82 feet wide). The gorge, with a drop of nearly 10,000 feet, is believed to be one of the world’s deepest river canyons. We hike to Tiger Leaping Gorge for spectacular views over the torrential river, then continue onward and upward as we drive north to Shangri-la at 10,500 feet elevation. Songtsam Hotel (BLD) MON, APR 27 - SHANGRI-LA Zhongdian is known by other names as well -- Gyalthang by the local Tibetans, and Shangri-la, the official new name the tourist board uses. Whatever it’s called, it sits amid a stunning landscape of tranquil lakes framed by snowcapped mountains and valleys dotted with wildflowers and horses. The region’s three parallel rivers (the Mekong, Salween, and Yangtze) have made it a World Heritage Site. The city itself has a Wild West flavor -- yaks and black pigs wander through the streets at rush hour, and the car-free Old Town hasn’t yet been gussied up Lijiang-style. Within walking distance of our hotel is Songzanlin Monastery, Yunnan’s largest, with about 500 lamas living there. The vegetable market in New Town is the oldest, most engaging, and most photogenic of the three. Here you’ll see Khampa Tibetans in their traditional ethnic garb, as well as a few monks, buying everything from yak cheese to noodle soup to Tibetan black clay cookware. The renovated section of the Tibetan-style Old Town is lined with shops with trilingual signage (Tibetan, Chinese, and English). After lunch we drive along a dramatically winding highway as far as the town of Nixi to see artisans shaping clay into black pottery, just as they’ve done for centuries. This evening, after dinner, the locals dance in the illuminated market square, a tradition they follow each evening to knit the community together. Songtsam Hotel (BLD) TUE, APR 28 - SHANGRI-LA Sixty miles south of Zhongdian is Baishui Terrace, a spectacular karst terrain (reminiscent of Pamukkale in Turkey) formed by the sediment of calcium carbonate in the spring water. The terrace, covering an area of over a square mile, is one of the cradles of the Dongba culture of the Naxi ethnic group, which we can see at nearby Baidi village. We also visit Yi and Tibetan villages in the area before returning to Zhongdian. On the way back we stop at the tiny village of Ringha, set amid rolling meadows where medicinal herbs grow. It’s well worth the climb of several hundred steps to reach Five Wisdom Buddha Temple, a serene hilltop haven that’s a reflection of the local culture of people and animals living together in harmony. Songtsam Hotel (BLD) WED, APR 29 - SHANGRI-LA TO SHANGHAI This morning we fly to Shanghai via Kunming. The remainder of the day is at leisure to stroll along the Bund, with its graceful European buildings and stunning views across the river to the modern district of Pudong, or to shop along bustling Nanjing Road. Astor House Hotel (B) THU, APR 30 - SHANGHAI-LOS ANGELES The morning is at leisure for last-minute shopping, sightseeing, or packing. Our “Unusual China” adventure ends this afternoon as we board a flight to Los Angeles, arriving about noon of the same day. (B)
Note: Included meals are indicated by B, L, and D for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. |