The Great Sichuan Adventure: Conclusion – Leshan Giant Buddha and Chengdu City!

The Big ole Buddha of Leshan!

Once we arrived in Leshan city after a 4 hour coach down Mount Emei, we were met with clear skies and intense sun – it suddenly felt like a lifetime ago since we were on top of a snow peaked mountain! We were quite lucky to arrive at the Giant Buddha as despite it being a world heritage site it was insanely difficult to get to! A 2 hour coach, then a taxi, then 2 buses, then walking and climbing! Eventually we arrived just as the sun was setting, which happened to be a perfect time to see it.

There was something strangely comforting about this 233 foot Buddha looking out onto the calm river waters, with the distant cacophony of Leshan city and Mount Emei still visible on the horizon.

What sets the Buddha out from most ancient relics is that it’s had little to no cosmetic work done to it since the time it was constructed 1300 years ago, and yet the paint and a lot of the finer details still remain. It was originally constructed to calm the waters of the two converging rivers below for boats, and it seems to have worked - the waters are so still that spits and small islands have formed.

Apparently the Giant Buddha was spotted shedding a tear at the time of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, which is still visible! It may just be caused by rain or erosion, but the idea of my new big Buddha buddy tearing up was rather upsetting!

It was a great pleasure to pay the Buddha a visit, but unfortunately I and Kexiong had 2 buses to catch to get to Chengdu city! So we had to leave swiftly, we said our goodbyes leaving our new friend chilling in front of the setting sun.

A night in Chengdu City!

We arrived at 9pm in Chengdu city, and I fell for the city straight away. Up until now I had only seen two extremes in China – Humongous mutant cities like Guangzhou and tiny, undeveloped villages. Chengdu felt like a well-balanced, fully functioning city – and the people were very pleasant! As soon as I got off the coach I had at least 10 people say hello to me with a big ole smile!

We had planned on exploring the city for a while, but the hotel was far from where we were dropped and we wouldn’t get there until 11pm.

The hotel was one of those cool pod hotels! I’d only heard about them being in Japan, but it seems China has them too! It felt like spending a night in the set of the film ‘2001: A space odyssey’ which thrilled my inner child – it was surprisingly comfortable too, only £5.50 a night!

The next day we explored the city, where I came across quite a few people shocked to see me. Being such a quintessential Chinese tourist city I thought the people there would be more used to foreign folk than the other places I’d been in Sichuan – but quite the opposite. As soon as I walked out of my hotel I passed a large group of about 20 secondary school girls - who all suddenly stopped in the streets in front of me, gasped a while, began pointing and screaming with joy (I assume). Throughout the day i‘d been stopped by at least 8 different groups of people asking for photos with me – which was a bit strange, but nice! I kind of wished I asked for photos with them as well as many were very pleasant folk who were pleased to see me, which was uplifting compared to the many scary chaps I encountered in many other cities…

The most oriental looking Starbucks ever, fitting seamlessly into it's surroundings...

Unfortunately I only had 6 hours to explore Chengdu the next day which meant for such a richly cultured city, much had to be left out of the schedule. But where we did go was Jinli Ancient streets, which I think epitomised the history of the city! The place was packed with life, ancient architecture, narrow streets and traditional crafts – and Lanterns! - It kind of felt like the Chinese equivalent of Camden!

Here I decided was the place to get my parents a gift, which I wanted to be something personal and decorative - So we met this guy who does translations into Chinese calligraphy! He painted the symbols for ‘xing’ (Star) and ‘Yao’ (key), along with a personalised poem based on the surname! I need to get a translation from a Chinese chum at some point, but I was informed at the time that it’s something along the lines of having the key to the stars of the future, something along those lines – times like that I realise that my surname is awesome, I’m sure the guy found it much easier to write something symbolic for ‘starkey’ than other foreigners surnames he did that day.

We had a brief viewing at the Sichuan Opera which was rather swanky. Three acts performed, including some karate pouring tea guy, a woman who did other tea related tricks, and the final guy wearing a disguise doing tricks with a fan which made his mask change.  It felt like being back in the Ming dynasty, with the addition of trance music, strobe lights and audience’s iphones.

However my time in Chengdu was coming to a close, and I hadn’t been blown away by spices! Sichuan is famous for its very spicy cuisine, and despite not being very tolerant of hot dishes I felt it was part of the cultural experience to have a taste. Sure, I cried quite a bit, but I think I took it pretty well! I even enjoyed it, a lot! So I bought more, and more, and more…

But the time finally came and I had to take the bus to the airport, before having one last photo request from some Tibetan folk. So I said my goodbyes to Kexiong and took the final stretch of the journey by myself.

On the coach ride I looked back on the trip as a whole – I’d climbed two mountains through baking sun and slippery snow, seen two World Heritage Sites, slept in Taoist and Buddhist temples and did a whole load of coach travelling! I finally left the borders of Guangzhou and truly began to explore mainland China, getting to grips with the sheer scale and array of lifestyles of the country.

As they always say – ‘travelling broadens the mind’, and once I returned to Guangzhou I felt a surge of energy and enlightenment which I hadn’t felt before I left. Sure I was glad to be back in bed after such a tiring week, but if I was offered another trip the next morning I would have snapped it up without a seconds thought. It was unquestionably marvellous. No other way to explain it – and best of all there’s more travelling to come in the near future! In just 2 days I’ll be going with Yinzi to her hometown Jiujiang for the Spring Festival! Where I’ll become accustomed to her many relatives, many of whom don’t speak English – so it will be quite the experience!

Along with plans in April to go to Beijing, Xi’an, Jiuzhaigou and Shanghai there’s plenty more to look forward to in the coming months. So for now I’m perfectly content to chill here in Guangzhou and settle into my new apartment – now decorated with an array of smashing souvenirs from my time in Sichuan! Along with other souvenirs and my antique-looking world map displaying more corners of the world explored, my room is beginning to appear like how I’d imagine Indiana Jones’ room would look –with the addition of a couple of cuddly pandas and a Christmas tree.

A special thank you to my good chum Kexiong for assisting in planning this incredibly intricately calculated trip – I couldn’t have done it without you! It truly was a week to remember, and I look forward to seeing you again in April for more adventures! - Sorry about the monkey ambushes...

Happy (Chinese) New Year!

The Great Sichuan Adventure: The 3 day Climb up Mount Emei

Day 1 - Basecamp

Adventure ahoy! The next morning we ate a large energy-rich breakfast, packed all our possessions and strapped on our hiking boots to begin our arduous walk to the bus stop. This however only took us 1/100^th of the way to the ticket office. We were given a fantastic map of the mountain, which throughout the journey heightened the childish sense of being on a grand adventure – on account of the markings of adorable monkey faces dotted along the trails, signifying that we were entering a ‘DANGER ZONE!’

I did my research before this trip, and all anyone seemed to say was ‘pack lots of socks, take it steady on the ice, WATCH OUT FOR VIOLENT MONKEYS’. Apparently they are ‘highly skilled’ at thieving, and even had the ability to overpower you. But the internet is full of moaners, so I was excited the first day as we set off along the monkey conservation trail at the base of the mountain, constantly on the lookout for any sight of an adorable lil monkey face – this quickly changed.

These monkeys were terrifying. As we began along the trail, large red signs everywhere saying ‘do not irritate the monkeys’ and ‘no food, no loud noises, no unzipping of bags’. There was even a small doctor’s room providing rabies vaccination in case people got bitten – with a queue of at least 8 people.

But the only thing between us and them now was the rickety bridge.

A single step and a monkey plunged from a tree in front of us, leaving just enough room for me to sneak past while keeping an eye on him – Kexiong however was not so lucky, as a scream soon signalled me to look back and see two monkeys clinging onto his bag and neck. Luckily, old crazy lady with stick came to the rescue…this time…

Two minutes ahead I too was pounced on 3 times, but managed to get away unharmed – Kexiong however was not so lucky (again). As he walked ahead I spotted a monkey skipping along towards him – and before I could even say ‘Wooah, watch out!’ (I think I got about as far as ‘W..’) the monkey leaped on his back, unzipped his back pocket and took out all of his food and scampered into the nearest tree.

I managed to get a photo of his banquette of swiss rolls (with a banana filling! ho ho ho!)

By this time we were on edge, but we had to man up to make it to our final location for the night and sleep. We met 3 folk along the way who were screaming and running in all directions, with which we established an anti-monkey alliance – forming a single-file formation of walking sideways as far from the monkeys as possible, waving our bamboo walking sticks to fend them off. This worked pretty well, and we made it back to our hostel without the need for a rabies jab.

The place we stayed was a small farmhouse with a family who rented out the occasional room. They cooked dinner for us while we watched the sunset through the mountains.

Unfortunately, that night for reasons unknown the village had no power supply – no heating, no light, and no tv! In the distance was a farmhouse with a bloody huge fire and lots of people, so we went out to get to it; only to find we were crossing a bridge which was not fully constructed, and had it not been for Kexiong spotting the sign using the remaining power on his phone for light it could have ended quite badly…But wearing all the clothes I owned, I managed to sleep.

Day 2 – The day I became....a man

The next morning we packed out things once more and looked at the map – we were 1/10^th up the mountain, and it seemed the hotel we should stay at near the mountain peak would be at least 8 hours hiking away. Mission ahoy!

Half an hour after having set off we were sapped of all our energy by the relentless steps. They tricked us, going for about 50 steps a time and appearing to end on some form of plateau – but once you get there, you turn 90 degrees and see a staircase twice as long as before. But as the time went on it got better, I guess earlier we sort of ‘hit the wall’ and once you push on from that point your body adapts;  I even began tried focusing on my breathing which appeared to turn me into a super human (so it felt). Yeup, it seemed like the impossible task was not such a flawed mission after all.

I can’t remember when it happened exactly, but I recall seeing a little patch of snow on a tree and then finding myself climbing a 50 degree angled ice slope – once steps, but snow had gathered within the gaps thus impeding on their effective use. Suddenly the mountains were set back in the thick cloud beyond sight, now the landscape was caked in treacherous and visually-impairing whiteness. Luckily I’d purchased some metal grips to attach to my shoes – Kexiong however (once more) was not so lucky. It seemed the monkeys had stolen one of his grips, leaving him falling with every pace and climbing on all fours. Being the great friend and overall human being that I am, I steamed ahead to find a place for food.

After 20 minutes I reached a temple – but it was empty. The front door was open with a snacks bar inside; there was (unlit) incense and even a golden shrine with mats set up for worship, but no people in sight. I walked around the entire place through the hostel rooms, toilets, kitchens etc. but I was completely alone. This got creepy fast, but also really cool considering the epic atmosphere outside and the roll play I could make in my head that this was my mountain home.

Kexiong eventually arrived from the mist, grunting and moaning as he proceeded to slip with every step. From here it didn’t get any easier as the next portion of the trail was downhill, and assuming steps still existed under the blanket of snow choosing the ‘sliding down on your arse’ option didn’t bode well. We finally saw signs of life! We met a couple on our way that we had passed earlier on a few occasions – I remember they were singing sickening romance ballads with each other at the top of their lungs which disrupted the silent atmosphere. However by now they too were focused on not falling, so we formed a team to aid each other down the slopes and I found them to be very pleasant people.

I forgot to mention that we asked hundreds of locals at the base of the mountain for the correct directions and how long it was likely to take. This varied with every person but it gave us a mean of about 6 hours in total. After 4 hours walking we met a man who we asked, hoping for a response to raise our spirits and put our last energy reserves to good use – he informed us it would take 7 hours….For the next hour or so nobody spoke, we just felt sorry for ourselves while slowly plodding up the steps.

 My super human powers from before seized to function and I began to get a bit frustrated, until 2 things raised my spirits. The first was a family we encountered, one of whom was an old man carrying 2 children on his back – ‘what a dude’ I thought, and I gave myself a mental slap on the hand and cheered up! The next moment was the icing when we approached another abandoned temple. What should make the journey more perilous? We had snow, heights, altitude sickness, what else? Ah, this temple had been taken over and occupied by monkeys – but not the tourist fed monkeys, but starved and freezing monkeys. By this time they didn’t really faze me anymore, I just chuckled at the situation. Chuckles changed to chortles when Kexiong unknowingly unzipped his bag for a snack when a monkey began its. This time however Kexiong was not in the mood, and for the first time I saw him go ape (no pun blah blah) and hastily swing his bamboo cane at the monkey which sprinted into the bushes. I kept my ‘oh poor guy’ face for a second, but then unleashed my joy. All that could have made it better was if he bellowed ‘Take your stinkin’ paws off me you damn dirty ape!’

Darkness was setting in, below zero temperatures gripped our chests and vicious mammals assembled within the shadows (I’m just trying to build some suspense). This was a great time to arrive at our hotel! It was warm, cosy, and after a while the singing couple from earlier – who had somehow got lost behind without us realising – appeared in the room next to us! We were near the top, but we had to set our alarms for 5am to climb to the summit in order to view the sunrise above the clouds! I recall laying in the bed for a second watching Tom and Jerry, and then I guess I must have died for a few hours.

Day 3 – Reaching the Golden Summit

I somehow managed to use my excitement as fuel to get out of my toasty bed and begin climbing by 5am. The snow had turned to ice but with our lights we managed to get to the summit for 7am, in time for the sunrise Mount Emei was famed for.

Apologies for using such an exhausted word to describe, but I really can’t think of any more fitting – the views were epic. Ok, maybe I could say ‘mind-blowing’, ‘stunning’, ‘breath-taking’ – but they’re just the same. Sometimes nature packs a blow to the emotions which leaves our language hopelessly ineffective at describing. I guess the photos are pretty spectacular, but there’s still an unfathomable quality of the clouds hovering and swirling above staggeringly tall peaks of rock which doesn’t quite get captured.

Mount Emei is amazing - and as someone who is hard to impress and yet still reasonably decent at expressing myself to be so blown away, I can completely see why Buddhists consider this mountain to be a place of enlightenment. I’m glad it’s been made a UNESCO World Heritage Site, hopefully preserving its qualities against the increasing strain for development in the region.

To conclude: the aching legs from climbing, the aching arse from the hours of travel, and all the mishaps and inconveniences along the way - were all without a doubt worth it.

Next we travelled back down the mountain via cable car and bus to head towards the city of Leshan to visit the Leshan Giant Buddha – another UNESCO World Heritage Site! From there we would go to Chengdu in the evening for the final stop of the journey – which i'll save for the next post to prevent this one becoming an autobiography.


Zai’jian!