The Great Sichuan Adventure: Day 3 - The Giant Panda Reserve/ Arrival at Mount Emei Base Camp

Pandas!

I was woken up by the call of a rooster on the farmland of the rural hotel I’d spent the night (classic) to a snowy, yet sunny morning! Today we would go to visit the pandas on top of the mountain! I was oddly rather excited, I’m not sure why, because i’d previously never really understood people’s love for pandas. I know it’s harsh, but I always viewed them as rather helpless animals due to their poor ability to breed and inefficient need for excessive sustenance. A hard Darwinian mindset would surely dictate that it's fate that they should become extinct – not saying I want them to die! I just didn’t see why we chose to interfere to such an extent compared with other endangered species, and that nature should be left to run its course (minus the horrendous poaching for sport which took place in the past) to see whether they had the evolutionary strength for survival. But the Giant Panda reserve had gained a lot of hype from people I’ve met who have visited, and voted the top attraction online for the entire Sichuan province – so I guess I was curious to see why, and to see an endangered species stirred my concerns for nature conservation.

By the end of the visit I gained a full understanding of why pandas are so popular, and I too am now a member of the fan club!

There’s just something about their mannerisms, almost human like in character which makes you empathise more for their endangering situation. The older ones were always spotted lying against a wall in the most undignified pose in front of crowds, picking branches from a pile stacked in front of them and constantly stuffing their faces. They displayed the personality of the most relaxed person you could imagine – maybe with a hint of a flabby slob, but a lovable one at that.

All the photos appear to make them look like passionate karaoke singers...

The baby pandas were especially adorable – rolling around on their backs, inspecting foreign object almost like human toddlers. You can see something in their eye which somehow on some level triggers an emotional response to suddenly desire to lunge over the fence and give them a big cuddle, telling them ‘it’s ok, I will save you! Everything is gonna be fine ‘n’ dandy from here on’.

They’re also such peculiar and bizarre works of nature by their appearance; they look almost as if they should be the product of a domesticated animal, like a cat or a dog. I mean, can you imagine seeing one in the wild? That you could be plodding through the monotonous greenery of the forest for a huge furry black and white thing to come down from a tree? Hopefully I’ll revisit Sichuan in a few months to Jiuzhaigou national park where pandas have been spotted in the while in the past – and although it’s a long shot –I hope I can see one in its natural habitat!

Arriving at the base of Mount Emei

Later that day we left for a 3 hour coach journey to Emei city at the base of Mount Emei. Somehow, we managed to bag ourselves a really pleasant hotel originally worth 400 kuai (40 pounds) per night for 60 (6 pounds)! The city itself was very delightful, like no other city I’d visited in China – it was relaxed and slow paced! I love Guangzhou, but man, I can give a long list of stress-related symptoms in terms of the hectic environment. Here though the people on the streets were sparse and looked alert, more relaxed, and they smiled! The environment at night was especially grand with traditional architecture, housing cosy restaurants giving off the most pleasant smells of spices. As we had only one night here we went to the classiest looking of all, which sat beside a river which reflected the glistening lights of the surrounding traditional Chinese tea houses – this was the China I came for! 

After filling up on a luxurious local fried rice dish I returned to my shiny hotel for my most comfortable night in ages, preparing my body for the bone- obliterating climb which lay ahead.

Everyone was wearing these hats in Sichuan, I just had to get Yinzi one...

Zai'jian!

The Great Sichuan Adventure: Day 1 and 2 – Mount Qingcheng/ My 22nd Birthday!

I’m back in Guangzhou after a week venturing through the mountainous province of Sichuan! It’s pretty hard to sum up really – needless to say it was bloody awesome, but that’s too simplistic. I also want to avoid cliché lines such as ‘a trip of a lifetime’ or ‘a mind broadening journey’ etc, it’s just hard to describe. It’s like when I return to England and i’m destined to answer people asking ‘how was China’, all I imagine I’ll say is ‘it was great, cheers’ and no image is presented. What I can say though is on many occasions throughout the week (and indeed my whole time in China) my mind paused in the stream for a moment thinking ‘woah, look at this Adam. Did you ever think you’d be in a place like this? Did you ever think you’d actually be doing this in your life?’ 

Thus far I’ve climbed 3 mountains, slept in many temples, visited cities where people have treated me like a celebrity, seen poverty and wealth beyond what I’ve seen back home and experienced every weather condition conceivable. That’s the one thing that has followed me throughout my travels, mostly when struck with something absolutely amazingly beautiful, bizarre or unique, and occasionally with something rather terrifying… 

That generally describes my trip around Sichuan, seasoned with a lot of ‘phwoar! Look at that view!’, ‘ahhh! This chicken is so spicy!’ and ‘Watch out, that monkey’s stealing your stuff!’

Day 1 - Mount Qingcheng

The trip began at 5am on 11^th January where I had to force myself out of bed, quickly pack my things and exchange emotional goodbyes with Yinzi before hopping into a taxi with Kexiong to the airport. Just before landing in Chengdu airport while the plane was still above the clouds I could see a snow-capped mountain peak in the distance – it turned out this was mount Emei, which I would be climbing a few days later! As soon as we landed we went straight onto a coach (by that I mean we waited 2 hours for a coach) to Qingcheng mountain.

Mount qingcheng is of great importance as a centre of the Taoist religion, which I’ve always been interested in.. At the base of the mountain were hundreds of tourists, but luckily, as we climbed higher the people began to dissipate and for the first time in ages I found myself in natural surroundings, with nobody in sight.

We met many temples on the way with fantastic golden shrines inside, overlooking vast misty views of the 36 peaks of the mountain. In one temple we met a Taoist monk who was predicting a man’s fortune. 

Apparently, a Taoist monk can tell a lot about a person’s fate just by glancing at the person’s facial features. Sceptical of course, I decided to get in line to hear my ‘future’. Although I believe in destiny, I certainly don’t believe anyone can read it. When it came to my turn the monk turned to me with a deep look of shock – I assumed it was because I was a westerner, as I’ve gotten pretty used to that sort of look by now – but then he hastily said to Kexiong that it was now his dinner break, and he had to leave. I didn’t think anything of it, until kexiong explained ‘when something like this happens, it usually means it is best that you don’t know your fate’. I instantly saw this as a sign that something terrible was soon to happen, I was truly convinced for a while after that my face emitted certain death. ..

It took a total of around 9 hours to get to the top temple where we spent the night – for only 4 pounds!

The room was quite basic and extremely cold, but with free hot water and a tv I fell asleep easily. It was cosy and a great night, as long as I continue to pretend the shared toilets didn’t exist…

Day 2 - 12^th January, a.k.a.  My Birthday!

It was dark when we reached the temple, so it came as a shock to awake to amazing views from the temple terrace in the morning. We hadn’t quite made it to the top, so we packed our things and headed to the highest peak of the mountain where we were greeted with the most amazing atmosphere. The air was cool and scented with incense from the pagoda, overlooking the clearest and most intricate scenery I had ever seen. It was a great way to spend the morning, especially for preparation for what lay ahead…

Once we descended down the mountain we had a long journey ahead to get to the city of Ya’an, where the pandas were. This took much longer than anticipated, meaning we had to reschedule panda time for the next day. In total it must have been about 5 or 6 hours on the coaches in total, where we made exchanges in small and secluded towns which had little contact with outsiders – especially foreigners. This met with different results, the first town I walked out the station to be greeted by a flock of middle-aged taxi drivers. I was rather concerned at first, until one of them suddenly said ‘hi!’ with the biggest grin. Then all began saying hi (presumably being the only English they knew) and began asking in Chinese where I was from, where I was going etc. I had many requests to have photos taken with people in that station, almost like I was famous. It felt pretty weird being the centre of attention even more so than I was in Guangzhou, but it was friendly, so I didn’t mind and even more so enjoyed engaging with the people rather than receiving blank stares. The next town however, was different.

 It was dark by now - and raining - when we walked out of the station pondering where to go and how the hell to get there. Kexiong left momentarily and as he did, a large circle of men began to form around me. No smiles or greetings were exchanged this time, they just began to shout and get closer and closer to me – it was rather terrifying - which sounds over the top, but I guess 'you had to be there' etc etc. We then had to walk out into a chaotic street with cars wizzing too close for comfort until we hopped onto a very dilapidated looking rickshaw. Suddenly it felt like I’d been kidnapped in the boot of a car with no sight of where I was going, just the sound of cars beeping and people shouting. I suddenly felt like a freak, using the flapping curtain for cover hoping people passing by wouldn’t see me in case they stared in shock or began shouting. I know this couln't be a town made especially for terrible people, i'm sure all the people meant well; but I couldn't help but feel that I was viewed as a public enemy or a big pound sign...

(Photos taken while on the rickshaw the morning after)

Eventually however, we made it up into the mountains where we spent the night. The place was fantastic. It began to snow as the hotel manager picked us up in the car and took us further up. We were greeted with a large hot meal served by two adorable children, one of whom was only about 2 and kept giving me more and more bowls as to imitate his older sister. The room was warm and cosy, and had a huge tv – and a shower! How I missed having a shower. The family more importantly were very warm towards us, making me feel more like a welcomed guest rather than a lone foreigner out of place. It meant I eventually managed to calm down and stop shivering (from cold and fear), look ahead to seeing the pandas and remind myself that it was my birthday, and that I’m now 22! Yay! 

 My next post for day 3 of my trip will be about pandas, and arriving at the base of mount emei!

Zai'jian!