From the 'Countryside' to the cities
We headed out of Litang which was our last stage in what is so to speak the Wild West of China- although it wasn't the end of cowboy hats, the hoicking decreased slightly and we got buses with air conditioning and real roads.
One thing about China that is striking is the lengths that the government will go to avoid bends in any form of transport. We went over 100m flyovers through fields, 15km tunnels on an almost nocturnal level. Where there are mountains there are tunnels. It made for a pleasant change. Mountains are beautiful no doubt but a 5 hour shortcut on 20 hours will always win. Always.
Chengdu
After finally arriving in China's 4th largest city we realised at last how busy China is during tourist months. Refused from every hostel we ended up in a disgustingly nice hotel. It was like going 5* and it cost 16 pounds a night. When one thinks of Chinese cities pollution is one thing that comes to mind. After Communism Chengdu seemed to me no different, if i even say it, more capitalist that the UK. (lets hope that the Chinese govt. aren't reading this one). And after weeks of Tibetan food it was nice to be in a place that didn't involve bread or mutton. Sichuan is notorious for serving up some of the spiciest food in the world. The Chinese say it helps them stay cold because it makes them sweat so much. We made sure of "Boo La" before every meal as "no spice" to them is still enough for an dairy-based English mouth. The hot-pots were amazing and the noodle soup was the best we'd had since Ho Chi Minh. It is not surprising that the Chinese food served in England is nothing whatsoever like anything we have had here. The flavours do go beyond sweet-and-sour, msg and oil. I can tell we are going to be Chinese food snobs when we return home.
We hung around the peaceful clean city for a few days, stocking up on cheap clothes and good hearty food. Although we did nothing much of merit until we returned from Emei Shan the city does deserve a mention. It's a city worth living in (unlike Lanzhou, but that will be come to) the vibe is of a modern China but not of vanity and Cartier watches so much but of a pleasant middle class eager to establish itself in the communist society. It's great.
Emei Shan
Emei Shan is a Buddhist holy which unfortunately means the crowds are relentless. Luckily the weather was awful and the mountain was shrowded in mist. It meant that a 300 yuan journey to the top was pointless, but it did allow us to venture to less seen temples hugging the base of the mountain. In the middle of the forest the idyllic Chinese temple appeared. It was impressive in it's meekness. It was not the main attraction of the mountain. We only found it by chance on a walk, and it's scale and dominance hidden by the trees was something of a novelty. Other popular attractions in China have the habit of turning a bit disneyland- something about world heritage sites, once they become "world heritage" the latter word becomes something of a lie. Rocks aren't heritage if they're hollow. But this place oozed unchanged Chinese Culture. It was a school for young Buddhist monks of both sexes, (women monks in Southeast Asian countries is strictly not allowed), and it couldn't of chosen a more peaceful situation. Our trip to Emei Shan unfortunately due to the weather was cut short. It was a satisfying journey away from Chengdu but we wanted to see the Pandas so we headed back to our luxurious hotel.
The Pandas
are almost worth a visit to Chengdu. Giant Pandas aren't great survivors by nature let alone poachers so the numbers have dwindled to just small areas of Sichuan. They were magnificent though very docile animals.
North
We spent maybe too long in Chengdu doing nothing. But it wasn't unpleasant. In fact we both missed the city after we had left it and headed north on a train bound for Lanzhou.
Lanzhou is possibly the only place i have been so far which i have disdain for. It is in plain words a decrepit, seedy, harsh, unfriendly, and dusty city. But we had to stay a night. This night itself i saw a drunk man throw up before his 'escort' and she naturally followed suit immediately outside a hotel i was enquiring at.
Too tired to write. we had to spend the night in an internet cafe to avoid sleeping on the street. this cavern is killing me.
