Final months in China - Sichuan Province

Chengdu is one of my favourite places that I’ve visited in China.  It’s hard to explain why as it’s primarily a big city but it’s somewhere I could see myself living if I ever returned to live in China (and not only due to the pandas!).

colourful lake

The main reason I returned to Chengdu (having been there last November) was to travel to the Juizhaiguo national park.  This is also known as the park of colourful lakes as due to the various minerals in the ground the water changes colour.  This is best seen in the autumn, along with the changing colours of the leaves on the trees, but I wanted to visit it anyway, even if it was in summer.  

I wasn't the only one there....

too many people sat down?

we followed this river most of the way up

The journey there was 10 hours on a bus through rural mountain paths.  This is the area that had been hit by a large earthquake a few years ago (2008) and you can still see some signs of this (like a ‘Broken Bridge’ crossing the river).

stunning scenery

In Juizhaiguo I actually stayed in a neighbouring village.  This had a strong Tibetan influence, as can be see from the pictures.

Tibetan house

local boys

Tibetan decor on the doors, and prayer wheels inside.

Chengdu market the end of my time in Southwest China and from there I flew east to Shanghai and modern China.

Final month in China - Yunnan Province

Once I finished my work at EF in Nanning I packed up my bags and got on a train.  2 days later I was in Lijiang, in Yunan province in Western China.  My destination was actually Shuhe, just outside Lijiang.  Both of these places are very touristy, with cobbled streets and horse-drawn karts.

Lijiang

Liiang is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and, if you can look beyond the hordes of tourists (Chinese), it is quite pretty.  I spent the day there, but most of my time in Shuhe which is similar but smaller.

Shuhe

souvenirs

When I arrived at my hostel I was met by one of the owners, who was Dutch.  I always meet Dutch people when I travel!!  He and his Chinese partner run the guest house I stayed in.  She is a great cook and residents and non-residents alike enjoy the meals here, and especially the cakes.

ladies in traditional Naxi dress dancing in Lijiang

I also met an Israeli man who lives in Amsterdam, more Dutch travellers, a British-Iranian girl and a Malaysian man.  I love this part of travelling!

playing zheng instrument in Shuhe

My next stop was Shangrila.  James Hilton wrote a book called Lost Horizons and this is allegedly set in Shangrila.  Certainly this is what the Chinese government is promoting and there is a heavy tourism push along those lines.  In fact, when I was there they were still working on building the ‘old’ town. 

Shangrila

Local ladies

That aside, Shangrila was very relaxing and reminded me a little of a ski resort in summer.  There were plenty of yaks there a (and I drank yak milk and ate a yak burger).

yak

There’s a monastery there, which is similar to the big one in Lhasa, Tibet.  I had wanted to visit Lhasa but about a month ago the Chinese changed the rules to get the permit to enter Tibet and so I was no longer able to do so.

Songanlin Monastery

The area around Shangrila is inhabited by a variety of ethnic groups, of which the Tibetans form a large part.  The décor and items sold were heavily influenced by Tibet.

After a few days there, and a visit to the monastery in the rain, I returned to Shuhe and from there onto Chengdu.  

Chinese tour group climbing up to the monastery in the rain