Hey everyone!
This past week in China has been quite a whirl wind and an entirely different experience than my first week or so here! After Dunhuang, we flew to the very edge of the Tibetan Plateau to Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan Province, China. Jiuzhaigou is a small town in the middle of rural Sichuan. It is most well known for its dominant Tibetan Buddhist population (70 percent of the total); the devastating 2008 earthquake that destroyed much of the town and surrounding villages in the area; and finally, the most stunning, immense, and extreme ecological exploration and exhibit that I have ever seen in the world.
Upon arriving in Jiuzhaigou, I was astounded and inspired by the spirit and life of the area's most prominent religion and daily practice - Tibetan Buddhism. As we drove from the airport, Buddhist prayer flags surrounded us. They colored and and ornamented the surrounding hillsides and scattered villages. The colors of the prayer flags consist of red, blue, green, yellow, and white - red representing the spirit of the sun, blue the spirit of the sky, green the spirit of the earth, yellow the spirit of harvest, and white the spirit of the clouds. While many Buddhist traditions are foreign to us all and to our western ethical system, many of its legends and teachings are lessons the world should remember and incorporate every day. First and foremost the importance of a good spirit, happiness, and unconditional commitments of love and devotion. I was lucky enough to watch a beautiful Tibetan performance illustrating such practices on the night of our arrival.
While driving to our hotel, we stopped at one of the nine Tibetan villages in the area that was destroyed in the 2008 earthquake. Its always interesting to recognize the ignorance of horrific events like the earthquak simply due to distance. This village was beautiful- it is set in the mountains of Sichuan. Its residents left their homes during the earthquake due to the collapse of the homes' interior walls, however the exterior structures still remain. See the last photo attached.
The main reason for our trip to Jiuzhaigou was to hike the Jiuzhaigou Valley. The Jiuzhaigou Valley is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I have hiked the Blue Ridge, the Grand Canyon, the Appalachian and have scene many foreign ecological environments but nothing compares to the escalating mountain sides, the snow capped silhouettes, the plant and animal biodiversity, and the 114 pristine, tourqouise lakes. The Jiuzhaigou Valley underwent four glacial epochs which due to scouring and erosion resulted in glacial remains, including the snow-capped mountains and beautiful lakes and waterfalls. We hiked the valley for a solid day but by the end of it all, I didn't want to leave. It was a day of amazement and fun. (My friend Virginia and I even rocked some Tibetan garb on our way to the far side of the valley... see photo attached).
Jiuzhaigou was beautiful, I sure hope to visit their again soon.
After a day's travel by plane, we arrived in Chengdu in the Sichuan province of China. Before being introduced to this developing city, I had only known of Chengdu as a delicious Chinese restaurant in Westboro, Mass. It is actually known to have the most delicious and spicy food in China... and let me tell you it was spicy.
While in Chengdu I FULFILLED MY LIFE DREAM OF HOLDING A PANDA at Ya'an Bi Feng Xia Panda Research Base. They are the funniest and most human like animals ever. Glad to check that off the bucket list.
During our time in Chengdu, we spent one night in a quaint rural village named Pingle. If I were going to recommend a quiet, beautiful stay anywhere in China, it would be here. Its intimate streets, side street dining, winding river, and picturesque hostels and inns were relaxing and refreshing (especially needed at the mid point of my busy time in China).
I felt at home as I watched families explore the river and its creature-filled tide pools with pales and shovels. I was sad to only stay for one night but back to Chengdu we went!
During our last night in Chengdu, we went to see the Chengdu Opera. The Chengdu Opera is fascinating; although I could only translate a few words of Chinese, the acting, the humor, and the.costumes were more than communicable. Bian Lian (literally meaning mask changing) is a distinct form of costume art in which the actor changes his mask multiple times in a magical, rapid succession. During the early 20th century, mask changing first included using a special colored powder that would be applied to the performers' faces. However, now it includes quickly shifting the mask under a hat or garment. The mask can be changed eight times per second. Bian Lian is an art skill that is still acknowledged by the government as a national secret. As you can imagine, it was quite entertaining.
My plane to Shanghai is about to take off. We will be there for about three days. Time to get ready for our next adventure!
Love
Allie
This past week in China has been quite a whirl wind and an entirely different experience than my first week or so here! After Dunhuang, we flew to the very edge of the Tibetan Plateau to Jiuzhaigou, Sichuan Province, China. Jiuzhaigou is a small town in the middle of rural Sichuan. It is most well known for its dominant Tibetan Buddhist population (70 percent of the total); the devastating 2008 earthquake that destroyed much of the town and surrounding villages in the area; and finally, the most stunning, immense, and extreme ecological exploration and exhibit that I have ever seen in the world.
Upon arriving in Jiuzhaigou, I was astounded and inspired by the spirit and life of the area's most prominent religion and daily practice - Tibetan Buddhism. As we drove from the airport, Buddhist prayer flags surrounded us. They colored and and ornamented the surrounding hillsides and scattered villages. The colors of the prayer flags consist of red, blue, green, yellow, and white - red representing the spirit of the sun, blue the spirit of the sky, green the spirit of the earth, yellow the spirit of harvest, and white the spirit of the clouds. While many Buddhist traditions are foreign to us all and to our western ethical system, many of its legends and teachings are lessons the world should remember and incorporate every day. First and foremost the importance of a good spirit, happiness, and unconditional commitments of love and devotion. I was lucky enough to watch a beautiful Tibetan performance illustrating such practices on the night of our arrival.
While driving to our hotel, we stopped at one of the nine Tibetan villages in the area that was destroyed in the 2008 earthquake. Its always interesting to recognize the ignorance of horrific events like the earthquak simply due to distance. This village was beautiful- it is set in the mountains of Sichuan. Its residents left their homes during the earthquake due to the collapse of the homes' interior walls, however the exterior structures still remain. See the last photo attached.
The main reason for our trip to Jiuzhaigou was to hike the Jiuzhaigou Valley. The Jiuzhaigou Valley is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. I have hiked the Blue Ridge, the Grand Canyon, the Appalachian and have scene many foreign ecological environments but nothing compares to the escalating mountain sides, the snow capped silhouettes, the plant and animal biodiversity, and the 114 pristine, tourqouise lakes. The Jiuzhaigou Valley underwent four glacial epochs which due to scouring and erosion resulted in glacial remains, including the snow-capped mountains and beautiful lakes and waterfalls. We hiked the valley for a solid day but by the end of it all, I didn't want to leave. It was a day of amazement and fun. (My friend Virginia and I even rocked some Tibetan garb on our way to the far side of the valley... see photo attached).
Jiuzhaigou was beautiful, I sure hope to visit their again soon.
After a day's travel by plane, we arrived in Chengdu in the Sichuan province of China. Before being introduced to this developing city, I had only known of Chengdu as a delicious Chinese restaurant in Westboro, Mass. It is actually known to have the most delicious and spicy food in China... and let me tell you it was spicy.
While in Chengdu I FULFILLED MY LIFE DREAM OF HOLDING A PANDA at Ya'an Bi Feng Xia Panda Research Base. They are the funniest and most human like animals ever. Glad to check that off the bucket list.
During our time in Chengdu, we spent one night in a quaint rural village named Pingle. If I were going to recommend a quiet, beautiful stay anywhere in China, it would be here. Its intimate streets, side street dining, winding river, and picturesque hostels and inns were relaxing and refreshing (especially needed at the mid point of my busy time in China).
I felt at home as I watched families explore the river and its creature-filled tide pools with pales and shovels. I was sad to only stay for one night but back to Chengdu we went!
During our last night in Chengdu, we went to see the Chengdu Opera. The Chengdu Opera is fascinating; although I could only translate a few words of Chinese, the acting, the humor, and the.costumes were more than communicable. Bian Lian (literally meaning mask changing) is a distinct form of costume art in which the actor changes his mask multiple times in a magical, rapid succession. During the early 20th century, mask changing first included using a special colored powder that would be applied to the performers' faces. However, now it includes quickly shifting the mask under a hat or garment. The mask can be changed eight times per second. Bian Lian is an art skill that is still acknowledged by the government as a national secret. As you can imagine, it was quite entertaining.
My plane to Shanghai is about to take off. We will be there for about three days. Time to get ready for our next adventure!
Love
Allie