China Sept 2010

" Travelling is beautiful because of the memories of yourself & others " 

" Failure is easy. Success is a marathon "

" For some retirees, they take the road less traveled and somehow they are able to enjoy the richness of LIFE that become part of the journey "

" My 30 days in China (Tianjin, Beijing, Taishan, Qufu, Suzhou, Shanghai, Anhui, Hangzhou, Wuyishan, Lushan, Wuhan, Wudangshan, Dali, Lijiang & Guilin - 1/9-1/10/2010 - fulfilling my dream to see more of the China's UNESCO heritage sites and also visiting Shanghai Expo "

2010 is my 5th year in travelling since my retirement in May 2006. How time has flown !!! Time and tide wait for no man !!! Everybody wants to be old, but nobody wants to grow old !!! I hope my present mental, physical and spiritual strength will allow me to continue travelling in the years ahead, Happy travelling.

After a 30 day solo visit to China in Sept 2009, I made a solemn promise that I shall return to China again in my pursuit to see more of the UNESCO heritage sites especially the natural wonders ie the nature reserves and the top national parks in China. 

After resting for three months since my return from Europe in early June 2010 and with a promo Air Asia ticket costing RM509 ( KL>Tianjin-Guilin>KL), I got ready all my travel gears and landed myself in Tianjin on 1st Sept 2010 to begin my 30 day trip in China. 

My brother Yuen who had previously accompanied me to the Silk Road trail, China ( Xian >Dun Huang >Turpan >Urumqi >Kanas) in 2006 was my travel mate for 2 weeks and he departed from Hangzhou to Kuala Lumpur on 14th Sept to resume work.

Due to a rainy spell, I was not able to visit Mt Huangshan and this was the only regret for this trip. All the other UNESCO sites went according to schedule so overall I was pretty happy with the outcome.

As my visit coincided with the Shanghai Expo 2010, I had the opportunity to visit our Malaysia Pavilion and other major Asean & European Pavilions. I grinned with delight as I walked into the Denmark Pavilion and spotted the Little Mermaid statute which was on display on the ground floor of the Pavilion - I missed seeing the Little Mermaid when I visited Copenhagen in May 2010. Another dream fulfilled - thanks to the Shanghai Expo.

I departed in Guilin for home on 1st Oct 2010, the first day of the China's 61st national day anniversary celebration - deliberately running away from the local madding crowd jamming major tourist sites, highways and train rides when the nation went on a week long holiday and celebration mood !

Travel itinerary: Kuala Lumpur > Tianjin >Tai Shan > Qufu > Suzhou > Shanghai > Huang Shan > Hangzhou > Wuyishan > Mt Lushan > Wuhan > Mt Wudang Shan > Zhangjiajie > Dali > Lijiang > Kunming > Guilin > Kuala Lumpur

The UNESCO Sites I visited in China:

1) Mt Taishan

2) Confucious Temple, Mansion & Cementary in Qufu

3) Suzhou Gardens

4) Ancient Villages in Anhui - Hongchun & Xidi

5) Mt Wuyishan

6) Mt Lushan

7) Ancient Architectural Complex on Mt Wudang

8) Wullingyuan Scenic Area / Zhangjiajie

9) Ancient City of Lijiang

In addition to above , I re-visited the following UNESCO sites in China & also took the opportunity to visit the Shanghai Expo 2010:

10) Great Wall of China

11) Palace Museum of Beijing (Forbidden City)

12) Temple of Heaven

Travel Highlights:

1) Mt Taishan, Shandong

2) Confucius Temple, Mansion & Cemetery in Qufu (UNESCO), Shandong

3) Suzhou Gardens (UNESCO), Jiangsu

4) Ancient Villages in Anhui - Hong Chun & Xidi (UNESCO)

 5) Mt Wuyishan, Fujian

6) Mt Lushan, Jiangxi

7) Ancient Architectural Complex on Mt Wudang Shan, Hubei

8) Wullingyuan & Zhangjiajie, Hunan

 

9) Ancient City of Lijiang, Yunnan

10) Great Wall of China, Beijing (UNESCO)

11) Temple of Heaven, Beijing

12) Palace Museum, Beijing (Forbidden City)

13) Shanghai Expo 2010 (Malaysia Pavilion)

Total expenses incurred (30 days) : CNY6,258 +Rm741 +US$28 = Rm3,800

Cost breakdowns: 
-Airline Flight Itinerary Booking Date: 14/11/2009
Flight No: D7 2612. Depart KL > Tianjin at 08.30 arriving 14.35 on 1/9/2010 - RM284 ( promo ticket inclusive of airport tax, luggage fee & meal)
Return: Flight No AK103. Depart Guilin > KL at 11.10 arriving 15.20 on 1/10/2010 - CNY450 (inclusive of airport tax, luggage fee & meal)
-Travel insurance: RM75
-China Visa: RM58
-Hostels + Booking fee (23 nights) : CNY1,120 + US$28
-Entrance fee + Cable cars : CNY1,638
-Day tour ( Great Wall) : CNY140
-Train tickets + Long distance bus: CNY1,119 + CNY243
-Bus + Taxi + Metro: CNY228 + RM9
-Food & groceries: CNY1,100
-Sundries: CNY670

" Another wonderful trip to China in my world of travelling - leaving behind my foot prints in Mt Taishan, Mt Wuyishan, Mt Lushan, Mt Wudangshan & Zhangjiajie / Wullingyuan and a marvellous opportunity to visit the Shanghai Expo 2010 and seeing the Little Mermaid on display at the Denmark Pavilion.

The Secrets of Life: Peace of mind starts with being grateful for what we have right now "

China (Wuhan, Hubei) Sept 2010 D-19

Map of Wuhan, Hubei, China

Hostel : Wuhan Pathfinder International Youth Hostel - CNY50 dorm (1 night)

Train: Jiujiang>Wuchang (hard seat) - CNY41
Food & groceries: CNY48
Total expenses incurred: CNY139

After Mt Lushan visit, I made a stopover in Wuhan, one of China's largest cities (9.0mil) .

I arrived in Wuchang train station at around 16.00 and took a public bus to my hostel. I had ample time in Wuhan on the following day as the train departing Wuchang to my next destination, Wudangshan was at 23.03.

In Wuhan, I visited the Yellow Crane Tower site (CNY80) but did not enter due to the stiff entrance fee. But I managed to take a few pictures of the Tower from the outside. I spent 2-3 hours at the Hubei Provincial Museum ( free admission) which has a large collection of artefacts unearthed from Zenghouyi Tomb in 1978. After the Museum visit, I walked to the East Lake, another tourist site. I also took a ferry which crossed the Yangzi River to the opposite side of Wuhan.

1) Yellew Crane Tower -Wuhan, Hubei

2) Hubei Provincial Museum, Wuhan

3) Wuhan Yangzi River Big Bridge - completed in 1957, Communist China's first great engineering feat

4) East Lake, Wuhan - Hangzhou has a famous West Lake but the East Lake in Wuhan has yet to achieve it's fame in attracting droves of tourists from local and world-wide.

" Wuhan, a big city in Hubei, lies on both sides of the Yangzi River. From Chongqing, you can take a Yangzi River cruise and end in Wuhan. The Yellow Crane Tower is a famous landmark for visiting tourists."

The Secret of Life: When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer "

China (Wudangshan, Hubei) Sept 2010 D-20 & D-21

Map of Wudangshan, Hubei, China

Hostel: family owned hostel in Wudangshan town - CNY45 (std room for 2) + CNY30 (1/2 day room rate)
Train: Wuchang > Wudangshan - CNY39
Entrance fee (50% discount): CNY70+35 (internal bus) +CNY20 (Golden Hall)
Taxi & bus: CNY30
Food & groceries: CNY47
Total expenses incurred: CNY316

I took a night train from Wuchang to Wudangshan and it was early morning when I arrived at the Wudangshan train station. On arrival, I took a taxi (CNY15) together with a young local student to the town centre. At the recommendation of the taxi driver, both of us checked into a family owned hostel and shared a room of CNY45 each.

After taking the breakfast, both of us walked to the Mt Wudangshan's entrance gate. The admission fee was CNY70 plus internal minivan fee of CNY35 (a 50% rebate for senior citizen)

As the cable system in Mt Wudangshan was under repair at the time of my visit, I had to use my entire energy to slowly made my way to the summit and descend, a total distance of 6km for the two way journey - very strenuous and tiresome by the time I descended down hill to the car park lot, and the entire trip took 6-7 hours.

I had a great view of the Golden Hall (CNY20 entrance fee) on the Tianzhu Peak although it was misty and cloudy at the peak. I also visited 2-3 Taoist Temples as we made our ascend to the top.

Of the five mountains I had visited so far in China, Wudangshan was the most challenging and adventurous one but it was well worth the efforts !

Mt Wudangshan, Hubei

Ascending the Tianzhu peak - if you have a frail body or too tired, you may seek the services of local porters (paying CNY200-300 per trip) who could carry your way up to a higher ground by using a bamboo chair - a great experience and relief for the handicaps.

Taoist Temples in Wudangshan & Golden Hall on the Tianzhu Peak (1612m high)

" If you enjoyed seeing or reading the traditional Chinese martial art or sword fighting movies or novels, then you probably heard of Shaolin, Wudang & Emei martial art, kung fu or wushu. The grand master of Wudang is Zhang San Feng, a monk from Shaolin Temple. Master Zhang disliked the hard techniques of the Shaolin style so he invented the softer style of taijiquan or taichi in the late 14th century. I am glad that I had visited Shaolin Temple and Wudangshan and hope to set foot on Mt Emei when I visit Chengdu again in the near future.

The Secrets of Life : Don't let a little dispute injures a great relationship "

China Sept/Oct 2009

Map of Provinces of China 

" My 29 days solo visit to China (Chengdu, Jiuzhaigou, Chongqing, Yichang, Luoyang, Pingyao, Datong, Beijing & Tianjin) - fulfilling my dream to see the UNESCO Heritage Sites (Civilized and Natural Wonders) in China (10/9 - 8/10/09) & sharing the joy in China's 60 year national anniversary celebrations in Tiananmen Square, Beijing "

Total Expenses incurred (29 days) = CNY6,000 + Rm805 = Rm3,865

Airline Flight Itinerary: Booking Date: 7-8-09 & 7-9-09
Flight No: AK102
Depart LCCT Kuala Lumpur on Thursday 10-9-09 at 06.40
Arrive Guilin, China on same day at 10.40
Return: D72613 Depart Tianjin Airport on Thursday 8-10-09 at 10.20 ( original time 08.20)
Arrive LCCT KL on Thursday on same day at 16.35
1) Air tickets: KL>Tianjin return -Rm692; KL>Guilin one way Rm400.90 (incl meals, GoInsure & Skybus)
2) AIG Travel Insurance: Rm113
3) Land transport:
Train tickets-CNY583
Bus & Metro-CNY713
4) Local tour package ( incl transport, entrance fees, meals & hostel, Ins & cable car): CNY2,632
- Jiuzhaigou & Huanglong (CNY980)
- Yangzi River (CNY950)
- Dazu day tour + entrance fee (CNY80) = CNY200
- Shaolin Temple day tour + lunch+ entrance fee (CNY100) = CNY190
- Hanging Monastry (taxi) + entrance fee (CNY60) = CNY132
- Eastern Qin Tombs day tour + entrance fee (CNY110) = CNY180
5) Entrance fees: CNY552
- Sanxingdui Museum, Sichuan (CNY80-CNY15 discount for Panda card pass holder)
- Leshan Grand Buddha, Sichuan (CNY90)
- QinYang Gong, Chengdu (CNY10)
- Longmen Grottoes, Luoyang (CNY80)
- Xuan Zang birth place,Luoyang (CNY30)
- Kwang Hua Si, Luoyang (CNY15)
- Pingyao ancient city (CNY120)
- Yungang Grottoes,Datong (CNY60)
- Nine Dragon Screen,Datong(CNY10)
- Old Summer Palace, Beijing (CNY25)
- Site of Pekingman, Zhoukoudian (CNY30)
- Confucian Temple (CNY10)
- Temple of the Land (CNY7)
6) Food & groceries: CNY670
7) Sundries: CNY150
8) Hostels:CNY700

Travel itinerary:

Kuala Lummpur > Guilin > Chengdu > Jiuzhaigou & Huanglong Chengdu > Chongqing > Yangzi river cruise > Yichang
Yichang > Luoyang > Pingyao > Datong > Beijing > Tianjin > Kuala Lumpur

After my return from the Europe/Tran-Siberian trip on 16 June 09, the idea of visiting China crossed my mind. In mid-August. Air Asia had a sales promotion and I took the opportunity to buy online a return ticket (Rm692) to Tianjin. For this China trip, I had in mind to visit the various UNESCO sites and civilised & natural wonders of the world in Northern provinces of China ie Heilongjiang (Harbin), Lioning (Shenyang), Jilin (Changchun), Inner Mongolia (Manzouli) and then travel south to Shanxi, Sichuan, Chongqing, Henan & Beijing.

I had a bad start for this China trip as I missed my Air Asia flight from KL to Tienjin on 7 Sept 09 (departing 01.00). I got mix up with the time thinking the departure time is at 1.00pm. As I had already pre-booked all the hostels in China, I had to find an alternative plan so to right the wrong, I decided to buy a one way ticket (Rm400) flying off on 10 Sept from KL to Guilin (departing 06.40) As a result of this last minute change, I have to re-schedule my travel and decided to start my travel from the southern provinces and skip the three north east provinces as planned earlier.

On 10 Sept, I had another bad experience. I missed the airport Skybus at Sentral Station - the last bus left Sentral at 22.30 and I missed it by 15 mins. My wife had to drive me all the way to the airport.

For this China trip, I visited 11 UNESCO sites, 1 Natural Wonder and 1 Civilised Wonder of The World. As my Oct 09 visit coincides with the China's 60 year's anniversary celebration, I took the opportunity to visit the Tiananmen Square and the two iconic Olympic stadiums ie Bird Nest & Water Cube. A happy ending indeed though I had a bad start from the beginning ! You will probably concur with me after seeing the pictures I had posted in this travel blog.

As I was about to pen off, I have just received an email from one of my retiree colleagues forwarding a powerpoint attachment entitled "Secrets of Life" for retirees . I took the liberty to quote some of the words of wisdom expressed in the slides in this travel blog. Happy reading !

UNESCO sites:
1) Leshan Grand Buddha, Sichuan
2) Sanxingdui Museum, Sichuan
3) Dujiangyan Dam, Sichuan
4) Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve, Sichuan
5) Huanglong Nature Reserve, Sichuan
6) Dazu Rock Carving Museum, Chongqing
7) Longmen Caves, Henan
8) Pingyao Ancient City, Shanxi
9) Yungang Grottoes, Shanxi
10) Eastern Royal Tombs of Qin Dynasty, Beijing
11) Site of the Peking Man at Zhoukuodian, Beijing

Natural Wonder of the World:
12) Yangzi River

Civilised Wonder of the World
13) Old Summer Palace

Travel highlights :

1) Guilin, Guangxi - I had been to Guilin, Yangshuo & Li Jiang River with my family members in 2004. Just a stopover for a night and my next destination is Chengdu. Took this picture from a train to Chengdu.



2) Leshan Grand Buddha (UNESCO heritage site), Sichuan - 233ft tall. World largest stone sculptures of Buddha, carved out of a mountain. Built in AD713 by a senior monk, Haitong and completed 90 years after his death.

3) Sanxingdui Museum (UNESCO heritage site), Chengdu, Sichuan - houses one of the most remarkable collections of ancient sculpture, masks & ritual bronzes in China dating back to 14th century BC !

4) Dujiangyan Irrigation Project (UNESCO heritage site), Sichuan - Built in 3rd century BC by a famous engineer Li Bing to divert fast flowing water from Min River into irrigation canals benefitting a million hectares of land in Sichuan.



5) Jiuzhaigou Nature Reserve (UNESCO heritage site), Sichuan - Incredible ! A fairyland ! A world natural heritage, a world biosphere reserve and a "Green Globe 21" site. A must see world heritage site in China.



6) HuangLong Natural Park (UNESCO heritage site), Sichuan - The world largest travertine formation landscape. Quite similar scenery to that of Pamukkale in Turkey when I visited the place in Sept 08. Waterfalls and terraced, colored limestone ponds of blue, yellow, white & green created a natural beauty out of this place.



7) Dazu Rock Carving Museum (UNESCO heritage site), Chongqing - built between 892 and 1249, the site has extensive Buddhist cave paintings, sculptures and carvings. Among the 4 grottos I had so far visited (Dun Huang, Longmen, Yungang), Dazu is perhaps the most sophisticated and unusual. The carvings carried the Buddhist images, Daoist and Confucian statues and themes.

8) Yangzi River Cruise (a natural wonder of the world), Chongqing - despite the building of the Three Gorges dam, I think it is worthwhile to take a 3-4 day cruise to admire the natural beauty of the Three Georges and the surrounding environment.

9) Yichang, Hubei - the gateway city to the massive Three Gorges hydroelectric project at Sandouping, 40km from Yi Chang. Major battles were fought in this place during the Period of Three Kingdoms. 

10) Longmen Caves (UNESCO heritage site), Luoyang, Henan - More than 100,000 images and statues of Buddha were carved into the cliff walls of Longmen caves during the Northern Wei dynasty from AD494 over a period of 200 years !

11) Pingyao Ancient City (UNESCO heritage site), Shanxi  - this 6km Ming dynasty city wall has a very well preserved traditional Han Chinese city inside, the old heritage architectural buildings resembled to that of imperial China !

12) Yungang Caves, Datong, Shanxi (UNESCO heritage site) - the caves have 50,000 Buddhist statutes and stretch for 1km east to west and were carved between 460 and 465 during the Wei dynasty.

13) Hanging Monastery, Datong, Shanxi - built during the Northern Wei dynasty. This monastery clinging to the sides of a cliff has 40 connected halls supported by wooden stilts look like toothpicks from far !

14) Old Summer Palace (A civilised wonder of the world), Beijing - built by Emperor Qian Long using European design for their palaces, fountains and gardens. During the 2nd Opium War (1856-60) , all the palaces were destroyed by fire set by the French and British troops, only broken columns and marble chunks remain. The French and British soldiers looted all the precious & priceless items and some are now on displays in overseas museums. Others are no longer in trace and their whereabouts unknown.



15) Eastern Royal Tomb of Qing Dynasty (UNESCO heritage site), Beijing - houses the tombs of 5 emperors, 14 empresses & 136 imperial consorts. Emperor Qianlong & Empress Dowager Cixi tombs were plundered in the 1920s.

16) Site of Peking man at Zhoukoudian, Beijing (UNESCO heritage site) - discovered by a Swedish scholar in 1921. Some 200 fossils of cave dwellers dating back 18,900 years ago were dug out from several caves / sites in Zhoukoudian. The first Peking man fossil (700,000 years ago) was discovered in 1927 and it went missing during the 1941 Pacific War.

17) Tiananmen Square, Beijing - visit in conjunction with China 60th Year National Anniversary Celebration (1 Oct 2009) - I was one of the million visitors who visited the Tiananmen Square on 3rd Oct 2009 despite massive security, presence of SWAT police guards, closing of some subway underground stations, huge crowd & shutting of Chang Ann street to ensure the place is free of undesirable elements ! Tiananmen Square was off limits to outsiders & tourists from 30 Sept - 2 Oct to allow 60 floats, 8,000 soldiers and 100,000 civilians to participate peacefully in this grand event !

18)  Bird Nest Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park, Beijing - colorful lightings , musical fountains, festive moods (coincide with the traditional mooncake festival which falls on 3rd Oct); thousands pour into the Olympic Forest Park to share the nation's pride in celebrating the 60 year anniversary event.

19) Water Cube Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park, Beijing - Like the iconic Bird Nest Stadium, the Water Cube Olympic venue is one of the greatest modern architecture ever built in China. A really "feel good" feeling when I was there to admire these buildings.

" My wonderful trip to China, in pursuit of the World Heritage sites, civilized and natural wonders of China. UNESCO has over the last 30 years identified and approved 800 sites in 135 countries. By visiting these sites, it provides an avid traveler a historical memory of this planet

The Secrets of life - As long as it is physically possible, visit places you wish. Enjoy the life while you can ! "