| China Trip ~ November 2002 |
| Shenzhen's Miniature World Park ~ Exact Replicas Of China's Biggest Tourist Sites |
| The Three Gorges Dam of the Yangtze River in China |
| One of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River - Looks just like something right out of Lord Of The Rings I |
| Chongqing is one of China's largest cities. The haze you see is NOT fog, but smog |
| Shibaozhai, a river town off the Yangtze River, offers authentic food by the locals...looks delicious doesn't it? |
| More local food from Shibaozhai residents...I know you'll want a closer look, so look below for a zoomed in version... |
| Juizhaigou Valley, China's version of Yosemite, where I do my best Tibetan Warrior imitation on a real Mongolian Yak. |
| Pop quiz - The above is: a) Dog b) Cat c) A Large Rodent d) I don't want to know. |
| Juizhaigou Valley ~ My dad and me in front of one of the clearest lakes in China |
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| Juizhaigou Valley ~ Risking prosecution from the Chinese authorities, I jump a small fence to get close to the world famous (though I never heard of it until I got here) "wall of waterfalls" at Juizhaigou Valley. |
| Juizhaigou Valley ~ Same clear lake...just me. |
| The Grand Leshan Buddha (see below left) ~ Chinese translators at work...the message is loud and clear. It is indeed "nice to live." |
| Across from the Grand Leshan Buddha lies an island with a natural landscape that the Chinese call the "lying Buddha." I think it really does looks like a lying Buddha (head is on the right side). It's good to know the Chinese government still has a sense of humor too. The only man-made object on the island? A tower that makes the lying Buddha look like he has a little erect penis. Welcome to the new "Pro-Sex" China! |
| The Grand Leshan Buddha ~ This is the lone remaining stone Buddha of this size in the world after the Taliban blew up the only other one in Afghanistan. |
| Huang Long Park ~ The very top of the park is called 20,000 Steps To Heaven. It was a 2 hour hike to the top and most of my tour group didn't make it. The shrine in the back behind the lake is almost 600 years old and closed to visitors. The view was incredible, but was it worth the trip? |
| Huang Long Park ~ At the entrance stands three trees. Take a closer look, they've grown together to form one! |
| Sichuan's Woolong Panda Reserve - This is a photo taken from our tour bus at the entrance to the park, quite Jurassic-Parkesque.. Behind all that fog lies 40 plus pandas, the largest collection in the world. |
| In a suburb of Guangzhou, we tracked down the home of my great grandparents. This is the kitchen where my great grandmother actually once cooked. |
| Yes, it's a business card in Chinese. If you can read it, it's for a store in Guangzhou not too far from the afore-mentioned White Swan Hotel. They carry hundreds of knock-off name brand purses, wallets, etc. Bring them a picture of almost any upscale purse and they will likely have it for you by the following afternoon at a very reasonable price ($12 for an "original copy" of a Burberry purse) |
| Sichuan's Woolong Panda Reserve - The only place in the world where you can hold a "baby" panda for a mere $25 US Dollars. This one was eight months old and looks pretty docile in this picture...continued on the right --> |
| My minute of baby panda time is up and...what the??? No, he didn't pee on me, but he did leave me with a wet mark on my shirt (yes, it WAS water). You would have thought they would at least DRY the panda a little for my $25. |
| Once he gets excited about his carrot he leans back to chew on it and I find out just how strong a baby panda is. I push him forward as hard as I can with my right arm to avoid getting my chair tipped over. Also notice how the keepers have kept my safety in mind and only let the panda's claws grow out no more than an inch or two! :o continued... --> |
| Zhangjiajie ~ Mountain Top Lake Park's famous residents, wild monkeys! There are actually cages for them, but park management only puts the most aggressive monkeys in them. These monkeys will not hesitate to grab only humans if they smell food on you though. Rumor also has it that some are trained to pick-pocket. |
| Zhangjiajie's Golden Whip Rock Park - As seen on the right, the rocks seem to come out of the ground and stand on end like whips. Above, I stand by a RussianTank given to China as a gift by the former Soviet Union almost 50 years ago. |
| Zhangjiajie ~ At Mountain Top Lake Park I stand on a very old bridge that doesn't appear completely safe. In fact, our tour guide described it this way...the bridge is only strong enough to hold a maximum of 10 Chinese, but only 2 Americans! |
| Zhangjiajie's Golden Whip Rock Park - A tram takes you to the very top where the view is spectacular. This picture doesn't do the actual view justice. |
| Zhangjiajie's Golden Whip Rock Park - Every set of rocks is given a name by the Chinese, like Dragon's Horn, Three Pigs, or Praying Monks. Maybe I'm not that imaginative, but they all looked like big tall rocks to me. |
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| Sunset on the Yantze River...Isn't pollution beautiful? |
| The view from the famous Yellow Crane Tower. Supposedly you have a view of the whole city from here, but again...pollution. |
| Guangzhou ~ This is my view from my hotel room across the Pearl River. I stayed at the White Swan hotel where the service and amenities were five star. A highly recommended hotel to stay in should you decide to visit. |
| Sub-Section: Juizhaigou Valley's Panda Signs |
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