Emei Shan, China

One of the many monkeys of Emei Shan

A temple near the entrance

A map of Emei Shan carved into the rocks

1st view of Emei Shan

Lots of merchants along the way

Gecko

Wannian Temple, oldest on Emei Shan

Wannian Temple, over 1,000 years old

For good luck, rub the elephant's legs

Wannian Temple

More Wannian Temple

Up

And up

Friends we met along the way. We were just called "brother."

The AT has white blazes. The Camino has yellow arrows. Emei Shan has this. And it was the only one I saw.

A friendly vendor

1st monkey sighting

Elephant Bathing Pool Monastery

The killer views

Sunrise at Elephant Bathing Pool

More killer views

Marc and a monkey

Views down below

Mt Gongga and others. At over 7500m, Mt Gongga is higher than anything outside of Asia.

Golden Summit

Chris Hiker and the Big T

Golden Summit

One of the many elephants

Pilgrims

Wanfo Peak from Golden Summit

Eloise and Stuart

Striking a pose on the Golden Summit

Golden Summit

Mischevious Monkey

Jieyin Hall

Sunset and a trace of the Buddha's Halo

Incence

Jieyin Hall

Myself and the mountains

What can I say? I like pilgrimages. Going medieval to me is going on a pilgrimage. I'm now 2 for 2 when going overseas. I'll have to take this into consideration each time I travel abroad. The Camino de Santiago was a Christian (Catholic) pilgrimage and this one a Buddhist pilgrimage.

This got off to a humorous start. We were on the bus from Chengdu to the town at the base of Mt. Emei. Like most buses there were hardly any westerners, Tim and I along with a guy from Canada. The bus stops at the side of the road. A woman comes on and looks at us and tells us to come off. This doesn't look like a bus station, but we all get off anyway. For a few seconds I was thinking, "what the F just happened? We literally could be anywhere, so this is how it's gonna end? Great." I came to my senses. The woman in the midst of her Chinese would say "Teddy Bear." This was the Hostel we would be staying at. It was basically a scam to get us off the bus to pay 10 RMB (approximately $2) for a taxi. No big deal, but so easy to fall for in such a foreign country.

The next day my brother and I started out around 8am. The town sits at about 500m (~1600 ft) and the summit is at 3000m (~10,000 ft). Yeah, it was going to be some climb. We struggled to find the entrance. We eventually decided to just walk up and with some help from some kind locals (the maps sucked), we found the route. The entrance was in the middle of nowhere and the communist security guy would not accept my student ID like the others at Jiuzhaigou and Grand Buddha. If I just knew more than thank you in Chinese, I would've haggled with the guy. There was no sense since I was lucky to use my long outdated ID in the first place.

After the entrance the climbing began. For the most part it was non-stop. I'm pretty certain, I will never see more steps for the rest of my life. The amount of labor it must have taken. And they do things the old-fashioned way. There were many vendors along the way. If it wasn't pack mules carrying supplies up, it was a strong man or woman lugging up a hundred pounds of supplies up the never ending steps. Insane!

We were quite fortunate with the weather. Although it was a bit humid, it was not merciless and the skies were quite clear. We were also quite fortunate with the people we met along the way. We met three Chinese that were brother and sisters. When they first met me I was by myself, but I told them I was hiking with my brother. That's what they called my brother and I from then on. We also met Stuart and Eloise from England and Marc from Quebec. We would spend much of the next 2 days with them.

On the way up to the Elephant Pool Monastery, I spotted my first monkey. I was surprised how large he was. I was thinking, "Man this guy could really, F me up!" Fortunately (or unfortunately) my line of work has prepared me well for encounters with those that choose to bite. I eventually, just chilled and enjoyed the moment, in awe of how amazing this animal looked.

It'd be hard to describe the monastery we stayed at. Rustic does come to mind, but does it no justice. It was an old building, built on top of one of the hills leading to Emei with lots of monkeys about. The floors that I was walking on were creeky and I was waiting for them to give out. The views from here were immaculate. Absolutely stunning. Then there were the monks. I chatted with a few (I use that term lightly, it was mostly finger pointing) about the monkeys and about dinner. The Chinese in general don't seem to mind spitting in the streets. They seem to relish it. The monks at this monastery took it to another level. "Haaaakkpuuutt!" Even where they do their prayers. I think I laughed every time I heard someone spit cause it was just so out of the ordinary of what we do in public.

From here we caught a beautiful sunrise. The monkeys were out early and the first victim was Stuart's water bottle. They got a hold of it and bit into the bottom of it. Stuart was a trooper. He taped the bottle and carried it up to the summit. I thought that was pretty awesome. Tim and I had breakfast with Marc at the restaurant just up from the monastery. What's a Chinese breakfast? In this case it was Eggs and Noodles.

We all had a great walk together. Eventually, we saw a group of mountains with snow covered peaks. They were obviously very high. They were not the Himalayas, but were fairly close in stature. The largest one we could see was Mt Gangga at 7500m. That would make it higher than anything outside of Asia. I thought that was pretty Fn cool. I had no idea I'd be viewing Himalaya type mountains on this trip. Nepal and trekking in the Himalayas has been a life long dream of mine. So, those views for me were really sweet.

When we got to the summit, we decided to make like the Chinese and strike a pose. The summit afforded some of the most impressive views I have ever seen. Views of the distant Himalaya type peaks. The views of Wanfo Peak and the surrounding peaks and cloud cover. The different statues and temples on the summit. The pilgrims kneeling and praying, reminding us this was more than a tourist destination.

Tim, Marc and I walked down and stayed at a monastery just below the summit. While we were walking to dinner we witnessed the spectacle of the monkeys theft skills of tourists. No water bottle was spared. Did the monkeys show mercy on an infant? No. Even they had to pay up. It was quite entertaining to say the least.

Being so high up, the temperature cooled. We enjoyed a nice sunset. I missed the Buddha's Halo, since I did not know what I was looking at, but supposedly there are rings around the sun as it's setting. After the sun set, Tim, Marc and I sat down on the steps of the monastery. Such a great moment. Sitting there, feeling the cool breeze on my arms. The distant mountains in view in the twilight. Listening to the prayer service and chanting of the Monks in a language unknown to me. So nice to be at such peace.

Jiuzhaigou National Park, China

Park Entrance

Pandas were pretty much everywhere in Sichuan, except in the wild.

Swampy section of Arrow Bamboo Lake

Spring was certainly here.

More Arrow Bamboo Lake with some mountains

Waterfall between Arrow and Panda Lakes

More of the waterfall

Panda Lake. One of the few lakes that sees fluctuations in water level.

No Pandas in sight, but Panda Lake surely was a sight.

5 Flower Lake

More 5 Flower Lake. A very popular spot.

Christmas trees

Water flowing to 5 Flower Lake

Golden Bell Lake

Top of Pearl Waterfall

Top of Pearl Waterfall

Pearl Waterfall

Semo Mt. (4100m)

Nourilang Waterfall

Yes, how charming it is!!!

More Nourilang

Long Lake

An absolutely splendid walk

Rhinocerous Lake

Terraced waterfalls, a feature of Jiuzhaigou

Tiger Lake

Shuzheng Falls

Tibetan Prayer Wheel

Prayer Wheel

Tibetan Village

Shuzheng Lakes

More of the Shuzheng Lakes

And more

Reed Lake with beautiful spring colors

Reed Lake


Jiuzhaigou National Park is described in the Lonely Planet Guide as expensive with an excessive amount of tourists, but still worth it. Jiuzhaigou did not fail to meet expectations.

We got their early enough and considering it was only mid May, we also missed the summer crowds. Even then, we did run into massive waves of tourists. Nothing even remotely close to being able to diminish the magnificense of this fine park.

Traveling with my own tour guides (my brother Tim and his girlfriend Heather) we survived the crazy bus ride from Chengdu. Them being seasoned veterans of How the Rest of the World Drives, did not think much of it. I on the other hand was ready to jump out and take my chances at hitching in China. Ultimately, I sucked it up and convinced my self, "the driver really does not want to die, the driver does not want to die."

We left the hostel at 7 and took the bus up to the Primeval Forest. Here the Chinese were fascinated with the "white people." There were not many foreign tourists in this park, so at times we were quite the fascination (at times I felt like a rock star). I hiked a bit through the forest. I wish I knew the different plant and tree species as many of them I had not seen before.

There was a bit of confusion with a park official. He was telling me politely in Chinese, "you can't go that way, the trail is closed." At the same time, I was telling him politely in English, "I'm going that way", pointing to the closed trail. Eventually, I got it and used the only Chinese I knew, "Sheh, sheh." Thank you.

After taking the bus down, it was time to see what this park was all about. The obvious highlights are the mutli-colored blue lakes with snow covered peaks as a backdrop. The real treasures are the multi-level waterfalls and streams that run from one lake to the next. This is a place that can be enjoyed from season to season. The waterfalls were not flowing particularly well, and one, Panda waterfall (which happened to be the highest) was completely dry.

The night before we met a Canadian guy who had already been here and he complained of the many tourists who carried umbrellas. While we were eating lunch, I did notice quite a few who were carrying umbrellas. It wasn't for rain, but for the sun. This is something you don't see at home much (maybe amongst the very rich.)

Some of the nicest stretches were nearing the end of the park. Shu Zheng Lakes (with its neat rock formations) and Reed Lake were some my personal favorites. It was so disappointing when at just around 5 I was told I needed to head out and catch a bus. I couldn't help myself from thinking, "god damn that commie bastard." But, the woman at the hostel did warn me that security would be out, directing to the buses.

Although, somewhat different than U.S. National Parks (I don't believe there is much opportunity for backcountry camping) this park would rival many of our parks. It's no wonder at all this is a site of many movies. I definitely have to thank Tim and Heather for planning this trip, since I probably would have never ventured this way myself.