Vela Huang

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Badaling - The Great Wall of China
27 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C
Another big ticket item ticked off the list today. Vela did some research and made the call to not head to Badaling until the afternoon. This would give the morning crowds time to disperse and the temperature should be a bit cooler and more pleasant.

The plan worked perfectly. So after we caught two metro trains and then a bigger inter city train, we arrived at Badaling about 3pm. After a short walk through some tourist streets we arrived at the foot of the Great Wall. It really is an amazing spectacle, and although we've been here before, it was under very different weather conditions. It was also mum and dad's first visit and they were pretty excited. We were a little worried about how they would cope with some of the steep stairs, but they handled them like champs.

Obviously the wall is not in its original condition, having been restored many times throughout its life, but seeing it stretch off into the distance over the mountains and imagining how it would have been constructed blows the mind.

Our original plan was to walk up to the highest point at Badaling and then catch the cable car back down. We thought the last cable car was 6pm but unfortunately it was 4.30pm and the last one left only moments before we arrived. This meant we had to walk back instead. Rather than tackling the steep stairs in reverse, we opted for the easier walk along the bottom of the wall. After getting back to the entrance, we rewarded ourselves with an ice cream.

We caught our train back at 6.50pm and promptly headed to a hot pot restaurant. This hot pot was a little different, and being a bigger chain restaurant it prized itself on its service. Our waiter was fantastic and kept bringing us gifts - saying it was his privilege to wait on us (we were definitely getting the special "Laowai" treatment). We were even treated to a live noodle stretching dance show - even Vela was impressed!En savoir plus
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Wow. [Jesnette]
28/05/2024Répondre
Voyageur Amazing photography skills!
16/06/2024RépondreTraduire
6 j’aime
Our OE
National Museum of China
26 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C
The National Museum of China is an absolute treasure trove. After we finally made it through the lines of people (which it turns out we didn't have to) we entered the area with Tiananmen Square and crossed over to the National Museum. The building itself is absolutely immense, it must be at least 4 storeys high (and it has a couple of basement levels too) and covers thousands of square metres in area.

We met our favourite history buff (Luffy) inside and he immediately took us to the bottom floor where all the treasures of ancient China are on display. The first three main pieces we saw are all so valuable to China that they are not allowed to be displayed anywhere else. They were a clay pot and a hawk dated to around 2000-3000BC. There are also the remains of what they believe to be an ancient Chinese Emperor. It is thought these bones belonged to an emperor because of the pictures of a dragon and a tiger which were uncovered next to him.

We then walked through a couple of millennia worth of bronze artifacts. The details on some of these pieces was mind blowing. The majority of these date to around 1000BC - 200BC. They included dings (vessels for holding food tributes) wine vessels, water troughs, and even an early chilly bin/fridge. It felt to us, the thoroughly uninitiated in ancient human civilization, that much of the artwork was similar to that of Mayan/Aztec art, and there was also some similarities to Maori art, in particular the use of the koru.

We then moved on to an era with loads of jade and other stone artifacts. Particularly amazing was the pillow made from jade (not sure how comfortable it might have been), an instrument with hanging stones, a dragon fish which was an ornament for someone's roof eave, a water clock, and a spear head with two men hanging from chains.

Everywhere we stopped were treasures which were absolutely amazing. A jade burial shroud, a colourful tomb guardian, an original copy of Sunzi's "Art of War", a copy of China's first ever wooden tower (5 storeys tall, built in ShanXi and still standing today), and a royal pardon for the Qian family in the Song Dynasty - kept for 600 years by the family until used in the Ming Dynasty for the entire family to avoid the death penalty - one of their descendants was then instrumental in developing China's first atomic bomb.

We also lined up to get a close look at the tiara from a wife of one of the Emperors from the Qing Dynasty. Made from the feathers of a bird which has meant the rich blue colour has remained as vibrant as when it was first made.

We were thoroughly amazed by all of the wondrous items, and also very thankful to have Luffy along to give us the back story of some of the more interesting pieces. We only explored one of the basement levels of the museum, and it took us the best part of 3 hours. You could easily spend days getting lost in this place.

We were thoroughly beat by the end, so we headed to a Beijing hotpot restaurant for some lunch and then back to the hotel for a rest. A short wander through some back alleys in central Beijing before walking to a Beijing BBQ for dinner.En savoir plus
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Our OE
Bullet to Beijing
25 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
Travel day today. Instead of flying we opted to take the bullet train for the 4 hour trip to the Capital. After a short taxi ride to the train station, getting on was very orderly with everyone lining up and politely waiting to get on.

It was a cloudy, hazy day with a bit of rain around, so for the first section of the trip we couldn't see very far. But regardless we plunged past some big industrial areas with large power plants (again think many of these were nuclear) and wind/solar farms. Going through the hills and valleys we hit a top speed of about 310km/h.

We then got out onto the plains where the track straightened and the train could really stretch its legs. We saw a top speed here of 349km/h. The 1200km trip took us a little over 4 hours.

After arriving into Beijing we checked in at our hotel. We then were whisked off to a Peking Duck restaurant for dinner. The ducks were cooked in a proper wood fired oven and the skin was super thick and crispy. Delicious! We also had a huge assortment of other dishes, including; pork belly, hand pulled noodles, cauliflower with Chinese bacon, tomato & brisket soup and almond tofu in a white chocolate casing for dessert. Safe to say we had to be rolled home at the end.

We got back to our hotel, the Capital Hotel near the middle of Beijing. It's an old classic style hotel which is stuffed full of antiques and art work. Being far too full from dinner, we went for a bit of a wander to check out some of the artwork which includes some amazing pieces. There are huge murals covering the walls, a grand chandelier in the main atrium, one of the most intricate wood carvings you'll ever see and a very cool display of some white gold fish. The gardens outside are also amazing, but we'll get some photos to share when it's light outside.En savoir plus
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Our OE
1
Markets, Majiang & the Drum Tower
24 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ⛅ 37 °C
After a big day previously, we took it a bit easier today. We started with a trip to the breakfast markets. Big crowds here with long lines at the popular stalls. Vela ordered a few little treats for us, including a pork sandwich, beef pastry scroll, some sweet sticky date rice and a soy milk to wash it all down.

We headed to the park by the river and found a shady spot under a tree to eat. By this time (about 10am) it was already pushing 30 degrees (maybe more) so we headed for a coffee shop for our fix and to enjoy some air conditioning.

We then planted ourselves at a Majiang table for the afternoon. Diane and Ross were definitely starting to get the hang of the game, with Diane putting together a big "Hu" (hand) and netting herself a very nice 8 points off Nathan. Not to be outdone, Nathan crafted a very nice hand of his own and earned 21 points off Vela (who was a little disgruntled). At this stage we aren't playing for money though, so we'll let Vela off the hook for now.

After 4 hours of Majiang (amazing how quickly the time disappears) we headed down the road to a Cantonese restaurant. We were served fried lettuce (yes, strange to us westerners but very normal and delicious in China), a chicken dish, a frog dish, a roast pigeon, and a big bowl of fried rice.

And to end our day we headed up the drum tower which was nearby the bell tower we explored on our first evening in Xi'An. The drum tower was used to notify residents of the time and is dated back to the Ming Dynasty in 1380AD. There were 4 massive drums, two on each end, with a diameter of nearly 3 metres, and each side was lined with 12 smaller drums. The 24 smaller drums represent each of the 24 solar terms.

There was a cute little girl in traditional Chinese dress dancing in the corner, and Diane asked if she could get a quick photo with her. The girl obliged but put on a very serious face, Vela still managed to snap a good photo with half a smile.

We headed upstairs and enjoyed watching the swallows swooping around the tower while the sun was setting.

Tomorrow we leave Xi'An, headed for Beijing!En savoir plus
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great photo [Jeanette]
25/05/2024RépondreTraduire
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Terracotta Soldiers
23 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
Big ticket item today! We took a taxi about an hour out of Xi'An to see the Terracotta Soldiers. On arriving, we arranged a tour guide as Vela still isn't feeling flash and we wanted to give her a bit of a rest. Our guide Lili was great, very knowledgeable and knew all the best spots to get a good view.

A quick bit of background on the Terracotta Soldiers. They were created to protect the first Emperor of China in the afterlife, and buried underground (inside wooden pavilions) so they could join the emperor whose tomb resides about 1500m away. The first Chinese Emperor, Emperor Qin, lived over 2200 years ago. Although the location of the Emperor's tomb was well known to Chinese historians, the Terracotta Soldiers were lost to history until they were discovered by accident when a group of local farmers were digging a well and stumbled upon the first pit in the 1970s.

Why this particular site? Well apparently it's all about the Feng Shui. This area is at the foot of mountains where gold and silver was found. There are three rivers traversing this area, bringing fortune and wealth. And below there are wide plains.

The first thing that amazed us was the sheer scale of the site. They have excavated three of at least 400 known pits containing the Terracotta Soldiers, unearthing over 8000 individual soldiers. The museum enclosing the first site is basically an oversized aircraft hangar, around 15,000m2 and containing 6000 soldiers. The place was packed with tourists and we had to defend our position from other pushy and impatient patrons.

At one point in history, the pits had been discovered by the rival provinces, and many of the soldiers were smashed and fires set within the chambers. As a result of this, and natural cave-ins/damage, most of the soldiers are found incomplete and have to be painstakingly restored. Originally the archeologists would ensure the Soldiers were restored to perfection, filling in missing pieces, but in order to maintain authenticity they now only restore them the best they can with the pieces they can find.

It was also a little surprising to us that there were horses and chariots amongst the soldiers, and that they were buried in historically accurate battle formations. Every soldier is unique, sporting different facial expressions, hairstyles, clothes and postures. They are all in battle ready poses, holding weapons (the bronze weapons were likely stolen when the pit was raided by rivals).

We got to see the process of restoring the Soldiers, which is ongoing as they continue to excavate more pits. The excavation process has slowed since the initial rush, this is mostly due to the fact that the soldiers were originally painted, and when freshly unearthed the paint is still visible. But within two weeks of being exposed, the paint degrades and the soldiers return to the colour of the base Terracotta. At least 17 different colours were used to paint the soldiers, including purple, for which the pigment was not thought to have been discovered/invented in 200BC.

We then went to view pit #3 (skipping pit #2 for now). This pit is thought to be a command post. It is much smaller than the other two excavated pits with around 60 soldiers. This pit was also significantly deeper with a single entry point, making it a more defensible position. Many of the Soldiers here were wearing ceremonial armour and weapons as well (not stolen as this tomb was never raided), rather than being appropriately geared for battle. However there has been no commander found at this site, so the thinking is that this command post has been set up for Emperor Qin to take command from in the afterlife.

We then moved to pit #2. The first thing notable about pit number two is the mix of troops. With archer formations (at the back for obvious reasons) as well as foot soldiers and cavalry ready to march. The archers were either standing, ready to shoot, or kneeling and reloading. The kneeling archers were particularly well preserved as their low position better protected them from damage over time. Of particular interest was one soldier, known as the lucky soldier, which is the most complete one found, with only his right hand being broken.

The last item from pit #2 was the posters which showed the colours of the freshly excavated Soldiers.

Overall a very neat experience, and we were very glad we got a guided tour. Understanding the history of this place definitely increased our appreciation.En savoir plus
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Our OE
Little & Big Wild Goose Pagodas
22 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
With everybody recovering from illnesses, we took it a bit easy today. Our first stop was the Little Wild Goose Pagoda. After we got our tickets we entered into a very pretty Japonica tree-lined courtyard. Many of the trees were well over 1000 years old, but the original trunks had rotted away and new trunks sprouted from the old stumps. It made for a nice cool area to wander.

We got a neat little view of the Little Wild Goose Pagoda through the canopy. The pagoda originated in 700AD but was restored in the 1800s. It was part of the imperial gardens from when Xi'An (then known as Chang'An) used to be China's capital.

After the pagoda we came across a very cool bell, which caused fountains to spring into life when rung. Not sure exactly how the mechanism worked, but something to do with the vibrations caused the water to flow (or there is some very clever trickery and a pump somewhere...)

Next we headed into the on site museum and enjoyed looking at many of the old relics dug up around Xi'An. Particularly interesting were the Jade figurines and belt buckles, as well as a fantastic Jade cup around 2000 years old. There was also a scale model of the old walled Chang'An. A bit mind blowing that this city had a population of around 1 million around 1500 years ago. We then chilled outside near a pond before taking a taxi back to the hotel for an afternoon siesta.

Once the outside temperature had cooled enough, we headed for the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. This pagoda is a little better maintained, and also has wind chimes under its eaves. We couldn't get close to this one however as the tourist area was closed for the day.

We had a light dinner before joining the bustling crowds at the street market. The streets are lined with stalls, the trees lit with neon lights, and red Chinese lanterns hanging from the trees - all making for a great atmosphere. We stopped to watch a small performance, enjoyed the artwork and fountains, and had a sneaky little ice cream on the side.

To top the evening off, we were treated to a fountain & laser light show which was spectacular!En savoir plus
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Our OE
Off to Xi'an
21 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Travel day today from Chongqing to Xi'an. Unfortunately we have a bit of sickness going around our group, with Ross and Vela recovering and Nathan seeming to regress back into his illness or picking up something new...

We were dropped at the airport by Vela's step dad (after nearly going to the wrong terminal) and although we were a little rushed, our flight ended up delayed by half an hour. Once on the plane, mum and dad took advantage and caught up on a few winks. We arrived in Xi'an and took a taxi into the old walled city where our hotel is. It was about 2pm by now and 29 degrees outside, so we all took a siesta rather than braving the outside.

As it started to cool off around 5.30pm, Ross, Diane & Vela went to explore the wall around the old city. A quick stop for a sugar filled donut for some energy to climb the steps. This obviously is not "The Wall" but it is one of the largest city defensive walls still standing in China.

After climbing the wall they explored the nearby bell tower and city lights as the sun went down. Some neat night time photography courtesy of Vela before heading back to the hotel for a late dinner at about 10.30pm.En savoir plus
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Our OE
3
Pandas, Cable Car, Old City & Hotpot
20 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
The way we see it, there are 4 big ticket items that anyone visiting China needs to tick off, The Wall, The Forbidden City, The Terracotta Soldiers, and Pandas. We decided to get out of the gates early and headed for Chongqing zoo to see some pandas. The pandas were incredibly cute, but we must have come during nap time - easy to do as I think they sleep for 90% of the day. Many of them were sleeping in what looked to be very uncomfortable poses, draped over poles or starfished on platforms. Nathan managed to spy one which wandered into its cave at the back of the exhibit too, but that was the most action we saw.

Diane enjoyed a little prance in some of the flowers before we left the zoo and headed for lunch. After lunch we took the old cable car across the Yangtze River. This cable car used to be one of the main ways to get across before all the modern bridges were built.

The cable car put us back in the middle peninsula, close to the raffles tower complex again. We passed an old temple, dwarfed by the surrounding skyscrapers, and headed for the old city. This area, now very much a tourist attraction, demonstrates how Chongqing used to be built. Given Chongqing's mountainous geography, they would build platforms on big piles and then build their buildings on top of that. We climbed down through the nine levels of the old city, encountering a wide array of traditional foods, sauces, teas and even a smoke breathing dragon!

After leaving the old city (which was very busy and loud) we found a Majiang room and taught Ross and Diane the basics - we will test them on this later. Chongqing hotpot for dinner before hitting the hay.En savoir plus
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Ross looks very puzzled :) [Jeanette]
21/05/2024RépondreTraduire
VoyageurI think he felt puzzled too 😂
21/05/2024RépondreTraduire
Voyageur That's just a normal look for me Jeanette. You should know that😵‍💫😵‍💫
22/05/2024RépondreTraduire
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Our OE
1
Welcome to China!
19 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C
After a "quiet" day yesterday (only a Chinese wedding, meeting up with three groups of Vela's mates, and about 10 hours of Majiang) today was an exciting one! Nathan's parents arrived in China for the first time!

We picked them up from the airport at about 10.30am and, after a quick refresh at the hotel, took them out for our favourite Chongqing style noodles. The noodle restaurant is quite famous for being owned by three brothers, who each work the restaurant for a year before taking two years off. Big thumbs up for the first meal in China.

Afterwards we headed for Chongqing's famous monorail. We weren't the only ones having a gander at the famous line which goes right through the middle of a residential apartment building. We hopped on the monorail and rode a few stops with nice views of Chongqing over the Jialing River (smaller of the two rivers in Chongqing).

We exited the monorail in the middle of the peninsula where the Jialing River meets the Yangtze. You could see where the green waters of the Jialing mixed into the browner colours of Yangtze. There is a famous tower complex (4 individual towers which are connected with a causeway 42 floors up) so we headed up to one of the bars for a spot of hydration and to enjoy the view.

We then headed off to meet up with Vela's family. The restaurant put on an absolute feast, with dishes being stacked on top of each other in order to fit them on the table. Nathan's dad enjoyed having a taste of Baijiu with Vela's step dad, calling it "medicine" to help fight off any impending illness from the plane. Thank you to Vela's mum, Mei, for organising a fantastic welcoming dinner!En savoir plus
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Glad they arrived safely. Can't wait to see what else you do when they are in China. Monorail looked neat. Say hi to your Mum and Step Dad for me Vela. Did you manage to eat all the food? :) [Jeanette]
20/05/2024RépondreTraduire
Voyageur Panoramic view makes it look curved but it's not
22/05/2024RépondreTraduire
2 j’aime
Our OE
Marathon back to Urumqi
16 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 40 °C
Today essentially marked the end of our time in Xinjiang. With our flights leaving Urumqi tomorrow, we had to make the 680km journey from Nalati, through mountains, valleys and deserts, back to Urumqi. Our GPS suggested about 10 and a half hours travel time, but with plenty of obstacles along the way it took closer to 12.

The first obstacles we faced were livestock and construction vehicles. The livestock is par for the course in Xinjiang (we've never been stuck in so many sheep tornadoes) but the construction vehicles were quite interesting. They are currently building a massive new highway through this area - pretty much the whole way to Urumqi - expected to cut the travel time in half and set to be finished by the end of next year. The amount of tunneling and bridging required was on a completely different level to anything in NZ. There were trucks with massive concrete girders backing across the road, diggers and other construction items we had to wait for or dodge.

The next obstacle was going over the mountain pass. Going up the hill it was very obvious why they need a new highway through here. It was utter chaos with potholes that might swallow a small child, and some parts being more pothole than road. This slowed the many freight trucks down to a crawl, and sometimes a complete stop. The traffic was forced to weave all over the road to try and navigate a path around some of the craters. Adding to this, cars (and trucks) were overtaking and undertaking left, right and centre.

Vela did an amazing job getting us through this safely, and after about an hour of climbing this mountain, going high enough that there was snow on the sides of the road (and only about 12 degrees outside), we made it to the other side and were greeted with amazing views of the arid grasslands below, framed by the mountain ranges on both sides.

Our next obstacle came shortly after descending onto the plains, by way of a police checkpoint. Unbeknownst to us, we were about to enter a military area and foreigners are not allowed through... With no other roads we were faced with the possibility of having to backtrack over the mountains and back around the northern side of the Sky Mountains range - the way we had come. Fortunately the head police officer took pity on us and relented. After taking our details and photos of the vehicle etc, they allowed us to continue through. Phew!

It was pretty easy going for the next few hours, apart from Vela earning a speeding ticket (bit ridiculous having 60km/h limits on flat, straight, wide roads), but we weren't the only ones getting fined. We started weaving through some valleys and encountered a short thunderstorm before finally popping out into a completely barren, alien landscape. It felt a bit like what you might imagine Mars to be like. Bare hard rock everywhere. Stones piled into hills and valleys. Almost no vegetation to speak of. We think that this area had been heavily mined in the past, and what we were seeing was whatever was left in the aftermath.

The atmosphere had turned hazy, and a quick glance at the dashboard showed the temperature had leaped from 12 degrees as we crossed the mountains to 39 degrees! We drove through a heavy industrial area (wish we had taken some photos but we forgot) with massive power plants and what looked like concrete factories and oil refineries. With the haze and the temperature it was actually quite quite a spectacle.

About an hour and a half out from Urumqi we stopped for a quick break (Sunny had done her driving stint and Vela was ready to hop back behind the wheel). The temperature was still baking outside, and the air was so dry to breathe it felt like the moisture was being sucked out of your body. Everything, everywhere, was flat. The sun was barely poking through the haze - but obviously still had plenty of potency.

About 12 hours after leaving Nalati, we finally made it to Urumqi! The atmosphere had cleared up and we were glad to have made it in one piece. No hotel for us tonight, instead we had booked an overnight Chinese "foot" massage (it's more of a full body thing). We had a rather rude lady at the front desk and we thought about turning around - but it was too difficult as we'd handed back the keys to our Orange Tank. So we persevered. Fortunately the massage more than made up for the rudeness. The masseuses were lovely and Vela (whose voice was starting to return after being unwell) enjoyed chatting with them.

After the massage we managed to negotiate our way onto a Majiang table, and played until 4.30am. Sunny and Clara stayed up and headed to the airport at 5.30, while Nathan, Vela and Mei managed to get a few hours of sleep as they had a midday flight booked.

Xinjiang has been amazing! The epic scenery and landscapes. The friendly people. The completely different cuisine. And although we only saw a fraction of this province, we highly recommend!En savoir plus
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VoyageurGood narrative 👍
17/05/2024RépondreTraduire
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Nalati National Scenic Area
15 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
Today we returned to Nalati National Scenic area and this time drove to the highland meadow area. After arriving we took a short bus trip near the top of the mountains to an area that still had snow (although it was melting rapidly in the spring heat). Nice little area with a couple of hawks/eagles circling around in the updraft.

After taking some photos we headed back down and had a little picnic in the grass. A couple of short stops for some more photos with the sheep/cows/horses before we left the area. We're getting a bit fatigued by all the grasslands and mountain views and starting to look forward to some different tourist activities once we leave Xinjiang.

We had a Chinese BBQ for dinner. The first place we looked at has an awesome display of food, but on closer inspection it looked like some of the meat was old and had been sitting out for a while so we moved on to another vendor with fresher looking food (which was 100% the right call). When looking around the streets and listening to the music, you would be excused for thinking you had left China.

At the end of our meal (about 10pm) we enjoyed watching a pretty little sunset. Back to the hotel for some rest with a long (at least 10h) drive back to Urumqi tomorrow.En savoir plus
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Kurdnin Scenic Reserve & Skyhawk Mesa
12–14 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C
After having a blast exploring Kalajun Scenic Farms Reserve, Vela caught some sort of bug, causing a mild fever and sore throat. This meant a couple of slightly quieter days. We did spend one night glamping in Kurdnin scenic reserve. Fortunately there was a heater in our tent but we still didn't get the best sleep. Our luck also ran out and while in Kurdnin we had drenching, misty rain - not ideal for camping. We made the best we could of the situation.

After Kurdnin we headed for another little town - Nalati - nearby to another scenic reserve. After a good night's sleep with a solid roof over our heads, it was time to get some fresh air and stretch our legs. So we hit the Skyhawk Mesa hiking trail. 2777 steps taking us from 1500m to 1800m - it was a reasonably demanding hike.

Vela still wasn't 100% but managed to get about halfway before turning back with Sunny and Clara. Nathan and Mei continued on to the top and were greeted with some pretty epic views of the mountains and valleys. While they were busy getting their photos, there was some movement in the ground nearby. A little video showed this busy little guy, beavering away conducting earthworks. We think it was a vole.

On the way back down Mei taught Nathan some new Mandarin - Wo Men Hui Lai Liao, meaning "we made it back!" There were also some interesting/funny motivational signposts on the trail, too focused on making it to the top on the way up, Nathan stopped to have a read of them on the way down and took photos of the best ones.

Ready for a nice hot shower to recover from that one!En savoir plus
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VoyageurWas Vela's translation of the signs the same as the English translation written in the signs?
14/05/2024RépondreTraduire
VoyageurWouldn’t be close😂
15/05/2024RépondreTraduire
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Exploring Kalajun
11 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C
We woke up this morning to find that our host was telling us the truth about the mountains. It was still quite hazy though so they didn't photograph very well (hence very heavily edited images to try and show what we could actually see). We were treated to a delicious little breakfast by our hosts, who were absolutely amazing, before we set out to explore more of Kalajun.

On our way we saw fields full of yellow flowers, and our brains were thoroughly messed with as there was snow on the roadside, even though it was close to 30 degrees outside... We headed to a spot called "Flying Falcons Scenic Outlook" which had a great view of the mountains. Along the way we were overtaken by a herd of noisy sheep being driven to new fields. We saw a couple of birds of prey in the sky, soaring on the air currents.

After we'd had enough of the scenery, we tried to head to a nearby canyon which is full of adventure tourism activities, but the wind had really got up by this point (struggling to open the car doors), and Vela even joked "how did we end up back in Wellington?" Because of the wind, the gondola was closed, so we took a couple of photos before leaving Kalajun and heading to our accommodation. We were lucky to find our accommodation had a hot tub, so we made use of that, Nathan a little gingerly due to his sunburn (maybe a result of the geomagnetic storm causing all the crazy lights in the night sky?)En savoir plus
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The road to Kalajun
10 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
A slow morning today. After such delicious samsa yesterday we returned to the same little shop and watched the process of making the samsa. Today they were making them in a slightly different shape called Palmoudan (I think that's what he was saying) which basically meant it was pressed using your hand. Once they were formed, the samsa are stuck to the inside of a clay oven to bake before being scraped off to eat. Vela's mum even had a little dance with the kitchen team to some local Xinjiang music!

After lunch we made a quick stop at a little town called Tekesi, famous for its layout of an 8-diagram which is essentially 4 ring roads in the shape of an Octagon with roads segmenting them through their points. The shape is significant in Buddhist culture. Vela flew the drone to capture some of the shape, but the drone is limited to about 120m so we couldn't quite show the whole layout - but I'm sure you get the idea. Before leaving we made sure to sample some locally made ice cream.

Then it was onwards to our main destination - Kalajun. Kalajun is kind of difficult to describe, it felt like we were staying on a farm (which I guess we were) but it was also a scenic park with tourist activities. The best label I could put on it would be a "scenic farm reserve." On our way in we drove up steep cliffs to where the landscape turned into highland meadows with rolling hills. We passed herds of sheep, cattle and horses, and there were plenty of marmots doing their thing in the fields too. We arrived at our Mongol Bao camp for the evening, we got much better vibes here than in Sayram Lake. Apparently there is a view of snowy mountains from the Mongol Bao, but we couldn't see anything due to the haze.

Our host offered us to head on a short horse ride, about 2 hours, which we quickly accepted. It was great fun walking the horses over to the forest and back, although they could have done with a bigger horse for Nathan...

After our mini trek, we returned to our Mongol Bao and had a lamb hotpot for dinner before settling down for some much needed rest.En savoir plus
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Through the mountains to Yining
9 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C
Shorter day on the road today, with just 3 hours driving. Before leaving, we found a nice spot and played with the drone for a bit. We headed through the mountains and stopped for a couple of photos, admiring the much greener grass in the valley with the backdrop of the snow capped mountains.

We then made our way out of the mountains and into Yining. We had a very late lunch at about 4pm (remembering the clocks are a bit weird as they run on Beijing time, so are at least 2 hours out from what we'd expect based on the sun). Lunch consisted of these little lamb filled pastries called Samsa, which were amazing and reminded us a little of an NZ meat pie or sausage roll. We had these with a side of lamb soup.

We then checked into our hotel, which is quite a famous hotel which was originally for diplomats from the old USSR back in the day. The room we had was right at the top on the 12th floor, and was a suite split over two levels with far more space than we could ever need. It cost about 600 yuan ($150nzd), so was quite a steal.

We headed back out into town for some Majiang. We upped the stakes but Nathan and Vela couldn't find their luck, while Sunny outplayed everyone - the only player who won any money. After getting a bit carried away with the Majiang we had dinner at about midnight, BBQ lamb and beef. Yum!En savoir plus
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Mongol Bao (Yurt)
8 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C
After we'd had enough sightseeing, we headed for tonight's accommodation. We were booked to stay in a "Mongol Bao" - literally meaning Mongolian steamed bun, but known to most of us as a Yurt. We approached the spot where we were told to go, and just as we turned to go off road we were stopped by a police car.

After a bit of discussion, it turns out that none of the yurts in the area are legal due to fire safety and licensing issues. The police told us that they'd shut this particular site down recently, and that even though we could see the Mongol Bao's on the hillside, they were empty. They also warned us against staying in them as there had been cases of theft by local farmers, leaving tourists with no phones and no way of contacting anyone for help.

Following this discussion, Vela called the person we had booked with, and he said they had moved to another location. He said to come and have a look at the setup if we were concerned about safety. We had a look, and Nathan was very strongly against staying there, feeling that the police wouldn't warn us against it for no reason, however he was out voted 4-1 by the girls, so that was that.

The site was very pretty, overlooking the lake with the snowy mountains behind. It was pretty cold by this point in the evening, but the fire inside the tent kept everything nice and toasty. However just as we were settling in for the night, the police showed up again. Their intent was to close the site down and kick everyone out as it was not a legal accommodation. Vela did some quick negotiations, saying it was booked through a big travel agency website and how were we to know that it wasn't legal? She also said it was too hard to find other accommodation at this point, and they relented and fortunately allowed us to stay the night. It did put a bit of a negative spin on what otherwise could have been an amazing experience.

After a chilly nights sleep, we awoke again to an amazing blue sky. So we took advantage of the beautiful location before heading on our way again.En savoir plus
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neta view [Jeanette]
11/05/2024Répondre
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Sayram Lake
8 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
Big day today. We woke up and opened our curtains to see beautiful blue sky. We were very surprised to find that we had a view of the snowy "Sky Mountains" range, especially given it was already 23 degrees outside at 9am.

After breakfast we set off, and we had endless views of plains all around us on the highway. More of the same cereal crop being farmed and also a cargo train crossing the landscape. A couple of wispy clouds also started to form, providing the sky with a bit of interest.

After driving for a couple of hours, we could see what looked like a lake in the distance. It turned out to be a solar farm which stretched on and on. We drove for about 10 minutes and still couldn't see the end of it. This was followed by a big wind farm, with towering turbines dotting the hills and plains. Really cool to see renewable energy sources being built, and the sheer scale of them was very impressive.

After the wind farm we finally made it to Sayram Lake. The lake was stunning with barely a ripple on it, making for some fun photography with the snow dusted mountains reflecting in the lake's surface. We drove around the lake to an area where the snow came right down to the water. There was a boardwalk heading up through the pine trees so we hiked up the hills a little way. We found a nice little area for a picnic, so we stopped. Today is also Vela's mums (Mei) birthday, and the girls had prepared a couple of little sweet treats to celebrate. On our way back down, we briefly spied what we think was a Bobak Marmot, before it scurried underneath the walkway.

Afterwards we hiked back down the path to the car and drove to tonight's accommodation.En savoir plus
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Bai Li Dan Xia (100 miles of canyons)
6–7 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Flying into Xinjiang was exceptionally scenic. After leaving the typical lush Chinese landscapes behind, we flew over snowy mountains and sandy deserts before landing ahead of time at Urumqi airport. We picked up our rental car, a bright orange "Tank" (Jeep/Hummer lookalike) and went to check in at our hotel.

Arriving at the hotel we immediately faced a problem, the hotel couldn't cater to foreign guests. China is quite strict when it comes to certain rules, and one of them is they have a system so they know where foreigners are staying at all times. The hotel we had booked was not linked into the system, so if they provided Nathan with a room and the police found out, they risk being completely shut down by the government. Fortunately they offered us a full refund, and Vela quickly worked her magic and found a hotel nearby that could take foreigners.

We took advantage of the free washing machines and dryer while we waited for Sunny & Clara's planes to arrive. With Sunny and Clara joining our party, we headed to dinner. Being in the very Northwest of China, Xinjiang's food, culture and even the appearance of some of the locals, is quite different. The cuisine is very lamb & beef heavy, as opposed to the many pork based dishes found elsewhere in China. By about 9.30, the sun was starting to set (all of China runs on Beijing time, so being so far west and north means late sunsets) so we decided to play a little Majiang before bed. Nathan managed to be top scorer again, more than making up for the money Vela lost...

After a good night's sleep, it was time to hit the road. The landscape started out exceptionally flat, with fields of some unknown crop (maybe a grain of some sort?) for miles and miles. We turned off the main highway, past a little power plant (we think it was nuclear) and headed to the hills. It was incredible how quickly the landscapes changed. Suddenly there were massive hills, rocky cliffs, and deep valleys around us. We stopped for a photo shoot (and bathroom break) before heading higher into the mountains to a viewpoint for more photos. We passed lots of farms with sheep, cows and goats, we even had to wait for a herd of cows using the road.

We made our way back into civilization and headed to a town called Wusu, where Wusu beer is brewed. It was a bit of a nothing town, with many of the buildings looking abandoned, but we did find a bit of street art. Obviously the artist was a time traveller and knew Vela, Sunny and Clara would be visiting one day.

We made it into Kuytun in time for dinner, and we had the most delicious meal of lamb any of us has ever tasted (think Nathan's face says it all). The meat was literally falling off the bone, and so full of flavour. Nathan managed to get his hands on the hock bone - very happy boy.

Back to our hotel in time to watch the late sunset (sorry about the dirty windows), no hotel issues this time!En savoir plus
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Voyageur Goats or sheep
07/05/2024RépondreTraduire
VoyageurThose were goats, most of the sheep were brown/black
08/05/2024RépondreTraduire
Voyageur Face says dam I just dropped the most delicious lamb hok on the floor 😂😂
08/05/2024RépondreTraduire
VoyageurNah, face says "I'm in heaven"
08/05/2024RépondreTraduire
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The "Sea of Tea"
4 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
After the crowded market street yesterday, we opted for a more relaxing destination today and headed to Zhongguo Cha Hai (the China Sea of Tea). With plenty of space and fewer people visiting it was great to get out and stretch our legs with a wander around the farm.

We visited the viewing pagoda in the middle of the farm, and the tea fields stretched as far as we could see. We of course tried some fresh green tea, made from the small new leaves at the very tips of the plants. A couple of small cheese sweet treats went down great with the fresh tea.

We walked pretty much to the other end of the farm, dodging rain showers, and opted to jump on the shuttle back to the car park. It was then time for lunch with some local noodles.

We returned back to Yunzi, and spent the rest of the afternoon playing Majiang. Nathan was kind enough to donate back some of his winnings from yesterday, Vela also got into the giving spirit and donated back the rest.. Over the two days we lost about 10nzd, which we would gladly pay again for the hours of fun!

Driving back to Chongqing tomorrow and then the following day we're off to Xinjiang for a couple of weeks road tripping.En savoir plus
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WOW!!, One of these days I'll get to China [Jeanette]
05/05/2024RépondreTraduire
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Zunyi
1–3 mai 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
With China's national public holiday upon us, we decided to escape Chongqing - which is a hot spot for Chinese tourists. We jumped in a car with Maggie and Hom (Maggie is one of Vela's friends from middle & high school, and Hom is her husband).

We battled the traffic and headed into the mountains of Guizhou province, bound for Zunyi. Along the way we stopped at Moutai, a town made famous for producing Baijiu (Chinese rice liquor), in particular the Moutai brand which is the most famous (and loved) Baijiu in China, but there are over 3300 distilleries here. Definitely not to Nathan's taste, but it was still interesting to have a look around the town and a small museum which showcased the history and process of making Baijiu.

We finally made it to Zunyi, which is a small city by Chinese standards, after about 6 hours driving (normally would only take 4 hours). We went straight to a restaurant for dinner. On the menu was charcoal roasted chicken with a range of dipping sauces and spicy powders which were delicious. It was great to pick up some bones and get stuck in!

The following day we headed to Yunmentun (a nature reserve area) and took a ferry down the river through a massive archway. It would have been nice to be able to spend more time in the arch area, but the ferry was on a tight schedule and we were hurried back on board. We then had a short hike through the park along the river, seeing some waterfalls and walking through a "Difeng" (literally translates to ground crack). At the end of the hike there was the head of a dragon carved into the cliff face, with the rest of the cliffs curling away into the distance making up its body and tail.

Nathan unfortunately got a little unwell during this time, but with lots of travel coming up the timing was probably the best we could hope for. So the following day was overall pretty relaxing. Flame grilled noodles for breakfast, called "over the bridge" noodles, because you take the noodles out of the big bowl into a little bowl (with some sauce and flavouring), creating a little bridge. And then a visit to a local market street which was absolutely packed. But the sounds, colours and smells were pretty amazing to take in. We had the worst hotpot we've ever had for lunch, with lots of the meats being fake pressed meat, the sauce had no flavour, and even the quail eggs were fake. Most of the food was left behind... We might be getting a little snobby when it comes to hotpot...

And finally in the afternoon we spent a couple of hours playing Majiang. Nathan once again proved he can mix it with the locals, with the below photo of the Hu (hand) being particularly good, netting him about $30NZD.En savoir plus
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you guys should be used to the crowds after Kyoto. :) [Jeanette]
05/05/2024RépondreTraduire
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Luzhou
29–30 avr. 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Every time we're in China it's important we also head over to Luzhou to see Vela's Dad and his side of the family. Vela's step mum drove us the 2 hours from Chongqing to Luzhou. It was great to meet up with them and we were shown his new apartment which is still having the interior fitout completed. Very cool to see the differences between NZ and China. There were a couple of items that might not pass a health and safety inspection in NZ (safety sandals and lack of fall protection in the stairwells being the main ones).

We were then taken to a construction site that his company is the main contractor for; a 5-storey hotel with attached commercial wholesale market totalling about 40,000m2. Just in the early stages of the process with civil works being done for the foundations, and holes being drilled for the piles (up to 2.2m in diameter). The site was impressive and very clean and tidy which was not what we expected. Vela had a quick look over the blueprints for the job (looked to be about 500 pages worth).

Afterwards we had a family dinner before playing a bit of Majiang. They play a slightly different version of Majiang in Luzhou, with some complexities which we felt made the game a bit more luck based than Chongqing style. The base was still similar, with making sets of matching tiles and then arguing over whose is best, and who pays money to who. Vela managed to learn quickly and came away with a net positive of 80rmb - about $20.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Woooah fancy table!
10/05/2024RépondreTraduire
VoyageurI know right! One day we'll have one of these and teach you guys Majiang 😉
10/05/2024RépondreTraduire
VoyageurThat would be amazing 😍
10/05/2024RépondreTraduire
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Hanging out in Chongqing
24–28 avr. 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
After a busy few days and nights in Beijing and Xiamen, it was nice to get back to Chongqing where we could rest up a little. There was still a lot of catching up with friends, but also some more relaxing activities including; walking to find coffee in the mornings, badminton, lunch/dinner with friends, enjoying the warm settled weather, and family time.

Nathan was introduced to some foreigners living in Chongqing (some of them up to 12 years) and it was interesting to get their perspective on life in China. They also took him out to a decent bar to sample a couple of hazys. Hazy #2 was the better drop.En savoir plus
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Xiamen
22–24 avr. 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
After finishing up in Beijing, we jumped on another plane and headed to Xiamen. We spent a couple of nights here and Vela had a big reunion with her University sailing team. This meant a couple of late nights out, starting with dinner and finishing with karaoke.

We also went for a walk around the Xiamen University. The campus is very famous in China, rated the most beautiful campus, with many tourists trying to visit. However they have gates and only students, staff, and alumni are actually allowed on campus, so a bit of a special treat for us.

Thoroughly worn out from all the socialising, we're headed back to Chongqing for a few quieter "recovery" days with family and friends before heading off into the wilderness on a hike.En savoir plus
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Universal Beijing
21 avril 2024, Chine ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
Yes we've only just visited Universal Studios in Osaka. No we aren't theme park junkies. But that being said it was a spectacular day with great weather and even better company.

It was interesting comparing the two theme parks, and some of the differences between Chinese & Japanese culture was apparent. The Japanese park and staff definitely leaned more into the acting and role playing compared to the Chinese establishment, however the Beijing park was definitely less crowded which meant we got to ride the transformers themed "Decepticoaster" many times with minimal wait.

Overall it was a fun day out and we got another dose of adrenaline before a few weeks of exploration and sight seeing around China.En savoir plus
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Beijing Summer Palace
20 avril 2024, Chine ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
After our brief stop in Chongqing for Vela to get her UK and EU visa applications submitted, we flew up to Beijing. Our flight was delayed so we didn't get to our hotel until about 2.30am.

After a small sleep in, we reunited with Vela's friends, Luffy and Fish. Luffy lives in Beijing and we camped on the Great Wall together 8 years ago. He is a bit of a history aficionado, so we were very lucky to have our own personal tour guide! Because we have already been to the Forbidden City (and we are returning to visit with Nathan's parents in a few weeks), Luffy took us to see the two Summer Palace's which were used previously by Chinese Emperors.

The first palace (old palace) we visited was very heavily inspired by Greek and Roman architecture, with lots of stonework, fountains, and ponds. The Chinese flavour shone through in the carvings and with other details including the 12 animals of the Chinese Zodiac. It was once the largest garden in the world, and even in its current state was beautiful to walk around and experience. This palace was ransacked in the 1860s when China was invaded by several western countries - and it remains a great tragedy for the Chinese to this day.

The second summer palace had more traditional Chinese architecture. The palace roof and many of the details are painted yellow, which is the colour that signified the Imperial Family. On the ends of the roof corners there are small figurines carved, the more of these carved on a building the higher that buildings importance, the Emperors dwelling would have ten! There was an interesting Buddhist temple at the top of the hill, with thousands of Buddha's carved into the walls (and also inside but we weren't allowed in to see it).

Afterwards we walked (ran) down the hill to the lakeside where we experienced a little bit of the wooden walkway, which was adorned with many detailed paintings of landscapes. We were a little short on time and this area was very crowded so we didn't get to spend as much time as we would have liked to really explore this area.

Luffy, Fish and Vela then dropped Nathan off in a coffee shop while they enjoyed the concert of a very famous (legendary) Chinese singer - Jacky Cheung. They were very lucky to get tickets as they sold out in seconds.

Afterwards, to cheer Nathan up after leaving him alone, we visited a craft beer shop for a couple of local drops. The beers definitely looked pretty, but most tasted like lemonades. Of particular interest was the one on the very left which was a green tea flavour, and tested very much like green tea, more so than the Japanese one we tried previously.En savoir plus
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Voyageur Did you drink all of those 🍺🥴
22/04/2024RépondreTraduire
VoyageurI did, most were low alcohol, volume was the main problem
22/04/2024RépondreTraduire
Voyageur Plus the time when ela was waiting to get going
22/04/2024RépondreTraduire
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Coming Home to Chongqing
18 avril 2024, Chine ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C
Travel day today!

This morning we left our hotel headed for Osaka airport. Luckily Vela double checked our flights before we got on the train, as there are two international airports in Osaka and we were originally headed for the wrong one!

Crisis averted, we safely boarded our plane and with no issues (other than a kooky stranger in the third seat in our row) we arrived safely in Chongqing!

Standard homecoming ritual meant 30 minutes later we were at a hotpot restaurant with Vela's family. Yum!En savoir plus
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