Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Of Rocks and Mountains

"Oh what are men compared to rocks and mountains!" Tis a line I always remember from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Truly nothing, even if I doubt the great lady herself had ever been to China. More photos! This truly is a disgusting backlog, clearly not cut out to be a blogger. It turns out life is more exciting than I think it is. 


So one of the things unique to Lijiang and its native Naxi tribe is it's embroidery schools. They are kept within the family, and the skill is mostly imparted to relatives (nieces, daughters, daughters-in-law, cousins etc). In Naxi culture, it is the woman who earns the upkeep! Not really a yay for equality because the men just spend their afternoons drinking tea (or liquor) and playing chinese chess..... 
So one must most definitely go to see an embroidery school, when one is in Lijiang! They truly are amazing works of art, so much patience! Some of the more intricate ones take up to 700 days to complete, quite insane! 
Look how the fishes sorta come alive! The bright parts are where the silk embroidery has been done. At the school we went to, they had a whole lot of little dogs which were once stray but now guard the house (or laze about) in exchange for food and pats. 
TEEHEE me when I'm happiest, surrounded by furry little dusty dogs. 
Another tourist destination: Tiger Leaping Gorge. Apparently a hunter was chasing a tiger and it leapt across the gorge onto that rock and onto the other side of the river, which you can see by the tiny humans on the other side, is pretty damn wide. 
Food! Cooked by the boy in the blue jacket! I saw boy because he could not have been more than 16 years old but he had pretty legit cooking skills. I hang my head in shame. 
Moar food! This one was one of my faveee meals! It's called Guo Qiao Mian (or Cross Bridge Noodles), and is light and not too oily (although look at that soup). First, according to what you order, they serve you a plate of condiments and a bowl of noodles. Usually comes with peavine, ham slices, quail's egg, beancurd skin, pickled veggies and some meat like chicken etc. Then later on a big boiling claypot of soup arrives! You're supposed to throw the noodles into the boiling soup, followed by all the other condiments and then eat it all. It was super delish, need to try to recreate this dish! 
Some Peacock Dance show, rather entertaining. Granted, I did fall asleep once but only because I was tired. Then off to the Stone Forest, a forest made up of limestone formations. Naturally, being the civilised people that we are, we spent the entire time there having fun with the topography. 
Teehee! Daddytong says hi. 
The End. 

Friday, March 8, 2013

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

More photos from my Lijiang trip! I quite like posting things about 5 months late I think... It helps me to remember fondly the good times. Would you call this living in the past? I guess so! Anyhow, the most famous thing about Lijiang is undisputably, this mountain called Yu Long Xue Shan. Not only is it a jade mountain, it is also a JADE DRAGON SNOW MOUNTAIN. Trust the Chinese to be extra lor-sorh or descriptive about a mountain. It is naturally one of the treasures of China, and Zhang Yimou was so inspired about the mountain he produced a show with the mountain as a backdrop. 

Here you see hundreds and hundreds of actors. To be honest I can't really remember what the show was about, mostly the cultures of the Naxi people of the region, but is that a view or what!? Outdoor theatre also means feeling hot (from the sun) yet freezing (from the winds) at the same time. 
After the show it was cable car time! After rushing for the bus to take us to another high point (whatchamacallit) to get on a cable car, we had to queue pretty long but it was quite worth it! So meanwhile, queuing up we saw heaps of people in these long ass puffer down coats, but it was so warm from the sun we thought we would be fine! WE WERE WRONG. 
See all those tiny red people on the stairs? Yeah they're in red puffer jackets. 
My sister & I, and Daddy, FREEZING. We took this picture huddled together but still nearly got frostbite. 
(hehehhehehe I kinda felt like Perez Hilton while editing this photo on photobucket) 
Freak human/baby looking radish. Not quite sure if I would dare to eat it. Also I must say the food here was way better than the food I had in Jiu Zhai Gou/Chengdu. I guess Mala food is not to my palette. Ok just one more post and I'd be done with this trip! But still have yet to put up all the photos from my UK trip. Baby steps! 

x

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

almost Shangri-La

“People make mistakes in life through believing too much, but they have a damned dull time if they believe too little.” 

I've never actually read Lost Horizon by James Hilton, (yes yes what kind of literature enthusiast am I??), but the concept of Shangri-La extends to me nevertheless. Any sort of utopia draws people in, capturing the attention with a fountain of youth sort of vigor. Thought I'd update this cobwebbed site with some photos from last year's trip to China with my parents to Lijiang, which is the base for many explorers keen to venture out to Tibet and the famed Shangri-La. Truly felt like another dimension, lost in the gap of time. Minus the Maccas/KFC/Pizza hut we spied in the touristy "Old Town". 

Feast your eyes. 


Obligatory family shot. (Yes I have green hair here! Was supposed to be a bright turquoise but alas asian hair, it was not meant to be) 



Some photos of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (or also known as 玉龙雪山), views from the Black Dragon Pool, all of which are AAAAA classified scenic areas as declared by the China National tourism administration. It is truly a sight to behold. Saw lots of temples with mixed Tibetan heritage, since Lijiang is so close to Tibet, and also home to the Naxi tribal people. They have their own hieroglyphic language (see McDonalds for reference), and are deeply rooted in culture and heritage. Requisite jumpshot in front of AAAAA scenic area of course, and of food (mushroom hotpot) that gave us all indisgestion. Not to forget ink paintings done by an artist using only his fingers, and old men sitting in even older Old Town with hawks for hire. 

More photos soon xx