Second in the series where we profile what we think are the top ten destinations for the first time visitor to see in China. Destinations are listed in no particular order, however, what do YOU think the top ten should be???
Made with 26,000 images taken over two months traveling across Tibet, Xinjiang, Yunnan and Sichuan this video made by Abram Hodgens gives a great new take on traveling through these regions of China.
Silk Road Timelapse: Two Months Across Tibet, Xinjiang, Yunan, and China from inMotion on Vimeo.
A good read from National Geographic about the ancient Tea Horse Road, a trade route from China into Tibet. It starts “Deep in the mountains of western Sichuan I’m hacking through a bamboo jungle, trying to find a legendary trail. Just 60 years ago, when much of Asia still moved by foot or hoof, the Tea Horse Road was a thoroughfare of commerce, the main link between China and Tibet. But my search could be in vain. A few days earlier I met a man who used to carry backbreaking loads of tea along the path; he warned me that time, weather, and invasive plants may have wiped out the Tea Horse Road.” read more…
Shigatse is Tibet’s second largest city and almost always an overnight stop on trips outside of Lhasa 250km away. Originally known as Samdruptse it has always been an important trading and administrative centre in Tibet as well as the traditional home of the Panchen Lama. The Tibetan town rather than the new Chinese town is the draw for travellers.
It is easy to forget that a country with 1.3 billion people and which seems to make a large percentage of the world’s goods from endless factories actually has some outstanding scenery. China’s mountains are largely unknown to foreigners but just look a topographical map of China and you can see there huge areas of wild, mountainous terrain. The obvious range is the Himalaya’s in Tibet and bordering and crossing into Nepal. Other huge ranges can be found in Xinjiang province (the Parmirs, Altai and Tian Chi ranges), The Kunlun range in Qinghai province and the sacred mountains that dot China from Sichuan to Beijing. China.org has a list of it’s top ten here and below are some of the ones we have explored in recent years.
The last entry for Tibet – at least for now. In contrast to the last post from the Shod Seb Nunnery, Ganden is a much visited Monastery and impressive as it is, its popularity shows – no photos of smiling monks here! Dating from the year 1417 Ganden was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution. Reconstructed in the 1980s it is visited by many pilgrims and there are now over 400 monks studying here. Still, this is a long way off it’s former glory. Ganden has a mountainside Kora as well as a nearby sky burial site. The views from the Kora are stunning as is the road that has been cut up the mountainside to ferry the pilgrims in by bus. Next stop Shanghai…
Another afternoon trip out of Lhasa to a different mountain in a different direction and this time a nunnery as opposed to a monastery. Shod Seb (meaning Juniper) is a little visited place, perhaps partly due to the extremely steep climb up the mountainside to reach it. Despite the rigours of the climb the experience was well worth it as a lack of visitors meant a degree of openness to those who make it that was unmatched in many other places we visit. I think this comes across in the photos. We left here with a smile – a very happy place.
Quite simply, one of the world’s most extraordinary buildings, the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, dominates the city and can be seen from many points across Lhasa. The former palace of the Dalai Lamas it is now effectively a museum and has some amazing treasures inside including the stupa of the 5th Dalai Lama which is made of over 3,700 kg of gold and 10,000 precious stones. The palace dates back to the 7th century but has been extensively added to since then. I’ll let the photos do the rest of the talking.
