Travels in China

[Birdjaguar]

I have been unable to post here for the past couple of weeks, but that is behind me now.
Riding the elevator up to the ZJJ plateau. Being taller than your typical Chinese helped.


Link to video.

 

[Birdjaguar]

The top of the plateau is a series of long pathways with views connected by short bus trips. Here are two maps that give different flavors to the area. One is a very stylized map and the other more realistic. We road the elevator up (on the left side) and came down the cable cars on the right.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Pictures taken while walking the trails. I'll add comments as needed. One thing I did not expect is that I really like the paving stones used in the walkways. I took a lot of pics of those. I want them for my backyard. They will show up below. The trails were not crowded, but not empty either. Everyone was very friendly. I don't recall seeing any western English speakers all day. I did meet an Iranian who spoke English and we chatted a bit.
Trash cans along the pathways


I was a novelty to kids.

 

[Birdjaguar]

There is a temple spot along the path where visitors can "pray" for good luck and fortune in the coming year. Folks tie red ribbons around the area as a way of gaining good fortune. You can see the ribbons from a distance. All the ribbons looked new so I expect that at some point the take them down for a clean slate in the next cycle.



And my little ribbon!



Link to video.

 

[Birdjaguar]

The last video shows my darling paving stones. There were miles of them throughout the park.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Our walk continued.


A Chinese tour group

Photo opportunity with costumes to wear

The man from Iran that I met

 

[Birdjaguar]

Link to video.

Link to video.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Part way around there was an area to buy food and souvenirs. Cathy told me that in summer you could find a thousand people waiting to buy lunch. The McDs in the picture is about 50 meters long. This is just one of the entrances. No crowds today!


pagoda

Famous General memorial near the pagoda.

 

[Birdjaguar]

To get off the plateau we took an aerial tram down.


Link to video.

And at the bottom was the crew that kept the cars clean and the windows clear!

 

[Birdjaguar]

I found this video of the McDs


Link to video.

 

[Birdjaguar]

When not in the Park, I explored Zhangjiajie village. My hotel was across the river from the older sections of the village.

My hotel front door


The river, but I'm not sure which side I was on when I took this.

Old temple with wood carvings

 

[Birdjaguar]

Typical roadside construction that was common everywhere.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Village streets waiting for the summer crowds

 

[Birdjaguar]

I ate dinner in the village and was joined at my table by a young mother and her two kids. We chatted using WeChat translation while her kids played and ate. She was curious about my visit and that I was traveling alone in such an out of the way place. Keep you eye on the noodle in the video. After she left, I did some more walking and had dumplings at a different place.

Breakfast provided at my hotel



Dinner in the village


Dumpling snack



Link to video.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Tourist hustles.

Enterprising and persistent locals made ongoing efforts to engage me and dip into my non Chinese wallet. All were very nice. There was one group of six or so older women who really wanted to give me a foot massage after my long day of walking in the park. None spoke any English but their message was clear for the low low price of whatever, I could get a refreshing foot massage. One was more persistent than the rest so I rewarded her with her offer price of a couple of dozenal rmb and let her go to work. She was thrilled she had worn me down and since there were so few folks around she at least had dinner money.



I also enjoyed a candy making demonstration out front of a store selling the freshly made candy. I didn't buy any.


Link to video.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Teh next day was my last full day in Zjj and i spent the early morning on boat trip around a famous lake and a 7.5 Km "hike" along the Golden Whip stream. My guide from the day before, Cathy, was not available but she sent her older sister for the day. Her sister was terrible. She really didn't want to be there doing this and usually hiked 50-100 yards a head of me; I guess she thought it would speed me up. Not a chance. I took my own sweet time. I didn't actually need her to enjoy the day. She was only helpful in making sure I got the taxi back to the hotel. That meant lack of companionship as I walked, but no matter. Cathy had been so delightful the day before it really didn't matter. At the end of the day i did tell Cathy that her sister did a terrible job as her replacement.
Map of Baofeng Lake. The boat trip was not particularly interesting and kinda reminded me of the old Disney Adventureland tours without the drama of fake animals.


Golden Whip Stream info. I took pictures of most of the places listed on the sign, but no longer remember which names go with which pictures. So use your imagination as they appear.

Obligatory poorly translated sign

 

[Birdjaguar]

At Baofeng Lake I got to see one of the worlds largest salamanders and a few other sites.

The Chinese giant salamander (Andrias davidianus) is one of the largest salamanders and one of the largest amphibians in the world. It is fully aquatic and is endemic to rocky mountain streams and lakes in the Yangtze river basin of central China.

My terrible guide that day

 

[Birdjaguar]

Videos from Baofeng Lake


Link to video.


Link to video.


Link to video.

 

[Birdjaguar]

This short video is from the boat trip. I couldn't figure out how to get it turned 90 degrees.


Link to video.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Golden Whip Stream

My afternoon walking this stream was just wonderful. Since my guide went her own way for the most part, I had the path to my self. Trees were just coming into bloom and leaf and the sunny day was filtered through very nice shade cover. And there were monkeys!


Young child atop a monument at the start of the path.



Noted spring