06 October 2013, Sunday
Today is going to be a busy day after 4 days on the cruise ship steaming up the Yangtze River. We disembark from the ship at Chongqing with a stop at the Panda Zoo, followed by a city tour. We then fly from Chongqing to Guilin and take a bus to Yangshuo. If we were travelling by bus, here's what our route would look like - about 1,000 km or 600 miles.
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| Map - Chongqing Guilin Yangshuo |
You can see that we're slowly making our way down to Macau and Hong Kong. However, I'm getting ahead of myself. Our first stop is in Chongqing.
Chongqing
Chongqing (formerly romanised as Chungking) is the fastest-growing urban centre on the planet. Its
population is already bigger than that of Peru or Iraq, with half a
million more people arriving every year in search of a better life. It is one of China's municipalities that reports directly to the national government rather than to a provincial government. (The other three are Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, and the only such municipality not located on the coast.) Besides the Han who form the majority of its total population of 28.8
million, numerous ethnic groups reside in Chongqing including Yi,
Tibetan, Miao, Qiang, You and Tujia.
Since its
founding 3,000 years ago around 450 BC, Chongqing has been called Jiangzhou, Yuzhou,
and Gongzhou before getting its present name nearly 800 years ago.
Since the Qin Dynasty (221 BC-206 BC), many dynasties have set up
administrative institutions that have endowed the city with brilliant
cultures. Perched beside the Yangtze, the "Golden River," Chongqing
symbolizes Yangtze River civilizations and is the cradle of Bayu
culture. Today, it serves as the economic centre of the upstream Yangtze basin, being a major manufacturing centre and transportation hub. With a population of 29 million, it is the largest of the 13 emerging megacities in China.
Chongqing was temporarily the capital of the Republic of China during
World War II, after Nanjing was occupied by the Japanese. The capital
was subsequently relocated back to Nanjing after the Japanese
surrendered in 1945. Neighbouring provinces are Hubei (east), Hunan (east), Guizhou (south), Sichuan (west), Shaanxi (north). Located on the edge of the Yungui Plateau and surrounded by small green
capped mountains, Chongqing City is intersected by the Jialing River
and the upper reaches of the Yangtze. Also known as the "Mountain City, Chongqing is surrounded by the Daba Shan mountains in the
north, Wu Shan in the east, Wuling Shan in the southeast, and Dalou
Mountain to the south. Chongqing is known for its hot and humid
weather, smog, and pollution.
However, in recent months, Chonqing's reputation for organized crime and corruption has overshadowed its history and cultural significance in recent times with the name of Bo Xilai making newspaper headlines throughout the world.
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| Downtown Chongqing |
But I digress.
The city is the starting (or ending) point
for the Yangtze River Cruise which explores the stunning scenery of the Three Gorges. Other attractions include the Dazu Rock Carvings (valuable works of art carved during the Ninth Century), Gold Buddhist
Mountain (a rich repository of diverse animals and plants) and Fishing
Town (one of three ancient battlefields in China). Ancient Ci Qi Kou village lures tourists to linger in its streets to buy handicraft souvenirs. General Joseph W. Stilwell Museum, Three Gorges Museum, People's Assembly Hall and Wulong Karst are also worth a visit. Chongqing is famous for its hot Sichuan cuisine and world-famous hotpot dishes. Street vendors as well as restaurants feature exciting spicy delicacies for the adventurers.
We're going to be taking a tour of the city. What sights we'll be seeing....... well that remains to be seen. But one place we will be visiting is the famous Panda Zoo.
The Chongqing (Panda) Zoo
Built in 1953, Chongqing Zoo occupies an area of 45 hectares, ranking as the largest urban zoo in China. It is famous for various animals including more
than 230 kinds of rare wild ones. The highlight of zoo is
the Panda House which covers about 2 hectares. The zoo serves as both a reserve and a base for the breeding
of giant pandas, lesser pandas, South China tigers, and other
endangered species. During recent years, the zoo has expanded and added a
new Antelope Room, Elephants Room, Giraffes Room, Panda Room,
Orangutans Room, and Avian Room to further protect endangered species.
The Tea Garden provides a place to relax and rest your feet after taking
in the sights.
The Panda Room in Chongqing Zoo is a must-see site for visitors with over 1 billion visitors annually. In order to
preserve this valuable species, the Panda House is
designed to emulate the natural environment and living habits of
giant panda. Here, we can get close to watch the giant
pandas and their offspring.
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| Chongqing Panda Zoo |
Although the giant panda is a kind of bear, they are shy when in public. Sometimes it's hard to see the giant panda, while, at other
times, they may leisurely walk around in their rooms. The best chance of
seeing pandas is during feeding -- between 8:30 and 10:30am. If the
pandas aren't out, we can always ask the zoo warden if he'll feed them.
From the Chongqing Zoo, we next board a bus and travel down to the town of Yangshuo, famous for rock climbing and the Li River
Yangshuo
In the 1980s, many foreign backpackers were drawn here by the introduction of the country in the "Lonely Planet" travel guide, a book that boasts that the authors have visited every place in the book. Yangshuo is now a relatively large tourist town that different from most
typical Chinese towns. It is relatively free from air and noise pollution, very clean by Chinese
standards and doesn't usually suffer from massive traffic
chaos. It has wonderful restaurants and shops, an almost
unlimited number of hotels and hostels, and is fairly developed. Yangshuo is well-known amongst travellers in
Southern China, and is a major stop on the trail of many independent
travellers.
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| Yangshuo, As Seen From The Top Of The "TV" Hill |
The main reason people stop in the town is to explore the
local countryside by bike, try their hand on the world-class
rock-climbing sites or take a bamboo raft down the river and view the
famous scenes in the process.
Aside from the fact we'll be staying in Yangshuo for the evening, we'll be seeing the "Impression Sanjie Liu" ("Human's Masterpiece Performed With The Cooperation with the
God") sound-and-light show.
Liu Sanjie" Sound-And-Light Opera
This is the world largest natural theater which utilizes the waters of the Li River
as its stage with the twelve mist-shrouded hills and the heavens as its
backdrop. Mist, rain, moonlight, the hills, and their inverted
reflections in the river become the ever-changing natural
background. The "auditorium" is housed on the natural islands of the river
with the audience standing on the designed terraces surrounded by
green plants. The sound equipment here can't be seen as it is "hidden" by the natural environment. The valleys, the hills, the cool
breeze, and the gurgling streams all contribute to the
3-dimensional sound effect.
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| Liu Sanjie Sound-And-Light Opera |
Day by day, the weather offers
different scenes with the four seasons changing the performance according to the climate. The performance is a new concept in opera using nature as an integral part of performance. Hence the name - "Human's Masterpiece Performed With The Cooperation with the
God"). It should be quite the performance.
Hotel - Yangshuo Jasper International Hotel
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| Yangshuo Jasper International Hotel |
Tomorrow, we get to spend the whole day in Yangshuo exploring the Li River, taking a boat trip on the Li River exploring the countryside.
