Blogs from China, Asia - page 8

Hi All, Travelling for non Chinese people has become infuriating with virus xenophobia really starting to grate. Last week we tried to pay a visit to Kangding only to be told I wasn't allowed on the bus, no reason given just being foreign is enough. Every place I visit not only do I have to show my healthcode or travel code, a QR code which everyone here has on the app WeChat, but I also have to sign in a book with my name, phone number and passport details. I also have to put up with people putting their hands over their hands and noses as I approach them or quickly putting on facemasks. Just today a monk, who wasn't wearing a mask, told me to put one on while saying nothing to the other people ... read more

Dali and Surrounds I honestly would like to go back to Dali and have a longer opportunity to look around. Our day started with an opportunity to photograph "the Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple". This was done at a distance, time did not allow us to visit the temple. Some vendors were selling objects and nick nacks primarily made from the local stone. The patterns within the stone were fascinating. We then proceeded to a village market place. I never got the name of the village. Here I had a small bit of Covid-19 unpleasantness. Many people were maskless, however as the only foreigner a security guard at the market entrance insisted that I wore a mask, I stopped to watch, I was the only person told to wear a mask in the short time that ... read more

Hi All, This is one of the few tourist sites I haven't visited here in Chengdu. So in sweltering 38° heat we explored the very large Taoist temple 青羊宫，QingYang Gong, The Green Ram Temple. One of the halls was under renovation but the rest of the buildings were open although not all were accessible. There has been a temple on the site for around 2000 years but most of the buildings standing today are Qing dynasty renovations and some are rebuilds done in the later half of the 20th century. As with all of these Chinese temples in the middle of the city the quiet and tranquility is wonderful. At the rear of the temple is a lovely teahouse, where we passed a couple of hours in the cool shade, and there is also a cheap ... read more

Rainbow Beach, Colourful Beach, Wucai Beach There seems to be many translations of this area. Basically the banks of a river at this stage runs through an area of I guess sandstone. The river has carved through the land and erosion has exposed many different colours of material. It is interesting scenery. There are interestingly shaped and coloured features. Once again however, if I missed this I would not feel that I had missed much. The area was about 40 minutes drive from Burqin on the way to Lake Kanas. The day was hot, it was very dry. Boardwalks kept people off the sensitive areas and gave viewpoints at different locations. It was scenic. The river that runs through the area is variously called the Irzise or Irtysh and is the only Chinese river that flows ... read more

Duku Highway The guide books and travel advice web sites rate the Duku Highway as one of the most beautiful drives on the planet. I have to agree, the section that we drove was spectacular. Our day started with what was going to be a long drive. Our instructions from the driver were to call out when we needed a photo stop. The section of the Highway that we drove on started at the Nalati Grasslands and ended up in Burqin (Beurjin). The route is numbered G217, but sometimes we were on G3014 travelling in a general Northerly direction. There are warning signs in Chinese along the route to only stop in designated parking areas. Our driver was very careful and took us safely through the winding roads, sharp bends and steep sections. Fortunately the makers ... read more