Pandas! China's national treasure, and about 30 of the precious creatures at the Chengdu Panda Reserve, which is where Anna and her family took me today. People tend to forget (I know I did) that the black and white panda is technically the "Giant Panda" and there is a smaller, lesser known "Red Panda" too. They're like a cross between inquisitive meerkats and.. cats! I have definitely decided that they're my domestic pet of choice. Haha, even more desirable than the siberian tiger, and far less likely to, i dunno... eat me. The red pandas available for a cuddle and a [View Full Entry]

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Not quite at 100% after the (very wet) events of last night, but I figured that Mt Emeishan shouldn't be much of a problem. it was *only* the highest mountain I would climb, at 3099 metres altitude. And trust me, that last 99 *did* count. Emei at the top is a beautiful buddhist sanctuary, and is one that I definitely want to visit again. At the moment it's possible to stay at the monastery, with all the monks. While lacking in internet connections, it does boast three thousand years of history, and monks. (who aren't quite as old. probably.) Somehow I [View Full Entry]

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Azure City Mountain, or Mt Qingchenshan, was pretty awesome. It's named because it looks like it's surrounded by a collosal wall of connected mountains and the effect this had at the top was stunning. The air was misty too, just like in my most memorable dreams. .... A most excellent mountain, which I would recommend to any of you, since it's almost like a well kept (national) secret -few foreigners ever make it here, and it's really unspoilt by commercialism. And it was good clean work out as well. A shrine to Lao Zi, (Literally means "old dude" haha) philosopher and [View Full Entry]

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As part of a two day tour package that Anna's family so kindly booked for the two of us, we were to explore this mountain and Mt Emeishan (yeehah!!!) in the next two days. Once we arrived, Anna and I got separated from the rather oversized tour group and the guide had a rant at us for wandering off! well.. what with the resentment from the 'museum' (read: "tourist trap") earlier coupled with the sight of a 3hr queue just to get to the actual buddha, we motivated a couple of fellow 'separatists' and effectively defected from the group. So, we [View Full Entry]

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This mountain soars over 4000m above sea level and is named Yellow Dragon because of the yellow soil that runs in a winding dragon shape all the way down. The BIZARRE chemical reaction that occurs on the ancient glacier runway causes these thousands of pools, that resemble the scales of the dragon. Close up, each one's resemblance to a jaccuzzi bath is uncanny. Oxygen tanks were sold to combat altitude sickness, which allegedly included symptoms of fainting, vomiting, and heart attacks and things but all Anna and I saw was a fat kid with a nosebleed. Once again, the scenery was [View Full Entry]

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This was the big one. Jiu Zhai Gou scenic area is a nationally protected area of stunning natural beauty, and also happens to be where parts of Jet Li's Hero was filmed. The water wasn't like water anymore; so clear i could see the moss growing on the fallen branches laying on the riverbed, 50m deep. The mountains looked like they were sculpted, they were so beautiful. A part of the objective of my journey has been fulfilled, in a place I hadn't even planned on visiting. The whole 50 mile area is a no smoking zone, and the absence of [View Full Entry]

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In an utterly random turn of events, my dad completely randomly suggested on the phone that I take a detour to Chengdu, in Sichuan, 561 miles away! The original plan was to head north to Shaolin, and then east to Xi'an, (look it up on a map if you want) but this kind of turbelence is typical of my dad, as any member of my family will know. Hence, here I am in Sichuan, dubbed as being host to the best food in China, and really very hot. There's a saying that goes: Visit Sichuan when you're old, because when you [View Full Entry]

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Mt Hengshan in known as the Southern Peak, or Nanyue, consists of 72 peaks, and rises 1266m above sea level, although it felt like a lot more! This was my first real mountain, and I reached the summit on July the 4th with 2 mates that I met on the local basketball courts; Socrates and Chen Yue. Together, we laughed all the way up on our 11hr hike, everyone helping each other with every difficulty encountered. It was spectacular. We got lost, found dead ends, had to retrace our path, took a stupidly long route, and at the top I [View Full Entry]

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WooHoo! I've managed to add this town into this website, and I feel all proud.. Seeing as I lived here 16 years ago, lots of the retired teachers seem to expect me to remember them! C'mon, I was three years old! I feel a bit strange about constantly being praised about things I feel I have (or had) no influence/control over -such as my height, (I seem to tower over most chinese) and my English, which I was inevitably going to pick up, seeing as that's where I grew up. Things I actually worked for (like exams, extra-currricular activities and voluntary [View Full Entry]

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I've now reached the town where I was born, Xiangtan. In contrast to Shenzhen, nothing seems to have changed here and I still have strange black and white memories of running up the three or four steps where my grandad worked, to meet him after work. This was before I left China, so I must have been no older than four. My grandparents still live in the college compound where they worked as teachers, and time here seems at a standstill. The town is too small to be listed on this website, so i've had to settle for just showing the [View Full Entry]

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