The Road to Lanzhou

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Following a bit of procrastination, I decided to head North from Songpan through Gansu province up to its capital Lanzhou. I'm not sure what attracted me to Gansu. I think it was the desire to get off the tourist trail somewhat, and also the opportunity to visit "Tibet" without having to go to the hassle of actually visiting Tibet - Southwest Gansu being comprised of Tibetan grasslands and monasteries. It may also have been not wanting to face the arduous trip back to Chengdu.

The journey was very bus-dependent, but the scenery was unlike I've seen before - grasslands bordered by mountains, yaks blocking the road, masked nomads riding horseback across the grasslands. All coupled with the assorted medley of objects that accompany you on bus journeys here - a 10 foot bamboo pole, baby ducks, monks with mobile phones and intriguing scars and even someone's front foor.

The two main places along the route, Langmusi and Xiahe, were pretty similar though Xiahe was a touch bigger. Both were small, Tibetan towns famous for their monateries. Xiahe actually only opened up again to tourists a few days previous to arriving - it had been closed for over a year since the pre-Olympics riots. I was told that one of the main differences in the town now were the iron doors that came down at night to protect the shops, and could also be brought down in an emergency.

Traveling though this region was like being in another country (metaphorically speaking of course, ahem....) - people looked different, and spoke a different language (though Mandarin is widely spoken). I certainly found this period of traveling the most challenging, not just in terms of the isolation of the area but also it was the first time I felt properly out of my comfort zone. As with the rest of China the people were kind and friendly, but I couldn't help but felt slightly uncomfortable around the Tibetans. They are big guys who are not afraid to stare at you and come from a 'man' culture. One day, whilst I was waiting at a bus station for a connecting bus, five big Tibetan guys surrounded me. It was only after a few uncomfortable seconds that I noticed one of them holding a camera and the rest of them smiling around me. After a few days I realised I was perhaps overreacting slightly- they were generally friendly and relaxed and and would respond well if I smiled at their stares.

After a week of seemingly endless bus journeys and debatable hotels (including sleeping in a fire station) I reached Lanzhou. Previously the most polluted city in the world this wasn't much of a reward, and I flew to Changsha the next day. After four weeks, I decided that this was enough and a comfortable bed was needed. Landing in Changsha , I was greeted by the welcoming words 'Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Changsha Huanghua airport. The outside temperature to 41 degrees celcius.' I'm now fully understanding why they call this city a 'furnace'.

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Photos

Old man
Not looking too chuffed at my attempted clandestine photo.

Comments

[Paul Darlow]

Looks fab
Especially like the first picture!

[讨厌]

到此一游
i do like the border pic, gorgeous！