Blogs from Xiahe, Gansu, China, Asia - page 4

GANSU, CHINA - (June 2007) Thurs 31st May - Tues 5th June - (Dege to Ganzi) The next place Hee and myself wanted to go to after Dege was to the Tibetan monastery town of Xiaha in Gansu province which is several days travelling from Dege with not much of interest to stop and see along the way. After discussions with people in the bus station (Thankfully Hee did all the discussions as he can speak a bit of Chinese and I can't!) we were told that the best route would be to go back south to Ganzi before heading north to Yushu, and then east to Xining and then onward to Xiaha. The first stage of the journey back to Ganzi was reasonably straight forward except that it started to snow when the bus was ... read more

Surrounding Xiahe are vast areas of grassland used by local nomads as pastures for herds of yak, dzo (bull crossed with female yak), Tibetan cattle, sheep, goats and even pigs. The more famous areas are Sanke (about 13km away), Ganjia (about 34km away) and further away still, Takkar ( famous for its enormous rock formations). Ganjia Grasslands (not a joke, by the way!) were my first choice as they are supposedly less developed/commercialized and they can be combined with a visit to an ancient town, a cave, and a monastery of the less well-known Black Hat Sect of Buddhism to make a great day out. Unfortunately, being Golden Week (May), many of the visitors to Xiahe were already in groups, so I was unable to organize anyone to share the cost of a vehicle. Consequently, I ... read more

The present residents of Xiahe consist of about 45% Tibetans, 45% Han Chinese and 10% Hui Muslim, providing an interesting mix. As development continues, with road-widening projects, rumours of an airport, the tearing down of traditional housing and the erecting of ugly, bright new hotels and ever more souvenir shops, it is obvious that this mix is rapidly changing. The local Tibetans and Hui are being squeezed into a smaller and smaller area of town, or, in the case of the Tibetans, being moved further west. Mass resumptions have been common and the displaced people are usually offered "peanuts" as compensation. Very sad, the price of progress. On a brighter note, the people of Xiahe are an engaging and optimistic bunch. Many are philosophical about the changes that have taken place over the past decade or ... read more

url='/Videos/2506.html' onclick='dialog("/Videos/2506.html?popped=1","tbvideo",600,600);return false;'monks in the snow It was very cold when we got to Xiahe. We found a nice hotel, with tibetian paintings (tangka) in the room. This time the hot water are only in the morning, 8-9. So in order to take a shower we walk up at 8am. Must say it was a good one, except they stopped the hot water at 8:50, when Amir still had some shampoo on his head. we were heading to the monastary - there supposed to be a guided tour in English at 10. We were looking fo the tour/ office/ anyone but couldnt find so we walked on our own, After 30 minutes we saw a monk with some western passing us - they showed us where to buy ticketes and we joined them. We entered several ... read more

Oh.. the rigours of travelling has meant that the pie has not gone unscathed in the last few months, but is still intact & very much enjoying notching up miles on the piedometer... Hello all …… a VERY happy new year to you. Sorry this blog entry has been a while in coming. A few of the places we have visited have limited internet capabilities and I simply did not have the patience to upload the new piccies up to the site - and obviously I’m so busy these days time just cannot be wasted in internet cafes! Anyway, hope you enjoy these snapshots of the trip over the last few months. Leaving Xiahe (last point of blogging!) by firstly, the SMALLEST taxi in the world into which we squeezed our rucksacks and ourselves wrapped in ... read more