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August 21st 2017

Published: August 26th 2017

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Delek Delek

Pandora

Zhangjiajie is the inspiration behind the Hallelujah Mountains on the planet Pandora, seen in the movie Avatar.

Despite the sheer size of China's cities and the millions upon millions that live in them, unlike India, they never feel overcrowded. This can probably be put down to better infrastructure, public transport and cities expanding upwards. But despite the cities' burgeoning population, passing by the beautiful scenery of plentiful farmland on the train ride from Yichang to Zhangjiajie made you remember just how many people here still farm the land.
I also saw lots of construction; of more railway bridges, of more apartment blocks, of more everything. You then think about the fact that not long ago, say 20-30 years ago, China was still considered a developing country. Looking around now, you wouldn't think so - the pace of change and improvement has simply been staggering and almost inconceivable for such a big country. Even if they don't really outwardly show it, the people here must be happy and satisfied with all the improvement they have witnessed, especially the older generation.
That is what young German Fred thought anyway, who was accompanying me on the train ride and had been volunteering in China for the last eleven months. It was the first time I'd really had any company since I

Misty Mountains

Some low clouds add mystical quality to the pillars.

arrived in China two-and-a-half weeks ago and I was appreciating being able to have a decent conversation.
Discussion soon turned to politics which is very interesting in China because things work a bit differently here. I believe that every human being should have the right to freely speak out and protest without being censured - especially against corruption and wrongdoing - and that every human being should have a mechanism and a voice that will allow a population as a whole to bring about change if desired. This means that I will always be a defender of a free press and of democracy. Therefore it has been truly fascinating to witness how an alternative form of government has really worked for the people here. With no opposition to stop an autocratic government, decisions can be made and plans can be implemented quickly and it seems to be working for China with the government in good hands. And by good hands, I mean the decisions made to reform China's economy and invest heavily in infrastructure that has improved just about everyone's lot, rather than the crushing of protesters at Tiananmen Square and the disappearing of dissidents. Some might say that Singaporeis

Welcome To Pandora

The view just after you walk through the gate of Wulingyuan National Park.

another example of where an 'authoritarian' government has actually done a lot of good. The problems with autocracies of course, is when power gets placed in the wrong hands. Then the country - and depending on the country, maybe the world - is fucked. In any case, it seems that China's Communist Party have kept their socialist ideals and seem to be putting its people first, despite the country's slide into full-blown capitalism. Fred however, thinks that this massive infrastructure drive and raising of living standards now has to continue indefinitely or else the government is going to have a problem with people out of work when it is all done and dusted, people with no skills to do anything else; and a behemothic population that might get restless and rebellious when things start to stagnate. China has grown exponentially into one of the world's leading economies but what happens when the bubble eventually bursts? Just to fund this infrastructure drive however, the government must be absolutely loaded - and it isn't just investing in China either; they're investing heavily overseas too, with Africa being a major beneficiary.

Once our conversation on Chinese politics and economics came to an

Massive Stack

At least a couple of hundred metres high, I couldn't even fit one of them in the frame of my wide-angled camera.

end, I noticed that food is never far away in China and that the Chinese are never far away from food. Even for the shortest journeys, the locals seem to have bags and bags of various snacks to eat. Like Brad Pitt in Ocean's Eleven, they always gotta be munching on something.

Speaking of food, we met up with some more Germans that evening for dinner, who were actually at our hostel in Chongqing (Fred was there too). It was the first time I was sharing a meal with anyone since arriving in China more than two weeks ago!
We then went for a walk through Zhangjiajie City after dinner where we came across the newly-created, bombastic, yet pleasant central square which came complete with a lit-up fountain. Brightly-lit glass hotels were north and south of the square, both with light shows of flashing imagery of their own. As we watched the trippy displays take place on the hotel exteriors, we pondered China's seeming obsession with making all their cities look like Vegas. To the east of the square was another modern, colourfully-lit, cylindrical building with a dome on top of it which opened out like a flower. There

Zhangjiajie City

The square, fountain and entertainment venue in the centre of the biggest city near the national park.

was obviously some show going on beneath the dome as we could hear a very enthusiastic announcer and some very loud music once the 'flower' opened. Looking for somewhere to boogie, we ask a taxi driver - they're usually in the know here apparently - for a place we could go and he pointed at the cylindrical building; this was the only party in town. Funny signboards outside the venue revealed a show featuring "the United States DJSteven, dark skin, strong body, burning passion, charming Russian girl, jumping rhythmic cheerful folk dance, lead dancer audience, interpretation of the spectacular, the United States, the Russian cultural feast."
Following the show, the place would turn into a club apparently, so we went outside for a couple of drinks to wait until the show finished. It was while sitting on a kerb outside the swanky venue that the Germans explained the bizarre phenomenon that is a Chinese night club. Apparently, foreigners get to drink for free because the Chinese don't dance and when people don't dance, people don't buy drinks. Get foreigners drunk enough though and they'll get the d-floor going. White people, like they are in India too, are also revered somewhat

Stacks

Take away the hill that they're growing out of and you have the Hallelujah Mountains from Avatar.

in China, to the point where if your establishment has white people in it, your place is immediately 'cool'. Locals become fascinated and will follow the white people's lead, dancing more, drinking more. They may even interact with the white people and have a fun time. It seems so weird that the locals need the prompt of a white person to start dancing and to have fun. It's a little sad, but amusing at the same time. While I was keen to observe this phenomenon, I still hadn't really caught up on the sleep I lost in Chongqing and on board the Yangtze Cruise so I decided to call it a night; with six weeks still left in the country, I knew I'd have plenty more opportunities to visit a Chinese club.

The reason I had come to Zhangjiajie of course, was to visit its now famous national park. Limestone karst is fairly common in South East Asia and has resulted in some spectacular locations such as Phang Nga Bay in Thailand, and Ha Long Bay and Phong Nha-Khe Bang National Park in Vietnam. In terms of karst-like landscapes (Zhangjiajie is not actually underlain by limestone) however, apart perhaps from Son Doong Cave - the world's largest - in Phong Nha, Zhangjiajie, with

Close Ups Of The Pillars

These type of rock formations are not seen anywhere else in the world.

its 243 peaks and 3,000 impossibly tall 'pillars' is the mack-daddy of them all. It is something supposedly unlike anything else in the world and is said to be the inspiration behind Pandora, the fictional planet where the film Avatar is set. Having seen otherworldly pictures of the place, it had become one of the most keenly anticipated sight visits of my journey through China.

I had three full days to explore the national park; two full days in the park and one rest/spare day to chill or explore further if I wanted to. However, I had to take the first day off because all the moving I had been doing lately and all the bad sleeps I had been having resulted in me catching a cold as well as being super-tired. I didn't wanna be anything other than 100% for one of the sights I had been looking forward to seeing the most.

On the second day, I was lining up at the bus station for a bus to the park. A forecourt attendant was barking at the queuing passengers like an army general. It was because he had to; when one bus arrived, about two or

The "Avatar" Range

The main range of the Zhangjiajie Scenic Area of the Wulingyuan National Park.

three families from the back of the queue made a dash for it, prompting others in the queue to do the same and all hell nearly broke loose. These sneaky, impatient Chinese. The 'general's' accent was a fast one, almost sounding like Korean or Japanese.

But wow.
Erosion over millions of years has created some quite stunning and unique scenery here in the Wulingyuan National Park.
Entering through the south gate, you're greeted almost immediately by the sight of soaring quartzite sandstone skyscrapers above the "Golden Whip Stream" along which is a gentle path with some pleasant scenery of its own. I then get through some tough work ascending a flight of stairs for about an hour to the viewing platforms alongside the Bailong Elevator which allows you some stunning views of the pinnacles - hundreds of metres high - in all their glory. I was a little disappointed with the lighting; it was lightly overcast meaning that the sky was white rather than blue, giving me some lighting problems when taking photographs. I was also hoping for some low clouds or mist, which would've created a truly ethereal effect but that was not to be either. Battling with

No 1 Highest Natural Bridge

Famous naturally formed rock bridge that had so many people on it, I was afraid it might break!

other Chinese visitors at all the viewpoints was irritating as well; there were just too many of them. Especially on the No.1 Highest Natural Bridge, a naturally formed bridge linking one pillar to the main group of them.
There was one viewpoint however - the "Avatar viewpoint" - which was closed off to the public but which was still accessible via a gap in the fencing. Desperately seeking to escape the crowds, I snuck into the closed-for-construction viewpoint where there was literally no-one about and had the peaceful place all to myself. For a few minutes I had some bliss and took what I think were my best photos of the day.
Like Jiuzhaigou, there are good and frequent buses that shuttle you around the different areas of the park. Getting off at the Grand Sightseeing Platform - which isn't a platform at all, just a view from the side of a road - I then hit a viewpoint called "One Dangerous Step" which is named as such precisely because you have to jump over a gap in the rock to get to the viewing platform. There is a fall of several hundred metres to your death awaiting you if

Spikes

Just some of the astonishing limestone karsts in the Wulingyuan National Park.

you fail to mind the gap; luckily there is a small metal bridge for you to negotiate instead of a leap of faith.
I then followed a path recommended by the Lonely Planet which I had all to myself - it was a relief to get away from the crowds again. Not for long however, as crowds of people were suddenly replaced by crowds of flies! You know the type that fly around each other in massive swarms that you usually run into in fields? Yeah like those but bigger, more persistent and looking like big ants with wings. They would buzz around your head, particularly around your ears, flying into them and flying into your eyes as well. If you stood still for ten seconds, they would literally overwhelm you, sending you running further along the path. Luckily I was the only person on the path as I was literally screaming at these flies to "get fucked" and to "fuck off", arms waving around like a flailing octopus to try and get them away. I'm pretty sure some people would've heard me screaming but if anyone saw me, I must've looked a right lunatic. It is funny looking back

Golden Whip Stream

The scenery at the bottom of this particular canyon is completely overshadowed - literally - the famous karsts in Wulingyuan National Park.

on my behaviour now but it was anything but a laugh at the time. Those flies were literally driving me insane and I was about as angry as I've been for a long time.
The path would've been nice but only because it was empty; there were no views, only a couple of massive caves with a cool breeze emanating from them that would've been more impressive had I not recently been in Vietnam. After passing through a small hamlet, I reached the main road where I then caught a bus to the Tianzi Shan viewing area where there yet more breathtaking views and yet more tourists.

While the scenery is indeed astonishing, my experience of Zhangjiajie unfortunately sucked; I had a headache, a runny nose, a persistent cough and unsettled stomach for most of the day and add to that the fact I was hot, sweating buckets, tired, tired of tourists and then those fucking flies, by the end of the day I had just had it. I was well and truly fed up.
Hot and bothered, I thought I'd treat myself to an ice cream. Not able to find my favourite one, I settle for a green,

Trees

Taken along the Golden Whip Stream trail inside Wulingyuan National Park.

refreshing-looking, lime-flavoured ice block; except that it wasn't lime. Looking more closely at the packet, I then realise that I was eating a pea-flavoured ice cream. WTF China, what is it with you and your highly irregular taste buds?! I don't even enjoy mushy peas with my fish and chips let alone in a fucking ice block. Not what I wanted at the time.
It was almost the last straw. Exasperatingly walking back down to catch the bus out of the park, I encountered yet more flies but this time there were carriage carriers - men who can walk you through the park in a bamboo carriage hoisted onto their shoulders for ¥200, allowing you to be carried around like lazy royalty - who were witnessing my tantrums. At first they were laughing before realising the red mist had well and truly descended in front of my eyes.
I do wonder however whether there was something deeper within me that was really behind my rage. This was one of the places in China that I was most excited about visiting but at that moment I just wanted to get the hell out of there. Yes, everything I was going through

First Peak

My first look at the pillars as I reach the top of the Bailong Elevator (by foot, of course).

probably would've at least annoyed the majority of people, but was I now experiencing the manifestation of almost two years of travel fatigue? China hasn't really been fun and I found myself thinking of home a lot - not something I have ever really done much of in my life, only when I've been going through tough times. Perhaps things were now finally taking their toll.
To cap the day off, I realised that the bus back to the hostel had stopped going by the time I got back to Zhangjiajie City and I had another 4km to walk on top of the 22km I had already slogged through that day. I dropkicked my water bottle in frustration. The one nice thing about the whole situation was that I managed to buy a cheap box of noodles from a street vendor which I then enjoyed in Zhangjiajie's mega square, accompanied by the colourful fountain and a soundtrack of Celine Dion.

Rather than go back for another potential round of hell on my last day in Zhangjiajie, I took the day of rest my body has probably needed to get over my cold, to rest my aching muscles and to

At The Viewpoint

I managed to get to an empty viewpoint for once.

recover from the thousands of miles I had travelled since setting foot in China. Even if I had had a good day at the park the previous day, I did feel that there wasn't really much else left to discover or explore - all the views of the place look pretty similar after a while. In fact, the scenery reminded me a little of the Blue Mountains in Australia - if I had managed to see them. But make no bones about it, the place is absolutely astonishing and I feel that my photos simply cannot do the place justice.

Perhaps influenced by my experiences the previous day, I then finally fixed an end date for this mad journey around the world. I booked a flight home to New Zealand from Bali, for exactly three months from now. I felt a tinge of relief and excitement when doing so; I now had a definite end to work towards, a definitive reference point to look forward to and a definitive budget to stick to although it is touch and go whether I actually have enough money left to make it to the end! But the end is now in sight and I can see a light

Sunset Over Zhangjiajie

I capture a few crepuscular rays over the range visible in the Tianzi Scenic Area.

at the end of the tunnel.

I've had pretty bad luck with sights here in China; Jiuzhaigou was spoilt a bit by rain and tourists; Xian was generally underwhelming and spoilt a bit by tourists; I lucked out with the tour I bought down the Yangtze which was spoilt a bit by tourists; and now Zhangjiajie was spoilt a bit by sickness, flies and tourists. Hopefully I'll have better luck at my next destination where I hope to find that quintessential, ancient Chinese town you've always seen in period kung-fu movies and dreamt about whenever when you thought about old-school China. I was looking for a change of fate in Fenghuang.

再見 (zài jian),
Derek

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