Baxiandong Hotel Leshan

... is a small minority town and a stopover place to/from Huanglong, Jiuzhaigou or Zoige butworth exploring. With the ethnic minorities people of Hui, Tibetan and Qiang inhabiting there, Songpan itself is so very lively. The style and atmosphere senses quite special there. More importantly, Songpan is a historic town, featured by a peace-craving political marriage of Princess Wencheng in the 6th century BC of Tang dynasty and the Songpan Battle in the famous 25,000km ...

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The entrance price has been raised to 90 RMB. If you want to take a boat to see the Buddha from below, you have to fork out another 70 RMB. I wasn't too impressed with the Buddha; it didn't generate a 90 RMB worth impression. At Leshan, I met XiaoXue and her husband and we travelled together around the Giant Buddha and eventually to Emei Shan Town where we stay at the Teddy Bear Hostel for 35 RMB. (http://www.teddybear.com.cn/about_en.h tm)

Tomorrow ...

... one more night and then headed to Danba. Danba lies in a valley 350km west of Chengdu along the east border of Ganzi, halfway between Kangding and Maerkang from south to north. Danba's landscape varies vertically from the high-altitude snow-capped mountains to the low-altitude grasslands and valleys. The population is principally composed of ethnic Tibetans and Qiangs. Recognized as "the Kingdom of Watchtowers" and "Beauty Valley", Danba is well-known for the ...

... It is 71 meters high, and has three-meter-long fingers. The eight-meter-long instep is big enough for one hundred people to sit on and the 28-meter-wide shoulder is large enough to be a basketball playground.

It was a monk called Hai Tong who initiated the project. After 20 years begging alms, he finally accumulated enough money for the plan. When some local government officials had designs on tempting this amount of money ...

... povidala a povidala. Dalsi zastavka uz byla na spravnem miste u Velkeho Buddhy. Ale objevil se dalsi zadrhel organizovaneho zajezdu. Bylo nam oznameno, ze bychom si nad ramec zaplaceneho vstupneho jeste meli za dalsich 70 yuanu koupit vstupenku na jakehosi leziciho Buddhu a budeme pak mit levnejsi lanovku na druhy den. Jelikoz jsme nemeli lanovku v planu a ani neznameho Buddhu, odmitli jsme. Vsichni ostatni dost koukali ...

... Which means "you, don't forget". I promised I wouldn't. And...that's all I have to say about that. Next stop, truly this time, Beijing. p.s. I memorized the 82movements in Chen's aptly named "82 movements Tai Chi Form" in 30 days! But, it is just a small piece of the puzzle. I now have the complete empty container, I need to start filling it with real substance now. Wish me luck!

... friendly exchanges with the locals without this "admiration seeking". My new goal is to replace external validation with internal validation (a goal I thought I was already reaching for...go figure!?). The "want" must lose out to the "need" if growth is to be achieved (sounds like a chinese proverb, no?). It is painful, but I know how this process works now. It will be worth it. I guess the point of all this is just to ask yourself "are there ...

... a very cool art form with lots of stomping of the feet! Once again, I don't know too much about Baji Shifu, but he also teaches Chi Kung (standing meditation), and when he does that he becomes SO peaceful looking. The only time I see him with a nice expression. I'm sure he's nice if you get to know him though. Wong-Shin Shifu- My teacher! I mentioned him in my last post, so I won't talk too much about him. He teaches Tai Chi, and is proficient ...

... Sifu?". I think he enjoyed that look on my face. All that time, I had been getting a lesson from the Master, and I didn't even know it. Anyway, I've known him for one day, but already I can tell Wong-Shin Shifu is a great man. I'll have to write more about the training later. But, so far it's going great! Yes, I definately met a man with GREAT chi (chi is the energy used in martial arts), today.

... the tourists. And, that is there job!? I cannot judge them, I don't know how their lives are or for what reason they do what they do. But, I couldn't live with myself if that was my day-to-day job. Anyway, people tell you "watch out for scammers!" when they hear you're going to China, but, coming from our culture you can never really be prepared for it. I'm just glad I made it out unscathed (this time!). Since, I've been hearing horror ...