Lijiang Jian Nan Chun Wen Yuan

... according to Naxi style. It had a black tiled roof with
flying eaves, a brick cat perched atop the front gate to ward off evil,
and bougainvilleas and other flowers in a spacious courtyard containing
a well. Soon, dozens of people arrived, filling the courtyard with laughter and music.
While young women helped with cooking
and setting the five or so tables, men played guitar, flute, piano and
other instruments. It seems ...

... change. After all, the ice fields in the majestic
arc of peaks that runs from China to Afghanistan are melting in large
part because of greenhouse gases emitted thousands of miles away.Orville
Schell, the director of the Asia Society’s Center on United
States-China Relations, is the author of “Virtual Tibet: Searching for
Shangri-La From the Himalayas to Hollywood.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/ 26/opinion/26Schell.html?_r=1

... br>These included singing, performing 25 press-ups and finding his bride's shoes.

"I had to do three kowtows to the sun," Hunt says. "OK, there were three kowtows to the Guardian as well," he says for balance.

An affable figure, who embodies the so-called "Cameroon"
modernisers, Hunt will become familiar to viewers over the next six
months ...

... looking at!!) They were here in China for 2 months to climb as many vertical bits of rock they could find!! Then there was Wolfgang from Austria who was about 6 1/2 feet tall & travelling in Asia for 5 months & his hobby is to climb mountains. He found this trek a " walk in the park" - does BIG mountains in Austria!!



Had a yumy dinner & tried for dessert a chocolate Ba Ba which ...

... I don't think we need to come back again. While were were at the cafe Mr Guo approached us about taking a tour. We asked him about Tiger Leaping Gorge and he wanted 450 yuan to take us and he would also provide a taxi. It would cost us an additional 50 yuan for tolls, plus the 50 yuan each park entrance. We negotiated him to including the first bend and a stop at a village for 450 plus park entrance. Not bad considering a tour was going to be ...

... days in another pack and had to carry this with us on our hike which consisted of a steep downhill descent to the boat for crossing the Yangtze. At least wedidn't have to carry our bikes across. Some locals were waiting for us and worked as porters by carrying the bikes down, onto the boat and then carrying them up the other side. This is a way for ...

... stayed, closed in and eventually, rained. About this time last year, just around the time of the May national holidays, it rained non-stop for 10 days. I thought it was the start of the rainy season, which usually runs from June to September. But just as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. And for the rest of the year, we never had anything like it. Just a few showers, a couple of thunderstorms and the usual ...

... that guy to see if I can get a copy of the video that aired. If I do, I'll post it on here of course. The best and only real reason to go to Lijiang is to visit Mama and Baba. Well... that and the obligatory visit to Bar Street and the Sexy Tractor. For my first 5 days in Lijiang, I decided to avoid the noise that was coming from Bar Street and every time I heard it, I walked in the other direction. It wasn't until a Kiwi came to town that I decided to play tour ...

... of local old ladies nattering on every street corner. Besides the temples and local villages Dali is one great big shopping centre for chinese tourists. They walk around in their masses and each buy identical stuff from near identical shops. As there are so few western tourists out here travelling in this area has become such great fun as we're now beginning to know more and more of the people on the similar route to us as we'll keep on bumping into them! It ...

... below us. The river here is considered un-navigable. In the 1980's, four brave rafters attempted it and were never seen again. It is possibly the world's deepest river canyon. We pick up a long rocky trail across a plateau with the solid grey wall of stone still to our right. Divided from us by the ever present chasm of doom. The trail narrows to about a metre wide as it clings to an opposing rock face with some tight bends and waterfalls to cross. This section of the trail has been ...