Shenghua Chengde

... only upon arriving, was a waterfall from a small creek passing into the river we had been following. The amazing part of the waterfall was the way it came out of the cliff-side far above and fell over a series of ledges before settling.<br><br>I took the stone-steps to swaying metal-steps to rickety-half-missing wood-steps, path to the top alone. Halfway up, I stopped and a small pagoda and took pictures of the wonderful views of the rural valley in ...

... exactly what you'd expect, and we opted to take the side path (far down, far up again, but not far as the bird flies) to a nearby 'frog' rock. Here I climbed to the top and got some fun pictures, and we climbed through a small hole in the backside of the rock (apparently that allows you to have good knees for the rest of your life).<br><br> Here also, there was an old man selling little red straw ...

... created an atmospheric, almost eerie, feel as the wall ascended sharply in front of me and then faded into the clouds, with just ocasional beacon towers looming out of the haze in the distance. It wasn't hard to imagine sentries in these watchtowers, shivering in the winter fog, arrows at the ready as they scanned the horizon for signs of Chinggis and his marauding Mongols. <br><br><br><br><br> Standing in a tower, surveying ...

... arrived, we traveled to a village nearby (and owned by the town), for some authentic rural apple picking. A new fad in China apparently (as many rich business-men were doing the same) to go to the villages, and fill your own basket of apples straight off the tree (at a higher price than the market of course). Regardless, it was loads of fun, and I have a big bag of delicious apples.<br><br ...

... to be traversed through the chaos of constantly streaming cars, trucks, bikes, motorbikes is quite intimidating. After waiting an age, the red man turns to an animated green 'running man' for a ridiculously brief period, during which traffic continues to zoom across the stripes of the 'crossing' regardless. The preferred tactic where possible is to follow the nearest woman with a pushchair, whom I can only imagine relies on a double dose of the force!

... If you only could visit one temple in Chengde, this is it. This is an active temple, which means you could see few pilgrims. Passing through an otherwise a generic temple and climb small hills, you will enter another building sheltering the Guanyin herself. Another temple fee, which included torchlight, I climbed the narrow stairs all the way to the second level (which is only up to the body of the Goddess). The statue is impressive and ...

... obicajno spregledajo cudovito pokrajino in naravo, ki obkroza Chengde. Z vsake razgledne tocke je mogoce zreti v daljavo majhnih hribov ter dolin, ki jih razvoj se ni dokoncno unicil in kjer se ni videti cest, elektricnih napeljav ter podobnih novotarij. Prava skoda, da sva ta kraj obiskala pri tako nizkih temperaturah, saj bi se drugace zagotovo odpravila pes naokoli ter se poskusila oddaljiti od vsega trusca civilizacije.

... at all, the hotel people neither. Therefore we grabbed the trusty Lonely Planet and headed for its number one recommendation...which also had been changed into a bus station come cafe....the yurts were looking more appealing. Anyway 2 taxis later and 2 sets of tourist offices - noone wants to speak to us or can't - we find a block near the main street. A few quick highlights of the town, before the cultural bit: - Katie had ...

... six hour coach journey back to Beijing Airport and then a one and a half hour flight to Xian. The photos will probably be kept to a minimum which the camera will be thankful for. The other thing is we don't know if the next hotel will have internet access so I don't know when I'll next be able to write. I'm sure my wife would like to tell you though of any more people that thinks she's beautiful. Rob Amy - He's such a cheeky bugger!

... not good when you've just climbed up a steep mountain when it's 30 degrees out and they won't get out of your way. It was a great experience, if tiring at times, especially when there was no shade. At the end, as if the wall wasn't dangerous enough by itself, we had to go back to the hostel with the same lunatic driver!! If you're gonna be getting buses in China, my advice is to just close your eyes, what you can't see won't give you 17 heart attacks!!