Journey to the West - II
Trip Start
Jul 20, 2004
1
147
159
Trip End
Jul 20, 2012
Kangding,
Sichuan,
China
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
on the east and ends at Lhasa of Tibet on the west. The road stretches
into Lhasa passing Ya’an, Garze and Chamdo. The Sichuan-Tibet highway traverses 14 high mountains which average
4,000-5000m, spans dozens of famous rivers (Dadu River, Jinsha River,
Lantsang River, Nujiang), crosses primeval forest and numerous
dangerous sections. It has spectacular views along the line, with
unique ethnic customs. As the October holiday was approaching, heavy military presence could be seen in every village or town in this region
Dege - wedding procession
. Police road blocks were present and many a times foreigners had to show their passport before the bus could continue. On my trip from Ganzi to Kangding, I was the only foreigner in the bus and we got stopped 3 times so they could check my passport. By this time, rumors were confirmed that foreigners were not issued bus tickets in Chengdu for western China.Manigango/Dege/Ganzi
While waiting in Manigango for the bus to Dege, I met Shiyi and her "master lama". Shiyi speaks English and divides her time between China and New York. She, her friend and the lama are planning on building and opening a meditation center in the Ganzi province.
I jumped on the 11am bus from Manigango to Dege where was planning on visiting the Bakong Scripture Printing Monastry, a storehouse for Tibetan culture. The ride to Dege is breathtaking, literally speaking. Hairpin roads wind their way up to the top of the Chola Pass at 4916 m. The road, as gruelling and gut wrenching as it is, affords incredible views of the towering snow peaks of the Chola mountain and the Xinhua glacier. Looking down the side of the mountain makes your stomach churn and holding on tight to the seat in front of you.
Once in Dege, finding a cheapo place to stay was a challange. I ended up at the Shambala Monastry Hotel where I negotiated a 80 yuan rate instead of 120. The room was shabby and cold but had hot water. After 2 weeks at the orphanage, I longed for a hot shower. I went to bed early that night as the bed was the only warm place (took two covers). At around 10.30pm, I got woken up by a bunch of people, some of them police, the others probably hotel stuff, who were standing next to my bed
Bakong Scripture Printing Monastry
. First I thought this is a dream. Then, I watched a women positioning herself opposite my bed and starting to film the event. I got a little pissed; after all, it was late, I was tired and I got a bunch of people gawking at me. Having just finished reading Peter Hessler's "River Town" who recounts a similar incident of police storming into his room to check his passport, I thought I am going to finally write my own version of River Town.So, I got up and told everybody except for 2 officers to get out of my room. Then I asked the police officer what he wants and why in the world he comes in the middle of the night and not around 8pm. He said sorry and all he wanted to see is my passport and visa. It took 5 minutes and then they left. I told them if they need to see my passport again the next day, he should come earlier. During this entire time, the lady kept filming our conversation. I bet that they returned to their police station all the officers huddled around the video recorder to watch how the "waiguoren" behaved in front of the Chinese officers. Thanks god it wasn't summer, otherwise I would have been sleeping without clothes with would have put me into an awkward situation and I could have been taken into police custody for indecent exposure. Now there is a story! Only in China can this happen (and maybe in North Korea).
While walking around Dege the next day, China's paranoia before the National Holiday was everywhere
Bakong Scripture Printing Monastry
. Police, military police and SWAT teams exercise in the early morning hours and otherwise show their presence everywhere. The government wants to make sure that nobody - no waiguoren (foreigner), no religious groups, no unruly element will interfere with the country's 60th anniversary.The next day I went to the Bakong Scripture Printing Monastry (http://www.khamaid.org/about_kham/news/dphstandard.htm). The place is beautiful and one can watch employees print scriptures in rapid speed. Located in Gengqing monastery on the east bank of Jinsha(Sequ) River, the place was founded in year 1729 in the Qing Dynasty. The construction took 21 years. The main structure is a four-storey building with more than 30 rooms. The first floor consists of several sutra halls where Buddha and the ancestors of the Dege clan are worshipped. The second and third floors have rooms for proofreading, engraving blocks, printing and binding, plus administrative offices. The fourth floor is used to air the printed pages.
The Dege Scripture Printing House has 217,000 engraved blocks in its archives, including classics from different sects of Tibetan Buddhism. It has 100,000 blocks for books on Tibetan culture, science and technology, history, biographies, medicine, mathematics, language, and various other works. It is estimated that materials stored at Dege make up 70% of Tibet's literary heritage. Because of its role in preserving Tibetan culture, Dege ranks together with the Sakya Monastery and the Potala Palace in Lhasa in historic and cultural significance.
The roof offers great views of the city and the nearby mountains
Bakong Scripture Printing Monastry - cats
. I took it easy and strolled through town and wandered along the river. It would be wodnerful if it were possible to stay with Tibetan families instead of having to stay in a hotel. The next day I went from Dege to Ganzi where I stayed overnight at the Tibetan run Kham hotel. 385km northwest of Kangding, Ganzi(also "Garze") is the county seat of Ganzi Autonomous Prefecture, an important town in the now defunct Tibetan province of Kham, most populated by Tibetans and Khampas.Resting in a large valley of 3800m sorrounded by the sleeping giant Chola Mt. (Qe'ershan), Ganzi is northeast of the gorgeous snow-peaked mountains of Minya Konka (Mt. Gongga / Gongga Shan) range. Tibetan life is abundant here, it's easy to spend a few days in this friendly place exploring the beautiful sorrouding countryside which is scattered with Tibetan vilalges and monasteries. The twon is interested and I could have stayed at least 2-3 days which would have given me the opportunity to explore the surrounding area, but I wasn't willing to pay 80 RMB per night for the accomodation. So, I wandered through the town and up to a monastry. Though i asked the monk about the name of the monastry, I forgot it. Its either the Garze monastry or the Dontok Gompa and Dingkhor Chorten which I think is more likely.
(http://www.chinatrekking.com/destinations/sichuan/garze)
