Chinese banquet

With three friends at her side, Margaret Smith took her first bite of China and tasted the spice and texture of this historic and exciting country.

Our flight took us to Guangzhou for a night via Kuala Lumpur. Guangzhou is not the normal stopover for western tourists, so we were curiosity items wherever we went. Our first local restaurant meal was hilarious. No one spoke English and we ordered by pointing to pictures and other dishes. The entire staff just stared at us but they were all smiling.

Next morning we flew to Guilin, a beautiful city on the Li River. After booking into our hotel we took a tour and visited a 500-year-old town outside the city. The tour included a home visit which was eye opening and interesting. The family had stored a coffin in the house for when it was needed; it was carved from a solid tree and would have weighed more than the body it was to hold. This day was also our first introduction to the public toilets in China. These were squat toilets and in this case there was continuous running water but we were later to visit establishments that had no water, no doors and no partitions. That evening we went on a river cruise to watch the Cormorant fish-catching show. Our boat sailed alongside the fishermen on their bamboo rafts while the Cormorants dived and brought back the fish.

Next day was a visit to Longshen Rice Terraces, two hours away along good roads. The scenery driving out of Guilin was spectacular with many single mountain peaks rising along the side of the road. The road finally came to an end and it was on foot from here. The track led to the village of Longshen and continued on up the hill allowing us to look down on the terraced rice fields. On the return trip to Guilin we stopped at a tea plantation and toured the fields before experiencing a traditional tea ceremony.

Our main reason for going to Guilin was to do the Li River Cruise and the next morning we headed down to the jetty to be greeted by over two dozen boats lined up to take passengers. Then on cue, they all pulled out together to form a Congo line down the river. Over the years the Li River has cut its way through the mystical mountains making this a spectacular cruise. Water buffalo can be seen on the banks. Cormorant fishermen have their rafts pulled up all along the river with the birds resting ready for the next night’s work.

After eight hours we arrived at the old stone town of Yangshuo. Here we passed through the streets with markets on both sides to make our way to our hotel. We spent the afternoon exploring the old city. That evening we attended a show – Impression Liu Sanjie. It is a real traffic jam to get there and we ended up leaving our bus and walking to the show. The crowd was unbelievable. If you lost your guide you would never find them again. This show is performed on a section of backwater on the river; it’s extremely popular and the cast of 800 local people give a professional performance. Large floodlights light up the mountains as a backdrop behind the lake. This is one show not to miss.

Next morning it was back to Guilin in our minibus stopping at Reed Flute Cave and Elephant Hill. After lunch we visited the Tiger and Black Bear Park on our way to the airport for our flight to Chengdu. There are more than 600 tigers in this park and we saw more than 100 black bears.

Up the mountain
After an overnight stop in Chengdu we caught a morning flight to Jiuzhaigou where the airport is 3500m above sea level. Chengdu is around 500m high so the difference in altitude is noticeable. After lunch, it was an hour’s car trip to the Huanglong National Park, a valley studded with terraced, coloured ponds and small waterfalls where mountain peaks and ridges more than 5500m high surround the valley. At the small resort of Huanglong our guide purchased oxygen for us to take up the mountain. We then caught the cable car to the top of a ridgeline at 4200m where we commenced our walk. The light air immediately affected us causing headaches and energy loss. When we left Australia we were not told of the altitude we would be going to, nor warned about altitude sickness. It was only when we arrived in Chengdu that our guide first warned us about the problems encountered due to the altitude. Walking the first one to two kilometres took us to a level to look out over the valley. A misty fog was starting to close. As we descended to the first coloured pools the mist came in to the point where visibility was down to around 50m. The trail then led back down to the resort along the stream with its pools and dam-type wall along the way. As we descended we all became worse as a result of the altitude, to the point that we were now feeling nauseous as well as having severe headaches. We arrived at the Jiuzhai Paradise Hotel and booked in. This hotel is beautiful but we were only interested in our beds and getting a good night’s sleep.

Next morning three of our group had improved as a result of descending to 2600m at our hotel, but the fourth member was worse and could not get out of bed. After arranging a visit from the hotel doctor, the remaining three set off for a full day guided tour of Jiuzhaigou Valley. This area is a Tibetan area with nine Tibetan villages in the valley. Three villages are open to be visited by tourists but the remainder are closed. Tibetan homes and buildings are an art show in themselves. The valley is Y-shaped with two upper valleys joining into one running down to the town of Jiuzhaigou and the entrance point. Access into the valley is only by special buses. This area is beautiful and we took the bus to the end of the valley and then walked and bussed back to the junction of the two valleys where the only restaurant is located and had lunch. We also visited a Tibetan village. After lunch, we continued walking and bussing down the main arm of the valley past the many beautiful pools and waterfalls back to the main entrance. The water is blue and crystal clear and to preserve the pristine character of the area it’s an offence to swim or enter the water. This region is also the home of the Giant Panda in the wild.

That evening, our friend had still not improved and was not able to attend the culture show at the Jiuzhai Paradise Theatre, which was one of the most spectacular performances that I have ever seen. The stage was the same size as the seating part of the theatre and even allowed for riders on galloping horses to be part of the performance. After the show the audience was invited to leave via the stage and meet the actors. It was great and a show not to be missed.

Next day we returned to the Jiuzhaigou Valley, this time following the second arm of the Y-shaped valley. Again the scenery was spectacular but this day the weather was better with clear blue skies.

Leaving Jiuzhaigou, our early morning flight back to Chengdu was the start of a busy day. On landing we went to the Giant Panda Breeding and Research Station to see the pandas. The heat of the day was too much for these animals which live in higher altitudes, so most had retired to their air-conditioned quarters and were visible from behind glass windows.

That evening we attended a Sichuan opera performance. Again the performers were very talented with acts of face-changing, puppets, kung fu and comedy sketches.

From Chengdu our travels took us to Beijing, a city preparing for the imminent Olympics. Here we visited the Great Wall, The Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, The Harvest Temple, The Imperial Palace, The Ming Tombs, and several other sites.

We thought that in Beijing we would have our hotel write down our destination so that we could show our taxi drivers but many could not read so we were still in trouble. We found hiring a limousine from the hotel for around $80 per day was the way to go. They take you and wait for you and you can go to as many places as you want. Around the central sites we found walking to be the best option.

From Beijing we caught the overnight express train to Xian to see the Terracotta Warriors. This massive excavation is all under cover and most warriors still stand where they were unearthed. This finished the first section of our tour in China. The second section was to take us into the area that used to be Tibet and was taken over by China in 1959. But that is another story.

I won a trip to China as Australia’s most active senior for 2006/7 in my favourite Get Up & Go magazine. The trip was for a week and was donated by China Holidays. Malaysian Airlines provided airfares and I thank them both for their generous hospitality. I added several extras to the trip and extended it to more than four weeks.

Margaret Smith.