Down from the mountain, we head back to Shangrila Old Town and then to the north to Ganden Sumtseling Monastery (松赞林寺) in the late afternoon. Built in 1679 by the 5th Dalai Lama, and the size of a small village, this is the largest monastery in Yunnan and one of the most important Buddhist monasteries in China.Read more
The mountain’s highest peak is 14,598 feet (4,449.5 meters) above the sea level, named for the red dear the range represents, it is regarded a s holy mountain for the local Tibetans. Geologically ,the mountains is known for having diverse microclimates along its range. From the grasslands we visited earlier through wooded hills, plateaus harboring ranches,Read more
Shangrila breakfastat the hotel: pork noodles, pickles, milk, rice porridge, stuffed buns and an egg. The valley west of the city is sparsely populated and pretty flat. Primarily grassland, it is used primarily for agriculture. In spring crops of flowering plant light up the valley with color. At this time it was pretty barren.Read more
We walked down the road in late afternoon, passing by a few villages along the way. The sun is low, but enough light to get some decent shots… the issue is… in the mountains here sun is hot when you are in it, but the shade is ice cold. So, walking around in the day,Read more
Joni and I are companions on the “10” hour bus ride to Jiuzhaigou Valley in the Tibetan Plateau, just 424km north of Chengdu. The bus is far from comfortable. No AC, no heat. Windows don’t really open. No restroom. Barely any brakes. The driver is intent on never stopping… but since the bus would breakRead more
Jing takes me to a place for some Sichuan food and it was eye-opening. I guess I kind of was not getting the real Sichuan experience while there. This beef soup didn’t avoid the fat, it embraces it. Thin fatty strips of beef just dissolved as I slurped it down, and those chillies brought theRead more