OUR CAT OREO

OUR CAT OREO

some thoughts on the way home

2011,Travelling To Yunnan  
         


          ---------some thoughts on the way home






     We made our way home the next day.

   

Yes, I was really touched by the beauty of Shangri-La. I was a little disappointed on the train back home, not only for we were leaving, but also for a serious question: could this kind of beauty be sustainable? I’m a little worried that this holy land would disappear or would be very different from now when I revisit it in the future. It does have changed a lot from the Shangri-La in James Hilton’s fiction lost horizon in 1933. And it turns out that this sort of changes is getting drastic in recent days. With thousands of travellers coming and leaving every day, she was not untouchable as before, and the environment became worse.

    As the amount of travellers soaring, greenhouse effect is correspondingly enhanced. Accumulated snow on the sacred mountains was lessening. We could never, if time-machine would not exist, have the chance to know what Shangri-La was like in 1933.

I just want to mention that, once an interesting spot was discovered, people always have gone too far on tourism exploitation. And overexploitation inevitablely ruins nature. And many years later people will find that the so-called heavenly place is not as good as it was. So who did it, who should be to blame, and who needs to take the consequences. Those were what I thought mostly during my travel, but, fortunately, Shangri-La still remains a lot of original conditions. For instance, so far the holy Kawagebo Peak (6,740 m) hasn’t been touched by human beings. The local governments are also taking some necessary measures to protect the environment. (however, I don’t really have faith in them because they care more about tourism exploitation and money, I think ) And for me, it was fantastic to sink into the warmth of home again. And…… make a preparation for my coming college life!

          THE END                                    

                                                            ANDREW                                     

                                                          2012/4/18

                                                                

2011,Travelling To Yunnan (Three) part 2

2011,Travelling To Yunnan (Three) part 2

           

       I uploaded all together 24 photos in this post. They were all about the breathtaking scenery of Pudacuo National Park, where we visited on the second day in Shangri-La.  

Pudacuo national park is an ancient forest located at an altitude of 4, 000 meters. We got there at 6 am ,and the whole woods were still immersed in a very deep sleep under the coverage of thick fog.

Slowly the fog lifts and then comes the sun

It seems we were in a picture of heaven right?

nirvana

it took me quite a long time to capture this picture.

it was in summer and the temperature was about 5 C.

2011，Travelling To Yunnan (Three) part 1

   

        

        Time went quietly and softly the next day, and we just lingered in the old town all day long, shopping, eating , shooting and other stuff. It was of great fun that we danced with the local at twilight. The step style, as a kind of folk dance, was so strange that I couldn’t even keep up with them.(sounds funny?) But I’m quite a lot interested in it, so I uploaded it, and , maybe you’ll like it.

We kept on moving the next morning to, the paradise, heaven, fairyland…( Sorry I can't think of any more words), Shangri-La. The holy place first became famous when had been put into the book Lost Horizon by a distinguished novelist named James Hilton in 1933, then Shangri-La thus presented herself to the whole world. Known to many people, she soon became one of the hottest travelling spots in China.

Hutiao Gorge, one of the four steepest gorge in the world

Jinsha river flows through

How free the river runs, and how free I am. haha

                                                  

     We came to the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery. As a Buddhist holy land , it was called the second Potala Palace.

The biggest prayer wheel in the world . it could be rotated with four persons pushing.

The wall painting in the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery

The second Potala Palace ----

the Ganden Sumtseling Monastery 

Guess… what did we eat at night ?

Roast beef

We went to a big Tibetan family. they were very friendly and many travellers ate their food and watched their shows together.

We danced

A Tibetan girl

2011，Travelling To Yunnan (Two) Ⅱ

2011，Travelling To Yunnan (Two) Ⅱ

    The HORSE&TEA ROUTE, also called The ANCIENT TEA ROAD,  was a network of mule caravan paths winding through the mountains of Yunnan Province. People in Yunnan produced tea and took it to Tibet, India, and Burma ,and sold it for money. They also brought salt, cloth, silk, and their culture to other countries. Clip HERE (wikipedia) to learn more about it.

     nowadays, the ancient tea road has been transformed into a popular travelling spot .travelers can ride horses there. my mother and i chose two brown ponies and started the 3-hour horse riding.

A little pony

We followed the horse leader all the way to the top of the mountain. And then we had a picnic there .

At the top of the mountain, it was three kilometers above the sea level . I wore a straw hat to keep out the strong ultraviolet.

Those tour guides prepared roast meat and baked fish for us .we ate a lot . we were really hungry after three suffering hours on the bumpy horseback , but we were pretty happy.

We didn’t take water, so we could only drink the spring water. Right behind me was the origin of the brook. Water in that fountain was really sweet and tasty.

However, things didn't went on very well all the time. on the way back to the start site, I hit my horse's bottom carelessly . the horse which i called LITTLE BROWN almost went crazy ,then followed all the horses' neighing and running. Good for us that the group leader stopped the frightened horses at once and calmed them down.


  so, another exciting day passed .we got back to the lodge and had a really good rest.