Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture

This weekend we went on another road trip. This time we headed south to Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. On Saturday night we visited the Grassland area near our hotel. This area is absolutely amazing. The scenery is world-class and the people are very open and friendly. I rode a horse for the first time in the evening we were entertained with local dances whilst we ate dinner. The next morning we visited Labrang Lamasery. This is one of the six major monasteries belonging to the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism. It was erected in 1709 and is also the largest institute higher learning of Tibetan Buddhism.

However, my image of the monks leading secluded lives was shattered when one of the young monks (aged about 8) came over to me pointed at the AC Milan top I was wearing and said “I think Kaka is over-rated”.

A rather ridiculous tea pot

Foreign experts banquet

Every a year a banquet is hosted for all of the foreigners working in Lanzhou. This was a good chance for us delegates to meet other foreigners working in the city. We met some people who are working here with the Peace Corp. It is also at this Banquet that the Gansu Provincial Government grants the "Dunhuang Award" to foreigners in recognition of their contribution to the development of Gansu Province. This award has been granted every year since 1996. Unfortunately, I didn’t win but there is always next year!

Table tennis

A few of us have been making use of the abundant outside table tennis tables and have been playing regularly. Table tennis, along with badminton, is very popular in China. However, judging by the number of courts, number of people playing and the coverage it gets on TV basketball is the game of choice for China’s youth.

'Chinese roulette’

We are starting to settle down in to our routine of classes now. We are also starting to explore Lanzhou more. By touring Lanzhou by ourselves we are starting to realize how hard it can be living in a totally different county with a different culture and language. For example we often play ‘Chinese roulette’ at lunch (order food without knowing what it is); it rarely works out well for us! Yesterday we visited a restaurant for lunch and ordered a few dishes, the laughter of the waitress gave us an earlier indication as to how this was going to turn out.

After waiting for 20 minutes we were presented with a wok filled with a cloudy liquid with celery floating on the top. I made the mistake of saying “This looks okay”. Underneath the wok was a small heater and it was only when the water started to boil that the fun began. Once the water reached boiling point what can only be described as a tentacle reached out of the water! After seeing this I didn’t feel too hungry.

When we first arrived we would always ask “What’s this?” or “Is this chicken?” at dinner and lunch. We have now stopped doing this after getting a number of unfavourable answers. When in China it’s best to eat first and ask what it is second (although this is not recommend for allergy sufferers). If you make your dining decisions based on pre-conceptions it’s likely you will be very hungry. We had eaten 13 different animals before we stopped asking.

Five Springs Mountain

After initially catching the wrong bus a group of us made it to the bottom of Five Springs Mountain by mid-morning. The park on the mountain is the largest in Lanzhou. The Middle Peak of the Five Springs Mountain, the highest point in the park, reaches 1,600 meters (5,294 feet). There is an amusement park, a zoo, and naturally a large number of people milling around. There are also many beautiful temples to explore and the view from the top is well worth the effort.

Lanzhou from the top of Fife Springs mountain

One of the rides in the amusement park

Victory!

Provincial Museum

Today we visited the Gansu Provincial Museum. There are altogether thirteen exhibiting halls in the museum. The most famous relic is the bronze Galloping Horse, a 1,800 year old statue which is now the Chinese tourism symbol. We visited the site in Wuwei where the horse was excavated from in 1969 during our week long tour of Gansu

The famous Galloping Horse

Waiban

Today we visited the Foreign Affairs Office (Waiban) for the first time. We have all been paired with a staff member from the office in order to exchange ideas and information about our respective countries and China. Those delegates whose country did not have a representative in Gansu on last year's programme (including myself) will be giving presentations in the following weeks to the rest of the group and the Waiban staff. This is my opportunity tell the Waiban staff and the other delegates all about Fife.

Class has begun

After a week on the road I think everyone is happy to be back in Lanzhou. It was great to see so many amazing sites however traveling for 4/5 hours everyday took its toll and I don’t think life on the road is for me!

We have now started our classes. We have language classes everyday and a class on Chinese culture once a week. I have never been a great linguist, as my French teacher will tell you. Hopefully I will be able to pick up some mandarin.

The Journey home

We began the long journey home on Saturday, via Zhangye and Jinchang. In Zhangye we visited an Agricultural Garden and a Water Irrigation Exhibition Hall. Conserving water is a major focus for the local government as Gansu is very arid. After travelling through the Gobi desert I can understand why Lanzhou is covered in “keep off the grass” signs.

Jinchang is an industrial city and we visited the Jinchuan Non-Ferrous Metal Corporation (JNMC) this morning. Jinchuan Group Ltd is the largest producer of nickel, cobalt and platinum group metals in China and is the 3^rd largest company in Gansu. Like JISCO the shear size of their facility is hard to fully take in.

After another fantastic banquet for lunch we got back on the bus and headed for home. We have had an amazing week, and I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to explore so much of Gansu Province.

We learned a few lessons this week as well;
1. Always be kind to your bus driver as it’s their job to keep you alive in the often crazy traffic.

2. All of us in the group could never make it in the army as the rations we had brought with us for the week we had eaten within a day of us leaving Lanzhou.

3. Gansu is a little-known treasure in the North-West of China that has abundant attractions and beautiful scenery well worth a visit.

Jiuquan

We had arrived in Jiuquan late last night and visited the Night Market. Life on the road is fun; however we are all tired after feeling the effects of staying in a different hotel every night. This morning we visited Wine Spring Park, a famous site of the West Han Dynasty.

We also visited the Luminous Cup Factory of Jiuquan. The cups are made from Qilianshan Jade and were first produced more than 2,000 years ago.

It takes a high level of skill to make the cups

The group at Wine Spring Park

Dunhuang

On Wednesday morning we had a very long bus ride to Dunhuang. In ancient times, Dunhuang was the centre of trade between China and it’s neighbors to the west. At that time, it was the most westerly frontier military garrison in China. Today Dunhuang is most famous for the Mogao Grottoes, which are considered to be the richest treasure house of Buddhist art in the world. The work that went into constructing the Grottoes spans more than a thousand years and the site was justifiably listed as a World Heritage Site in 1987.

The Mogao Grottoes, a truley amasing sight

In Dunhuang we also visited the beautiful Mingsha Mountains and the Crescent Moon Spring. Despite being surrounded by towering sand dunes the Spring has never been submerged by sand. After climbing to the top of the sand dunes for a breathtaking view, most of us elected to take the easy way back to the bus, by camel.

It took a long time to climb to the top

But the view was worth it

In hindsight I should of stood to the side!

The way down was quicker!

JISCO

In the afternoon we visited JISCO - Jiuquan Iron and Steel (Group) Co, the company that Jiayuguan city revolves around. The company employs around 30,000 people and it’s products are used in construction, welding, shipbuilding, automobile manufacturing, and transportation. Without JISCO I doubt whether Jiuquan city would exist as the whole city seems to be based around the company. The city reminded me a little of Dubai with its 5 star hotels in the middle of a desert.

Jiayuguan Pass

After another early morning start we headed for Jiayuguan City (located in Gobi desert in the middle of the Gansu Corridor). After checking into our hotel we headed out for Jiayuguan Pass. This was a key pass of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty (AD1368-1644) and is the best preserved today. The pass was listed as a world cultural relic by UNESCO in 1986. It is a magnificent site and another example of China’s rich past. I took the opportunity to practice my archery from the top of the Great Wall. I think I would have no problem fending off an army....made of straw!

The design of the buildings was impressive

Ready, aim......fire

That will teach those dummies to try and attack us!

Erika, Marica, Myself & Jeff at Jiayuguan Pass

110th Anniversary of Rewi Alley's birth

This morning we attended the celebrations for the 110th Anniversary of Rewi Alley's birth. Rewi Alley was a New Zealander who spent a lot of time in China working with children and establishing schools. He is still an important figure in China and his legacy is important to the people of China, and in particular to the people of Shandan. The New Zealand Ambassador to China, Anthony Browne, was also at the ceremony, which was held at the Shandan Bailie School. After the ceremony we had a short tour around the school. In the afternoon we were shown around the town and visited a beautiful Buddhist Temple. The kilt proved to be very popular with the local people, although the other delegates might be getting a bit tired of it! At night we were treated to a performance in honour of Rewi Alley's life. Our favourite performance was the dance of the Thousand Buddha Hands.

Erika, Jeff, Me and Marcia

Children in the school learning metal work skills

The school looked great with the decorations

Me and the New Zealand Ambassador to China

Road trip

Around 8am we all met in the lobby of the Guest House and boarded the bus for a week long road trip around Gansu Province. Our first stop was Wuwei, around four hours away. The traffic in Lanzhou city has been a little difficult to get used to, but we have developed a theory that the bigger the vehicle you are travelling in, the more likely it is that you have the right of way. Thus, we felt very safe on the coach!

We had lunch in Wuwei and visited Leitai Si, the place where the town's single most famous object, the Han-dynasty Flying Horse of Wuwei, was discovered in 1969. The horse is the symbol of Chinese tourism and can be seen through-out China. After getting back on the road we got our first look at the Great Wall. This section has not been refurbished like the sections in the East of the country. It is another example of how Gansu is different from the ‘refurbished China’ that most tourists see.

When we arrive in Shandan late in the afternoon it was clear that not many tourists seem to pass through here based on the attention we received attention. After dinner at the hotel we all went for a walk through the small town and soon a small crowd of children gathered behind us. Jeff, Marica and I played and were beaten by some kids at ping-pong. After playing ping-pong for ten minutes the crowd had grown and one of the parents asked if we could sing a song. The only song we could think of was "Do-re-mi" and even though it wasn't exactly top-notch, the crowd clapped anyway!

That was an amazing experience and even-though the kids had very little to play with they made do with what they had and seemed very happy.

Opening ceremony

In the evening it was time for the opening ceremony of Gansu Sister Cities program 2007. We dressed up and got ready for the banquet with the Governor (the top politician in Gansu). It was the first time I wore my kilt and it proved to be very popular. A lot of people had never seen anyone in a kilt before and as a result I must of got my photo taken with over 20 different people. However, the popularity of the kilt came at great cost!!

I was enjoying both the wonderful food and the interesting music when Mr Ding (one of the program organisers) tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I could sing a Scottish folk song. At first I thought he meant at the next banquet and not right now in front of 100 people including the Governor. However, he meant now! I reluctantly agreed and then started to panic. The closest thing I know to a Scottish folk song is ‘Why does it always rain on me?’ by Travis. As I was led to the stage I decided that I would sing ‘Flower of Scotland’. However, I was suffering from a case of mental block and could only remember the first few lines. I took advantage of the fact than no-one in the audience knew the real words and I delivered my own unique and alternative version. I returned to my seat to the applause of my fellow delegates.

It was nerve racking but a lot easier than the best mans speech I did two weeks ago.

Note: When going to a Chinese Banquet have a song prepared.

White pagoda mountain

The last few days have been spent showing the new arrivals around Lanzhou and helping them settle in. Today has been a really good day. Jeff (USA), Marcia (New Zealand), Tatsuji (Japan) and I got the bus to white pagoda mountain. It was our first time on the bus and it was easy to see why it is so popular. We got the cable car to the top and then we found a temple that we didn’t see last time. It looked rather new so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was less than 10 years old and built for tourists.Myself, Tatsuji, Jeff & Marcia

Temple at the top of White Pagoda mountain

We then came across a outside swimming pool that had inflatable balls that people go inside and run around on top of the water. At first I was a little skeptical about getting into a plastic ball with a limited air supply and no means of escape but then I thought ‘when in Lanzhou’. Marcia and I got into one each and tried to run around on the water, ‘tried’ being the key word. It was impossible to keep your balance on the water, although the Chinese kids managed it easy enough!

The ball of terror (I am on the right - 'resting')

After risking suffocation in the plastic ball the danger of the fly fox across the valley didn’t seem too great. It’s only when I was strapped in and the guy was about to push me off the ledge that I thought to myself ‘just how save is this?’, by the time I came up with the answer ‘not very, I should get off’ it was too late and I was pushed off the edge.

A terrible blind date

After cheating death twice in the space of half an hour I thought I would treat myself – time for KFC! KFC is the only ‘Western’ fast food place in Lanzhou and I suppose the fact that there is no McDonalds gives you an indication of what it’s like here. In fact after spending a week here it’s very clear that there are very few ‘Westerners’ here. We tend to draw a lot of attention when we are out and about with Valancina the tall girl with blonde hair from Belarus causing a particular stir.

‘Lanzhou beef noodles’

We have been busy the last few days and more people are arriving from different places around the world. Yesterday we visited ‘white pagoda mountain’ which is to the North of Lanzhou. We travelled up by cable car and got a great view from the top. We could see a lot of Lanzhou although there was some smog which obstructed our view a little. There was also a flying fox which I'm sure I will try at a later date. For lunch we visited a Muslim restaurant and had our first taste of the famous‘Lanzhou beef noodles’ they were really good, but could have done with more beef.

People preparing spring onions for the Beef noodles

The famous beef noodles

They do taste good

The view from the cable car

Lanzhou from White Pagoda mountain