Further Wanderings

The train trip from Lanzhou to Dunhuang took a lengthy 16 hours. Given that it left in late afternoon and arrived in mid-morning, this meant that it was a journey we actually got to “experience” rather than simply falling asleep in one city and waking up in another.

In this case, “experience,” meant a couple of things. First, that meant snacks. One of the great joys of long distance train travel in China (and elsewhere) is the wonderful array of yummy or at least interesting snacks everyone brings aboard. True, fruit, drinks, sundry small munchables and even full meals are available from carts that are constantly being pushed through the aisles, but they’re rather pricey and, in any case, the real experience lies in bringing your own. Whether it’s the ubiquitous 2 minute noodles with hot water from the boiler at the end of each carriage, the almost as common sunflower seeds forming an ever growing pile of shells, or something more exotic like preserved chicken feet, there’s nothing more fun than nibbling away the miles, sharing treats with your seatmates as you go.

I must admit, in an entry full of some pretty awesome pictures it’s a bit disappointing to have the headline photo be a pile of snack food. But it fits into the narrative at this point and nowhere else. Plus, as I say, it’s a big part of the Chinese train travel experience

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I concluded the last entry by saying that we were headed west on the silk road. And while that’s not untrue, it’s perhaps a little bit misleading. (I begin so many entries with these aplogies for minor faults at the end of the previous one that I’m beginning to suspect that I may be subconsciously making the errors on purpose so I have a convenient way to introduce the next entry…)

Anyhow, our train trip certainly did take us along the old silk route through Gansu province. And when we got off in Lanzhou we were BUT, our actual destination (which included a 3 hour bus ride tacked on to the train trip) was a ways off the silk road, and no camel trains laden with rich fabrics every made their way through the valleys that we were headed to. Not unless they were more than a little lost. Or not unless they were Buddhist pilgrims making a side trip sometime after most of the land-borne trade in silk had long ceased.

You see we were headed for the town of Xiahe, home of the Labrang Monastery, the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery outside the Tibetan Autonomous Region (and one of the largest anywhere.)

A group of Tibetan Buddhist monks sitting on the steps of the Grand Sutra Hall of Labrang Monastery

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Let me begin by saying that this entry is about Tibet. It's not actually in the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR) as defined by the government of China. The area I'm talking about is actually all in the western ... [Continue reading this entry]

Let me begin by saying that this entry is about the town of Zhongdian, also known as Gyalthang in Tibetan. It's also known as Shangri-La (Shang-Ge-Li-La in Chinese, since you can't even really say "Shangri-La" in Mandarin.) It ... [Continue reading this entry]

Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest in the world. It's over 4000m from the summits of Yulong Shan and Haba Shan that flank the gorge down to the river below. And while some other gorges may ... [Continue reading this entry]