Where do Chinese people like to vacation in China? - Part II

Here are the rest of top 10 domestic destinations in China:

5. Guilin city (桂林山水) - During a visit to China former U.S. President Bill Clinton said "No place in China is more evocative of the beauty of your country than Guilin." Two crystal-clear rivers flow through the city, encircled by mountains with unusual and bizarre rock formations and caves. (Previous Post on Guilin)

4. Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟), Sichuan - The place is dotted with more than 100 gorgeous lakes, which differ from others by having a high concentration of calcium carbonate, so that the lakebeds and embankments are all covered with crystals. The water is so clear that the bottom is visible despite depths of several dozen meters. Waterfalls are the essence of the scenery in Jiuzhaigou. They are created between lakes on different levels with water flowing down the cliffs covered with trees.

(Photo courtesy of www.worldinterestingfacts.com)

3. Yellow Mountain (黄山), Anhui - this mountain was listed as one of the World Natural and Cultural Heritages in 1990. Yellow Mountain is characterized by the four wonders: odd-shaped pines, grotesque rock formation, seas of clouds and crystal clear hot springs. Because of its mists and clouds, natural scenery in the area changes beyond prediction. (Previous Post on Yellow Mountain)

(Photo courtesy of www.chinatownconnection.com)

2. Sanya (三亚), Hainan - The city is located at the southern most tip of Hainan Island to the West of Hong Kong. Sanya has 19 bays and over 40 inlets lying along a 209 km coast line. It is often refer to as the "Hawaii of the East". It is China's idyllic island paradise!

(Photo courtesy of www.worldsbestbeachtowns.com)

1. Lijiang (丽江), Yunnan - With the Jade Dragon Mountain as backdrop, the Lijiang Old Town has adapted itself harmoniously to the natural scenery. Lijiang maintains an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that is still functioning effectively. (Previous Post on Lijiang)

Finding Pandora in China

Breaking all kinds of movie records, Avatar is a certified international mega hit. Being a travel buff, I left the movie wanting to visit Pandora. To my surprise, Pandora might not be that far.

MSNBC.com reports the floating "Hallelujah Mountains" was inspired by karst limestone formations in China. (click here for full article) James Cameron himself didn't not visit the locations. The Avatar designers and photographers visited Zhangjiajie and Yellow Mountain a few years ago and based the floating mountains these two locations.

China is now quick to capitalize on the enormous popularity of the movie and want to rename Zhangjiajie's "Southern Sky Column" to ""Hallelujah Mountain".

Check out blogs on my last trip to Yellow Mountain:
1. The Peaks of Yellow Mountain
2. Beyond Yellow Mountain

If you are interested in getting a glimpse of "Pandora", you are in luck, Ruby Roads Premium Travel and Events is offering a 12 day China tour package special at 50% OFF which includes 3 days in Yellow Mountain. Click here for full detail.

(Photo courtesy of www.news.cn)

Huangshan (Part 2): Beyond Yellow Mountain

The next morning we awoke at 4am to begin our trek to a choice lookout where we would be watching the sun come out. It was pitch dark and we were guided by only two headlights that members of our group had. It would be over a 1 hour hike up winding paths before we would reach out lookout. Our guide had arrived late for picking us up so by the time we reached our destination it was already fairly packed full of other tourists waiting for the sun to peak out. Just as our luck would have it, another cloudy day. It shouldn’t really be a surprise to us as we were told the clouds form on these mountains over 200 days of the year. It was still a nice start to the day, so no complaining on our part.

Following a nice simple breakfast we would begin our trek back to the tram where we would view numerous more famous rock formations, cliffs, and trees. Often while walking along the path we’d come across some people who had paid to be carried around the mountain in sedan chairs by two porters. I suspect there may have been some buyer’s remorse as a few of the people looked a bit embarrassed by the indulgence. There’s something about having two men carrying you up a large flight of stairs on a mountain top and through a crowd of tourists that just seems a bit over the top (unless it’s really necessary of course).

After a couple more hours of wandering around the mountain top we finally reached the tram and headed down. From here we would be heading to a local village. We weren’t really sure what to expect here, but we were pleasantly surprised by what we discovered when we arrived at Hongcun Village (宏村). Hongcun Village has a history of over 900 years and has been passed down for generations throughout the Wang Clan. It was famous for having a number of scenes for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon filmed here. As we arrived through the gates we came upon a picturesque small lake with a stone arched bridge going across the center, we learned this was the opening scene from the movie. Along the bank were numerous young painter students set up all along the bank practicing their talents. The village is said to resemble that of a buffalo with two 600 year old trees representing horns, a lake as its belly, and even irrigation streams are its intestines. We’ve really come to appreciate the imagination of the Chinese culture. The tour was fantastic and made for some great history lessons and amazing pictures.

It was a long couple days, so I had recommended the group to check out a local hot springs spa ( 黄山醉温泉). I have been to hot spring spa before and was looking forward to a night of relaxation. But as high as our expectations were for this place, they didn’t come near touching what we actually encountered. The entrance fee was equivalent to approximately $25 CAD. Inside this spa was an infinity pool on top of the hill over looking the spa area, over 50 different kinds of hot springs, complementary fruits and snacks, free Internet service, and even late night live entertainment. We must have stayed there for about seven hours just relaxing and getting out every need looked after. The highlight for me was the Garra rufa fish or as more commonly known as the Doctor Fish. They are these tiny fish swimming around in a giant spring that when you climb in they would come up and begin to eat the dead skin off your body. It’s a little weird at first, but once you get accustomed it begins to feel like a little massage and your skin is left feeling incredibly smooth.

The next morning we would be heading back to Shanghai, but not before a detour for a river cruise along Xin'anjiang River （新安江）. The river looked like a mirror, completely reflecting all of the hills and villages we encountered along the way. We were treated to a couple stops where we would tour the local villages. In the last stop we were even treated to a show from local performers what included singing, dancing, and acting. Even our boat guide was pulled up on stage to sing a duet with the show host as well as me to perform a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony. It was a weekday so we were the only people in the audience but that only made for a more enjoyable and personal experience. Following the show we would head back on the boat as we sail back towards our van an onwards back to Shanghai.

Huangshan (Part 1): The Peaks of Yellow Mountain

While we knew we wanted to see experience the history of Beijing and the glamour that is Shanghai, we had decided we wanted to visit someplace a little off the beaten path that is a little less travelled by the typical foreign tourist. After a lot of research and recommendations I had decided to take the group to Huangshan (or Yellow Mountain 黄山). Yellow Mountain is about 5 hours outside of Shanghai. We’d be taking a 3 day tour that would include a hike up Yellow Mountain spending a night at the top and then another night in a local town around the area. None of us really knew a lot about the area other then it was a major inspiration for a large amount of Chinese artists.

We were picked up very early in the morning in a private mini-van that would be taking us on our trek to Yellow Mountain. When we arrived we were met by the local guide who gave us our instructions for the day. We were told to pack just for overnight and leave the rest in the car since it would be a long hike. We had the option to either take a 3 hour trek up the mountain followed by another 3 hrs once we got to the top or we could take a tram up to the top and just do the extra 3 hrs from there. I was pretty keen on taking the hike all the way up but after learning we’d likely miss a great sunset photo opportunity we decided back on the tram option. As we ascended up I think we made the right choice, the trek looked treacherous with a lot of ups and downs all the way up. I didn’t see anybody on any trails so I suspect this is a rarely chosen option. The view going up was absolutely breath-taking.

There four wonders of Yellow Mountain . The first is the pine trees that grow out of the rocks. They seem like they have no reason existing on these mountains, but seeds fell into the crevices and they would grow, often with a crooked and downward angle growing branches only on one side. The second are the grotesque rock formations. These rocks have sparked the imaginations of visitors over the years, many of them being given names to represent shapes they form such as animals, people, birds, and even a cell phone. The third wonder is the Sea of Clouds which are very common and forever changing. The last wonder is the Huangshan Hot Springs which are free from sulphur and contains many trace elements beneficial to health.

The hike around the top of the mountain was fairly laid back. There are plenty of trails etched around throughout the mountain top and even a few hotels and homes. When the trails were built, the workers were not allowed to use any Yellow Mountain resources like pebbles or rocks. Therefore, material from outside of this area were carried up the mountain by manual labour to build the trails. Not just the trails, all man made structures like hotels and everyday supplies are carried up by people. This explains the understandable high priced lodging and coffee!

The scenery along the hike was absolutely breathtaking and unlike any sight I had ever seen in my life. The jagged rocks spotted with trees made it very clear why so many artists were drawn here. Throughout our hike around the top of the mountain the guide pointed out some of the more famous scenes, describing all the different images each shape is thought to represent.

Throughout the top of the mountain we saw locks locked up along fence rails as we saw throughout Russia. A few of us decided to partake this time and bought and signed a lock with our significant others, locked it to a rail, and tossed the key off the mountain. It was starting to get darker so we needed to keep the pace up for the next bit in order to check into our lodging and make it to our sunset lookout.

We’d be staying in a 2nd class room, which meant 4 bunk beds rather than 30 people all crammed in a room. Good enough for us. After a quick check-in we headed off another 20 minutes up the mountain where we’d catch our sunset. Everything was looking good, but as sunset drew near clouds started to form in so we got a fairly blocked sunset. Oh well, tomorrow morning we’re up at 4am to try to catch a sunrise.

Tomorrow ... local villages and hot springs!