China - what can I say, after leaving Vietnam I spent 5 months traveling through this country. I went at a time when SARS was hitting the headlines, and tourist places were closing down one after the other, including entry into Tibet - I tried sneaking in, but that's another story... There was only a handful of travelers there, which is both good and bad. Good in the sense that I did not meet any main stream tourist, that I had a seat or a bunk in every bus and trains and that the locals weren't so cheating thanks to a decline in their business. Bad in the sense that there was a distinct lack of atmosphere, bad that many museums were closed and that I got scanned and had my temperature read in every city and town. Traveling through this SARS period has given me a glimpse of how the Chinese government operate at such a time, and how quickly things was organized. I was very impressed!

After Kunming it was time to head west, first to the unimpressive Dali (imho of course!), followed by the lovely Lijiang. Lijiang is one of my favorite town in China, this little town oozes charm, especially in the old town quarter, with it's cobble path, flowing streams and the locals Naxi people in their blue overalls. Lijiang is a stone's throw away from the amazing Tiger Leaping Gorge. This gorge, stretching up to over 4,500 is one of the most amazing place I have visit. So I set about trekking through the gorge with a bunch of Chinese from Guangdong and Bejing. The three days trek was great fun, it also gave me a chance to talk about Chinese issues with my companions. I also met other trekkers along the way, such as the lovely Cynthia and Justin. At the last stop we reach the well known Sean's Guesthouse. Sean's famous for marrying the Aussie Margo, and for clearing most of the trekking path through this gorge many moons ago. I caught up with Tom here and together we headed back to Lijiang.

Thanks to the SARS outbreak, the Chinese authorities have decided to close Lijiang to the tourist. So we had no choice but to move on. I headed West to Zhongdian, the so call "Shangri-La". Don't worry for those who's never been or wanted to check it out coz it is a nothing-town. Most travelers come here to check out the Tibetan monastery, so I went along to see it. Again due to SARS no travelers were allowed in, oh well... So I made my way in around the back. After Zhongdian, it was on to the border of Tibet, to a town name Deqin. I was here for a big Tibetan festival, in which a great Lama from Tibet will be performing a ritual. It was a great opportunity to take photos, and I met many Chinese who wanted to see the festival too. We chatted late into the night discussing more issues these young Chinese faces... Including the touchy subject of Tibetan and Taiwanese independence. I found them to be strongly patriotic and but do question some of their government's policies.

Sichuan Province...

The day after the festivals I tried sneaking into Tibet by posing as a Chinese, but was caught at the border check points when they wanted to see my identity card. I had no choice but to show them my kiwi passport, but thankfully nothing bad happened. I got a slap on the hand before being chucked onto the next bus back to Deqin. After this failure I decided to take the back route into Sichuan province. En route I also met a bunch of border failures, they include Nakano 'Kevin' Kazuo, whom is the most determined as he attempted to sneak into Tibet through all it's bordering province. Starting at Yunnan, Sichuan, Qinghai and finally Xinjiang. He made it in the end, but by then Tibet has reopen it's borders to tourist after closing it during the SARS outbreak!

This route took me through more Tibetan towns such as Xiangcheng, Litang, Kangding Tagong and Danba. This route is highly recommended as I got to see more Tibetan scenary and their way of life. Litang was a real highlight, as I got to witness a sky burial. This Tibetans ritual involves hacking a body to pieces and feeding it to a mass of vultures. Tagong is a wonderful little Tibetan town, and life here revolves around it's active monastery.

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province is full of character. I love wondering through it's back alleys, where locals of all ages come out to spend time together, setting up their mahjong table street side, drinking tea with old friends and smoking those long pipes. There are so much life here compare to Auckland, and it makes me wonder at how enjoyable China is for the elderly. Highlight here was a visit to the Giant Panda Breading Research Base to see those cute and cuddly pandas. I love them! These lazy creatures only move when it is time to eat, before returning to their eternal slumber... JUST LIKE ME! Whilst there the keeper whisper into my ears to see whether I wanted to hug a panda. It was tempting but I just had... to... say... no... as I didn't wanna pay the huge amount... Besides, this is illegal!!! We also tried Chengdu and Sichuan's speciality - the hot hot HOT pot and the street-side spicy skewer meat (satay style).

From Chengdu I caught a bus out to Leshan, the home of the largest Buddha carving in the world. Get this - It is 71m high, his ears are 7m long, his insteps 8.5m broad and the big toe... 8.5m long! Along with big Buddha I went into Dazu to see even more Buddhist inspired carvings... The grottos carved here are the most impressive I've seen in this travel. My favorite is of Buddha holding up a pagoda which weights in at 1,000kg! How did the carvers do it?

Central China...

Chongqing was the gateway for the Yangzi river cruise... But thanks to SARS there were no cruise operating. So I caught a normal ferry to take me across to Yichang. I wanted to see the mighty Yangzi before the controversial Three Gorge Dam is completed. And I was there exactly one month before they "damn the Yangzi". The trip down river wasn't the most exciting thou as the wet weather kept me inside. It is again amazing to note how the Chinese government operate as 1.5 million people (the entire population of Auckland) were relocated because of the Dam, with settlements on both sides of the bank torn down. Along the cruise I saw measurements place on both side of the river, 185 meters up as that is how high the Three Gorge Dam will be when it is fully operational.

Pingyao was the next stop. This is a UNESCO protected city, thanks to a completely intact and enclosed 6km city wall from the Ming dynasty. Within the walls are well-preserved traditional Han Chinese buildings, offering a glimpse into the architecture style and town planning of Imperial China. I spent my days wondering the streets and visiting the many open homes which have been converted into museums. Pingyao was followed by a visit to another famous grotto, out in Datong. I didn't find it as impressive as those of Dazu's though but still well worth a look. Datong city itself is dirty and polluted, so instead of spending a night there I decided to take a night train and push on to the capital...

Entering the capital...

Beijing is a MASSIVE city, spreading out as far as the eye can see. It is built on very flat land, so it has room to grow. I enjoyed Beijing, and did all the touristy stuff like watching the kite flyers at Tiananmen square, paying respect to Mao at his Mausoleum, visiting the Forbidden city, Temple of Heavenly Peace, The Summer Palace and checking out the not-so-famous Friendship Store. I highly recommend staying at my brilliant backpackers - the Far East Youth Hostel, as it had the best atmosphere since Chengdu and it was here that I finally met a bunch of backpackers... After months of traveling by myself and speaking Mandarin it was nice to be able to sit back, have a beer and converse in English again! I have a feeling the others felt the same! I also pop into Tienjin for a day trip to see but had an unpleasant experience there, when a local dump a load of hot tea in my face coz he thought I may be a foreign-SARS-carier! I was so angry!!!

Jiangsu and Anhui province...

After the fun in Beijing I headed south to Henan province, to check out another historical Chinese town - Keifeng, but it was nothing special since modern ugly building are replacing the old, so I hot footed back to Zhengzhou. I had to renew my Chinese Visa, but found out that it was impossible to do so and I was told to get it sorted in Hong Kong instead. Looking at my map I was against the idea of taking a 2 days train ride out there. Looking for ideas I called an uncle working in Suzhou, and thankfully he could bail me out so I went over to stay at his place for a couple of weeks. You see, it is all about connections out here.

Whilst awaiting my visa to be sorted, I took day trips out to the nearby towns and cities of Jiangsu province. I checked out Nanjing to pay my respect to the founder of Modern China - Dr SunYat-Sen's Mausoleum. I visited the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, the Nanjing Museum and the Taiping History Museum. After so many museums I needed a break with outdoor museums, and what better place to visit then the historical old town of Zhouzhuang. Built upon canals and navigated by wooden boats Zhouzhuang is both authentic and atmospheric. And the best thing is many it's historical buildings have been open as a mini museum, for people to wonder through to have a feel of China 100 years ago.

After Anhui province (psst don't forget to check out Tunxi while at Huang Shan - an interesting town), I caught a train south, south, south to Guanxi province. First to Guilin, followed by Yangshuo.

Guanxi and Guangdong province...

Yangshuo is paradise! Yangshuo is paradise!! Get out there to Yangshuo now! I urge you! It's bloody brilliant! This little town, alongside the banks of the Li Jiang river, is completely surrounded by craggy peaks. These peaks, ranging from 300-500 meters. pops up in weird formation all over the place. And it brought back memories of Ninh Binh in Vietnam... Yangshuo is the "Dahab" for me here in China, this is the backpackers mecca in China. This is thanks to a laid back town, friendly locals and lots of exploration to do. I cycle all over the countryside, swam in it's rivers, explore it's caves, went cormorant fishing, rock climbed with my Korean buddy Scott and trek up the famous Moon hill for a fantastic vista over the surrounding countryside. From Yangshuo I also made trips out to Xingping to cruise down the Li Jiang river and to check out the Japanese built Peace Pagoda. But the best excursion was a visit to Longsheng, to trek through it's beautiful rice terrace... Somewhat similar to Sapa in Vietnam.

The bright lights of Shanghai...

From Guangdong I caught a train for Shanghai, a city which I have always been fascinated with. Shanghai is the big glitzy showcase city of China. It has it all, from tall glitzy sky scrapers, modern underground tubes, colonial-era architecture, enough museums to space you out and lots and lots of money to throw around by it's proud citizens. There are also many foreigners working and living in this city. I manage to catch up with one - Justin, the American from the Tiger Leaping Gorge. My original plan was to come to Shanghai to work as an English teacher... That's right, me!!! The Engriiish teacher. But in the end I decided not to. Shanghai contrast too much from the rest of the country, I found the people here to be slightly snobbish, as they seem to look down on the rest of the country. They also seem to be too much in awe with the West, and in some ways, wanting to be like them. Ok so this is only my impression, but then again the rest of the folks in the country tells me so too! Still, this city impressed me very much, with it's go-get-it attitude. So I may return in the future.

"Ni hao!!!" to...

Here is a massive huge big "HEY HOW THE HELL ARE YOU???" shout out to Alex Lee Coonce (Calichick!), Pasca (Belgium), Tom Shugg (Melbourne, Aus), Yusuke "shagadalic" Yagi (Japan), Cynthia Chan (Sydney-chick), Justin Frey (USA), Nakano "Kevin" Kazuo (Shiga, Japan), S.W Lee (Malaysia), Ichiro Kobayashi (Osaka, Japan), Takahashi Kenjiro (Japan), Xian noodle store owner Ma Qing Chuan and his delicious noodles, Dennis Hong (California, USA), Martin Hungerbuhler (Zurich, Switzerland), Uncle Fatt & family in Dongwan, Yap Ee Kuan, Cousin Chiach Shuen & Warn Fern (Guangzhou), David & Sally Foo (Suzhou), Malaysian Sam Wong & Stephanie Chang whom are studying in Jinan University (Guangzhou), Tony Chu (Beijing), Wei Li Lin (Yangshuo), Heather & Michael (Shiefield, UK), Kevin Nadolny (Taxes, USA), Brett Voegele (USA), Kim Jung Yeon (Korea), Alex 'rugby mad' Charter (Nottingham, UK), Wei Li Lin who works at the Yangshuo YHA - top bloke! Poor Scott Chang (Korea) whom fell into the paddy in Yangshuo, Marcus Lee - Suzhou's Coffee Dream owner and part-time pastor, my dear friend and co-Huang Shan climber "Charles" Wei Chuan Sen (Shandong), "Nora" Wang Siao Meng from Noah's Bar in Shanghai, Kevin Wu who is now works in Beijing,"Gucci" Shi Jing (Hunan) and Johnny Lu at the Cafe Too (Yangshuo).