Tag: Photos
Photo of the Day 7/31
by Sean on Aug.01, 2009, under China, Photos
Cangshan Mountains
The Cangshan Mountains are a very peaceful place located next to the town of Dali, situated in Yunnan province. Further away from the town on the opposite side is the famous Erhai Lake with minority groups living on the far side of the lake. Stone pathways have been carved out of the side of the mountain for maximum viewing pleasure. After taking the gondola ride up to the start of the walkways, you can go down a path and across the bridge.
After you pass the shaky wood bridge, you can cross some stones set in water and jump across to the stone I can be seen sitting on here. Further away from this stone you can see what appears to be a shrine, but because it’s separated by water, I didn’t bother taking my shoes off in the 55F/13C weather to find out more!
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Photo of the Day 7/15
by Sean on Jul.16, 2009, under China, Photos
Cangshan Mountain Lift
This is the fun and cheap gondola ride from the parking lot into the Cangshan mountain. It takes about 15 minutes each way and provides a beautiful 360 degree view of the mountain on side and the Erhai lake and town below on the other side. Even though I’m not afraid of heights, I sometimes get the very normal and natural fear. Being on a gondola for such a long time and climbing to the height of about 5000 meters gets somewhat scary sometimes, because if the line snapped and you fell, it’s a long drop. Enough of me being a pessimist, I enjoyed the ride and the entire mountain experience.
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Photo of the Day 7/14
by Sean on Jul.14, 2009, under China, Photos
Dragon in the Garden
The Yuyuan gardens are extremely beautiful and well-kept. They were originally a private collection, later made a national attraction in the 1980s. One of the things you will see in the Garden is this beautifully made dragon. I had my friend Simon take a picture of it on his Digital SLR because I knew my camera would never be able to capture the beauty of it in the same way. The result is this high resolution image of a dragon bearing it’s teeth.
I even feel like the image doesn’t capture the full picture I wanted, so you’re better off going to Shanghai to see it for yourself! The Yuyuan Gardens are located south of the Bund and east of the French quarter in an area called the Old Town. It costs 40rmb to get in, but totally worth what you can see inside!
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Photo of the Day – 7/12
by Sean on Jul.12, 2009, under China, Photos
Fenghuang
This is the first picture I took inside the town limits of Fenghuang. I felt it completely captured the ancient mountain feel coupled with the relaxed setting of a slow, lazy river strolling by. The townspeople might be hard at work all day long, but they appear to be having fun the entire time. If that’s not captivating and inspiring, then I don’t know what is. My opinion of the town is that each day is exactly the same from start to finish, but each day brings new faces to the town, making it appear to be constantly changing.
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River Rafting in Fenghuang
by Sean on Jul.08, 2009, under China
My first river rafting experience was meant to be in Switzerland, back in 2005. Due to heat exhaustion from bike riding in the Swiss Alps earlier in the day, I missed the activity because I passed out. As a result, I felt the need to experience it here to make up for it. I realize now that it would have been stronger rapids, and thus more fun for me had I done it in Switzerland, but who am I to pass up on such an experience that costed only $16 (as opposed to the $100 in Europe).
Rafting with the Paddle
Splash
Going Down
The rest of the activity was hard but worth all the effort. At the end of the trip where everyone gets off the boats and starts walking to the minibus to return to the beginning, there is a place where you can swim. The sad part is, most Chinese people can’t swim. I figured this would be a good place to teach my girlfriend, except that the bottom was rocky and we were wearing sandals. To make matters worse, she was afraid of taking off her life preserver, which restricts your arms from really pushing yourself.
Since we were going against the current, it was quiet difficult, and I found myself almost rescuing her. After she got out, I took off everything but my swimming trunks and enjoyed swimming on my own. All the Chinese people were staring at me, partially amused at my doggy paddle, and partially amused at how I was the only foreigner, and that I was swimming without a life preserver. Silly Chinese!
*If you are interested in doing this trip, call the travel agent I dealt with at 13037416770. The price is between 130-150rmb. His office is located next to the Hong qiao Bridge.
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