JIA’s Dream Tours China Blog

I’ve been to the Yangtze River many times, and in my opinion the most scenic part is Shennong Stream. It is a 60-kilometer tributary of the Yangtze River, originates in the southern part of Shennongjia Natural Reserve and joins the Yangtze at Xirangkou in Hubei’s Badong County. The crystal clear, unpolluted water flows swiftly. A tour by sampan is just like a shooting arrow. One rides a boat starting in a branch of the Shennong Stream and glides past the four-kilometer-long Mianzhu Gorge and then enters the main stream of the Shennong. The boat glides over the cobble-strewn river bed, its bottom often banging against the stones.

Like the neighboring Lesser Three Gorges in Wushan County, the ancient plank path runs along the river, mysterious ancient coffins suspended high on the cliff, wild monkeys running under the primitive trees and bushes.

I went on the Yangtze River Cruise last Oct with my group, and our local guide in Shennong Stream - a little girl who doesn’t speak good English but very sweet, sang the local songs on the sampan for us one after another. The original beauty of the nature with her sweet unpolished voice in the peaceful canyon, it was truly an unforgettable moment!

If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me through our website: http://jiasdreamtours.com/destinations.h…

Xi’an is one of my favorite cities in China - a place where I can feel, smell and touch the history. Each time driving from the airport to the city of Xi’an, passing by those different sized mounds which are the tombs of ancient emperors, I always wonder how it looked in historical times, centuries before this highway was built. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine since there are so many of them and it is the farm land and natural, which pretty much the way it was before.

I love the country side of Xi’an, especially on the way from Xi’an city to Terra Cotta Warriors Museum. It is a nice drive. Normally we’ll stop at Banpo Museum, where you can learn about the leadership role that women played in the whole society in this area. Other than its amazing exhibitions, I love the peacefulness and quietness of this place. Sometimes they play the ancient musical instrument there, the Xun, a kind of round, ball-like instrument with a hole on top where you blow. The tune is always so sad and vivid, fitting right in with the atmosphere here. Of course, the highlight is the Terra Cotta Warriors - the eighth wonder of the world! The Terra Cotta Warriors, created by Qin Shihuang, the first emperor of a unified China, this 8,000 strong army of life-sized warriors and officers along with horses and chariots serve as his eternal guarding force, still in their battle formations, facing east against the six conquered kingdoms; eternally vigilant and awaiting the command of their emperor! Emperor Qin Shihuang’s mysterious tomb is still uncovered and untouched, waiting for his day to face the world again! Each time while standing with them face to face, I still couldn’t believe the courageous look and spirit of 2000 years - what a breathtaking scene! Towards the end of the day, we’ll enjoy the same scenic drive back to Xi’an. The beautiful country scenery under the sunset makes you wonder how it looked thousands of years ago under the same light of sunset.

My next highlight is the city wall. Xi’an still maintains the traditional ancient city wall, which is square in shape and symmetrically designed. At night, the whole city wall is completely lit up, framing the beautiful silhouette of this ancient capital!

After a full day of visiting these treasures you can head to bed, and after such a rich and fantastic sightseeing you will have a sweet dreams: maybe greeting Qin Shihuang, or dancing with some Tang dynasty ladies…

One of my highlights of my visit to Tibet was the visit to Bakhor Street, in the heart of Lhasa circling the Jokhang Temple. It means “a pilgrim’s inner circuit”, and is the earliest street of old Lhasa city. It is “a saint road” in the eyes of Tibetans. Now it’s also a shopping street filled with wonderful shops and vendor stands. It’s an old district with colorful Tibetan features. Tibetan houses line the street, and the ground is paved with man-made flagstones, preserving the ancient look. In the street, you can find all sorts of local souvenirs and artwork, and experience the mysterious “one step one kowtow”. It dates back to the foundation of the Jokhang and is an essential pilgrim route. Often, while we were shopping or taking pictures on the street, we would see a traditionally dressed Tibetan old lady suddenly throw herself down to the ground, kowtowing towards the temple, right next to us. I recalled that there was a saying that a true kowtow has five parts of your body touch the ground to demonstrate your faith. With each kowtow completed with five parts touching the ground, and one step one kowtow, and considering their age, I can’t help but touched by their pure heart and faith!

My fun memory came from my shopping experience on Bakhor Street. I wanted to find some real Tibetan souvenir back home and finally I found a beautiful carved bronze incense burner. It was very elegant and carved with dragon and other Tibetan lions on the incense burner. When I started asking price, as I expected the owner, a Han people (ethnic Chinese) looked at me trying to figure out where I’m from. You see part of the art of negotiating is knowing who you are dealing with. I spoke mandarin with him and told him that I’m no tourist, so to get rid of his confusion about whether I’m not a real Chinese. He was quite impressed by my standard Mandarin, but still suspiciously looking at my husband and a friend who were with me, and both of them are Caucasian. I started countering his price with one third of his asking price, as I expected he wasn’t offended at all, and just kept asking me to increase the offer. I told him we had almost finished our circle in Bhakor Street, so I know the market price pretty well. He agreed to drop one third, however we still haven’t got agreement yet. Many locals, including vendors, Tibetans, and tourists stopped by and started to watch my bargaining. Even the Tibetan monk who was sitting behind the vendor started to emerge and show interest to our negotiation. … Eventually I got it in between one third and one half of his asking price, which is quite a good deal in my opinion. The onlookers seemed didn’t have enough of the show and were reluctant to leave; so I teased them and said the show is over. The vendor appreciated my business and carefully wrapped my incense burner for me. After I went back to our group meeting place, I showed our guide Lobsong my hard-bargained incense burner and told him the price, he gave his signature sunny smile first, and as I expected he said “It was okay…” I knew by his smile that I could have got better deal if he was there. But I had great fun there, and even today that beautiful incense burner is still the center piece of our dining table, reminding me all those fun times I had in the Holy City - Lhasa!

My favorite list of cities in China used to be: Beijing (my hometown), Xi’an - for its history and Guilin - for its scenery. After my visit to Tibet last Oct however, now I have one more on my list: Lhasa - The most spiritual Holy City. I would highly recommend this place for everyone to visit at least once in their lifetime!

First, because of its high altitude, not everyone is able to go there, so makes it even more mysterious. As soon as we landed at Lhasa airport, I could feel the thin and pure air, even the sun seemed stronger. What a direct, bold welcome to “the roof of the world”!

Our local guide was a sunny young Tibetan man, who was once a monk. So my group was very lucky to gain a lot of deep, insightful knowledge of Lama Buddhism. Our guide Lobsong, who was warm as the Tibetan sun in Lhasa and a smile that was just as bright, impressed my group with his genuine honesty, and warm-heart.

Lobsong’s English was beyond my expectation, especially after he honestly told the group that he taught himself English and had never been to college. I really got tickled that whenever he had difficulty with English, he would pause and ask me in Chinese right in front of the group “How do you say… in English, I don’t know.” Then flash a big sunny smile. But when people asked anything about Lama Buddhism, Lobsong instantly lit up and gave a sophisticated lecture, including those big religious words which was even first time for me to hear! Our whole group fell in love with this genuine Tibetan boy!

My highlight was the day we visited Potala Palace, which was even more impressive than its physical heights - especially after we heard and had seen how religious it is here. It is a several hundreds steps climb one way up. Not everyone in my group attempted the trek because once you start climbing, you can’t go back; since it is one-way you have to keep going forward. So standing at entrance to Palace after climbing all those stairs, I felt quite a sense of accomplishment. Even though it was so high and the air so much thinner, it was well worth it ! The dramatic architecture of the Potala Palace framed in the unusually blue sky, surrounded by the mountains around, it was quite a picture!

On the way out from the Potala Palace, there were some Tibetan ladies working on repairing the roof, they were patting some dirt or mud into the walls with some very primitive tools. Our group had just finished touring the Potala Palace and on our way out. After several hundred steps up and down combined with the altitude sickness, no one had energy to talk any more, we were just trying to breath in the thin air and at the same time enjoy the unusual blue sky. It was quite a picture: the dramatic Potala Palace with its shining gorgeous red and gold colors under the beautiful sunshine, framed against the pure blue sky! Suddenly, the sound of a deliberately rhythmic beating came to us. All of the young women were beating the patching mud to the same beat. Then so naturally, a beautiful song began to flow out of that rhythm… Listening to them sing to the beat so cheerfully, the performing was magical! What a peaceful and natural scene! No one could make it as perfect as the way it was naturally made. Everyone stopped and looked up: there they were – those Tibetan girls dressed in their traditional dress sitting on the roof, patting and beating and singing in perfect harmony… They didn’t even notice that we were videoing them, just enjoying themselves in their work. They were so happy, even though they don’t have fancy designer clothes or modern lifestyle; they were being true to themselves. No one was directing, no one was following, but it made such a harmonious symphony! I felt my heart lifted with this original beauty of human beings, and I truly hope they can always have and enjoy this true happiness! That video is one of my priceless treasures I took home form Tibet!

As days go by with increasing pressure and stress, I often wish I could go back to the Fragrant Hill that I so loved and enjoyed as a young girl growing up in Beijing; just to relax and meditate. It was forever my favorite dream land - a land in nature so full of energy and rich history, such a great getaway from the busy, crowded city life of Beijing!

Located at the foothill of Yan Mountain, on the western side of Beijing, Fragrant Hill enjoys the reputation as the best place in Beijing to see the autumn colors! Of course due to its naturally higher elevation, Fragrant Hill area also enjoys the fresher air of Beijing. Combined with densely populated trees and plant life, Fragrant Hill well deserves the reputation of Summer Retreat!

Even though Fragrant Hill is more famous for its fall colors, in my opinion, it’s beautiful during all four seasons. There are four attractions in Fragrant Hill area: Fragrant Hill Park, Beijing Botanical Garden, Cherry Blossom Valley and Reclining Buddha Temple.

Fragrant Hill Park is a large park of hills and forest covering 160 hectares (395.4 acres). The park was first built in 1186 in the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) and later extended to a large scale in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. The most spectacular natural scenery in the Fragrant Hills Park is the red smoke tree leaves over the mountains in autumn! When autumn arrives, fiery red leaves blanket the entire mountain. It becomes one of the top attractions for the locals to look forward to in the autumn!

Beijing Botanical Garden is a large 400 Hectare ( ~988 acres) park close to XiangShan at the foot of the Western Fragrant Hills. It presents magical, peaceful surroundings just 15 km from central Beijing. There are many local and exotic flora and fauna, including the Perennial Garden, Peony Garden, Ornamental Peach Garden, a magnificent 10,000 square meter Conservatory housing Rain Forest House, Orchid House, Desert Garden House, Exhibition Flower House and numerous other gardens featuring camellias, bamboo, tree peonies, ornamental cherries and many others.

Cherry Blossom Valley, (Yingtaogou) also commonly known as the Zhou’s Family Garden, is situated at the foot of Shou’an Mountain near Fragrant Hill Park. Walking west from the Botanical Garden, one comes to a narrow, winding path, which leads to Cherry Blossom Valley; a quiet, secluded valley ideal for a getaway from the city life. During the Ming Dynasty, the Temple of Wisdom (Guanghuisi) was built here. In front of and behind the temple were orchards in which cherry trees were especially abundant, which is how the valley obtained its name. It is so quiet and peaceful here, that you can hear the sound of a bubbling spring, the wind blowing through the pine trees and birds chirping!

My favorite is actually Cherry Blossom Valley. From the name you can tell this valley is full of cherry trees which are consider rare in Beijing. And you can imagine the best time for this part of Fragrant Hill is spring: during cherry blossom time. The whole valley is full of blooming cherry and all the other flowers: peach, magnolia, peony… it’s truly a fresh picture of spring! My favorite time is sunset time at Cherry Blossom Valley, after it has quieted down from a whole day of visitors. Since it’s next to Reclining Buddha Temple, you can basically walk in between the two places. With the solemn and peaceful atmosphere of the temple, you can even appreciate more of this quiet moment by yourself.

Another reason I love Cherry Blossom Valley is that the author of my favorite Chinese book: Dream of Red Mansion - Mr. Cao Xue Qin used to live here and supposedly was inspired here. If you want to read one of the true classics of Chinese literature, Dream of Red Mansion is an incredible, haunting love story that you will never forget! If you walk all the way to the end of Cherry Blossom Valley, you will see there is a famous site called: Pine Growing Out of a Giant Rock. This was one of the most memorable symbols in his book (Dream of Red Mansion) of the love and relationship between a girl and the boy. What a touching and inspiring story!

I highly recommend if you get chance to go to Beijing, spend some time in Fragrant Hill. Even though it’s not on top of the tourist’s list, its beauty and charm will be really win you over, especially if you are into the traditional Chinese culture. Try to spend at least one night there, slow down and wander around the old temple, breathe in the fresh air from the fragrant valley, immerse yourself into mother nature, read a couple of chapters of Dream of Red Mansion… That’s an enchanting moment of your life!