Mighty Yangzi River -- with the 6300 km the third longest in the world -- flows through 9 provinces of China and empties into the sea near Shanghai. On its way its name is changed several times ( the longest strech is Chang Jiang ), but never is called Yangzi Jiang. So from where the Westerns took this Chinese sounding name I do not know.
In 1990 when I was going to Lhasa, Tibet I remember passing a small settlement with a long Chinese name meaning "The First Bridge Over Yangzi River". It was a rather narrow stream there.
But in Yunnan this already a very substantial creek goes through "The First Bend of Yangzi River" and soon enters Hutiao Xia ( Tiger Leaping Gorge) about 16 km long -- one of the deepest gorges in the world -- about 3.900 m from the water lavel to the surrounding mountain tops. The gorge has taken its name after once a tiger leaped form one side to another.
Now I have to make a confession --and i hope you will keep it secret like a catholic priest-confessor does. Your acquaintance Leo - the Lion (Shizi in Chinese), who boasts and brags about his exploits, turned out to be a coward. He did not dare to jump over the turbulent waters. So the gorge still bears the old name.
However in the center of the ancient town of Lijiang there rises a mountain named after your friend -- Shizi Shan (Leo's Hill). It has been made into a beautiful park. On its very top a tall five storeys pagoda is erected using 4 huge columns made os single tree trunks -- the tallest in China. I do not understand only why they call this tower Wanggu Lou (Looking at the Past Pavilion). Your obedient servant Shizi is always looking into the future!
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Friday, November 5, 2004
Mountain song. November 1, 2004
Erenhot - Hohhot - Dongsheng (Nei Mongol) - Yinchuan -Zhongwei - Shapotou - Xumi Shan Grottoes (Ninxia) - Pingliang - Kongtong Shan - Tianshui - Maiji Shan - Lanzhou - Bingling Si (Gansu) - Xining - Qinghai Lu - Taer Si (Qinghai) - Lanzhou - Linxia (Gansu) - Mengda Tian Chi - Xunhua - Tongren (Qinghai) - Xiahe - Hezuo - Langmusi (Gansu) - Zoige - Songpan - Jiuzhaigou - Dujiangyan - Qingchng Shan - Chengdu - Moxi - Hailuogou Glacier Park - Kangding - Litang - Xiangcheng (Sichuan) - Zhongdian - Lijiang (Yunnan).
This is so far my itinerary since I reentered China on September 21, 2004. Vast majority of my movements (especially after Lanzhou) took place in remote sparcely populated with Tibetans mountainous regions. The roads are generally in reasonably good condition, but the terrain allows only slow speed .
The views are superb, the landscapes just overwhelm you.
Oh, the Nature is divine --
Rain or shine -- it enchants you like the wine,
Hightens feelings and sensations,
Brings about inspiration
And poetic mood creation!
In the last 3 passing weeks
Often I became too weak.
Yes, the mountain passes glitter
At above 4,000 meters --
And it makes you often sway,
As the bare scenery
And the air thinnery
Take your breath away.
Then you're looking down the slope
Which is nicely enveloped
By the spacious green fur
Of the hemlock, spruce and the fir.
And below in gorgeous gorges
Crystal water falls and surges --
And the clear mountain stream
Looks like covered with the cream,
As it roams with the foams
Through the rapids -- oh, intrepids! --
Through the scenery supreme.
And the boulders on the shoulders
Like the soldiers on duty
Watch the beauty!
Yes, this beautiful high road
Took away my heavy load
Bringing back the normal mode.
It's the dangerous switchbacks
Switched me back to humble prose --
I suppose.
Yes, I passed several passes above 4,00 m with the peaks 6,000 m plus towering above the road.
But it's cold. It looks like I have chosen to be frozen. So I escaped to lower elevations -- and soon will be in the tropics.
But I better change the topic, as there is another threat of poetry.
Best wishes from Yunnan!
Your Leo
This is so far my itinerary since I reentered China on September 21, 2004. Vast majority of my movements (especially after Lanzhou) took place in remote sparcely populated with Tibetans mountainous regions. The roads are generally in reasonably good condition, but the terrain allows only slow speed .
The views are superb, the landscapes just overwhelm you.
Oh, the Nature is divine --
Rain or shine -- it enchants you like the wine,
Hightens feelings and sensations,
Brings about inspiration
And poetic mood creation!
In the last 3 passing weeks
Often I became too weak.
Yes, the mountain passes glitter
At above 4,000 meters --
And it makes you often sway,
As the bare scenery
And the air thinnery
Take your breath away.
Then you're looking down the slope
Which is nicely enveloped
By the spacious green fur
Of the hemlock, spruce and the fir.
And below in gorgeous gorges
Crystal water falls and surges --
And the clear mountain stream
Looks like covered with the cream,
As it roams with the foams
Through the rapids -- oh, intrepids! --
Through the scenery supreme.
And the boulders on the shoulders
Like the soldiers on duty
Watch the beauty!
Yes, this beautiful high road
Took away my heavy load
Bringing back the normal mode.
It's the dangerous switchbacks
Switched me back to humble prose --
I suppose.
Yes, I passed several passes above 4,00 m with the peaks 6,000 m plus towering above the road.
But it's cold. It looks like I have chosen to be frozen. So I escaped to lower elevations -- and soon will be in the tropics.
But I better change the topic, as there is another threat of poetry.
Best wishes from Yunnan!
Your Leo
Monday, October 25, 2004
Moxi, Sichuan, China. October 25, 2004
Poslednie neskol'ko nedel' ya dvigayus', v osnovnom, po periferii tibet~skogo mira. `Eti territorii istoricheski, kul'turno i `etnicheski yavlyayut~sya chast'yu Tibeta, no byli vklyucheny v sosednie kitajskie provincii.
Zdes' ya prevratilsya v buddista. Ya posetil stol'ko khramov, oboshyol vokrug nikh po chasovoj strelke stol'ko raz, raskrutil stol'ko molitvennykh barabanov, chto mne teper' obespechena dolgaya zhizn'.
Konechno, ne obyazatel'no v `etot raz, no v svoikh budushchikh perevoploshcheniyakh ya vsegda budu imet' dolguyu, s~chastlivuyu i procvetayushchuyu zhizn'.
Tak chto za menya ne bespokojtes' -- u menya bsyo v poryadke. Naoborot, `eto ya volnuyus' za vas. Chto zhe ozhidaet vas, neraskayavshikhsya gre! shnikov, v budushchej zhizni? Dazhe strashno podumat'!
Vash vzvolnovannyj Shy-zy (lev po-kitajski)
Zdes' ya prevratilsya v buddista. Ya posetil stol'ko khramov, oboshyol vokrug nikh po chasovoj strelke stol'ko raz, raskrutil stol'ko molitvennykh barabanov, chto mne teper' obespechena dolgaya zhizn'.
Konechno, ne obyazatel'no v `etot raz, no v svoikh budushchikh perevoploshcheniyakh ya vsegda budu imet' dolguyu, s~chastlivuyu i procvetayushchuyu zhizn'.
Tak chto za menya ne bespokojtes' -- u menya bsyo v poryadke. Naoborot, `eto ya volnuyus' za vas. Chto zhe ozhidaet vas, neraskayavshikhsya gre! shnikov, v budushchej zhizni? Dazhe strashno podumat'!
Vash vzvolnovannyj Shy-zy (lev po-kitajski)
Saturday, October 2, 2004
Lanzhou, China. October 2, 2004
Eti svolochi kitajskie gegemonisty - mladshie brat'ya velikogo russkogo naroda -- otkuda-to provedali, chto ya lyublyu kitajskuyu kukhnyu (nebos' im donesli agenty iz KGB ili CRU). I teper' oni otkarmlivayut menya kak na uboj. Ya uzhe prevratilsya v kitajskogo bozhka -- sizhu sebe puzaten'kij, samodovol'no ulybayushchijsya i merno pokachivayu golovoj.
No `eto eshchyo ne vsyo. Ya tut, v osnovnom, shastayu po svyashchennym goram, ochen' zhivopisno raspolozhennym so mnozhestvom tropinok i stupenej, vedushchikh cherez les k skalam i utyosam, na kazhdom iz kotorykh stoit khram, chasovnya, pavil'on ili besedka. Tak chto v poslednee vremya ya proshyol cherez stol'ko Nebesnykh vorot i arok, podnimalsya po stol'kim Lestnicam, vedushchim v nebo, poklonilsya stol'kim buddist~skim, taoist~skim i konfucianskim svyatynyam, chto ya snova ochistilsya ot grekhov i prevratilsya v svyatogo.
I dejstvitel'no, ch! to-to sverbit u menya pod lopatkami -- nebos' probivayut~sya krylyshki.
Nedavno mne vo sne yavilsya arkhangel Rafail (v obraze starogo znakomogo Rafaila Moiseevicha) i skazal, chto menya khotyat sdelat' angelom. No dlya `etogo ya dolzhen prekratit' vse snosheniya s greshnikami, t.e. s vami.
No zavtra Sudnyj den' -- i, ya nadeyus', vy sbrosite s mosta v vodu vse svoi proshlogodnie grekhi i stanete pravednikami. Tak chto mne prostyat `eto snoshenie cherez internet s byvshimi greshnikami.
Vash kitaiskij bozhok, on zhe angelochek i kheruvimchik Lyovochka
No `eto eshchyo ne vsyo. Ya tut, v osnovnom, shastayu po svyashchennym goram, ochen' zhivopisno raspolozhennym so mnozhestvom tropinok i stupenej, vedushchikh cherez les k skalam i utyosam, na kazhdom iz kotorykh stoit khram, chasovnya, pavil'on ili besedka. Tak chto v poslednee vremya ya proshyol cherez stol'ko Nebesnykh vorot i arok, podnimalsya po stol'kim Lestnicam, vedushchim v nebo, poklonilsya stol'kim buddist~skim, taoist~skim i konfucianskim svyatynyam, chto ya snova ochistilsya ot grekhov i prevratilsya v svyatogo.
I dejstvitel'no, ch! to-to sverbit u menya pod lopatkami -- nebos' probivayut~sya krylyshki.
Nedavno mne vo sne yavilsya arkhangel Rafail (v obraze starogo znakomogo Rafaila Moiseevicha) i skazal, chto menya khotyat sdelat' angelom. No dlya `etogo ya dolzhen prekratit' vse snosheniya s greshnikami, t.e. s vami.
No zavtra Sudnyj den' -- i, ya nadeyus', vy sbrosite s mosta v vodu vse svoi proshlogodnie grekhi i stanete pravednikami. Tak chto mne prostyat `eto snoshenie cherez internet s byvshimi greshnikami.
Vash kitaiskij bozhok, on zhe angelochek i kheruvimchik Lyovochka
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Dongsheng, Nei Mongol, China. Sept. 23, 2004
[Ed: I'm omitting the garbled cyrillic version of this post]
Dlya rossiyan ya byl ne Chingiz-khanom, a Chingiz-Khaimom. Tak chto Chingiz-khana iz menya ne vyshlo -- prishlos' perekvalificirovat'sya v puteshestvenniki!
Khotya v Rossii ya ponimal, chto mne govoryat, no poluchit' nadyozhnuyu informaciyu tam bylo ochen' trudno. Tut zhe, v Kitae, s informaciej polegche, no ya ne ponimayu, chto mne govoryat. Tak chto tak na tak -- puteshestvuyu vslepuyu. A tut vdobavok ya eshchyo i glukhonemoj. No vyzhivayu.
Sejchas ya v kitajskoj provincii, imenuemoj Vnutrennyaya Mongoliya. Segodnya posetil mavzolej Chingiz-khana, gde predpolozhitel'no khranit~sya ego pepel, a takzhe luk i strely, sedlo i prochie parafernalii.
Tak chto k Chingiz-khanu vsyo zhe prikosnulsya posylayushchij vsem privety vash znakomyj Chingiz-Khaim!
Dlya rossiyan ya byl ne Chingiz-khanom, a Chingiz-Khaimom. Tak chto Chingiz-khana iz menya ne vyshlo -- prishlos' perekvalificirovat'sya v puteshestvenniki!
Khotya v Rossii ya ponimal, chto mne govoryat, no poluchit' nadyozhnuyu informaciyu tam bylo ochen' trudno. Tut zhe, v Kitae, s informaciej polegche, no ya ne ponimayu, chto mne govoryat. Tak chto tak na tak -- puteshestvuyu vslepuyu. A tut vdobavok ya eshchyo i glukhonemoj. No vyzhivayu.
Sejchas ya v kitajskoj provincii, imenuemoj Vnutrennyaya Mongoliya. Segodnya posetil mavzolej Chingiz-khana, gde predpolozhitel'no khranit~sya ego pepel, a takzhe luk i strely, sedlo i prochie parafernalii.
Tak chto k Chingiz-khanu vsyo zhe prikosnulsya posylayushchij vsem privety vash znakomyj Chingiz-Khaim!
Sunday, September 19, 2004
Ulaan-Baatar, Sept.19, 2004
Short information on my future plans.
My Russian odyssey is over. Though I did some places in Russia -- unfortunately less than I wanted -- I did not feel very comfortable there. In spite of having no language problems it was difficult for me to undertand how the system works. And the inavailability of elementary information did irritate me. Besides the weather was turning worse and worse -- cloudy, rainy, cold.
Anyway, I am already outside the country.
Tomorrow, on Monday, I hope to obtain the Chinese visa and proceed to Inner Mongolia, Ninxia, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hanan Dao, Guandong to Hong Kong. Still do not know for how long and for how many reentries will be the visa -- may visit Myanmar from Kunming.
After Hong Kong will go to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, possibly Indonesia.
Your Leo.
My Russian odyssey is over. Though I did some places in Russia -- unfortunately less than I wanted -- I did not feel very comfortable there. In spite of having no language problems it was difficult for me to undertand how the system works. And the inavailability of elementary information did irritate me. Besides the weather was turning worse and worse -- cloudy, rainy, cold.
Anyway, I am already outside the country.
Tomorrow, on Monday, I hope to obtain the Chinese visa and proceed to Inner Mongolia, Ninxia, Gansu, Sichuan, Yunnan, Hanan Dao, Guandong to Hong Kong. Still do not know for how long and for how many reentries will be the visa -- may visit Myanmar from Kunming.
After Hong Kong will go to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, possibly Indonesia.
Your Leo.
Thursday, September 9, 2004
The Urals. Ekaterinburg, Sept.10, 2004
The distance of 1,000 km from Yakutsk to Tynda was covered by the van in 26 hours. Not bad as the so called road is in terrible shape though occasionally paved.
Ttynda is the capital of BAM. No, BAM stands not for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, but for Baikal-Amur Magistral (Mainline) -- the railroad which branches off the Trans-Siberian line east of Krasnoyarsk, touches the Northern tip of Lake Baikal and continues through the wilderness all the way to Tatarsky Strait between the mainland and Sakhalin Island. -- totally about 3,100 km.
The last tonnel was finished just 10 months ago. And 2 months ago there was a big celebration of the 30th anniversary of the start of intensive construction of the line in 1974. On this occasion there was installed on the wall of Tynda terminal a memorial plaque:
" To those... and brigades from... who accomplished the enormous task .. in RECORD TIME"
While the efforts of many workers definitely deserve high recognition mentio9ning the RECORD TIME is a mockery at the common sense. 100 years and mor ago with the primitive technology much longer and more complicated projects were accomplished in substantially shorter time than 30 years.
Anyway, now I am riding the BAM throuhg 3 time zones westward to Krasnoyarsk. It will take 2,5 days. The landscapes behind the window are beautiful. The railroad follows many streams -- from large creeks to big rivers -- but majority of them are not even shown on the map. And plenty of thick taiga around. The birches are beginning to turn yellow, but the larches are still solid green. Yesterday it was cloudy and rainy, but today the skies are blue and the sun shines.
Finishing these notes onm August 31 at 15:15 local time == 10:15 Moscow time, east of Severobaikalsk.
Leo
The previous tekst I wrote on the train. Since then I was in Izhevsk. As my efforts to extend my visa faied I had to turn back . Now I am going back to Mongolia, then China -- must cross Russian border not later than Sept 20.
Internet connections in Russia are terrible -- si I will contact you later from another country.
Best wishes.
Leo
Ttynda is the capital of BAM. No, BAM stands not for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, but for Baikal-Amur Magistral (Mainline) -- the railroad which branches off the Trans-Siberian line east of Krasnoyarsk, touches the Northern tip of Lake Baikal and continues through the wilderness all the way to Tatarsky Strait between the mainland and Sakhalin Island. -- totally about 3,100 km.
The last tonnel was finished just 10 months ago. And 2 months ago there was a big celebration of the 30th anniversary of the start of intensive construction of the line in 1974. On this occasion there was installed on the wall of Tynda terminal a memorial plaque:
" To those... and brigades from... who accomplished the enormous task .. in RECORD TIME"
While the efforts of many workers definitely deserve high recognition mentio9ning the RECORD TIME is a mockery at the common sense. 100 years and mor ago with the primitive technology much longer and more complicated projects were accomplished in substantially shorter time than 30 years.
Anyway, now I am riding the BAM throuhg 3 time zones westward to Krasnoyarsk. It will take 2,5 days. The landscapes behind the window are beautiful. The railroad follows many streams -- from large creeks to big rivers -- but majority of them are not even shown on the map. And plenty of thick taiga around. The birches are beginning to turn yellow, but the larches are still solid green. Yesterday it was cloudy and rainy, but today the skies are blue and the sun shines.
Finishing these notes onm August 31 at 15:15 local time == 10:15 Moscow time, east of Severobaikalsk.
Leo
The previous tekst I wrote on the train. Since then I was in Izhevsk. As my efforts to extend my visa faied I had to turn back . Now I am going back to Mongolia, then China -- must cross Russian border not later than Sept 20.
Internet connections in Russia are terrible -- si I will contact you later from another country.
Best wishes.
Leo
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