Mount Emei, We Will Be Back – Sichuan Province, China

Mountain of the Eyebrows

Emei, meaning “Delicate Eyebrows” in Chinese, got its name from two peaks facing each other and looking like the delicate eyebrows of a Chinese classic beauty.
 

Ever since I was a child, I’ve known that Mount Emei was reputed as one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains of China, which have been important destinations for pilgrimage.  In fact, at 3,099 meters, Mount Emei is the highest of the four. 

In 1996, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for it breathtaking scenery, mysterious natural wonders, and historical Buddhist sites.  The truth is, I was not aware of this until I was on the mountain – one of the benefits of following a tour.

After a dinner at the little town adjacent to the mountain, we checked into Hongzhushan Hotel, which is located right at the foot of Mount Emei.  Surrounded by nature, it was hard to refrain from checking out the night market and snack food streets within walking distance of the hotel.  But, we knew very well that we had “homework” to do before the group meets again the next day.

Option is Not a Good Thing

We had two alternative ways to spend the next day - either half a day visiting Wannian Temple (with the rest of the day at leisure), or a whole day at the summit of the mountain.  Not knowing either option well enough, picking one seems to turn down the other great opportunity. 

Well, for those that know me from my first post, I’m a visual person.  Undoubtedly, I resorted to the photo books in the hotel room.  After all, it’s the history and the visual appeal that I seek wherever I travel to.  

From Chinese Brush Painting to Avatar – Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China

When I visited Zhangjiajie in November and wrote the blog post in December of 2009, I was only in awe of the natural beauty that my eyes encountered – the unique rock formation, the mist, the forest, and the Chinese brush paintings that kept on coming to mind. 

So wait, the "South Heaven Pillar" that I saw through the viewfinder of my camera became the floating Hallelujah Mountain in the movie Avatar?  And little did I know that the government was this quick to cash in on the fame of this Hollywood 3D movie and changed the mountain’s name to “Avatar Hallelujah Mountain” in an official ceremony yesterday. 

Does this mark the milestone of Hollywood having a hand in the Chinese traditional art?  Imagine how the paintings will be having descriptions of fishing boat, willow, stream, …, and Avatar.  This truly is a manifestation of a global village that we live in.

Now, feeling having missed the history by just one step, I regret not looking hard enough for the alien Na’vis behind those misty thick woods.

Jiuzhaigou, Here We Come – Jiuzhai Valley, Sichuan Province, China

October 20, 2009, we were flying to Jiuzhaigou.  For that, we did not have a good night sleep.  Yes, we were having an early flight.  But we were also excited, with all the reasons to feel this way. 

Is it Really that Great?

We had started hearing about this place a few years earlier and remained skeptical.  You know how some places can be “beauty in the eyes of beholders”, meaning for others, they are just over-rated.

So as we were passively been on the receiving side, all we heard about Jiuzhaigou was how beautiful it was and how it was like a place from the fairy tales.  The overwhelmingly positive feedback helped us make this trip.

Jiuzhaigou and its Fairy Tale

Jiuzhaigou means "Valley of Nine Villages" in Chinese.  The valley derived its name from the fact that there are 9 ancient Tibetan villages within it.  It is part of the Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous District and is located 100 km north of Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province (or Szechuan, as put in the Western countries).  In English, Jiuzhaigou is officially known as Jiuzhai Valley. 

Hunan Cuisine – Are We Ready for It?

Alright, alright, I give in.

If you’ve been following my last few posts, I’ve been trying to stay on the high ground, meaning keeping on the philosophical and/or spiritual subjects. 

Well, it’s undeniable that one cannot spend a day (comfortably) without food.  And one definitely cannot skip Hunan cuisine before leaving Hunan.

What’s the Big Deal about Hunan Cuisine?

China is covered by such a vast land that Hunan cuisine is one of the eight regional cuisines of China.  So one could imagine how diversely distinctive regional cuisines are from one another.  In all honesty, I did not get to taste Hunan cuisine before I made the “leap” to the US 16 years ago.

Being in gourmand's heaven, Los Angeles, I’ve visited more than one Hunan restaurant.  However, I was not 100% sure that I’d had the most authentic Hunan cooking.  They are all delicious dishes.   But the thought of how Americanized some Chinese food has become (orange chicken, everyone?) makes me wonder if the same happened to regional cuisines from all over the world to tailor to US consumer’s tastes. 

Walking into Chinese Brush Painting – Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, China

First Comes First - A Confession

I have a confession to make. 

I grew up in China.  But I did not start being serious about traveling and getting to know the various regions of the country until more recent years. 

So when I came to the US at a young age, my knowledge about the country was very fragmented.  At the time, I did not realize that.

Leaving the Old and the Slow

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I could not sit and watch China’s seemingly slow modernization process and took an “expedited” approach.  I arrived in an airplane at a country that’s half a globe away from where I was born, a country that was widely considered the best country in the world.  After all, impatience seems to be the trade-mark of young people.

So, one can imagine how happy I was to leave China and everything associated with it.  Who would need to understand the  culture, history or the literature from thousands of years ago?  After all, we are moving at the speed of motor vehicles, airplanes and space rockets.  I was happy to not be bothered by anything old and slow… 

More on Tradition vs. the Modern

The other day, I was watching a video by a world renowned nature and wild-life photographer Art Wolfe. 

As he was demonstrating the use of light, he showed a few pictures, including the one with a barn in it. 

Now, the pictures were all amazing.  But what he said next stroke me and completely resonated with me on the subject that I brought up in my earlier blog post “To Be, Or Not to Be – Changsha, Hunan Province, China”.   

He said, in his 30 years of photographing, he’s seeing an “erosion of tradition” and things like barns are being “replaced by metal roof…”.         

To Be, or Not to Be – Changsha, Hunan Province, China

 

Our trip started in Changsha, capital city of Hunan province.  I could not wait to explore this city when we arrived in the airport. 

Anticipating the Unknown

How much do I know about Hunan? 

I love their food, spicy and homey.  The most common staples are turned into delicious home-made dishes.  And that’s what I call real good cooking, not the type of cooking with expensive materials like lobsters, shark fins or abalone. 

Hunan food is like an unassuming person that knocks your socks off with extraordinary performance or a woman that does not have much makeup on and yet can talk stuff that amazes you.

Additionally, for those that are into the recent history of China, Mao Zedong was born in Hunan.  As a controversial figure, he lead the communist to take over the whole country in 1949.  For many years that follow, China and its people experienced endless political turmoil, including the 10-year long cultural revolution.  In many people’s opinion, he’s one of those that contributed to the country’s stalled (if not retracted) development and the agony in Chinese people’s lives.  (For a more complete account of Mao Zedong’s life, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong).   

Furthermore, one of Hunan’s famous archaeological discoveries is the Tomb of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) at Mawandui, and its well-preserved female mummy from 2,100 years ago.  Can you believe her joints were still flexible when freshly out of the tomb?

Oh, and in terms of its culture, Hunan embroidery is one of the major export products of the province.

All these scattered information, unfortunately, was not helpful in putting  together a reasonable expectation before I hit Changsha.  After all, most of what I know about Hunan was history.  And, after all, I have been told over and over, how much change China is going through…