Ya'an, Bifeng

A Chinese friend from the branch invited us to travel with her to Ya'an, China.  We spent a couple days exploring this area together.  It's situated in the mountains of Sichuan province. 

Our first stop was the Bifeng Xia panda refuge. Bifeng Xia is Chinese for “Green Peak Canyon.” It's a perfect name for the spot we visited.  The mountains were gorgeous with many waterfalls and beautiful trees.  We hiked and climbed for many hours exploring this area.  The weather was cloudy but we enjoyed the clean air and beautiful sites there. 

At the wildlife refuge we fed lions, tigers, and bears.  Our hotel spot was located in a beautiful area which included the mineral hot pools.  It was a perfect get-away to relax in warm mineral water after our long hike up the mountain where the animal reserve was located.

We enjoyed our time in Ya'an.

Linsy and Regan were our tour guides.  Lynsy loves peacocks

This monkey liked looking at us--a little bizarre!

The leopards were fierce and beautiful.  We fed one from the bus.

Tiger

This jaguar not only looked majestic but sat that way too.

The translation on their signs are interesting. 

This is a barbecued lamb.  Notice the head and feet. 
When Chinese barbecue meat they do the whole thing!
This lovely dish cost 3,000 rmb or $500.00 US dollars!
We didn't eat the lamb but enjoyed another typical Chinese dinner.

These are the hot mineral pools at our hotel.  They were clean and nice. 
We enjoyed soaking in them after our long hike up the mountain.

The inside lobby of our hotel

It was fun to see the pandas eating and playing

Pandas seem a bit lazy.

This was one of our stops along the mountain. 
Regan and I found a fun spot for a photo beside the beautiful waterfall and pool.

Pete stood in front of the dual fall called, Male and Female. 
He's standing in front of the male waterfall.

This is our view from on top at the end of our hike.

Everything was very beautiful. 
It was nice to breathe the clean air and enjoy the gorgeous mountainous region of Ya'an.

 

Duiangyan

 

Friday we ventured into a different area north west of Chengdu.  The town was called Duiangyan.  We traveled by bus and train.

According to the history of Duinangyan during 406–226 BC people who lived along the banks of the Min River were plagued by annual flooding.

One solution would have been to build a dam, but Li Bing, the governor, had also been charged with keeping the waterway open for military vessels to supply troops on the frontier. So, instead he proposed to construct an artificial levee to redirect a portion of the river's flow and then to cut a channel through Mount Yulei to discharge the excess water upon the dry Chengdu plain beyond.

Cutting the channel proved to be a far greater problem as the tools available to Li Bing at the time, prior to the invention of gunpowder, were unable to penetrate the hard rock of the mountain.  So, he used a combination of fire and water to heat and cool the rocks until they cracked and could be removed.  After eight years of work a 20 meters (66 ft.) wide channel had been gouged through the mountain.

The irrigation system made Sichuan the most productive agricultural place in China. On the east side of Dujiangyan, people built a shrine in remembrance of Li Bing.

This irrigation system was completed around 256 B.C. and still functions today.  It is the oldest ecological engineering site in the world.  By taking advantage of the special landforms it functions without a dam, distributing water to many farms and people, and the system helps prevent floods.  The system irrigates 668,700 different farmlands. It has been working for over 2,250 years.  Pretty amazing huh? It's also a Unesco World Heritage site.

 I knew the irrigation site with the massive water diversion and ingenious system would be fascinating but I didn't expect the gardens around the area to be so beautiful.  We had such a great time exploring this area with our friends. 

Anlan Suspension Bridge
We walked across some pretty amazing bridges. Anlan or Couples bridge spans the full width of the river connecting the artificial island to both banks, and is known as one of the Five Ancient Bridges of China.

In 1803 during the Qing Dynasty a local man named He Xiande and his wife proposed the construction of a replacement, made of wooden plates and bamboo handrails, to span both streams and this was nicknamed Couple’s Bridge in their honor. The bridges were fun to walk across as we bounced along with each person's step.

We had great fun exploring this ancient city. Here are some of the pictures.

The High Speed Train Ride to Duangyan
(top speed is 200 kilometers per hour or 125 mph)



 

 

The dining area of the high speed train train



The entrance to the park

The walkway through the park was nice

 

1,700 year old gingko tree

 

Our Muslim lunch was very good

The Irrigation System

 

 
 
 
 

 

This suspension bridge leads to the village located across the water

Stairs coming down from the Daoist temple

Inside the Daoist temple


YIKES!
This is what it looked like when we got off the train in Chengdu! Body to body of people trying to get out!

 

Global World Center - Largest in the world

Global World Center

This massive building was developed by billionaire Deng Hong. It's mostly devoted to shopping, but it also houses offices, conference rooms, a university complex, two commercial centers, hotels, an IMAX cinema, a pirate ship and skating rink.  There is also a business section but we didn't see it. 

 

There are many levels

Children's toy area

The outside of the building

The inside was filled with gorgeous marble and gold

The water park

ice skating rink

movie theaters

McDonald's can be found anywhere

This is a hot pot restaurant, something Chengdu is famous for

Families were together everywhere in the center

UESTC Shahe Campus Autumn

Every season brings new beauty on Shahe UESTC Campus

 

Pete with two of his UCLAN students



We cross this river every day when we walk to campus.  The leaves will be gone soon.



This is the gate we walk through when we enter the campus



The women's dormatory



The ginkgo trees are very famous.  Photographers take lots of pictures here. 



The street we walk to our teaching building





The family life here is sweet.  Parents and grandparents enjoy their one child.



I love the sweet children