September 7 - 8, Days 17-18 in Lhasa

September 6, Day 16 In transit to Lhasa

Surrounded by snow-capped mountains and melt-water cutting braided paths across the valleys 

It is the world's highest railway and links Tibet and the city of Lhasa to the world AKA China.  But there are age-old tracks running east, west, north and south. A huge engineering project - made more difficult because of its remoteness coupled with having to dig through permafrost – over 500 km are built on permafrost. The rail line was completed in 2016.  Just after 2pm, we reached the highest point of the railway at Tang Gu La station - 5072m. The highest station in the world and on the border area between Qinghai Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region. For some unfathomable reason the train didn’t stop nor even slow - maybe is takes just too much energy to move such a huge beast at such altitudes (not unlike us!).

R: Tang Gu La is the highest railway station in the world

Of course there are photos of rail stations - this is a story of a mighty rail journey!

A train in duplicate!

We passed snow-capped mountains, vast lakes, peatland as far as the eye could see, expansive valleys furrowed by wide braided rivers most with rivulets of fast flowing water, some slowed by ice. Talking rivers, Tibet is the source of some major rivers - Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra River (which flows through the ‌Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon‌, the deepest in the world), the ‌Indus, Ganges, Mekong, and Yangtze‌.

I suspect these braided 'creeks' would be raging torrents after the winter snow melt

The country was quite diverse

Erosion is a big problem so a number of measures are used to slow the wind - inthe foreground grids of embedded rocks are used

Wind erosion is a significant problem and we saw many places where a number of measures have been put in place to retain the soil – short walls, criss-cross arrangements of stones buried in the earth.  We passed a number of settlements which we guessed were long-term work camps as road building is on going as is rail maintenance.

This stretch of road which we crossed has undergone a recent upgrade

We passed snow-capped mountains, vast lakes, peatland as far as the eye could see, expansive valleys furrowed by wide braided rivers most with rivulets of fast flowing water, some slowed by ice. Talking rivers, Tibet is the source of some major rivers - Yarlung Tsangpo/Brahmaputra River (which flows through the ‌Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon‌, the deepest in the world), the ‌Indus, Ganges, Mekong, and Yangtze‌. 

Lake Namco, Tibet’s sacred lake, lies at an elevation of 4,718 m. It is a salt lake and is the largest lake in the Tibet Autonomous Region . There are a few islands in the lake and some were once used for spiritual retreat by pilgrims who walked over the lake's frozen surface at the end of winter, carrying their food with them. They spend the summer there, unable to return to shore again until the water froze the following winter. (This practice is no longer permitted.)

The views were so beautiful I was left speechless

This is Namco Lake 

Stunning contrasts in the soil colouring

A number of our group have succumbed to headaches and the like due to the high altitude, so we have been supplied with oxygen through plastic tubes plugged into wee ports in our cabins. Food was basically self-catered – plenty of nibbles, fruit, yogurt, tubs of noodles (there was boiling water available in each carriage). We managed quite well.

We had wonderful views of the passing scenery

Some of our snacks - a quite delicious sesame slice and excellent corn chips

We bth succumbed to hyppoxia but the oxygen kept us going

Along the way we saw Tibetan antelopes/deer, donkeys, horses, yaks, foxes, sheep and a surprising number of birds. A few people said they saw marmots scuttling into burrows but we only saw the burrows. We’re travelling across the 'roof of the world' along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway! Who would have believed it?!

Yaks some of which are crossbred with domestic cows and sweet little wild donkeys

The skies were magnificent

Snow and clouds merged - glorious

The scenery is magnificent and of another world until darkness fell. We arrived in Lhasa after dark and were greeted by our local guide who after presenting each of us with a white silk scarf, whisked us off to our hotel. The hotel rooms are equipped with humidifiers and oxygen.  

We arrived looking a bit like startled rabbits after 24 hours travel.

September 5, Day 15 Xining to Lhasa

 

Xining Station

We arrive around 6:30am in Xining, Capital of China's Qinghai Province. It is a cultural crossroads of the Muslim, Tibetan and Han peoples brought together by trade along the ancient Silk Roads.  Our guide met us at the station and walked us to the hotel where we were booked for a day stay. Breakfast was included but it was the worst we had had so far. We were scheduled to leave for Lhasa that night for a long trip, about 24 hors, so we found a ‘supermarket’ and bought some stores. Our haul might hold some surprises as we had to go by pictures! 

Tibetan Cultural Museum 

Great Thangka Painting of Tibetan Culture and Art

We were then bussed to the impressive Tibetan Cultural Museum which houses cultural relics, architecture, medical history, ancient literature, folklore, calligraphy, astronomy and much, much more. Our visit, at least for Lindsay and me, focussed on the Great Thangka Painting of Tibetan Culture and Art. They say that it probably would have taken one artist 500 years to complete but this monumental work of art is the result of a collaborative effort on the part of artists and scholars from a number of regions of the Tibetan plateau. As you wander along its length it unfolds  as an encyclopaedia of Tibetan culture, history, and religion through paintings – and some beautiful fabric work. From a Tibetan Buddhist perspective, it records and exquisitely presents the Tibetan view of the evolution of the universe and human life. The Great Thangka took nearly 400 artists and a total of 27 years to complete and in its completed form it stretches to a length of 618 m with a width of 2.5 m – it holds a Guinness World Record for its extraordinary length.

The artwork of the Thangka was so beautiful and the woven and embroidered firezes exquisite

Part of the Tibetan evolution story

King Nyatri Tsanpo, the first of seven legendary kings of Tibet 

The illustrations of human physiology, pathology, embryonic development and medicines were numerous

Their writing, beautiful pictograms provided some small explanation to their modern writing.

Trade routes which criss-crossed the high Tibetan plateau

For me this visit presented a massively compressed history lesson of the region. I had little knowledge of China and even less of Tibet. People have inhabited this and the high plateau regions for about 1.7 million years. From the archaeological excavation of ancient sites and the relics found in the vast area of north and south of Tibet and western Qinghai, the early humans of the Plateau had mainly lived a lifestyle of hunting and gathering and used the chipped stone tools.  I could have become very lost disappearing down alluring rabbit holes, but it was time to leave. As we were leaving the museum, we were startled by sirens sounding across the city.  It seems that they are not an uncommon occurrence although we hadn’t heard them before but the sirens are tested or activated for specific, recognized events, particularly to mark anniversaries of war-related events. We were there a couple of days before the 94th anniversary of the September 18 or Mukden Incident, when Japan began its invasion of Manchuria. That day commemorates the resistance against Japanese aggression. The ones we heard may have been a ‘practice’.  Whatever it was, it certainly got everyone’s attention! We then went off to a local restaurant for lunch – and a much-needed sit down.

An interesting lunch

A cliff monastry

We passed on the afternoon excursion to a monastery so were dropped off ‘near’ our hotel and fortunately managed to find our way. That took us past a group of women in colourful traditional costumes looking as through they were practicing for a parade or performance. 

Our dinner that night was again a westernised version of the local food which was disappointing but I guess they play it safe so they don't get complaints - I ask you! That evening we were herded to the station to board the train for the long journey to Lhasa – feeling very excited! Lindsay and I had exclusive use of a four-berth cabin, and we were quickly set up and in bed.  The train left at 11.45pm but we read for a while before trying to go to sleep.  The bunks were very hard, but we were tired so both got at least some sleep - but not all that much.

Our Lhasa-Xining train

September 3-4, Day 13 + 14 - Chengdu to Xining

This afternoon we left the Sichuan Province to travel to Xining in the Qinghai Province on the high Tibetan Plateau (~2300m). Our entree to the long-awaited Lhasa! but the visit to Xining promises to be interesting albeit short. It is the cultural crossroads of the Muslim, Tibetan and Han people who were brought together by centuries of trade on the ancient Silk Roads.

Leaving Kunming on a fast train!

Stunning scenery and thosse mountains!

That is tomorrow but rewinding to yesterday. We arrived in Chengdu after a very comfortable nine-hour train journey on a high speed train from Kunming - we reach 297 kph or more (I wasn’t watching all the time!). Feeling rather bedraggled after a 6:00am start (and a tiring day the previous day), the local guide took us on a ‘gallop’ around some of the streets of Chengdu before depositing us at the entrance to Jinli Ancient Street. It is supposed to have been built around 2000 years ago and some parts do look fairly old. Ultimately, it is a tourist location where you can buy anything from dried meats and fungi to nougat, clothing to panda trinkets (this is the panda district), green tea to ‘coral’ jewellery - and food and drink of course! We sat for a spell with a cold drink listening to a delightful young man and his guitar. All this was followed by another ginormous dinner - unfortunately the spice was toned right down for us Westerns. And there was me (and others) looking forward to some authentic Sichuan food!

Very quaint

I chose a delicious pork broth with fungi inc black cloud ear fungus, but could have had frogs! 

Breakfasts were very interesting - here we have fried sliced pork with fungus, and cabbage with chilli

To our great surprise and delight this room-service robot got in the lift after us 

This morning the majority of the group went to visit the panda research/rescue centre while Lins and I and another couple simply chilled out. Once regrouped, we devoured another humongous meal before boarding the overnight train to Xining, Qinghai Province, on the Tibetan Plateau (~2300m).

Our overnight train to Xining

As we travelled north and higher, the scenery that whizzed by us before darkness descended was really interesting - curiously shaped hills, rich crops of many different varieties. The train and accommodation is reminiscent of the Chinese and Russian trains we travelled on almost a decade ago. Perfectly adequate but a little noisy. We have just ‘turned in’ for the night so will pick up our story as we climb further towards Lhasa traversing the highest railway in the world - 4000 to over 5000m. Yes, we are definitely taking our altitude sickness pills!

Obviously the soil is very fertile

In the disctance we saw a number of power startion puffing steam reminiscent of Loy Yang  

This river looked wonderful in the gathering dusk. It could be a tributroy to the Yangtze

September 2, Day 12 - Kunming

We are definitely in higher altitude country  - the thinner air has begun to gnaw at our energy! With memories of our time in Bolivia and Peru two years ago still fresh in our minds, we started taking meds to combat altitude sickness. Today we struggled a bit breath-wise as we had quite a few steep steps to climb exploring the enchanting ‘Stone Forest’.  My app says we climbed 10 floors but I suspect it was more than that. Both of us trailed behind the group a little! 

The lotus flowers are quite beautiful

The Lion Pavilion offers a wonderful viewing spot over some of the Stone Forest

The Stone Forest has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and covers well over 300 sq km. Two hundred million years ago it was part of the sea bed which was uplifted. Over time the limestone has slowly eroded to form these intriguing, fanciful shapes. To me it was reminiscent of parts of the Kimberly which had their origins as part of a Devonian coral reef - i.e., very very old! It is also an extremely popular tourist spot.This is the territory of the ‘Yi’ people, a local ethnic group, who tend the ‘forest’. 

A popular viewing spot

People hire ethnic costumes and pose for photos

Two cuties!

Most of our group took to the rocks while we found our own way back to the entrance - oh so we thought!

It really is quite strange and other-worldly

You could hire little motor scooters and ride around

After getting lost for a while we eventually managed to get back to the group - thanks to our wonderful leader. Foot sore and a bit weary still we couldn’t resist a visit to one of the large flower market to gaze out over what seemed like acres of perfumed colour.  Vast and fragrant.

Lotus, lilies, orchids, hydrangeas and countless others - glorious

Buddha's Hand (a citrus fruit), gourds of all shapes, rose cuttings from the home of roses, many bonsais 

From simple arrangements or extravagant display pieces

According to our guide, Yunnan is the women’s kingdom but the men’s paradise because the women do all the hard work and the men do little! To be fair, once the men (or some of them) transported the unique tea of the region to Tibet to exchange it for horses – but no longer! The special tea of the region - Puer, grows on extremely tall trees many of which are hundreds of years old. The Yunnan men once trekked over the mountains to Tibet carrying this precious tea taking 6 or more months to reach their destination. It was a perilous journey and many didn’t return.  This route is or was known as ‘The Tea Horse Road’ (which has been on my list for a while - but now perhaps just to dream about!). Tea is a special product of this region so it seemed appropriate that we diverted on the way back to our hotel to experience a tea ceremony where we learned much about the renowned Pu'er tea of Yunnan. 

We tasted what the region had to offer

Learnt special tea-making techniques

This is a leaf from an old Pu'er tea tree

Again we had overreached our limits (most days we’re walking at least 10,000 steps often after very little sleep) so finally we retreated to our hotel room for a cup of soup before falling into bed exhausted. Tomorrow we were heading further north to Chengdu in the Sichuan province.