Unexpected China Detour
The long and winding road at Tianmenshan
I can’t believe I’m home. I’m just stunned and thinking that in those 11 days I was in Mainland China I can’t believe I’ve been through all those places I’ve been. It’s like a whirlwind of an adventure in the heart of China that’s truly raw. The feeling of travel just really hits you and you want more. It’s a bit tiring but really fulfilling journey. Again, a backpacking adventure that’s really gonna be remembered for a long long time.
Snowed at Mt Emei Road
The first few days in China was great and we seem to be following our IT regularly but in the middle, on what would be the highlight of our trip we had to make a sudden detour. We were on our way to the Northern Province of Sichuan and visit a scenic Valley of Jiuzhaigou, but 2.5 hours of bus ride from Chengdu along a very scenic mountainscape roads, our bus was asked to stop at a check point. The police inspected each passenger and made a sweep. While holding a rifle on his hand but not pointing it, he asked me a question in Chinese which I didn’t understand. My friend who can understand “A bit” and speak “Passable” Chinese, told me that he asked me to come down the bus. From then on I don’t know what was happening. It turns out that there was a memo issued that day from the government not to allow any Foreign Nationals into the border of any Tibetan Community. This was because of the riot that happened in Lhasa Tibet. And in Jiuzhaigou, the Aba Prefecture, a Tibetan community was there.
Thousands of steps to the forest of peaks
The police checked our credentials and all and asked us to stay at the checkpoint. The bus went on without us and we were stuck there for a while in the middle of nowhere. The Chinese Police were very diplomatic and were doing their jobs well. In fact they gave us back the money we spent for that supposedly 10 hour bus ride to the Valley. Shortly, they flagged a bus heading back to Chengdu and told the driver and conductor to take us back to the city. It was a bit disappointing at first since this place was one which we really looked forward in seeing. But thinking about it a few days after, they were just concerned with our safety. A few days ago we heard from local news that there was another riot up there in northern Sichuan. We’re just glad we weren’t there.
misty road at Mt Emei
It was a disappointment at first, but that didn’t deter us. We made new plans and headed to a different direction since west China is closed. China is so huge a country there are a lot of places to explore. Now after numerous bus rides and transfers, two overnight hard seat train rides amidst Chinese, passing by four Chinese Provinces of Sichuan, Guizhou, Hunan and Guangdong. Visiting 4 UNESCO sites and other historical, cultural and natural wonders. After saving 18 gigabyte of files, I’m just overblown. It’s been a really great trip and am really excited to share them as soon as I get my bearing. Now it’s time to catch some well needed rest. Belated Happy Easter everyone.
Tags: China, Emeishan, Hunan, Mt Emei, Sichuan, Tianmenshan, UNESCO, Zhangjiajie
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Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 at 4:18 am 
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March 25th, 2008 at 6:14 am
whoa, what a sweet trip it must have been. i would love to traverse that long and winding road on your first pic, simply gorgeous.
more to come from this trip right?
March 25th, 2008 at 7:12 am
that’s a really beautiful shot of the road? i thought it was the great wall! hehehe…
March 25th, 2008 at 9:32 am
these are wonderful photos of China Ferdz
March 25th, 2008 at 10:36 am
wow!!!
ang ganda! adventure talaga kayo..
March 25th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Belated Happy Easter to you too, Kuya Ferdz and glad that you are back. Will be looking forward to see your photos of China.
March 25th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Oh wow! Stunning! I think that I NEED to go to China now!
March 25th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
wow. the road is something. at hanep sa adventure, parang blessing in disguise na rin yung detour dahil mahirap mapunta sa lugar na magulo tapos ibang bansa pa! hintayin namin ang 18GB na yan!
March 25th, 2008 at 12:55 pm
hey bai, welcome back. the images are indeed keepers
lalo na the mt. tienmanshan road. it looks like a dragon to me, whirling and snaking through the lush mountains.
March 25th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
glad you’re safe ferdz. kakainggit ka talaga with all your travels.
btw, paalala ko lang yung request ko syo ha. tgif!
March 25th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
The photos are awesome and the winding road is simply amazing. I’m sure the sharp turns were quite an experience too!
March 25th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
ang ganda, ganda! i heart China if only for its reach culture and beautiful landscapes. saka sa China merong pinakamaraming UNESCO Heritage Sites no? 31 ata lahat. My friend was in Kaiping City the other week and visited the diaolous and villages. ganda ng adventure mo Ferdz! expecting to see more!
March 25th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
ang masasabi ko lang i’m glad your back and safe….mainit na uli hehehe =)
March 25th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
Wow, China! Ang ganda. I wanna go there!
March 25th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Wow! 18GB! Let’s get the show started!
March 26th, 2008 at 12:26 am
hi freddie, can verify your caption for the winding road at “Mt Tienmanshan”? I cant seem to find any information regarding Mt Tienmanshan anywhere else
March 26th, 2008 at 10:30 am
wow, you certainly know how to surprise your readers. i certainly was when i saw the first picture. grabe ang ganda!!!!!!!
looks like you had a really nice trip to china tho too bad you didn’t get to Jiuzhaigou.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:43 am
ang sarap naman ng ng trip mo ferdz! it must have been scary nung nakakita ka na ng pulis.
beatuifcul shots!
March 26th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Hi Ferdz! Kala ko Great Wall yung first pic mo! Hehehehe
March 27th, 2008 at 7:16 am
Wow China!
Ganda ng place, lalo na yung Mt. Tienmenshan. Nice pics.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:46 am
amazing road. far more complicated than Baguio’s zigzag. your experience is similar to what you can experience when you are in Basilan.
August 5th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
[...] Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. We never really planned to go there but due to an unexpected detour I told before, we had to change some plans. And I’m quite thankful that we were able to visit the place and [...]
August 21st, 2008 at 3:03 am
[...] step was one of the hardest decision I had to do at that time in all my travels. That night when we were sent back to the city, and with a false sense of security on where I am. I wished I was home. But I knew I had to try to [...]