Journey through China

For two months Tim Boelter and Asu traveled throughout China gathering footage of life and landscape in this remarkably diverse country. This video shows our route and gives s a snapshot of footage taken along the way.

We have come full circle in this amazing journey. We returned to Beijing with its crisp, cool days and clear skies. The leaves are changing and the air a little less polluted. I’m not sure how many miles we have traveled; I just know that we utilized almost every conceivable mode of transportation available in China to pass those miles.

For the past 53 days Asu and I were going nonstop, and almost every day we had cameras in tow. I’ve racked up nearly 1400 minutes of HD footage along the way, trying to capture a slice of China life and landscape. Although we’ve traveled extensively there is far more that still has to be done. China is a treasure trove of scenery and culture and our two months here just scratched the surface of what there is to see.

At the beginning of this trip we intended on taking a reprieve from the travel side of business to head into the mountains and attempt an unclimbed peak while visiting with local villages effected by the earthquake. Shortly after arriving here I was notified by Jon that the trip was a no-go because of earthquake aftershocks. At that time Jon was not sure what the back up plan was.

Due to a sponsorship obligation the climb had to be rescheduled to a mountain further outside of the earthquake zone. Unfortunately for me this change in plans went outside my 60-day visa and the special 60-day airline ticket that I purchased. Since the extension of the visa and the plane ticket incurred a substantial amount of money I opted to return home to put my time to use on the business efforts.

BEIJING

We arrived in Beijing at 11:00 pm via the express train out of Zhengzhou. By the time we got a taxi out of the chaotic Beijing West Railway Station and settled into the youth hostel it was past 12:00 am. Our hunger prompted us onto the local streets of the Hutong around the Drum Tower, but at this time of night in the frigid air we had little chance of finding a restaurant, so we opted for some uncultural food.

Just down the road from the Drum Tower, built during the Yuan Dynasty in 1272, is a local 24-hour McDonalds built in the 21^st century. The golden arches now have nearly 1,000 fast food restaurants dotting major cities across this country. In many ways it seems sacriligious that a western fast food restaurant could become so prevelant here, especially because Chinese culture is so attached to food and the preparation of food. Nevertheless it’s always amazing to stroll by these places and see that business is booming. And there we were entering a McDonalds to eat. I must admit, although I rarely eat at McDonald’s in the States, eating that Big Mac in China was unusually tasty. Perhaps my body was craving the carbohydrates found in bread, or perhaps I needed some good ole fashioned processed food.

China is a land of diverse culinary cuisine with each region or province contributing their own style and ingredients to cooking and preparation. While traveling through China we have been exposed to a variety of foods offered along the way, learning a little about their origins. The last few days in Beijing we had the opportunity to film in the kitchens of some of Beijing’s notable restaurants, capturing on film the process in which these foods are prepared.

Once again Asu and I were on a tight schedule to finish filming in Beijing. After spending a morning at restaurants we packed up the gear and with our Beijing business partner and a caravan of their local guides we all headed two and a half hours northeast to the Great Wall at Jinshanling and Simatai. The weather forecast called for clear skies the next day and we needed to take advantage of the sunrise on the wall.

We stayed at a newly renovated hotel in Jinshanling conveniently located a few steps away from the park entrance. The next morning we were up by 5:30 am and after a short 30-minute hike we were on the wall looking at both renovated sections and old sections of this amazing man made structure. During the past years I have seen the Great Wall from various locations and in various states of repair or disrepair. I must admit, although the renovated sections of the wall give a good view of what this structure was like in its day, I am more intrigued by the sections of wall that have been left to the devices of history or the forces of nature. These sections reveal a narrative of the centuries gone by, even if it isn’t obvious. All you have to do is read some history and let your imagination fill in the gaps.

Typically we would hike this section to Simatai but due to our lack of time we did our business filming the sunrise then jumped in the vehicles and drove to Simatai where we accessed the upper section of the wall via the cable car. We made the short hike up to the steep section of the old wall and filmed as well. Under normal circumstances filming on certain sections of the wall are prohibited, fortunately our agent has developed strong guanxi with the local park officials over the years. As I have said in earlier disptaches guanxi means “relationship” and it’s the most important factor in doing buisness in China, without it you’ll never be successful. This is something I have learned firsthand over the past few years.

We finished our job on the wall and returned to Beijing where we had an appointment to film at the famous Lao She Teahouse located just southwest of Tiananmen Square.

The teahouse was named after the famous Chinese author Lao She (Shu Qingchun) for his dramatic tale “Teahouse.” Lao She was very well known in the west because he visited the US as a professor and taught Chinese at London University. Lao She fell victim to the Cultural Revolution and committed suicide. Through my production partner Liang Peng we were given permission to shoot the performances for the evening. Liang Peng is a personal friend of Yin Zhijun the general manager of the teahouse. The teahouse has now been recognized as a cultural icon in Beijing. One only needs to see the photos of foreign dignitaries who have visited here to realize that it’s a hot spot to visit.

BlueSheep’s business partner and agent provided us with incredible support and access to local performances, restaurants, and places while in Beijing. And we want to thank them for such generous hospitality while we were here. I think the knowledge, professionalism, experience, and service provided to us is indicative to how this business performs and treats its clients, many of whom have come from BlueSheep.

I had very little time left in Beijing and capturing footage while the weather remained good was my number one goal. Although the forecast can call for cloudless, sunny skies, I’ve quickly learned that the forecast does not include man made haze. So in the few days I had left I needed to take advantage of the so-called clear skies.

Our last time in Beijing brought me to Jinshan Park to film the Forbidden City, and as you may recall I had a certain encounter with a particular police officer.

The weather was overcast and very hazy during our first visit in October, so we decided to give the park another go this time around. Although the day started out sunny and clear, our return trip was delayed until the afternoon due to a previous arranged shoot, the pollution haze was growing thicker by the hour. We returned to the park with the knowledge that they would not let us bring the camera in so we used our experience from earlier and passed without a second look.

Asu and I set up the camera at the same location as before — the Wanchun Pavillion. Within minutes of looking through the viewfinder a familiar voice with a familiar phrase caught my attention. “That is a professional looking camera…” as my attention left the viewfinder I raised my head to find my old buddy, the police officer, standing to my side. I extended my hand and gave him a big hello. He smiled back and for a milisecond I think he was surprised it was me again and not some other foreigner shooting video. Once he recognized me he smiled and then asked how my travels are going. After a quick discussion he told me to wait while he went to retrieve something.

The police officer returned with a video camera on a tripod. He set it up below where I was shooting and then asked me to come down so he could do an interview with me. I jumped down and quickly noticed that I owned the same camera as well. Soon I was explaining to him how the ND filter function works, which he thought was broken.

Ironically I was now in front of his camera with him standing by my side asking me questions about China and how I liked the country. Asu stood above snapping pictures while laughing at the whole scenario. When it was all done, Asu again jokingly said now they have you and your voice on film. As the police officer folded up the tripod with the camera still attached he left the scene around the backside of the Pavillion. Maybe it was a paranoid thought, but I asked Asu to quickly follow behind him to see where he went with the camera. It did seem a bit strange that he would be here with a camera at the same time that I was. After a few minutes Asu returned to let me know that he set the camera down on the other side of the pavillion where his partner was and then continued on his mission of making sure we foreigners were safe while visiting.

As we left the park we came up on the police officer one last time and exchanged goodbyes. In the grand scheme of everything, I think he was truly a video enthusiast who happened to be a police officer, who also happened to have the opportunity to carry the Olympic Torch. Perhaps he was making his own documentary about the events and incredible changes taking place in China during the past year.

The night before I left China I met with my good friend and production partner in China, Liang Peng. After discussing the projects I had on the schedule for 2009 he asked if I would have time to help film and edit a documentary that is currently getting funding. He and his production partner, acclaimed Chinese Director Hao Zhiqiang, just returned from the Tokyo International Film Festival where they pitched a feature film to investors. The outcome of their pitch resulted in a request by one particular investor to produce a documentary about the real story in which the feature film was based on. Naturally it included mountains, so how could I resist.

Once again I leave China after experiencing an extraordinary journey inside a country that changes almost monthly. I definitely have developed a love-hate relationship with this country, more so because of the nature in which the country is developing. China is making incredible leaps forward, but at the same time those leaps have thrown out common sense when it comes to the environment and other issues. Economic development trumps everything else when a nation forges ahead into the industrialized world. We did it in the late 18^th and early 19^th century during the industrial revolution. However since then we’ve also learned a hell of lot about how our technological advancements have effected the world around us. Hopefully as China continues to move ahead, as they have every right to do so as we have, they also take into consideration what we have learned. We still have a long way to go here, but after what I have seen in China, it’s as bad or worse then what I saw growing up in Detroit, Michigan during the 70s.

China will endure — it has for 6,000 years.

Shanghai was a weather disaster for us. For three days straight it rained and remained overcast with occassional fog shrouding the skyscrapers from view. I could barely make out the expanse of the city’s skyline, which from a photographer’s point of view is one of those shots you just got to have. I was disappointed to say the least.

On the 3^rd we jumped on a bus and drove out to Xitang. There are three unique river cities that are located on the outskirts of Shanghai. Xitang is one of them and probably the least touristy. Although the city is not on the tourist hotlist it has been on the motion picture list of places to shoot. For the Chinese cinema industry, Xitang has been the backdrop to a dozen or so films, but for western audiences the city came to life in the film “Mission Impossible 3” starring Tom Cruise.

After walking through the various alleyways and river walks I started to recognize the scene in which Cruise was running along side the river under a covered walkway. The city is clearly proud of its motion picture history, displaying photos and snapshots from many of the Chinese actors and actresses performing in productions that have been filmed here. Some of the restaurants display photos of Cruise standing with the Chinese owners, or snapshots of the actor in-between shots. 

The small city is actually unique in that it it has been untouched by the modern world, just as Pingyao is. The city has a history that dates back to 770 BC, but the well-preserved buildings date back to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The small and quaint water city is indeed a nice place to visit because it captures a piece of Chinese history without the overwhelming and somewhat annoying presence of tourist paraphernalia diluting the history.

Our stay in Xitang was brief. We arrived in the afternoon, filmed into the night and spent a fairly uncomfortable night in a smelly, dirty room that provided no amenities. At times like this I much prefer sleeping in a tent on a mountain. Both Asu and I are once again suffering from nasty head colds. I can honestly say that I have not been this sick this often in my entire life. The next morning fog blanketed the city and by 10:00 am we departed and headed north to another more famous water city, Tongli 

We both started to show some sign of wear and tear from the colds and lack of good rest. The bus ride probably wasn’t the healthiest. Behind us was a man obviously himself quite sick, but he wasn’t too concerned about those around him. He was coughing up and spitting either into something or on the floor. But as I said before, this is one of those differences that you let slide on occasion. However the longer you spend traveling here, and the more you spend traveling on the local modes of transport, the more you will experience this type of behavior, and when you’re not feeling well, it doesn’t bode well.

We made it to Tongli and found a much nicer room for less cost then the mildew trap we stayed in back in Xitang. Once again we jumped into action and immediately covered the town to film. Our intention was just to get out and get footage before the sun went down. The next day we made it a point to film some of the key aspects of Tongli but the day proved to be quite uneventful due to the rain and dreary conditions that now seem to follow us as we travel.

Tongli is another Ming/Qing water town. Like Xitang it still retains its ancient charm, but it has become a bit more touristy then its sister city Xitang. Within the city lies the China Sex Museum a place where erotica comes out in art and culture. Funny to see such a place here in this very traditional old city. We didn’t even get to see much of the museum because we were on our way out of the city.

I think the most memorable part of Tongli was happening on an older gentleman sitting at his open window while working with wood. I could see he was busily making a small house from actual pieces of wood that he painstakingly carved and manipulated into very detailed ornamental pieces. Each piece of the house was an exact replication of what I’ve seen on the buildings all over China. I set up the tripod and smiled at him as he worked. He smiled back and acknowledged that it was okay to film. I then asked Asu to engage in conversation to find out what he was doing. Soon I was getting awesome shots of this man as he skillfully worked with the tiny detailed pieces of wood. He invited us in to his shop and then started to show us detailed architectural drawings of the actual Forbidden City in Beijing. He had been commissioned to do work for many people locally and internationally. I was very overwhelmed by his hospitality as he showed us everything.

His work was impeccable and I had great respect for the detail in which he mastered the wood.

I asked him if tourists come to his shop, and he said that he has had many foreigners come by. But he said he is too busy to go out and ask people to visit his little shop. So with the window open, people capture a glimpse of him and from there it’s curiosity that drives people to him. We exchanged email addresses and then he gave me a gift before I left.

As I have said before, it’s not just the places that make a trip so worthwhile — it’s the wonderful people that you meet along the way.

We are boarding a train and headed back north. This time it’s off to Zhengzhou where we will reacquaint with our good friend and business partner Lao Wang.

Sorry for the late dispatch as we have been going nonstop and with such little time between destinations I have been writing sporadically.

Last night we arrived at our hotel in Shanghai around 1:30 am, today we are taking a day to get caught up on writing, photo and video capture, and of course most important, laundry.

So the following is a long summary to bring us to the present day.

QUICK RECAP ON HANGZHOU SILK AND TEA

Amost two and a half years ago we spent approximately 30 days traveling China’s Silk Road by four-wheel drive. So naturally for me, when I think of silk my mind conjures up images from the Xinjiang Province and the massive Taklimakan Desert with its colorful oasis towns. The silk that made its way across Xinjiang’s lifeless abyss of sand and then onward to the Middle East and Europe came from eastern China. To be more specific, most of that silk came from Hangzhou. Hangzhou silk production dates back approximately 4,000 years. During the Southern Song Dynasty the city firmly positioned itself as the leader for silk production and became the epicenter for all of China. Today that tradition carries on as it is famous the world over for its silk. Hangzhou is home to the largest silk museum in the world, the China Silk Museum.

Aside from silk, Zheijiang Province and the city of Hangzhou are also famous for its tea. Green tea found its roots here, literally. The province is where green tea was first discovered. There is such an influential history with tea and the Chinese tea culture that Hangzhou is also the home to the China Tea Museum. Just outside of town there are plenty of tea plantations to visit and sample the tea.

XIAMEN, THE ROUND HOUSES, AND GULANG YU

On the 23^rd we headed south to Xiamen. Our flight was delayed by 45 minutes due to a crowded airspace. Apparently air traffic control has a growing problem here in China — too many planes, and it’s only going to get worse. The U.S. has 300 million people and our skies are crowded, imagine what it will be like with 1.3 billion.

We arrived on the city island of Xiamen about 9:00 pm. As we exited the airport a wave of heat and humidity overcame us. The further south we go the warmer it gets. For Asu this was pretty much home as he grew up in the Fujian Province and attended Xiamen Universtiy.

Palm trees lined the boulevard as we drove away from the airport terminal and ahead of us the city skyline gleamed with colorful lights. Xiamen was once a small seaside city, today it has grown into another modern behemoth. Over the span of just seven years Asu watched the old city come down and new modern skyscrapers rise up to take their place. According to Asu more than just the skyline changed, some of the old city spirit has been lost in the transformation. Nevertheless, Xiamen is truly an interesting place to visit.

We spent three days filming within the old city of Xiamen, on the island of Gulang Yu, and out at the Tulou (earth buildings) round houses near Nanjing.

Our first day in town was spent on Gulang Yu, this island has a history tied to a colonial past dating to the 1700s. What sets the island apart from the rest of Xiamen is that no vehicles, including bikes, are allowed. The only exceptions are the electric golf carts that circumnavigate the island, carrying tourist.

The island is quite a tourist attraction for the Chinese, at times the crowds are so overwhelming that the island actually loses its luster, which is sad to say because it is such an unsually peaceful place that seems out of place within the bustling city of Xiamen.

What is truly impressive about this island gem is its storied history dating back to the Ming Dynasty and the great commander Zheng  Chenggong who made his last stand against the Manchu’s in Xiamen.

The island had been under foreign control for nearly a century beginning with the Portugese. Soon the Dutch, then the French, and after the Opium War in 1841, the British took control. The island’s buildings display a predominately European architectural style, including a little American colonial. In 1930 the United States built a consulate on the island as well as a hospital and church. In 1938 the Japanese took control of the island and remnants from their occupation can be seen as their consulate and prison, which housed Chinese nationals, is still standing.

Throughout the island there are fascinating little streets and alleyways lined with a mix of Chinese and European style homes with courtyards and old banyan trees. The island also has a couple of Christian churches designed in the traditional European/American style but built by Chinese.

The island has many tourist attractions ranging from a large bird aviary on one end of the island to a sea world aquarium on the other end. There are a many historical and geographical places to visit as well, that goes without saying.

The only way to get to Gulang Yu is by the ferryboat. Fortunately they run frequently, and during certain days of the week and between different hours of the day, the boats run every ten minutes.

After a long day of filming we made the return trip back. I suggested to Asu that he ask one of the boat attendants to let us film in the pilothouse. The attendant kept insisting we were not allowed, however, the boat captain overheard the conversation and stepped in to say he had no problem with us filming. Sometimes being a foreigner with a camera opens doors.

So into the pilothouse we went, and as a bonus the captain spoke a bit of English to boot. We spent the ferry trip back across the channel interviewing him about his job and filming while he piloted the boat. The only drawback with the experience was the poor lighting. Outside the pilothouse the city lights were brilliant, but in the pilothouse it was too dark. I had to open the shutter as wide as it could go without blurring the shot, then I had to push the gain as high as it could go with out introducing grain into the shot. It was still too dark. Fortunately the captain agreed to let us interview him again when he was working during the day. Asu got his phone number and we told him we would call once we came back from the round houses in a day or so.

TULOU (EARTH HOUSE, ALSO CALLED ROUND HOUSE)

The next day Asu and I jumped on a bus and made the two-hour drive out to Nanjing to film the round houses. These impressive circular structures are built from wood, mud, rice, and bamboo. The buildings (houses) actually accommodate multple families with a circular courtyard that provides a variety of essential things like a cooking area, water well, in some cases a temple, and so on. The houses usually have three levels and even accommodate livestock. They are like small self-contained round castles without the stone. The Hakka people who built and occupy these unique houses actually came from northern and central China, but after years of war this minority ethnic group went south into the mountains of Fujian and neighboring Guangdong and Jiangxi Provinces. They were not very welcome here so they built these round houses as a way to repel attacks from local tribes.

Most tourists make the trip over to Yongding, but Asu had been to both areas and vouched for Nanjing. It’s less touristy and there are different style houses. What we thought might take two days to film turned into a one-day marathon. Although Nanjing was supposed to have fewer tourists, it still seemed very busy to me. And as usual patience played a key role in getting some shots. We then decided to get off the beaten path a bit and visit a round house that wasn’t a tourist stop, but rather a living community. Here we had no interruptions from tourists because we entered a community that was unspoiled by the necessity to service outsiders. It was in fact a remarkable experience and the people were very open to my being there with the camera.

I’ve come to the conclusion that many, not all, (mostly Chinese) tour groups lack a certain respect for the individuals in these tourist communities. The reason for this could make for a whole new discussion, but in short it has to do with a lack of education in a generation that has never had the opportunity to travel as they are doing so now.

Sometimes their curiosity goes beyond respecting the people as individuals by treating them as though they are a zoo attraction. For us that is exactly what we are trying to avoid, and with a camera it certainly makes it difficult to avoid the zoo or fishbowl analogy.

A huge part of filming while being respectful is taking the time to introduce yourself. We always engage in conversation to learn as much as we can about the individual and the place we are filming. We don’t usually have much time, but having Asu there to break down the wall and open up dialogue is an important reason for our success. I’ve had so many extraordinary experiences, all of which have been spontaneous situations. These are genuine authentic moments that are not preconceived, and usually I am rewarded with great footage but more importantly unique stories that lead to more opportunities.

Throughout this trip I have gotten to experience so many incredible places with amazing people, however the most fullfilling experiences have always been those that stray away from what the masses always go to see.

There will always be the things we want to see — the famous sites or the most historical, etc. Time is always a factor when traveling, so for most people just having the opportunity to go and see what everyone is always talking about is the first priority. And usually this is the only priority since that pesky time factor ultimately limits one’s trips.

Although we are on a tight schedule, we are going out of our way to experience a little more than what lies on the surface. It’s important to see the things that are well known or a must see destination, but having the chance to interact with real people or discover something culturally significant about a place always fills the gaps that seem to be missing from the popular tourist spots.

Visiting the round houses was such an example of how tourism can be superficial and not entirely cultural. Once the round houses started to become popular with visitors the government designated these as heritage sites. The government chooses a particular village to become a tourist site. In this case a specific village and the people who live there become dedicated to servicing the tourists rather than living their lives as they normally would, although they try. Usually they will pose with you or pretend to be doing something traditional but the sad fact is that their tradition has now been replaced by the new money making tourist industry. And you can’t blame them.

We returned to Xiamen to spend another day shooting in the back streets of the old city and to return to Gulang Yu to film more of the street life and to interview our boat captain.

The open food market in the old city of Xiamen was a vibrant place of commerce as locals shopped for almost everything edible to eat. Sometimes the images recorded can be upsetting, and at those times you almost have to turn off the emotions and realize that this is life and it’s just the way it is, regardless to how you feel. There was not one foreign traveler to be seen, so my presence there was a bit unusual for the locals, and perhaps unsettling for them (as well as me).

After filming the market we headed back out to the island, but after a phone call to our boat captain we learned he was not going to be at work due to a family emergency. Nevertheless we continued on our way and again we were invited into the pilothouse to film. This time a young apprentice was piloting the boat while the seasoned captain looked over his shoulder. Although it was good shooting, we didn’t get the interview. They didn’t speak English and there wasn’t enough time to interview and translate the conversation of the young man taking the helm.

Our return trip to the island brought us to many of the old narrow boulevards where we meandered without direction capturing street life and the cool European look on film. I wanted to visit the old American Consulate, but the gate into the compound was locked and no one was there, it was closed to the public. As we rounded the corner from the American hospital built adjacent to the consulate, we came up on a beautifully manicured courtyard that led up to a very traditional American looking home. The owner had lived there his entire life and worked at the American hospital. His family’s story is quite interesting as his grandfather had built the house and also helped build the American church on the island. Both his grandfather and father were also doctors at the American hospital on Gulang Yu. Throughout the house memorabelia passed down from the generations adorned the walls and tables. It was truly a great experience happening upon him as we did.

We spent a good hour learning about his family and their relationship to this island. Today his house is a beautiful bed and breakfast that mostly caters to Chinese tourist. I felt very at home in his house, it was so much like a typical New England style house.

YANGSHUO

We left Xiamen on the 27^th and jetted west to the city of Guilin in the Guangxi Province. From here we took a one and a half hour bus ride south to Yangshuo.

Yangshuo is famous for the spectacular karst scenery that has so much become synonomous with China’s landscape.

With the bamboo shoreline of the Li Jiang River (Li River) in the foreground and the vertical spires of limestone peaks jutting skyward all around, the images produced here are the very reason this is the most photographed region in China.

Yangshuo is a vibrant tourist town with an abundance of nightlife and scenery. There is plenty to do here from riverboat excusions, hot air ballooning, rock climbing to caving, hiking, and comorant fishing tours.

We only had a total of two days to film here. Immediately after arriving we took a bamboo raft down the Little Li River. It was cloudy, but the scenery was absolutely amazing. The quiet, calm flow of the river was such a tranquil experience. We spent the better part of the next day exploring remote village farms north of Yangshou in a town near Xingping.

Once again we found ourselves enjoying unique experiences with local people in an area where few, if any foreigners go. We ended up trudging through orange fields, rice paddies, and small villages taking in the day and life of the rice harvest and even connecting with a Korean man who moved here years ago to learn Chinese Qi Gong, a practice of circulating energy within the body through movement and breathing but particularly through mental focus. Twenty years ago I lived in Korea for nearly two years, and spending time with Mr. Kim was an enyoyable experience reminiscing about places and my experiences climbing throughout the country.

Yangshuo provides rock climbers with a haven of limestone walls to tackle. So while in Yangshuo we connected with Dingo at Black Rock Climbing. Dingo is a good friend of Daliu who is one of Jon Otto’s climbing partners. I’ve gotten to know Daliu over the past year and find him to be an exceptional climber, tackling climbing routes over a 5.12 rating. Daliu told us to contact Dingo to help us out with coordinating trips around the area. Black Rock is a climbing guide service that offers a variety of activities in the Yangshuo area, so naturally they would have the inside scoop on where to go. Unfortunately people who do not understand photography can steer you into the wrong direction even if intentions are good.

Two days in a row Asu and I woke up at 5:00 am to travel 40 minutes to capture sunrise shots over the Li River. The first attempt we lost the opportunity due to bad information or a translation error, instead of getting a great sunrise we were looking at a potentially great sunset scenario. I really had a hard time surpressing my anger on this day. We had a beautiful sunrise and we had managed to feverishly track down transportation to get to the spot where I was promised a great shot, and here we were standing on the shoreline of the Li River looking toward the sun, which was too far over to the right behind a karst peak, power lines, and buildings. It wasn’t even close to being good. But if you just turn around 180 degrees and look the other direction you see the famous image that graces the Chinese 20 rmb note. It might not be an original shot, but in the time frame we had, it would have been an awesome image to grab — if it were evening. But the evening sun was once again shrouded in clouds. The second morning we attempted two areas — frantically tracking down any mode of transportation to get from one side of town to the other in the hopes of getting something on film. In this case the reason for the missed shot wasn’t human error but a heavy fog layer that obstructed the sun all morning.

All I could think of were the great shots that the BBC captured in their series Wild China. My production partner Liang Peng, in Beijing, told me that he knew two of the original producers involved with the series. So as we have been gallivanting nonstop around this country with very little time to shoot, I had to continuously remind myself that the producers for the Wild China series made 57 trips to China and employeed over 20 camera operators. Even Asu was trying to remind me of that. Nevertheless, on that morning while standing on the Li River my anger erupted and I found myself apologizing to those around me for the outburst of profanity, even if they couldn’t understand me, it was obvious that I was more then just upset.

On our last day in Yangshuo Asu and I made the hike up to the top of Moon Hill just outside of town. This is one of those places that foreigners love to climb. At the base of the huge open arch we watched as a dozen or so climbers peppered the wall above. At times like this, when I am just an observer, I find it hard to be a spectator as others challenge themselves on the beautiful rock. We didn’t have any climbing equipment with us, and our task was just to shoot, however it was difficult for both of us to just watch, as we both love the sport.

After shooting a bit we continued on a single-track trail that took us up to the very top of the arch. From here we were able to get some nice shots of the surrounding karst formations that jutted skyward all around us. It was quite hazy with very little sun, but nonetheless very impressive.

QUICK RENDEZVOUS WITH JON OTTO and THE LongshengG RICE TERRACES

Once again we headed to the bus station and drove north back to Guilin where Jon would meet up with us. It had been nearly a full month since we left him and his family back in Chengdu.

Jon arrived fresh and ready to go. With new computer hard drives in his hands he was anxious for me to start backing up the precious data that I have been accrueing throughout the past month. Our HD footage is not tape based, it has been stored on my one terrabyte Seagate drive and I have been taking care of this drive like it was a baby. Now full, long I copied video files from my drive to another. I had to back up nearly 1,000 minutes of footage. Jon also brought an additional 500 GB drive for me to continue to capture on.

The next morning after breakfast we took a bus to Longsheng and then backtracked on a smaller bus out to the famous Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces. Instead of stopping at Dragon’s Backbone we continued further toward Dazhai and hiked up in this area. Although the weather called for rain we were very fortunate to see peeks of sun as we hiked upward to Platform 1, a viewing area. This is the highest vantage point in the terraces and it had a nice little hotel (hostel) that served food and provided decent accomodations.

We arrived at the high hotel after dark but it was only after we didn’t heed the warnings of Chinese locals insisting that we were taking the wrong trail. Although the trail looked as if it was going right up to the hotel, it was actually a cultivation trail for the farmers. The trail turned into a very narrow walkway, which was actually the top of the terrace wall. We were still about 100 feet below the hotel. So in the darkness of the night the three of us climbed directly up and over the rice terraces, and these aren’t just little one-foot terraces, some of these were high enough to cause injury if you fell off.

Eventually we strolled into the hotel ready to eat. During dinner Jon jumped into action to interview locals about trails systems that are not used by tourists. Jon eventually agreed to hire a local to take us on a trail that is rarely used by foreigners.

Since Jon was developing unique itineraries for BlueSheep Adventures, he went into research mode and spent about an hour interviewing the locals about everything from cultural issues, history, to learning where there were still villages that have not been corrupted by tourism. Jon was quite thorough in his note taking, he even asked questions along our trek the next day about the types of birds and flowers that inhabit the areas around the rice paddies.

Many of the villages throughout the rice terraces have been impacted by tourism to one degree or another. Most villages either had or were in the process of building brand new pine lodges to house the growing number of people coming here. New roads were being carved into the terraced hillsides to either accommodate tourists or in some cases actually provide easier transportation to some of the very remote villages.

The next morning we woke up to the sound of rain pouring from the sky. I was really hoping to be blessed with a nice sunrise shot overlooking the expansive rice terraces that cling to the mountainsides. Like the limestone karst of the Yangshuo region, the rice terraces here are some of the most photographed places in China.

We arrived here during the worst season to film or photograph the rice terraces. There are three seasons during the growth cycle of rice in which to acquire awesome footage of these magnificent fields. The first is the water phase, in which the rice hasn’t been planted yet. From a high vantage point the terraces become a bizarre, otherworldly looking place as the water reflects the sky. The sight is almost unreal, like a painting. The second phase is when the rice is lush and green, and the third is right before the harvest, when the rice turns golden yellow. But right now the fields are empty and the only thing remaining are the left over stalks popping out of the muddy terraces. Nevertheless seeing these incredible agricultural fields that have been carved from the mountainside nearly 700 years ago is amazing.

After eating breakfast a local Yao woman showed up to take us on our hike. We were going rain or shine, and that meant in the rain. I was a bit befuddled about going simply because we couldn’t see what was around us, and as a research trip I wasn’t totally sold that it would be beneficial. Jon had only one day to do this so off we went.

The hike turned into an interesting display of acrobatic movements over stone and the movements were not the least bit graceful.

The rice terraces have been constructed on some seriously steep mountainsides. For centuries these farmers have cultivated this land with amazing skill and a hell of lot of strength and balance. The process of harvesting this rice and then transporting it to the villages below cannot be an easy task. What is amazing are the stone walkways that have been laid over the past 700 years connecting the villages and the rice paddies. These stones have been walked on for all of those years and have become so polished that when they are wet they might as well be ice. And this is where our nice leisurely hike up and over a high mountain pass turns into a spectacle of three men slipping and sliding while one woman gracefully walks the entire distance without even the hint of a slip or getting a speck of mud on her legs. It was quite a frustrating job trying to concentrate on not slipping during the descent. Going up wasn’t a problem, coming down turned into a torturous descent especially when you’re carrying very expensive camera equipment and the last thing you want to do is take a very long tumble down the hillside. Our guide made it look quite easy. We later learned that ever since she was a child she had made the long trip out to school everyday, covering the same distance as what we traveled, and I’m pretty sure we covered over 14 kilometers up and down some steep terrain. Yes, you are correct by thinking that three climbers got their butts kicked by a petite 35 year old Yao woman

But the story doesn’t end there. We all had our slips, and each one of us had his own unique experience. Jon was on the edge of a rice paddy while looking through the viewfinder of his camera when the side gave way and he fell on his ass right into the mud. Asu, our ankle injured assistant, slipped multiple times, but one time he went right down on his tail bone, I knew this one hurt because the usually smiling face was not smiling. Asu is still a little sore.

I think mine takes the cake, and I’m not proud to say it. While descending a rather easy portion of the stone staircase, I took my eye off the rocks below me and in that millisecond I found myself slipping backward landing directly on the buttocks. I not only hit once, but I bounced on my ass down three or four steps. But the fall itself wasn’t really too bad, my first thought was of my camera. I had a $6,000 camera sitting on my back, and I felt the pack hit the ground as well. But that isn’t why my fall takes the cake. As I instinctively placed my hands out to stop the fall I noticed I had put them in mud. The mud turned out to be cow shit. No problem I thought, I can rinse them off in the now over flowing irrigation ditches. My ass was quite wet as well, I expected that, but that wasn’t entirely the whole reason my ass wet. I turned to look at my rear end and then up the stairs to discover that I had slipped in cow shit and landed directly in it while sliding down. So as you can imagine, it’s raining out, we’re all full of mud and now I can add cow shit to my apparel. Our clean guide, with her nice white running shoes wrapped in cheap plastic bags to protect them from the red mud, even got a good laugh at my expense. I did my best to clean up the mess, but there’s just something about having a wet rear end to remind you that you have cow shit all over.

We ended up hiking for six hours over and through some remarkable terraces. We visited villages that were far from the tourist spots and entered the homes of some Yao people. Although their existence is still very basic, I noticed that almost every family had a television set.

The fog occassionally parted revealing incredibly sculpted rice fields. We hurried to take photos and footage, and then continued on our slippery, sliding way.

We finally descended all the way to Pan Nei, where we hired a local man to drive us back to Longsheng. After arriving in Longsheng within 20 minutes we were on a bus for Guilin. We picked up the remainder of our luggage at a friends house and headed back over to the youth hostel to take showers before leaving.

I was actually dry now and the thought of cow shit on me wasn’t a bother. Once at the hostel we had to download additional footage to a hard drive and Asu and I needed to be on our way to the airport within an hour, so we decided to take showers once we arrived in Shanghai.

Needless to say we all looked quite peasantly, as though we had been working in the rice fields all day, except I’m sure the farmers wouldn’t have cow shit all over, because they know how to walk on those 700 year old polished stones.

The three of us got in a taxi but only Asu and I continued on to the airport. Jon got out of the car and boarded a bus for Yangshuo where he and Daliu were going to get a day of climbing in while schmoozing with sponsors for our upcoming climbs. It was a quick rendezvous with Jon but nonetheless interesting.

The weather in Shanghai doesn’t look promising for the next few days, and we are now running out of time. My final trip to Beijing is coming soon.

We left the tourist filled city of Beijing on the 21^st and headed to Hangzhou. Our last day in the capital city was spent shooting around the Forbidden City in a thick haze that was not necessarily caused by pollution alone. It was a humid, foggy kind of day.

LAST DAY IN BEIJING

Just to the north of the Forbidden City lies Jingshan Park. The park lies at the center of Beijing and is located on the city’s north-south axis. The park was originally part of the Forbidden City, but in the early 20^th century the connecting walls and its gates were removed to build a road through it.

Dominating the park is Meishan Hill (Coal Hill). The hill is the highest point in Beijing and seems like an anomaly as it juts up out of the flat landscape around it. Before I had time to read about this park (I usually get ahead of myself and like to stumble upon places rather than read about them first), Jon suggested I climb the hill and shoot footage of the Forbidden City — it’s a great vantage point.

So as we were climbing this hill I kept asking myself a geologic question, “How did this hill form?” I asked Asu but he didn’t have an answer. So it must be just that, an anomoly. It was the only hill in the whole city. Since we were in such a hurry, we didn’t even take the time to read about the park while running through it — another foolish mistake. Only after going on the Internet later did I learn that the hill wasn’t formed naturally, it was created by the dirt that had been excavated around the enitire Forbidden City to create the now famous moat. So let that be a lesson, read first.

Getting the camera and tripod into the park was not an easy task. Apparently my camera doesn’t look touristy enough, in fact the tripod just adds to the professionalism of our visit. Furthermore, having Asu carrying the tripod while I carried the camera only made us look more like a two-man journalist crew rather than tourists.

At the entry gate we were told that my camera was not allowed in. No matter how much we tried to talk the attendant into letting us in, we were turned away. At this point I almost gave up, but then we remembered the other gate around the block, so we hiked around to the south gate of the park, which faced the busy north gate of the Forbidden City. Perhaps we could get in this way.

Here we caught up with a herd of Chinese tourists being corralled through the entryway. Asu and I decided to split up — it’s always good to be the lonely foreigner lost in the masses. I went ahead of Asu and joined a large band of Chinese going through the gate. It was chaos as the tour group was being kept together and funneled quickly through the gate. And there I was joining them, moving in sync. Only one problem, I had a ticket and they didn’t. The attendant was counting the individuals in the tour group as they went through. All I did was mess up the count. I kept the camera down and in the opposite hand of the gate attendant and was asked to step aside and go through another gate. I gladly presented my ticket to her and she just motioned me on, as to not disrupt the flow of traffic. I made it in. I turned to see Asu lost in the crowd but coming behind me with a smile.

But my problems didn’t end at the gate. At the top of the middle hill there is the Wanchun Pavilion, which provides the extraordinary views of the Forbidden City, even though the city was shrouded in a mist. Tourists gathered in huge crowds as they all positioned themselves in the center of the pavilion to get the best photo.

Situations like this always create difficulties when trying to take good solid shots and pans. Usually Asu defends me and my tripod from the onslaught of tourists constantly banging into me or the tripod. But here the space was so limited and once I was there, it wasn’t a matter of one, two, three, smile for a happy shot, and off we go. I usually have to set things up and it is very time consuming. So as you can imagine there I am hogging the prized spot for taking photos and literally hundreds of tourists are vying for the same spot. Politeness is for the most part not in the Chinese vocabulary. Either that or its just a cultural difference. Nevertheless, for eight years I’ve experienced this and its not unusual, it just gets frustrating.

During the frenzy I noticed a police officer watching me closely. He eventually approached me and the first thing out of his mouth, in good English, was, “That is a professional looking camera, are you a working for TV station?” I responded by telling him that it was just a consumer camera and I really like to take nice video. He continued to push the conversation towards how professional my shots are. So I started to really act dumb and not understand what he was getting at. I looked over at Asu with a stupid look as though I wasn’t quite sure what he was he was saying. Hard to do when the officer really did speak good English. He then said, “I am here to make sure you are safe and enjoying your visit.” He then walked away. Asu and I went about filming around the pavilion and once again our friendly police officer approached us at a different location and started to inquire again about the camera. This time he wanted to know how much the camera cost. Of course I downplayed the price and then talked about how more people are buying cameras with HD capabilities because they are affordable. He then told me he too was a video enthusiast and owned a Sony DVCAM camera. I acknowledged this and told him that I too have one. The conversation went back and forth and soon a crowd was interested in why the foreigner was being interrogated. The conversation ended on the fact that my camera has three CCDs and not just one like his. Perhaps that made me a professional and not an enthusiast. Asu and I decided it was time to go, so we left the park and crossed the street over to the location of the old Winter Palace.

While taking a break outside the entry gate into the palace, we were once again in the presence of our friendly police officer. At this point Asu and I were both starting to question how it is that he went from patrolling the Wanchun Pavilion to coming all the way over here. This time I waved to him and said Ni Hao. He approached me and in his hands he produced a DVD for me. It had photos of him on it running and carrying the Olympic Torch. He then said to me that he was one of the only Beijing police officers asked to carrying the torch. He handed me the DVD and said here take this and watch it. I took it, shook his hands, and said I was honored, Xiexie. After he left, we looked at each other and both jokingly said it was probably some spy software that would inflitrate my laptop. I haven’t watched it yet on my laptop, but will on a DVD player at the first chance.

HANGZHOU

On the 21^st we woke up at 5:30 in the morning and were off to the airport for our 8:00 am flight. After a two-hour flight we touched down in Hangzhou.

This was the first time I had traveled to the south of China and what a difference it is from the north. The first thing I noticed was that the air is less polluted and the vegetation is much more vibrant. The days we spent in the dry, cold, polluted city of Datong seem like a world away. Here it was warm and humid, very subtropical.

Located approximately 200 kilometers southwest of Shanghai, Hangzhou is located in the Zheijang Province. The province is one of China’s smallest, but size means little when talking about this place. The province is weatlhy and its impact on the rest of China has and is significant. Hangzhou is rapidly becoming an extraordinary modern city, courting foreign financial institutions to do business here.

See a map of where the Zheijang Province is located.

The city is located within the Yangtse River delta and is at the southern terminus of the Grand Canal — at 1,770 kilometers it’s the longest man made waterway in the world and was completed around 620 AD. The Grand Canal extends all the way to Beijing. The city was founded in the Qin Dynasty around 2,000 years ago. Although the city is listed as one of the seven ancient capitals of China, the city has had a complete modern makeover, thereby losing almost all of its ancient architecture. Hangzhou became prominent when the Song Dynasty moved their capital here after being defeated by the Jin in Kaifeng. During this period under the Southern Song Dynasty great expansion took place.

WEST LAKE

One of the key attractions here is the famed West Lake.  The lake was once a marshy lagoon by the sea, but silt naturally built up and blocked it from the Pacific Ocean. Although the lake would have become more or less a marshland it had been dredged in the eigth century. Throughout its history three causeways were built across the lake; the Su Shi, Bai, and Yánggang Causeways. Today they make for excellent strolls where one can capture the truly magnificent views of the surrounding mountains, cityscape, islands, willow tree lined avenues, and boats. Although the lake is well known for its picturesque scenery, it has become well know for its historic and famous writers, artist, and national heros who resided here.

Some impressive historical pagodas, temples, gardens, caves, and Buddhist carvings also surround the lake. At night the hillsides and causeways around the lake come to life in a sprinkle of colorful lights.

In order to keep on our schedule, Asu and I had only two days of filming here. The first day provided us with a magnificent sunny afternoon. We arrived at the hostel just before noon and quickly went to work filming on West Lake. We took a boat out to the islands and filmed the lake and the sunset. On day two we hiked the path in Yellow Dragon Cave Park and then took a car out to a tea plantation to film the workers picking tea leaves. Actually at this time of year the workers aren’t harvesting leaves for tea consumption, they are picking the leaves to instigate growth for the spring harvest.

Our second day in Hangzhou was quite cloudy and at times we were rained on, nevertheless we managed to capture some footage of this magnificent city. I can honestly say there is so much to see here it could take a week to fully appreciate all that the city, surrounding mountains, and Yangste River delta have to offer.

This afternoon we board a plane and head further south to the city of Xiamen in the Fujian province. Asu is from the city of Quanzhou located just north of Xiamen, so for him this is a chance to reconnect with home.

The last time I wrote we were departing the ancient city of Pingyao and heading north to probably one of the dirtiest cities in China—Datong. Little did I know how bad it could be.

After a one and a half hour bus ride north to Taiyuan we jumped into a cab and drove to the other side of town where we hopped on another bus for a three and a half hour ride to Datong.

The Shanxi countryside passed in a mix of mountains and occassional flat valleys. It’s a dry place consisting of the notorious loess, which is precisely why the Yellow River is yellow. Along the entire route caves dot the yellow bluffs that punctuate the landscape. For centuries these were liveable homes, today most of them are vacant or they’re used as storage space. 

We arrived in Datong just as night fell. In the distance a huge power plant dominated the view in front of the bus. Six hourglass shaped cooling towers lined the horizon. Rising from its nucleus four smoke stacks jutted skyward, pouring the byproduct of coal consumption into the air. 

As we drove closer to the city the crisp, clear, moonlit night slowly disappeared into the haze of dust and pollution. The streetlights and headlights of on coming cars could barely cut a beam through the fog of pollutants. Our drive into town couldn’t have gotten any slower when we were forced to stop as a convoy of huge coal trucks took priority entering the road ahead of us. By this time the air in the bus was becoming noxious. Once again I looked at Asu to see his reaction, all he kept saying was “Oh my God.” When Asu says this it usually means either “Oh shit, this is bad,” or “Wow, this is amazing.” In this case I think it was a mixture of both. Yes, it was bad, and yes, it was amazing that it could be so bad.

The bus eventually made it to the bus station and we quickly gathered the luggage and got into a taxi, only to find that our driver was a smoker. I think breathing the air here was enough to kill you, but to smoke and live here, well I wondered how much longer he would be around.

There is something to be said about air convection and its affect on air pollution. The midday heat rises taking with it the smog that had descended during the cold night. Datong actually clears up for a brief stint, but it is brief.

We came to this city for two reasons, the first was the Hanging Monastery located about 65 kilometers southeast of the city, and the second, the Yungang Buddhist Caves located just on the outskirts of town across from, none other, a huge coal mine.

We had anticipated staying in Datong for two full days to accomplish our goal of filming both locations, but fortunately for us, we got off to an early start and were able to reach both locations and film them in one day.

The Buddhist Hanging Monastery was built during the Northern Wei Dynasty, about 1,500 years ago. This amazing structure is literally built right into the side of a cliff above the Jinlong River. Asu and I fought with the massive crowds in our pursuit to get pristine shots of the monastery. It was another one of those difficult days in which patience was truly a virtue. We spent a solid two hours shooting the temple and a variety of the 40 rooms. The monastery was built on wood beams that protrude out from holes carved from the rock face. The rickety support columns that extend down from the various structures have no load bearing effect and are there mostly for aesthetics or to make tourists feel more secure when walking along the various walkways and buildings.

After filming the monastery we drove back into Datong for a quick lunch of noodles and continued through the smog and dust to the Yungang Caves. These Buddhist caves were also created during the Northern Wei Dynasty around 450 AD. These caves include the earliest Buddhist carvings in China, and were a reflection of the Tuoba culture, (Turkic speaking nomads) which united northern China for a period of almost 150 years. For me the Yuhngang Caves were amazing. The caves were created over a period of 70 years and include nearly 50,000 statues. There are very impressive statues of Buddha in the standing and seated positions, towering from 14 meters high to 17 meters high. In all of the grottoes there are incredibly detailed carvings of various Gods, warriors, animals, and guardians.

As I filmed those remarkable sculptures, above me, high in the sky I could hear the telltale sound of fighter jets. I scanned the skies above until my eyes locked on to two Chinese Migs flying in close formation over the Shanxi landscape.

The moment was surreal for me. I had been so entranced by those ancient sculptures that my mind got lost in time. Then that unmistakenable sound (I knew it so well from my days in the military) jolted me from out of the past and right back into the modern world. It was a strange moment, one which caused me to ponder a bit about where this — the oldest nation on earth — was going in the future. The past, the present, and possibly the future converged at that very moment. For some reason being there at that time gave me a strangely profound feeling. In front of me was this amazing history, remarkable pieces of artistic genius, and above me was this site of modern aircraft training for potential war. China was indeed stepping out of the past and entering the modern world — with one hell of a bang and 2008 was the year to do it.

The next morning we packed our bags, headed to the bus station, and made the five-hour journey east to Beijing. We crossed the northern tier of the Shanxi Province, it was a mountainous land and for the most part quite beautiful, however the natural beauty of this landscape was shrouded by a yellowish haze of pollution. The province is laden with coalmines and powerplants, it seems that Shanxi bears the burden of providing China the raw materials and energy-providing power plants that feed its neigboring cities.

It was actually a relief to arrive in Beijing. However, now that we have been here for a full week, the pollution and lack of sun are forcing us to move on soon. When we arrived in Datong we were hammered with flu like symptoms that stayed with us until our second day in Beijing. Asu and I are finally overcoming our pollution-contributed colds and feeling better. But there is a convection layer of pollution hoovering over the city now. We had enjoyed some clear sunny days while here, but yesterday and today the level of pollution is so bad that going outside is very uncomfortable, eyes burn and the head starts to feel a bit foggy.

Nevertheless Beijing is always interesting to visit. The city changes by the month, and with the Olympics fueling a new growth in tourism, this city is rocking with people. At night Beijing’s skyline is brilliantly lit and the nightlife is abundant. Most the construction I have witnessed over the past few years is now complete and the city has taken on a new look.

Once again Asu and I are experiencing the incredible contrasts and diversity of this country. We’ve traveled from places that were quite undesireable to places that leave you in awe. Just listening to Asu talk about the vast differences between the cities is enlightening simply because as a Chinese, his astonishment reaffirmed my own thoughts.

Some places lack the sophistication and development experienced by others or some are just left in the past to deteriorate because of a lack of municipal leadership. Some cities in China are as modern or more modern than most western cities. Other cities seem to be developing but without direction. The people in these far away places have yet to understand the full measure of the modern world. The city may look shiny and new from a distance, but up close the buildings are either empty or functionally incomplete. China’s rush to modernity occasionally leaves towns unfinished.

Aside from recovering from our colds, I took advantage of the down time by taking the camera into the Panasonic Broadcast Service Center to have the focus and zoom rings cleaned internally. The camera was pretty abused in the desert and with the amount of dust covering us in Datong added to the problem.

By Wednesday (the 15^th) the camera was ready and we were ready to get back to work. With a smooth running camera we continued on our mission and combed the city taking footage of the modern Beijing and contrasted that with the more traditional ways of the past. 

We headed out to the Temple of Heaven this morning but didn’t make it to our destination. Sometimes catching events as they happen are far more intense then going somewhere to purposely shoot, that was the case this morning. 

As we were driving from our hotel to the temple we happened on a bit of commotion along a side street. There were people dressed in Qing period clothing standing in a formation with the lead members playing instruments, two women followed carrying poles that had banners with the Chinese character (Xi) for happy. Behind the woman four men stood in front and four men stood behind a palanquin (Dahua Jiao). As we slowly drove past I asked Asu what was going on, he replied “It’s a wedding.” I thought we should stop, but part of me knew we had to get to the temple so I asked Asu if he thought it was worth it, and he said it could be. So we stopped.

The wedding caravan was now motionless, so I started to film from a distance. After noticing nothing happening I asked Asu to go over and find out what was going on. Asu talked with the person in charge of the troop to find that they were just preparing to make the journey to the bride’s house, pick her up, and come back to this location where a limousine was waiting. As I continued to film closer to the wedding troop I was soon being encouraged to film more. A huge crowd of onlookers was also gathering to see the events of the wedding. Soon a limousine pulled up and out came the groom. Apparently he was informed of my presence and smiled then motioned to continue.

It was showtime and now two wedding videographers arrived on scene with full size Panasonic DVCPro 50 cameras. My HD P2 camera may be smaller but it had more horsepower, I was shooting HD, they were shooting SD. The music started to play and the groom took his place behind the women parading the banners. We were off moving through the crowded streets. Music blared, horns beeped, and people were yelling. In the throes of it all I was filming on the run, going in front, dropping back, running along side, and even intermingling between the palanquin bearers as they marched forward. 

It was exciting, as I was now apart of this wedding. When we arrived at the bride’s house, the entire street filled with people. The wedding troop formed an aisle way that led down a narrow walkway toward the house. Family members lined both sides right up to the door. I remained out on the street, but was then grabbed by the shoulder and motioned down the aisle way right up to the bride’s door. Here immediate members of both families were shaking hands and waiting for her departure. The groom walked into the house and everyone waited anxiously. With camera on standby I waited as well, feeling just as anxious as the family. I had to figure how I was going to film the bride and groom as they walked down the narrow walkway and not get in the way of the paid wedding videographers. So far I noticed one of them following my every move. 

The door opened and out they came. Cannisters of confetti blew up showering everyone with dried flowers and colored paper. The camera was rolling and they were coming right at me, so I quickly disconnected from the tripod leaving it for Asu to recover and kept filming as I faced back while moving forward. Asu was there to direct me, like a steadicam assistant. The crowd was cheering, the music was again blaring, and the confetti continued to rain down. And there I was, some foreign guy in the middle of it all, getting the best shot. 

I felt a bit guilty — I didn’t know where the wedding videographers were — I just knew they were missing the money shot and I was getting it. So much for a paycheck.

The bride was carried out in the arms of her groom and then loaded into the bridal palanquin, all the while another mass of people (In China there’s always a billion people around when I film) crowded in to get a view. I raised the camera high above my head and just let it record. The crowd parted and the wedding convoy was once again off on their march toward the limousine, and I was in tow, filming like a madman. And I thought filming mountains were hard.

At the end we watched as the bride was off-loaded into the limo, and the groom shook hands. We went over to the groom just before he got into the limo and extended our congratulations on the wedding, and then thanked him for allowing us to take part in the event. He replied by giving us a traditional bag of wedding candy, a gift that usually goes out to all the family and friends that attend. Experiences like this make it all worth it.

While in Beijing we also had the rare opportunity to film the performance of “Chun Yi, The Legend of Kung Fu.” This extraordinary performance is world reknown and has performed throughout North America. The only reason we were able to film this performance was because our agent in Beijing had a brother who knew the Vice General Manager of China Heaven Creation International Performing Arts Company Ltd. In China it’s all about Guanxi (relationships).

In a very elegant conference room with the upper eschelon of the company we had a lengthy meeting about filming the performance. After discussing the rights issues, usage requirements, and the agreement to sign a contract and give a photocopy of my passport, I was given permission. Everything was being conducted on the up and up and I respected that.

We arrived at the theater about 30 minutes before the performance. Tom Wang the Senior Project Manager in the marketing department met with us and we went in to see where I could set up and how much leeway I could have. After going through everything an international audience quickly filled the auditorium and soon the lights dimmed. For the next hour and a half my eyeball was glued to a viewfinder while I chased some of the most impressive Kung Fu artists around the stage. It was another highlight in a trip that just becomes more impressive with each day.

I could still do without the pollution. We will leave Beijing on Tuesday, were still not sure where we’re going yet. Stay tuned.

This video includes footage from atop of the Xian city wall, the Big Goose Pagoda, faces from the city, a Tang Dynasty performance, Hua Shan, Taoist temples, and an 83-year-old Taoist nun who has lived alone here for 18 years.

From the city of Pingyao, you see the “Four Guardian Warriors of Buddhism” in front of the Heavenly King Palace at the Shuanglin Temple. And the final sunset shot is the sun going down beyond a watch tower on the Pingyao city wall.

Two days ago Asu and I were supposed to depart Hua Shan on the 14:52 train to Pingyao, but the usually punctual train was 45 minutes late.

A steady rainfall marked the morning of our departure and the temperature dropped significantly. In short, it was a miserable day. We couldn’t have timed the weather any better for filming on Hua Shan, which in China is almost unheard of, our past experience can attest to that.

LIFE ON THE TRAIN

In typical fashion Asu and I managed to muscle the heavy luggage from the train terminal down to the loading platform, all the while negotiating a myriad of steps in the pouring rain. Once again we were the spectacle for the local travelers, or should I say, I was. They either looked at me with curiosity (there are still many places in China that are not so connected with the rest of the world), I was a strange foreigner traveling in their land, or, I’m sure it was the amount of luggage I carried. Chinese typically travel with very little, and here I was toting the kitchen sink. I must admit filming does add quite a bit to the luggage count, and at times I find it stifling.

With the help of the conductor we packed our gear onto the train just as we started to roll on, but finding a place to put it was difficult.

Traveling with Anora (Jon’s two year old daughter) was an eye opener to how difficult train travel can be. With the lack of ramps or elevators the situation even prompted Jon (who has lived on and off in China for over ten years) to say something to the train station attendant. Of course our circumstance was most likely different then most, we not only had a child, but a huge amount of gear as well. Perhaps the China of the future will take into consideration the handicapped, children in strollers, or the heavily laden traveler.

Our train ride to Pingyao was a seven and half hour journey in a hard sleeper. These cars are stacked from floor to ceiling with bunks, usually three high. Every bunk was occupied with a traveler and getting the luggage down the narrow aisle was difficult. The bunks are off to one side of the car with the aisle running opposite. Fold out seats extend into the already narrow pathway and the seats were occupied by people smoking, playing cards, eating, or just gabbing. Trying to squeeze the luggage through the congested narrow opening wasn’t a big hit with the seat occupants or me.

As you may recall, the last time we traveled by train it was in a soft sleeper from Lanzhou to Dunhuang. Essentially we had our own cabin with two sets of bunks in it. This is quite a bit more relaxing then in the crowded hard seat or hard sleeper sections. The privacy and lack of disruptions is great, however you miss out on the opportunity to meet interesting people.

Being the only westerner on the train does seem to attract a lot of attention. My presence seemed to spark an enormous amount of curiosity between my fellow passengers. Asu kept telling me they were guessing where I was from and if I could in fact understand what they were saying. Needless to say I’ve developed an immunity to being stared at, in places like China it comes with the territory.

When traveling by train be sure to expect a lot of smoking. It doesn’t take long for the car to fill in a thick fog when a few people are puffing away. In retaliation to the smokers I decided to open the window. It was quite cold out and with that window open, the temperature quickly dropped inside. I quickly realized that my action wasn’t too appreciated by my neighbors — those curious looks I was getting earlier turned into glares. I guess the frigid, 80 kilometers an hour air that filled the cabin was less comforting to them than the smoky haze.

There was definitely a disconnect between my fellow Chinese passengers and me, not because I opened the window, they got over that, but because I lacked the ability to communicate. So I thought of another way in which I could communicate. I grabbed my laptop computer and invited them to come around and look at some of the videos I had produced while visiting China. It wasn’t long before a crowd formed around me and the video became a conversation piece. By the end of our trip the communication gap had vanished, which of course meant Asu was busy translating. As we came up on our station to get off, everyone insisted on helping us with our luggage. It was quite an amazing experience. They struggled with the bags and gave us a backslapping, hand shaking send off. Many good-byes (Zai Jian) went around.

It was around 10:30 pm when we arrived in Pingyao. We got off the train and immediately found an electric cart taxi to take us into the walled city where we were staying. The drive through the outer city was like going through a ghost town, it was quite deserted. The air was incredibly dusty and reeked of exhaust. Pingyao’s reputation as a coal mining town was quite evident, it was indeed dirty. As we drove in our open cart we were unfortunately exposed to the onslaught of environmental displeasures. Huge trucks passed us belching black clouds of exhuast fumes. I looked over at Asu to see him suffering as I was. We were both squinching our eyes as smog and dust kicked up from the passing vehicles. I thought the desert sand storms could be hard on the eyes, this seemed worse.

Pingyao’s walled city is somewhat of an oasis in this sea of dust and exhaust. The city is truly an amazing step into China’s past. The well-preserved wall that completely surrounds this Ming and Qing Dynasty built city is probably the very reason as to why it exists as it does today.

In all my travels throughout China this is one place that has not been spoiled in the least bit by the communist or the modern era architecture. Pingyao is a fascinating place to visit and explore. The town has a storied history dating back to the Western Zhou Dynasty around 823 BC. From that point forward the city has somehow retained living pieces of its history. Today UNESCO designates Pingyao as a World Heritage Site.

Asu and I have spent the past two days filming and exploring the entire city. We visited the local temples and museums, walked along the wall, filmed an impressive sunset beyond the watchtowers, ate Pingyao food, and walked aimlessly through the narrow alleyways to capture local life on film. We then traveled by electric cart outside the walled city to the Shuang Lin Temple. This Buddhist temple complex dates back to the Northern Wei Dynasty and is absolutely amazing. Within the various buildings (Halls) are remarkable ancient clay painted sculptures of various Gods and Goddesses. Although each building had signs that said “No Photos” there was no one there to enforce this, in fact in one particular building the locked gate that was designed to keep tourists out was open. It was obvious that workers had forgotten to close and lock the gate. For me this was one of those moments where I wasn’t sure what to do. Do I casually just walk in and take footage or do I miss the opportunity to film without being obstructed by the jail bars that protected the sculptures. Well, lets just say I won’t incriminate myself.

We ended our second day here in Pingyao being remarkably lucky again with the weather. Although the forecast called for clouds, we were once again blessed with two sunny days, just as we had been on Hua Shan. Since our arrival in the rainy city of Xian, almost two weeks ago, it’s only rained on the days we’ve been traveling, which is okay with me.

Tomorrow we continue our travels north in the Shanxi Province to the Hanging Monastery and the Yungang Caves near the city of Datong.

See a map of the Shanxi province.

We are sitting on the top of the North Peak at Hua Shan. It was our second trip up in two days. This is one of the five sacred Taoist mountains in China. Today Asu and I made the fantastic hike up the mountain from the West Gate at the Yuquan Temple. From here we hiked and capture footage the entire way up. This remarkable trail is chiseled from granite, and carved right into the mountain. At times it climbs over 80 degrees, nearly straight up. I couldn’t help but wonder how they did it or how long it took to build. Along the way we encountered some interesting people, including an 83-year-old woman who lived in a house built in and under a massive boulder, which at one time, and perhaps still is, a Taoist monastery. The entire route is lined with temples and food kiosks. Although the path is remarkably developed, complete with sidewalk lights for nearly the first half of the hike, it still had an historic feel to it.

Our hike was quite peaceful. I must not forget to mention, the massive spigot of humanity turned off as the holiday ended last night at 12:01 am. So today’s venture was quite the contrast from what we encountered yesterday.

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After spending three days of downtime in Chengdu, Asu and I departed for Xian on the afternoon of October 4th. We arrived about 8:00 pm and were lucky enough to get a hotel room. The next morning we were up early and on the first bus out of town headed for Hua Shan. The mountain is located about an hour and half drive east of Xian.

We arrived in the town of Huayin at the base of Hua Shan, quickly found a hotel, ate some lunch, and headed to the mountain. It was the last official day of the Chinese National holiday and judging by the crowds on the mountain, everyone was still in the holiday mood.

Our first trip up was a lazy ride on the cable car. The ten-minute trip took us up a steep granite gorge where huge rock faces towered above us on both sides of the car. It was a spectacular ride and worth the experience. But let me say this, it is far better to make the hike up from the West Gate and then take the cable car down.

We arrived just below the North Peak, but instead of climbing to its summit we headed toward the other peaks. Hua Shan consist of five peaks — North, South, East, West, and Central. When the cable car dropped us off it was already 1:30 in the afternoon. We had a lot to figure out in a short period of time, as far as filming was concerned. With so many peaks to hike up, we didn’t know where to begin. It didn’t take long to notice the obvious and impressive wall that leads straight up to the summit of the West Peak. I looked at Asu and asked what he thought, he was obviously excited as I was, but the excitement was dampened within minutes of our climb. The mountain was bumper to bumper with human traffic. However what truly amazed me is that in the midst of the crowds making this torturous stair climb was little old Chinese men and woman, some had canes to help them along.

For the next five and a half hours we literally ran up the trail, dodging people the whole way. In the midst of the human traffic we had to stop multiple times to set up the tripod and shoot, doing it all while directing traffic around the lens. It was a frustrating experience, but the views were amazing. Hua Shan provides stunning scenery of granite precipices, knife-edge ridges, and a horizon that looks like a traditional Chinese painting of distant mountain ridges cloaked in fog. Capturing this on video was difficult but nonetheless important. With the right filters I think we were successful.

We stayed until sunset and raced down to catch the last cable car down, which was 7:00 pm. We made it with 10 minutes to spare.

Although yesterday’s hike around the upper peaks was amazing, today’s climb up from town was indeed far more gratifying, especially since we are both climbers. So what if it’s all stairs, some of these stairs are, like I said, near vertical.

The sun is setting now and we’re sitting near the top of North Peak taking in another beautiful sunset. Wow, what a fortunate trip to Hua Shan this has been, our days here were graced with cloudless, sunny days. It is time to move on. Tomorrow at 1:00 pm we are on a seven-hour train ride to Pingyao, which is northeast of us. This little walled city is probably China’s best preserved. We’ll have to see what it has to offer.

This video includes images of the vast Gobi Desert as camels and people trudge through the sand, food markets with lamb skews and pots of noodles, meats and vegetables, the Dunhuang Dancing Acrobats performing, workers picking cotton, and a variety of scenes from around the city.

Experiencing China during the past three days has really had an impact on me. As I mentioned in an earlier update, there’s a major holiday taking place right now, and with so many people on the move visiting family, tourist hot spots, or just going to the big cities to shop, eat, or hangout, this country of 1.3 billion people can really make an impact when everyone seems to become mobile at once. Seeing all of this firsthand is a new reality. Not because it’s unusual but because of how fast it’s all happening. So as I’ve been strolling the crowded streets here I find myself looking closer at those who pass me. I’m observing life in China with a new curiosity. It’s strangely different than how I use to look at it.

It was only eight years ago when I first started to visit China. For me China was a fascinating almost third worldly kind of place. Sure, China had modern cities, but many of the places I traveled to were quite remote due to the nature of our visits. We were climbing mountains, and usually these trips took us off the beaten path, to places far from the vast construction booms already in full swing on the east coast of China. The places we traveled through were like stepping back into time. Life was far simplier and traditions continued as they had for centuries. I’ve always been so intrigued and fascinated by the vast cultural difference that seperated my world from theirs. So many thoughts and questions would arise within my head as to the complexities of why the world is the way it is. The anthropological development of these places always awakens my curiostiy. But these days my thoughts went in a different direction.

Today in the big cities I see a new China, one that is becoming homogenous with the west. The main boulevards are lined with glitzy, high-end fashion stores reminiscent of 5^th Avenue in New York City. Huge TV screens project advertisements from the facades of buildings, and neon lights flash and gleam like Times Square. The old gaudy look of communist China is quickly fading from the cityscape.

There are huge high-end electronic superstores where you can buy everything from iPods to complete entertainment centers, and with the holiday in full swing, these places are so crowded that squeezing through the store aisles is nearly impossible. Consumerism seems to be surpassing the United States, whether that is a good thing or not, who knows.

The younger generation is definitely into the new trends of fashion. Everything that defines an individual’s appearance, from the style of eyewear, to their hairstyle, to the clothing they wear—it all expresses their individuality. None of this would even cause me a second thought in most other parts of the world, but here in China where individualism was regarded taboo, it is mind boggling to see how rapidly these changes are taking place.

I think it is safe to say that the new China has arrived for good and the old China is becoming extinct—you can still see it, you just have to go further off the beaten path. But it’s worth it.

This is my fifth time to visit Chengdu—but the first time to really experience the city in the midst of a Chinese holiday. Last night Asu and I traveled down to the famous Jin Li street and Dragon Town area. Both have become tourist attractions because they represented the jio chung-chu or old towns of Chengdu. Today they’ve been given a complete makeover. The narrow streets are now lined with modern shops and eateries reconstructed in the traditional style grey bricks and lit with red lanterns powered by electicity. It was certainly fascinating to walk through these alleyways and take in the atmosphere. And it was obviously a Chinese tourist hot spot as it was packed shoulder to shoulder from one end to the other. For me coming back here was strangely sad, even though it was a neat place to see.

Back in 2004 Jon and I visited the Dragon Town area of Chengdu. At that time this was one of the last original old towns still in existence in this city. Located here was also the renowned Dragon Town Youth Hostel, a place where backpackers could come and actually experience China as it was years ago. During our visit, the buildings had already been marked for demolition, fortunately there were still streets completely in tact. As we walked through the quiet narrow alleyways I filmed what is now gone forever. Older Chinese men and woman (still dressed in the traditional black or blue clothing that represented the Mao era) sat along the street drinking tea, sipping mee-jio (rice wine), smoking, playing chess, or just socializing. There was a strong sense of community here. Everyone knew each other.

As we filmed we caught the attention of an older man who came over to tell us about the history of this town. Realizing that there was something very important to his impassioned words I started to film him and had Jon ask more specific questions about what was happening here. The government was tearing down this area to develop it, but the locals insisted that it should remain as a historical reminder of a bygone era. (Snippets of this conversation are in this website’s trailers section under the title, “Inside Chengdu, China.”)

Last night we returned to the very location of where I did that interview four years ago, it was almost unrecognizeable. The Dragon Town Youth Hostel was transplanted across the street to a modern building, and all the buildings had complete makeovers. They’d been transformed from homes and small shops to fancy stores or restaurants. Most the buildings were probably demolished and rebuilt to look like they were original. The town was truly an impressive little haven for tourists, but it lost the very component that made it special, its community and originality. As I watched the throngs of Chinese and western tourists enjoy the atmosphere, I could only feel a sense of loss for all the people who had to leave this town and the community it was. I wondered what happen to the old man we interviewed.

This, of course, is only one small example of the thousands of other communities displaced in the wake of a modernizing China.

Modernization is a part of civilization; we just need to have the foresight to preserve enough of the past to educate those in the future about where we came from.

Since our arrival in Xian on the 26^th the weather has been very uncooperative. Only yesterday did we actually see bouts of sun push through the cloud layer that still lingered. Nevertheless we had business to attend to for BlueSheep Adventures. So, for the past few days we trudged around the city in the rain checking out local Chinese restaurants, exploring various nooks and crannies off the main avenues, looking at hotels and inspecting the quality of rooms, visiting local entertainment and performing arts theaters, and interviewing local guides — all with Jon’s daughter, little Anora, in tow. This little two year old is one world traveler, and she can sleep through the most inhospitable conditions. This kid handles it better than most.

Today the sun actually rose and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We were up early and headed to the south gate of the city wall. Jon, Asu, and I rented bikes and cycled on the wall. What an amazing experience when the skies are clear and no one is around. Early morning in Xian is another world compared to midday. The crowds were still fast asleep, with the exception of the older folks doing Tai Chi in the park spaces near the wall. We shot some beautiful footage of the city.

Built during the Ming Dynasty, around 1370, the city wall of Chang’an (now Xian) is one of only a few still intact. The wall surrounds the entire city for roughly 13.9 kilometers. During the Tang Dynasty at the height of Xian’s grandeur the city wall extended further out enclosing a total of 83 square kilometers of cityscape.

During the expanse of Xian’s greatness it was home to possibly 13 dynasties. With the Silk Road beginning and ending here, Xian was put on the map geographically and historically. It became one of the worldest greatest metropolises. As a major trade center where goods from the east and west came and went, religion and culture arrived here giving rise to a sophisticated society.

Xian is located in the Shanxi Province, which is known to be the cradle of Chinese civilization. For over a thousand years this was the heart of China’s political hiearchy. With such a depth of human history it goes without saying that Shaanxi Province is an archeologist’s dream. Just visiting a museum here tells the story of this historically rich region.

See a map of Xian in the Shanxi province.

MUSEUMS AND PEOPLE

A couple of days ago Asu and I went to the Shaanxi History Museum located outside the walled city center. This museum houses some impressive relics including bronze weapons, lamps, figurines, murals, burial objects, and more. The artifacts date back to the very early dynasty periods (Shang Dynasty and even prehistoric). I was surprised when the guards allowed me to bring both the tripod and camera inside, but I’m not sure it was any benefit. The museum was so incredibly packed with visitors that setting up a tripod only prevented the flow of human traffic around the displays. Normally the amount of local people visiting the museum, or for that matter Xian, is not quite as overwhelming as it is becoming. Unfortunately our trip here is coinciding with one of China’s large weeklong holidays, National Day, and I think all 1.3 billion people decided to go out on the town. Jon warned me about the crowds and today it was a mad house everywhere.

Asu and I spent a couple of hours walking through the various parts of the city including the Muslim quarter. Just behind the Drum Tower lies a network of back streets offering a variety of shops, food stands, and restaurants. For those who do not get the opportunity to travel off into the western province of Xinjiang, this section of the city provides a tiny snapshot of what life is like along portions of the western Silk Road. The people are colorful and the food is worth a taste along these — now crowded — avenues.

Naturally the amount of people taking to the major tourist spots, including places we want to film, will make it exceptionally difficult to get pristine images. So the dilemma now isn’t the sun because it’s supposed to clear up this week. Now the problem lies with too many people in the shot. Even Hua Shan, one of the five sacred Taoist mountains located outside of Xian, will be so crowded that trying to capture the serenity and scenery here will be tainted by thousands of tourists in the shot.

As the whole world watched the Olympics, it’s probably become evident to most who have never been here, that China is a country on the move in so many different ways. As the middle class continues to grow at an unprecedented rate, discretionary spending is also going through the roof. Chinese people have more freedom to travel now and with this new wealth most people here want to explore their country, which explains why domestic travel in China is exploding. So, what does all this mean? I guess we just need to look at the United States — but add another billion people to the scenario. And remember, the U.S. is only a little bit bigger than China, so there isn’t much room here. What this means for us is that we may have to return after the holiday to film Hua Shan. When we visited Xian two years ago in May, it was so much quieter — relatively speaking, because this is a big city.

TANG DYNASTY DINNER THEATER

Earlier this week we met with the manager at the Tang Dynasty Dinner Theater to talk about business, which of course led to a free invite to come watch and film a performance. Asu and I spent the duration of the performance traveling from one side of the stage to the other, looking through a lens. It’s a bit hard to enjoy a program this way, but from what I saw through the viewfinder, I can say that it is definitely worth seeing. The audience in attendance was the largest gathering of westerners I’ve seen in one place while traveling here.

Tonight we depart at 10:00 pm for Chengdu. With the crowds so overwhelming, we will have to return to Hua Shan at another time to film this impressively scenic Taoist mountain. That is it for now.

See a map of Chengdu in the Sichuan province.

We’re on the airport bus headed into the city of Xian. This morning we left the dry, barren desert of Dunhuang and landed in the far greener landscape of the Middle Kingdom. In its day Xian was the center of Chinese civilization and the crossroads of the Silk Road.

However, today it is wet and dreary in the ancient capital, and for me that’s not good. I have five days to film here and according to the forecast it will rain all five of those days. We may in fact depart early from Xian and chase the sun to another destination in China.

The last time I was in Dunhuang was with Mike Chrisp in 2006. We were traveling from Zhenzhou with two of Lao Wang’s friends. They had been given instructions to get us to Urumqi within seven days while at the same time allowing us to see various heritage sites along the way. So our driver did what he was told, unfortunately traveling such a great distance in such a short time doesn’t nearly allow enough time to explore in depth these places. One such place we wanted to explore was the Magao Grottoes of the “Dunhuang Cave Shrine” system. Throughout the Dunhuang area lies a total of five separate cave shrines that house Buddhist cave art, but the most famous and extensive are the Magao Grottoes — designated as a World Heritage Site.

We were on the fast track to reach Lao Wang in Urumqi, but we insisted on visiting the Magao Grottoes, and we did. However our experience can be wrapped up like this — we drove into the parking area, got out of the vehicle, and from the parking lot, looked across the Shiquan River at the caves that lined the cliffs and snapped a few photos. That was it. That was our experience at seeing the caves. Never once did we step beyond the tourist gate. I was naturally furious as Mike was also.

I am glad to report that this time we spent three hours visting the caves. Our English-speaking guide, Yang He, did a fantastic job at describing the details of the artwork in each cave and the historical timeframe in which the cave paintings and sculptures were created. What really struck me was that within the cave system three large Buddha statues were carved right out of the cliff. Two of the Buddha statues are sitting upright and tower above within the confines of their own caves. The other Buddha is in a state of Nirvana (lying down), also in its own cave.

The Buddha lying in a state of Nirvana is 15.8 meters long by 3.5 meters high. Of the two sitting Buddhas, one is the third largest in the world reaching to a height of 35.6 meters. The other Buddha reaches a height of 26 meters. The highest Buddha in the world is located in the town of Leshan in the Sichuan Province. Fortunately I had the privilege to see that one as well after climbing Siguniang in 2004. The Leshan Buddha is 71 meters high. The second highest Buddha in the world is 36.7 meters and also located in the Sichuan Province in the town Rongxian. Unfortunately we could not take photos of these amazing caves.

Dunhuang has a 2,000-year history but what is truly amazing is that these caves have been constucted over the span of 1,000 years, ending in the Yuan Dynasty. From this point forward no new caves were constructed. The caves have been constructed throughout the various dynasties reflecting the characteristics of that period.

Probably one of the most significant caves is the Library Cave #17. This cave was discovered in 1900 by Wang Yuanlu and what he unearthed was quite possibly one of the greatest discoveries in history. Stored away in this cave were many thousand manuscripts, sutras, and countless other documents that represented Chinese, Buddhist, and Central Asian History, including the famed “Diamond Sutra” which is said to be the world’s oldest printed book. Sadly Wang Yuanlu sold a great deal of the discovery to foreign archeologist Paul Pelliot and Aurel Stein among many others who would eventually come and take the treasure and sell it to museums or private individuals.

Finally seeing these caves gave me a real sense of appreciation for the significance of how this area affected the scope of world history. Here in this small oasis town in a remote region of the world where a desert of all things—a vast, barren sandy ocean—somehow defined the intersection of culture, religion, and to an extent the geo politics of the region. As we walked through the various caves I thought of Mike and how much he would have loved to see this. I know we’ll be returning again, perhaps the chance will arise for him to see this place in the future.

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Dunhuang is truly a desert oasis town fed by the constantly flooding Ji River. The city lies at the edge of the Gobi Desert and at the height of trade along the Silk Road it became a strategic location for China because the city lies at the “throat” of the Hexi corridor which descends to Lanzhou in the Gansu Province then leads into the Middle Kingdom and its capitals at Chang’an (modern day Xian) and Luoyang.

Heading east from Dunhuang the ancient trade route splits to the north and to the south navigating around the Gobi and Taklimakan Deserts before spoking off to various regions of the continent. The city essentially controlled the flow of trade between the east and west. Dunhaung became a melting pot were western culture collided with Chinese culture.

Renown Dunhaung schlolar, Mr. Ji Xianlin wrote:

“Although the world is large and its history is long, only four countries and regions have established their complete cultural systems which have exerted a far reaching influence in the world: China, India, Greece, and Islam. But there is only one area in the world where these four cultures met, that is Dunhuang and Xinjiang in China.”

For such a small town, Dunhuang holds a great historical importance.

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After we visited the caves we arranged to have two camels meet us at the parking lot where we embarked on a trek across the desert. The purpose of our journey was to research potential routes that would provide a truly unique experience for future clients of BlueSheep Adventures. Although many of the tourist outfits provide desert camel trips, most of these are along predetermined routes, right along side the highway out of Dunhuang. I think the experience is ruined by the nearness of civilization and the constant noise of ATVs racing up and down the sand dunes.

For me it was another challenge to head back into the desert and film. Two years ago when we filmed the Silk Road, we had encountered numerous sand storms. Each time I was trying to capture the moment on video, and each time, no matter how much I protected the camera with plastic, sand found its way into the inner workings of the lens. Once again I was doing battle with the elements of the desert.

It was just three months ago that Jon, Asu, and I were climbing a mountain on the opposite side of the very desert we are now in. The mountain is called Mustagata and it reaches over 7,500 meters. Most people think that filming a climb on a peak like that is difficult, but I can honestly say that filming in the desert is much worse.

Today was an impressive walk among beautifully wind-sculpted dunes, the kind you see in movies. After four hours of running and walking I did my best to capture footage of camels laboring over sand dunes as they plodded a course into the depths of the Gobi. We tried to go off the beaten path, but even these extraordinary animals have a hard time negotiating the steep dunes and precarious ridges formed by the wind. By the end of the day I was exhausted. Asu who is still recovering from the sprained ankle, did his best to assist me by carrying the tripod and helping set up. For me it has always been an issue getting the right shot. Most the expeditions I film are run and gun. I try to capture the action as it takes place. There are no takes, it’s usually real life events that unfold before me. The problem with this is you have to be in the right spot at the right time, and to do that means you have to put yourself there — for me that usually means running like hell to get there. Sure, sometimes you try to explain that you want to get a shot, and you go out ahead and set up, but if the shot wasn’t right, you missed it. So you go ahead again and do it all over, hoping that the terrain or setting allows for a similar shot.

So once again, money dictates the amount of time you have to accomplish something. We had two goals, one to discover a unique trek that would set BlueSheep apart from other tour operators, and two, get some good footage of the trek. We had one day to use the camels and get across this stretch of desert, but by time we left the Grottoes it was already well past noon and the sun goes down around 7:30 pm.

Regardless of it all, the experience was awesome and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a sense of adventure and history.

After our desert trek we returned to the hotel, took much-needed showers, and headed out to see a performance by the Dunuang Acrobat Dancers. Initially we had seats within the lower part of the auditorium, but after Jon explained that I was a filmmaker doing a film about Dunhuang, the manager of the theater took us up to the balcony and gave us seats right in the middle, providing us with the best seats in the house. I was told that I could film portions of the production, but somehow my camera accidentally ran for the duration of the whole performance.

We visited Mingsha Shan or (Singing Sands Mountain) and Crescent Moon Lake, which is the standard tourist spot just at the edge of town. The sand dunes rise up to almost 2,000 meters at the edge of the Gobi. Here you can ride a camel, drive an ATV, slide down, or take an ultralight ride over the dunes. It is kind of like going to Disney World but in the desert. Tucked behind the dunes is a rebuilt Buddhist temple that lies along the ever-shrinking Crescent Lake. It is quite the anomoly, this little lake in the middle of the dunes.

I can say that I am happy I had the chance to return to this historically significant little town just on the edge of the massive Gobi and Taklimakan deserts. We explored remote villages around the town and walked through various parts of the deserts, taking in a bit of culture and history.

As I started writing this we we’re arriving in Xian. The rain continues to fall and the temperature is in the high 50s. We may be leaving here soon if things don’t brighten up. Nevertheless this ancient city that is now all grown up and more modern than most cities, is vibrant with life and full of westerners taking in the attractions. Xian is best known for the Terracotta Warriors, but there is so much more to see around the city — places that are sometimes overlooked. To be continued.

My internal clock is slowly getting into to synch. Instead of waking throughout the night and being up at 3:00 or 4:00 am, today I slept right through until 5:00 am. Now that’s an improvement.

I stand to be corrected about Lanzhou being the world’s most polluted city. It lost that title about a decade ago to another coal mining city — Taiyuan, southwest of Beijing in the Shanxi Province. Nevertheless, my short stint in this once strategic outpost along the Silk Road was less then disappointing. I arrived at the airport where Asu was happy to meet me near the luggage pick up.

Asu is one of Jon’s employees and he was with us on the Mustagata climb. I met Asu back in 2004 when we made our ascent of Siguniang. He, like me, has had a string of bad luck when it comes to injuries. In 2004 Asu could not climb with us on Siguniang because he injured his back. And this past July he wasn’t able to go up Mustagata due to a severe ankle sprain that had him on crutches for weeks. Nevertheless he was on the expedition but confined to basecamp working in the role of Kitchen Helper. Not the most glorifying role for such a good climber, yet all the members loved his joyful spirit and his ever-present smile. What people remember probably most of all is Asu’s morning breakfast call.

Once again that trademark smile and voice called out from the crowd to greet me. We quickly gathered my gear and hopped on a bus and drove into Lanzhou. It was a dreadful day here — rain and cold, much the opposite of Beijing, which actually was sunny and warm. The ride into town took about 45 minutes and the scenery took me right back to our 2006 journey across China’s Silk Road. It was a barren landscape of terraced hills and scrub grass. The day did not enhance Lanzhou’s image of being the kind of place you “just pass through.” It was grey, wet and the paved roads turned to a muddy slick in the dreary mist and occasional downpour.

We dragged my gear down to the train station where I put my largest bag in storage. Jon would not arrive for another two hours so we decided to go eat and see what the town had to offer while we waited for Jon.

After eating some of Lanzhou’s claim to fame beef noodles we walked over to the newly rebuilt mosque that had been destroyed by the Red Guards. We talked with one of the local Muslim caretakers about the mosque and learned that the tree standing in the courtyard was the only thing that survived the destructive forces of the Cultural Revolution. The tree was over 700 years old.

We then walked down to the Huang He or Yellow River where we strolled out onto the Zhongshan pedestrian bridge to take photos of one of China’s most important waterways as it is said to be responsible for the birth of Chinese civilization. The Yellow is the second longest river, nearly 5,460 meters long.

Jon arrived with his mother and daughter. They are joining us on the Dunhuang and Xian leg of this trip. At the age of two, little Anora has already traveled the world more than most. I think she has already used every mode of transport available to mankind with the exception of spacecraft.

At 7:14 we lugged enough baggage to outfit a small expedition onto the train for our 14-hour ride to Dunhuang. By the time we left it was already dark and I was a bit sad to miss the countryside pass outside the window. Then again I already drove this corridor and knew it was mostly barren desert. Nevertheless this would be my first long train ride where I would actually sleep in a hard sleeper cabin. I’m sure my little two-year-old travel companion wasn’t half as excited as me, being that she is such an experienced world traveler and all. Once Anora became sleepy we all retired to our bunks. The cabin was small with two sets of bunks on either side. Asu and I occupied the upper bunks.

All night long the train’s melodic sound was interrupted with the loud thunderous swoosh of a passing train barely three feet out our window. For a mere ten seconds the loud train would roar passed our window. It became quite evident as the night went on which passing trains were freight trains and which were passenger trains. A passenger train would pass in a roar of brilliant flashing lights, like a lightning storm. The cabin lights of the passing train really illuminated our cabin where freight train horns would blast suddenly and pass in a roar of screeching metal on the tracks. This went on all night. So if passing locomotives didn’t interrupt our sleep, numerous stops along the way did.

We arrived at Dunhuang around 9:30 where we were taken to our hotel by the hotel’s shuttle. The rest of the day was spent meeting with local guides and agents as we discussed potential trips for our future clients. We visited some of Dunhuang’s most famous sites, but due to the cloudy day I did not film. We will be returning to these sites again, hopefully when the sun is shining.

Once again the local agents took us out for food and alcohol. The night actually ended at a reasonable time. I needed the sleep.

Well, It’s almost 4:00 am and I’m wide awake now. Earlier I was greeted with the same rain and humidity that was here in June, not to mention a little pollution added in for good measure. It was a flawless flight; in fact there wasn’t even a layover in Narita. I disembarked from one plane, went through the obligatory security check, and walked to the gate where the agents quickly met me with an urgent smile, "Going to Beijing?"

“Yes,” I replied.

“Oh good, we are boarded.”

I was probably one of the last people on the plane. I knew the layover was going to be quick, but not missing-my-plane quick.

After I gathered my bags, exchanged money, and exited customs, — which all took no time at all — I was met at the airport by the hotel shuttle. I called Jon Otto and arranged to have my climbing gear shipped separately to Chengdu in the morning. My baggage was already overweight and there was no reason to cart the extra gear around for eight days of travel on the Silk Road segment of this trip. In the morning (which is now) I get on another plane to Lanzhou.

Our plans on this trip have already changed dramatically since leaving the U.S. Our original goal was to film in Xian, then head west by train up the Hexi Corridor to Dunhuang, then on toward Turpan and Urumqi. All places that we had visited when we drove the Silk Road in 2006. Now I am flying directly to Lanzhou, also known as one of the most polluted cities in the world due to its geographic location.

See a map of Lanzhou in the Gansu province.

This is only a meeting point. I’ll rendezvous with Asu and Jon here, and together we will take an overnight train to Dunhuang where the famous Mogao Grottos are. Dunhuang is located at the edge of the vast and dangerous Taklimakan Desert. After three days of filming here we will then take a train back to the great ancient Silk Road city of Xian where we will research and film.

After Xian we’ll head back to Chengdu for more filming in the beautiful valleys of Sichuan. I know I’m dropping a lot of Chinese references, but I’ll have time to explain more about each area as we visit them.

Originally our trip was to include an attempt to make a first ascent on a peak called Abi in the Sichuan Mountains. I received information that the attempt on that mountain cannot be made due to the danger imposed by the continuing earthquake tremors and aftershocks still rocking the region. Two of our Chinese climbing partners were just doing a recon of the region when a tremor shook the area. The verticality and potential difficulty of the route on both rock and ice make it too prone to rockfall and avalanches. Some of you probably are thinking, “Well, that didn’t stop you before on Siguniang where you were pummeled with rockfall.” But I think this time the danger is too obvious in advance of our departure.

We are in the process of looking at some other potential first ascents, so climbing is still one of our priorities. We will also be going into some areas devastated by the earthquake. This too is a priority as we are working on a nonprofit project to help build schools in hard-hit, remote mountain villages.

As our trip progresses throughout the next two months we will do our best to leave updates on our travels. In addition to the quick snapshot above, we will be traveling throughout Chinai, to places along the eastern coastal region near Shanghai and Hong Kong, to the remarkable forest and rivers of the Yunnan Province.

There should be some extraordinary images and experiences to share, so stay tuned as we head out — once again — to explore this remarkable country. I won’t have my travel companion, Mike Chrisp, with me this time to give a good narrative of the experience. I hope you’re tuning in good buddy. I know you would love to be here.