DOCSLIB.ORG

Xtraordinary Escapades

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Xtraordinary Escapades frequent flyer t’s an adventurer’s dream come true— 39-year-old Alvin Low ditches his desk job as an IT technical consultant for the majestic landscapes and perilous trails of China, Nepal and Tibet. The avid athlete’s love for the outdoors started when his high school canoeing team brought him on round-island trips, which included Ihiking jaunts in Malaysia to explore its waterfalls. Since then, his vacations have always revolved around sporty thrills such as canoeing, cycling and trekking. What prompted you to start Shangrila Adventure? It was sparked by a personal trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge and Shangri-La, located near Lijiang in China’s Yunnan province. I yearned to share the view, the people and their culture with others but could not find such tour operators. Even if they did offer such trips, they weren’t exclusive and included touristy sights and souvenir-shopping without touching on the local culture and food. What has been your most exciting expedition so far? There are new discoveries with every journey, even on the same route and trail. But if I had to choose, it was definitely my overland expedition, along part of the Silk Road from Altay City in Xinjiang into Kazakhstan, and then back into Kashgar, into Tibet and through the very remote Ngari (or Ali) prefecture, including a pilgrimage trek around the sacred Mount Kailash. The whole expedition lasted for about one and a half months. What about your most dangerous trip? There was this one expedition when one of my teammates slipped and slid down the slope as we were climbing a snow peak in Sichuan. Luckily, we are all trained to move in groups, so we were properly secured by ropes and harnesses. That experience taught us that when things go smoothly and there are no hiccups, people tend to take things for granted. It is only when accidents happen that we realise how many 110 epicure 0511 such as Liujiang, Gaomiao and Luocheng. You can even take an authentic steam-locomotive train ride on the 19.8km railway in Jiayang that goes into the coal mines! It’s called the Jiayang Lesser Train as its carriages are much smaller than the average trains. BINGZHONGLUO It’s difficult for me to get the exact addresses of By road from the south via Liuku, Fugong and Gongshan these places as they’re usually only known by knowledge JIAYANG LESSER TRAIN and word-of-mouth. Once you’re in the area, you have Shixi, Qianwei country, Leshan, Sichuan to ask for directions from the locals. Perhaps that’s EATERY FOR LAO MA TU TOU why our trips are so special! Hardly any foreigner can 72 Jie Fang Bei Lu Er Duan, Jinniu District, Chengdu, Sichuan manoeuvre these areas on their own. MOUNT KAILASH You should head to Qinshanzhai Restaurant in Gangdisê Mountains, Himalayas, Tibet Chengdu, Sichuan, for nourishing soups, local delights QINSHANZHAI RESTAURANT and hot pots. If you’re game, you should also try the 247 Wuhouci Avenue, Chengdu, Sichuan, China Sichuan delicacy—Lao Ma Tu Tou (spicy rabbit head)! Tel: +86 028 8509 8895/75 SHANGRILA ADVENTURE Most of your travels take you to China, Nepal and 12 Aljunied Road, #05-01B, KH Plaza, Singapore 389801 Tibet. What are your favourite trekking, climbing and Tel: +65 6547 1455 www.shangrila-adventure.com cycling routes in these areas? TIGER LEAPING GORGE My usual routes are my favourites, from trekking in About 62 miles northwest of Lijiang Old Town Sichuan’s Mount Gongga, or Minya Konka to Genyen, and cycling from Tibet to Nepal down friendship highway, which includes a ride up to the Mount Everest base camp. What itinerary would you recommend for an extreme adventure holiday? Well, if you really have a big appetite for extremes, we can put you up on a cycling expedition to explore the western Sichuan regions, such as Xinlong to Litang county, Dege to Batang county and Baiyu, near the Tibet border. These are the more hazardous routes. Are there any more locations to explore? In the near future, we will be embarking into the Middle East and central Asia, possibly on a combination of train journeys, overland drives and cycling. obstacles we have crossed and prepared for Where would your travels take you to next? Can you recommend a few must-go destinations or I always go back to western Sichuan and northwest activities in Yunnan or Sichuan? Yunnan to be with the mountains and lakes. I love the I love the more laid-back and untouched places, such unique culture and minority groups there. It makes me as Bingzhongluo and Dulong Jiang (Dulong River) in feel rejuvenated and helps me appreciate what I have in northern Yunnan, Genyen Mountain and Xinluhai in life and the simple things. It also opens up my heart and remote western Sichuan and rustic cultural old towns mind. e 0511 epicure 111.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Making the State on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier: Chinese Expansion and Local Power in Batang, 1842-1939
    Making the State on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier: Chinese Expansion and Local Power in Batang, 1842-1939 William M. Coleman, IV Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Columbia University 2014 © 2013 William M. Coleman, IV All rights reserved Abstract Making the State on the Sino-Tibetan Frontier: Chinese Expansion and Local Power in Batang, 1842-1939 William M. Coleman, IV This dissertation analyzes the process of state building by Qing imperial representatives and Republican state officials in Batang, a predominantly ethnic Tibetan region located in southwestern Sichuan Province. Utilizing Chinese provincial and national level archival materials and Tibetan language works, as well as French and American missionary records and publications, it explores how Chinese state expansion evolved in response to local power and has three primary arguments. First, by the mid-nineteenth century, Batang had developed an identifiable structure of local governance in which native chieftains, monastic leaders, and imperial officials shared power and successfully fostered peace in the region for over a century. Second, the arrival of French missionaries in Batang precipitated a gradual expansion of imperial authority in the region, culminating in radical Qing military intervention that permanently altered local understandings of power. While short-lived, centrally-mandated reforms initiated soon thereafter further integrated Batang into the Qing Empire, thereby
    [Show full text]
  • Appendix Iii Property Valuation
    APPENDIX III PROPERTY VALUATION The following is the text of a letter with the summary of values and valuation certificate received from CB Richard Ellis Limited, prepared for the purpose of incorporation in the prospectus, in connection with their valuation as at 31 October 2010 of all the property interests of the Group. 4/F Three Exchange Square 8 Connaught Place Central, Hong Kong T 852 2820 2800 F 852 2810 0830 香港中環康樂廣場八號交易廣場第三期四樓 電話 852 2820 2800 傳真 852 2810 0830 www.cbre.com.hk 地產代理（公司）牌照號碼 Estate Agent’s Licence No: C-004065 15 December 2010 The Board of Directors, China Animal Healthcare Ltd., No. 6 Kangding Street, Yi Zhuang Economic Development Zone, Beijing City, the People’s Republic of China Dear Sirs, In accordance with your instructions for us to value the property interests held by China Animal Healthcare Ltd. (the ‘‘Company’’) and its subsidiaries (hereinafter together know as the ‘‘Group’’)inthePeople’s Republic of China (the ‘‘PRC’’). We confirm that we have carried out inspections, made relevant enquiries and obtained such further information as we consider necessary for the purpose of providing you with our opinion of the capital values of such property interests as at 31 October 2010 (the ‘‘date of valuation’’). Our valuation is our opinion of Market Value which is defined to mean ‘‘the estimated amount for which a property should exchange on the date of valuation between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s-length transaction after proper marketing wherein the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion.’’ Unless otherwise stated, our valuation is prepared in accordance with the ‘‘First Edition of The HKIS Valuation Standards on Properties’’ published by The Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors (‘‘HKIS’’).
    [Show full text]
  • Cartoon Game Industry; Cluster; Creative Class; Structure
    International Conference on Education Technology and Social Science (ICETSS 2014) Research on Cultivation of Creative Class under Industrial Environment Cluster-- Take Cartoon Game Industry as an Example Lie Chen Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610000, China Keywords: cartoon game industry; cluster; creative class; structure Abstract. This research takes Chengdu national-level culture creative industry park as an example to pay attention to the current situation of cluster cultivation of creative class of Chengdu cartoon game industry under cluster environment. Through deep research on typical cartoon culture creativity enterprises, this paper carries out analysis on various factors influencing development of Chengdu professional cartoon creative talents, and proposes the solution for cultivation of creative talents based on the thought of cluster development of creative industry. The concept of industrial cluster firstly appeared in the book The Competitive Advantage of Nations written by Michael E. Porter and published in 1990. So far, as a kind of extremely special industrial organization form, the industrial cluster has gradually become an important economic phenomenon in world economic development. The powerful technology and knowledge overflow effect brought by industrial cluster is widely affecting industrialization and urbanization process of a region and even whole country. The cartoon industry which centers on Sichuan Chengdu is gradually forming Southwest cartoon industry development zone led by games and wireless entertainment. In the development process “from industrial concentration to grouping and cluster”, the spatial arrangement of Chengdu cultural creative industry cluster has basically taken the shape, and the creative class cluster is basically formed. Currently, there are more than 520 software enterprises in Chengdu, including more than 60 online game enterprises.
    [Show full text]
  • Monitoring and Evaluation of Grassland Desertification in Litang County Using Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing Images
    Proceedings of 14th Youth Conference on Communication Monitoring and Evaluation of Grassland Desertification in Litang County Using Multi-temporal Remote Sensing Images DAN Shang-ming1, 2，XU Hui-xi3，DAN Bo4，HE Fei5，SHI Cheng-cang6， REN Guo-ye6 1.Key Laboratory of Atmosphere Sounding, China Meteorological Administration，Chengdu 610225, P.R.China; 2.Sichuan Province Agrimeteorological Center, Chengdu 610072, P.R.China; 3. Institute of Engineering Surveying, Sichuan College of Architectural Technology, Deyang 618000, P.R.China; 4.Sichuan Provincial Meteorological Observatory, Chengdu 610072, P.R.China; 5.Chengdu University of Information Technology，Chengdu 610225, P.R.China. 6.Institute of Remote Sensing Application，Sichuan Academy Agricultural Sciences, Chengdu 610066,P.R.China; [email protected] , [email protected] Using four Landsat TM & ETM+ images which obtained in 1989, 1994, 2000 and 2005, the nor- Abstract: malized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was calculated on the basis of the geometry correction, radio- metric calibration and atmosphere correction, and the assimilation of the NDVI images was made by estab- lishing the least squares equation of linear regression, and extracted the vegetation coverage from the NDVI and converted it into the desertification index (DI) based on the binary model, the classifiable research was made on the desertification of grassland about 103 km2 near the Litang county. The result demonstrates that: st (1) Desertification in Litang County has been deteriorating in the past 16 years (1989-2005). The 1 stage nd (1989-1994) saw decreased desertification area, the 2 stage (1994-2000) observed radical deterioration, and rd the 3 stage (2000-2005) witnessed slack in this regard.
    [Show full text]
  • Recent Shrinkage and Hydrological Response of Hailuogou Glacier, a Monsoon Temperate Glacier on the East Slope of Mount Gongga, China
    Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 56, No. 196, 2010 215 Recent shrinkage and hydrological response of Hailuogou glacier, a monsoon temperate glacier on the east slope of Mount Gongga, China LIU Qiao,1,2 LIU Shiyin,1 ZHANG Yong,1,3 WANG Xin,1 ZHANG Yingsong,1 GUO Wanqin,1 XU Junli1 1State Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Donggang West Road, Lanzhou 730000, China E-mail: [email protected] 2Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China 3Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan ABSTRACT. Temperate glaciers are more sensitive to climate changes than polar or continental glaciers, and can drive remarkable runoff variation in local water catchments. Here we present recent glacier shrinkage and runoff change for Hailuogou glacier, a typical monsoon temperate glacier on the east slope of Mount Gongga (Minya Konga), China. The surface area of Hailuogou glacier has decreased by 3.5% (0.92 km2) between 1966 (aerial photographs) and 2007 (ASTER images). Flow measurements at a stream gauge about 500 m down-glacier commencing in 1994 display a remarkable increase in annual runoff (mostly during July–September) since 1999. Annual runoff over the same period in a non- glacierized but forested subcatchment (9.17 km2) did not experience significant change. By separating the daily rainfall component from the daily total discharge, monthly catchment water-balance series were calculated for the period 1994–2005, which shows an increasing trend of glacier storage loss.
    [Show full text]
  • THE SECURITISATION of TIBETAN BUDDHISM in COMMUNIST CHINA Abstract
    ПОЛИТИКОЛОГИЈА РЕЛИГИЈЕ бр. 2/2012 год VI • POLITICS AND RELIGION • POLITOLOGIE DES RELIGIONS • Nº 2/2012 Vol. VI ___________________________________________________________________________ Tsering Topgyal 1 Прегледни рад Royal Holloway University of London UDK: 243.4:323(510)”1949/...” United Kingdom THE SECURITISATION OF TIBETAN BUDDHISM IN COMMUNIST CHINA Abstract This article examines the troubled relationship between Tibetan Buddhism and the Chinese state since 1949. In the history of this relationship, a cyclical pattern of Chinese attempts, both violently assimilative and subtly corrosive, to control Tibetan Buddhism and a multifaceted Tibetan resistance to defend their religious heritage, will be revealed. This article will develop a security-based logic for that cyclical dynamic. For these purposes, a two-level analytical framework will be applied. First, the framework of the insecurity dilemma will be used to draw the broad outlines of the historical cycles of repression and resistance. However, the insecurity dilemma does not look inside the concept of security and it is not helpful to establish how Tibetan Buddhism became a security issue in the first place and continues to retain that status. The theory of securitisation is best suited to perform this analytical task. As such, the cycles of Chinese repression and Tibetan resistance fundamentally originate from the incessant securitisation of Tibetan Buddhism by the Chinese state and its apparatchiks. The paper also considers the why, how, and who of this securitisation, setting the stage for a future research project taking up the analytical effort to study the why, how and who of a potential desecuritisation of all things Tibetan, including Tibetan Buddhism, and its benefits for resolving the protracted Sino- Tibetan conflict.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 This Research Project Has Been Approved by The
    Adaptability Evaluation of Human Settlements in Chengdu Based on 3S Technology Wende Chen Chengdu University of Technology kun zhu ( [email protected] ) Chengdu University of Technology https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2871-4155 QUN WU Chengdu University of Technology Yankun CAI Chengdu University of Technology Yutian LU Chengdu University of Technology jun Wei Chengdu University of Technology Research Article Keywords: Human settlement, Evaluation, 3s technology, Spatial differentiation, Chengdu city Posted Date: February 22nd, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-207391/v1 License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Read Full License 1 Ethical Approval： 2 This research project has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Chengdu University of Technology. 3 Consent to Participate： 4 Written informed consent for publication was obtained from all participants. 5 Consent to Publish： 6 Author confirms: The article described has not been published before; Not considering publishing elsewhere; Its 7 publication has been approved by all co-authors; Its publication has been approved (acquiesced or publicly approved) by 8 the responsible authority of the institution where it works. The author agrees to publish in the following journals, and 9 agrees to publish articles in the corresponding English journals of Environmental Science and Pollution Research. If the 10 article is accepted for publication, the copyright of English articles will be transferred to Environmental Science and 11 Pollution Research. The author declares that his contribution is original, and that he has full rights to receive this grant. 12 The author requests and assumes responsibility for publishing this material on behalf of any and all co-authors.
    [Show full text]
  • Trials of a Tibetan Monk: the Case of Tenzin Delek
    Human Rights Watch February 2004, Vol. 16, No. 1 (C) Trials of a Tibetan Monk: The Case of Tenzin Delek Map 1: Provinces and Autonomous Regions of the People’s Republic of China..............................1 Map2: Sichuan Province and Surrounding Areas....................................................................................2 Map 3: Southeastern Section of Kardze/Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture............................3 I. Summary ....................................................................................................................................................5 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................................7 A Note on Methodology.........................................................................................................................8 II. Introduction...........................................................................................................................................10 Tenzin Delek ..........................................................................................................................................12 Lobsang Dondrup..................................................................................................................................14 Bombs......................................................................................................................................................15 III. Arrests...................................................................................................................................................17
    [Show full text]
  • Cordyceps Medicinal Fungus: Harvest and Use in Tibet
    HerbalGram 83 • August – October 2009 83 • August HerbalGram Kew’s 250th Anniversary • Reviving Graeco-Arabic Medicine • St. John’s Wort and Birth Control The Journal of the American Botanical Council Number 83 | August – October 2009 Kew’s 250th Anniversary • Reviving Graeco-Arabic Medicine • Lemongrass for Oral Thrush • Hibiscus for Blood Pressure • St. John’s Wort and BirthWort Control • St. John’s Blood Pressure • HibiscusThrush for Oral for 250th Anniversary Medicine • Reviving Graeco-Arabic • Lemongrass Kew’s US/CAN $6.95 Cordyceps Medicinal Fungus: www.herbalgram.org Harvest and Use in Tibet www.herbalgram.org www.herbalgram.org 2009 HerbalGram 83 | 1 STILL HERBAL AFTER ALL THESE YEARS Celebrating 30 Years of Supporting America’s Health The year 2009 marks Herb Pharm’s 30th anniversary as a leading producer and distributor of therapeutic herbal extracts. During this time we have continually emphasized the importance of using the best quality certified organically cultivated and sustainably-wildcrafted herbs to produce our herbal healthcare products. This is why we created the “Pharm Farm” – our certified organic herb farm, and the “Plant Plant” – our modern, FDA-audited production facility. It is here that we integrate the centuries-old, time-proven knowledge and wisdom of traditional herbal medicine with the herbal sciences and technology of the 21st Century. Equally important, Herb Pharm has taken a leadership role in social and environmental responsibility through projects like our use of the Blue Sky renewable energy program, our farm’s streams and Supporting America’s Health creeks conservation program, and the Botanical Sanctuary program Since 1979 whereby we research and develop practical methods for the conser- vation and organic cultivation of endangered wild medicinal herbs.
    [Show full text]
  • Changes in Glacier Volume on Mt. Gongga, Southeastern Tibetan Plateau, Based on the Analysis of Multi-Temporal Dems from 1966 to 2015
    Journal of Glaciology (2019), 65(251) 366–375 doi: 10.1017/jog.2019.14 © The Author(s) 2019. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work. Changes in glacier volume on Mt. Gongga, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, based on the analysis of multi-temporal DEMs from 1966 to 2015 BO CAO, BAOTIAN PAN, WEIJIN GUAN, ZHENLING WEN, JIE WANG Key Laboratory of Western China’s Environmental Systems (MOE), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China Correspondence: Baotian Pan <[email protected]> ABSTRACT. The accelerated retreat of glaciers and the reduction of glacier ice reserves caused by climate change can significantly affect regional water resources and hydrological cycles. Changes in glacier thickness are among the key indicators that reflect this process. We analyzed changes observed in the elevation of glacier surfaces in the Gongga Mountains (GGM) using multi-temporal Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) derived from topographic maps, SRTM, ICESat and ZY-3 data. The results showed that the mean rate of change in glacier surface altitude in the GGM was ∼−26.7 ± 2.03 m − (0.54 ± 0.04 m a 1) between 1966 and 2015. The mean melt rates differed over different time periods, latterly showing an accelerating trend.
    [Show full text]
  • The Lichen Genus Hypogymnia in Southwest China Article
    Mycosphere 5 (1): 27–76 (2014) ISSN 2077 7019 www.mycosphere.org Article Mycosphere Copyright © 2014 Online Edition Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/5/1/2 The lichen genus Hypogymnia in southwest China McCune B1 and Wang LS2 1 Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-2902 U.S.A. 2 Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Biogeography, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Heilongtan, Kunming 650204, China McCune B, Wang LS 2014 – The lichen genus Hypogymnia in southwest China. Mycosphere 5(1), 27–76, Doi 10.5943/mycosphere/5/1/2 Abstract A total of 36 species of Hypogymnia are known from southwestern China. This region is a center of biodiversity for the genus. Hypogymnia capitata, H. nitida, H. saxicola, H. pendula, and H. tenuispora are newly described species from Yunnan and Sichuan. Olivetoric acid is new as a major lichen substance in Hypogymnia, occurring only in H. capitata. A key and illustrations are given for the species known from this region, along with five species from adjoining regions that might be confused or have historically been misidentified in this region. Key words – Lecanorales – lichenized ascomycetes – Parmeliaceae – Shaanxi – Sichuan – Tibet – Yunnan – Xizang. Introduction The first major collections of Hypogymnia from southwestern China were by Handel- Mazzetti, from which Zahlbruckner (1930) reported six species now placed in Hypogymnia, and Harry Smith (1921-1934, published piecewise by other authors; Herner 1988). Since the last checklist of lichens in China (Wei 1991), which reported 16 species of Hypogymnia from the southwestern provinces, numerous species of Hypogymnia from southwestern China have been described or revised (Chen 1994, Wei & Bi 1998, McCune & Obermayer 2001, McCune et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Arresting Flows, Minting Coins, and Exerting Authority in Early Twentieth-Century Kham
    Victorianizing Guangxu: Arresting Flows, Minting Coins, and Exerting Authority in Early Twentieth-Century Kham Scott Relyea, Appalachian State University Abstract In the late Qing and early Republican eras, eastern Tibet (Kham) was a borderland on the cusp of political and economic change. Straddling Sichuan Province and central Tibet, it was coveted by both Chengdu and Lhasa. Informed by an absolutist conception of territorial sovereignty, Sichuan officials sought to exert exclusive authority in Kham by severing its inhabitants from regional and local influence. The resulting efforts to arrest the flow of rupees from British India and the flow of cultural identity entwined with Buddhism from Lhasa were grounded in two misperceptions: that Khampa opposition to Chinese rule was external, fostered solely by local monasteries as conduits of Lhasa’s spiritual authority, and that Sichuan could arrest such influence, the absence of which would legitimize both exclusive authority in Kham and regional assertions of sovereignty. The intersection of these misperceptions with the significance of Buddhism in Khampa identity determined the success of Sichuan’s policies and the focus of this article, the minting and circulation of the first and only Qing coin emblazoned with an image of the emperor. It was a flawed axiom of state and nation builders throughout the world that severing local cultural or spiritual influence was possible—or even necessary—to effect a borderland’s incorporation. Keywords: Sichuan, southwest China, Tibet, currency, Indian rupee, territorial sovereignty, Qing borderlands On December 24, 1904, after an arduous fourteen-week journey along the southern road linking Chengdu with Lhasa, recently appointed assistant amban (Imperial Resident) to Tibet Fengquan reached Batang, a lush green valley at the western edge of Sichuan on the province’s border with central Tibet.
    [Show full text]