Overview:

In August of 2011, Dave Anderson and Szu-ting Yi travelled to the Tibetan Plateau of China to explore the remote Genyen Massif. Dave had previously visited the area in 2006 and successfully completed a first ascent of a huge granite spire Sachun, but before he could attempt any other peaks winter Read More... ]]>

Overview:

In August of 2011, Dave Anderson and Szu-ting Yi travelled to the Tibetan Plateau of China to explore the remote Genyen Massif. Dave had previously visited the area in 2006 and successfully completed a first ascent of a huge granite spire Sachun, but before he could attempt any other peaks winter storms forced him out of the valley. In the fall of 2011, Dave and Szu-ting returned to the Genyen Massif with two goals. The first goal was to ascend two unclimbed mountains. The second goal was to help a Tibetan man, Rinchin Chuta, with his dream of opening a language school in the nearby town of Litang. Join Dave as he recounts, through images and video, his incredible experiences in the mountains and with the amazing people of Western China.

Schedule:

Our Presenter:

Dave Anderson is a professional photographer and mountain guide. Dave first visited China in 2004, traveling the length of the country retracing and photographing the route described in the epic travel adventure book The Long Walk. Since then he has returned several times to further explore and attempt unclimbed mountains in central and western China.For the last ten years Dave has given dozens of multi-media presentations about his expeditions at colleges universities and other venues.

Photo Albums:

Return to Genyen – I

Return to Genyen – II

Greetings!

We at LittlePo Adventures wanted to let you know about an exciting new scouting/adventure trip we are offering in Western China this fall.

What are the 10 most essential items to pack on a day hike? Well, that depends on a number of things. Just like you wouldn’t pack the same items for a picnic to the beach in Fort Lauderdale as you would for a football Read More... ]]>

Josh Beckner packing up in the Piritas Valley, Argentina

What are the 10 most essential items to pack on a day hike? Well, that depends on a number of things. Just like you wouldn’t pack the same items for a picnic to the beach in Fort Lauderdale as you would for a football game in Green Bay, what you bring on a day hike will vary according to your experience, fitness, terrain, length of hike and weather conditions.

I’m lucky if I can remember my phone number, let alone a list of the “ten essentials,” so I developed an acronym that I can use to make sure I have the right stuff for any day hike. While I am not usually a huge fan of acronyms either, some people find them an effective tool for remembering information, so here it goes…

B-E – S-A-F-E

(B) Body temperature regulation and skin protection. Keeping your body at 98.6 degrees F and having enough to eat and drink is key to an enjoyable hike

• extra layers to keep you warm and dry
• enough food and water
• sun protection-hat/lightweight covering layers
• sunscreen, sunglasses, bug repellent
  

  Dress appropriately: Nacho Grez, Jamie Selda and Steve Herlihy -Team orange puffy jacket "smoking" some dried papaya in the Avellano Towers, Chile

(E) Emergency plan

• tell someone where you are going and when you plan to be back
• a cell phone is useful for emergencies, but do not count on having coverage
  

  Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back

(S) Sensibility – Probably the most important “essential” to pack for a day hike is something you already have with you – your brain.

• do your research before you go on your hike
  • know the conditions you will encounter
  • how long it will take

• re-evaluate and update your plan according to the conditions and your energy level during the day
  

  Jamie thinking about his next steps

(A) Active Route Finding – Don’t get lost in the first place. Depending on the hike you should have one or more of these items, but remember, unless you know how to use them they are just extra weight

• map
• compass
• GPS
• good knowledge of the area
  

  Steve and Jamie contemplating the map

(F) First-aid kit – Many people head into the woods with a 5 lb first aid kit, improvising is the key here.

• small roll of duct or athletic tape
• ace bandage
• mole skin or other blister pads
• small knife or multi-tool
• a pair of latex gloves will help keep you protected while giving first aid to your companions
• education- enroll in a Wilderness First Aid or Wilderness First Responder Course
  

  Nacho grimacing at Dave Anderson's laceration

(E) Extended Stay – What happens when the best laid plans go array? Carry some extra things to deal with adversity

• headlamp
• fire building material
  • waterproof matches, lighter
  • fire starter material-candle or cotton balls soaked in Vaseline
• extra large garbage bag that can be used to:
  • line the inside of your pack to keep extra cloths and electronics (cell phone, camera) dry
  • emergency rain poncho
  • emergency bivouac sack

A headlamp enables Dave to find his tent at the end of a long day

One of the most common questions I am asked after presenting a slide show is what kind of camera I used to capture the images for the show. By asking this question, people are usually just trying to express their appreciation for my photos, but Read More... ]]>

Dave Anderson photographing a Buddhist temple in Mongolia

One of the most common questions I am asked after presenting a slide show is what kind of camera I used to capture the images for the show. By asking this question, people are usually just trying to express their appreciation for my photos, but I have always thought this is an unusual question. If you attended a gallery showing of painter, would you ask the artist what type of brushes he or she used? Probably not, but some people have the notion that if they purchase the right camera their images will be automatically worthy of being published in National Geographic.

Ant Chapin sharing digital images with an old man in Ulan Batar Mongolia

These days, almost any camera you buy can produce high quality images, but a little thought and research before your purchase will allow to find a camera that best matches your needs, shooting style, and budget. Here are six questions to think before purchasing your next camera.

1. Do you want to shoot still images, video or both?

2. Are you a photo geek or a point and shoot person?

3. What are you going to do with all the images/video you have collected from your adventure?

4. What is all the fuss about mega-pixels?

5. What are other important camera features/accessories?

6. What are some excellent models available right now?

1. Do you want to shoot still images, video or both?

It has been said that an image captures a thousand words. Well, if that is true a video must capture at least a million. Luckily with the advances in technology you do not have to choose between video and still camera, as many modern camera will do both. You should however, think about what type of shooting will do the most, stills or video and use that decision to guide your purchases. Many video cameras have the ability to capture still images, but the quality and resolution is often only suitable for the web or small postcard sized prints. Similarly, most point and shoot camera will capture video, but they often cannot record quality sound or zoom in or out while shooting. Recently, many companies have produced Digital SLR with video capabilities that bridges the gaps between the video and still worlds.

2. Are you a photo geek or a point and shoot person?

What type of camera you buy has a lot to do with what type of person your are and how motivated you will be to take pictures on your trip. If you are the type of person who likes the simplicity of a car with automatic transition and has not mastered texting on your cell phone a basic point and shoot camera might be your best option. If you are a person who enjoys reading technical manuals and restores classic cars to their factory specs you will probably enjoy the multitude of shooting options found in a Digital SLR.

The most important factor is choosing a camera you are excited to use. Sounds simple, right? Today’s point and shoots offer the convenience of having a high tech gadget that fits in your pocket which allows you to always have your camera ready for those special photographic moments. Being much smaller than a SLR with a large telephoto lens, the point and shoot is less obtrusive which can make people you are taking pictures less nervous. A point and shoot is also less conspicuous and can reduce the likelihood of your camera becoming a target of theft.

A DSLR Camera (Digital Single Lens Reflex Camera) uses a mechanical mirror and a prism to view and take the pictures. This basic design of the SLR has changed little since it was first invented in England in 1861. Light/images enters the camera through the lens and are reflected up to prism into the optical viewfinder so that you can adjust focus and manipulate the settings of the camera. When you push down on the shutter the mirror is tipped out of the way exposing the film or digital sensor and takes the picture.

Dave Anderson using a hair tie to hold his SLR camera together

As a result most DSLRs are rather larger because they need room for the rotating mirror and prism that direct the light to the viewfinder. An SLR camera enables the photographer to have much more control over the images they are trying to capture. You can adjust the speed, aperture, ISO and host of other adjustments. With an SLR you can purchase interchangeable lens with a wide range of focal lengths that allow you to capture a grizzly bear from a safe distance or a drop of dew on a blade of grass. Recently, several companies have released mirror-less or 4/3 digital cameras with interchangeable lenses and digital viewfinder that produce great images/video and are much more compact.

3. What are you going to do with all the images/video you have collected from your adventure?

When you get back home, what are you going to do with the thousands of images and hours of footage? Your target audience will determine what type of camera you are going to need. The days of passing around a binder of printed images or firing up the slide projector are gone. Today social networks like Flickr, Facebook and YouTube are the most common mediums to share adventures. If you are trying to sell your images for commercial or editorial publication many companies require minimum of 6 mega pixel sized images (which most still camera are capable of taking) and they like to have the RAW image files. When you press the button on your camera and open the lens, the light, shadows and colors are captured and then the processor in your camera arranges and compresses the data into an image. The most common image file format are jpeg’s (Joint Photographic Experts Group). Jpeg files are small compressed files that can be universally opened by any type of computer, but you can’t rearrange the data in the jpeg files to change the exposure or color in an image to any great extent.

RAW files on the other hand are basic image data that is not overly processed. By using photo editing software like Adobe Photoshop you can then manipulate the digital information. You can’t make a bad image great by tweaking the RAW data, but you can make a good image spectacular by adjusting the exposure, color and other data of the file. The down side of using a camera, especially a small point and shoot, to capture raw images is the files are relatively large and it takes awhile for the camera to record them. What that means in practical terms is when shooting in burst rate at a sporting event, for example, the number of frames you can shoot per second is much less than shooting jpegs. Fortunately, all cameras that can record in RAW can record in jpeg as well.

4. What is all the fuss about mega-pixels?

It is very easy to get lost and confused by all the technical information about modern day cameras and some of this misinformation is even perpetuated by the camera industry itself. These days every camera company brags about how many mega pixel their cameras can record. A pixel is a tiny square of color on a computerized display that is so small it appears as a dot. The more pixels or dots that make up the display screen, the clearer the resolution or image will be. A million of these pixels equals one mega pixel. But how many mega pixels do you need to get a good image? David Pogue a writer for the New York Times took identical pictures with a 7, 10 and 16.7. megapixel cameras. He then printed 16-by-24-inch enlargements and set them up on identical easels at a public library and asked people to tell the difference. Only three out of 50 people guessed correctly which print belonged to which camera. A camera with a larger mega pixel will allow you to crop your photos down and still produce quality prints, but you will need to spend more money on larger memory cards and theses larger images will fill up your hard drives on your computer faster. The bottom line is unless you are  going to be making wall sized prints of your images any camera that records images with a resolution of at least 6-8 megapixel will be more than enough. Oh, by the way, the image of the Red Rocks Conservation Area at sunset was taken with my iPhone which has a whopping 3 megapixel camera.

Sunset Red Rocks Conservation Area, NV

5. What are other important camera features/accessories?

Shutter Lag is the delay between when you press the shutter button on your camera and when the image is actually recorded. Cameras with a long delay may cause you to miss photo opportunities. This can be a major problem for fast moving subjects such as animals, sports and children. Cheaper point and shoots often suffer from this problem.

View Finders are often absent on point and shoot cameras and photographers are forced to use the LCD on the back of the camera to compose the image. In bright sunshine it is often very challenging to see the screen. In addition, LCD’s can use a lot of battery power. Some cameras come with an option digital or optical viewfinder which can mitigate both problems.

Image Stabilizers can improve your shots and help out those of us with shaking hands or those zooming in on far away objects. Many cameras tout the fact they have digital stabilizing technology but it is not very effective. A camera with optical stabilization is worth the money.

Video, almost every point and shoot and DSLR will shoot video. The lower end point and shoots will usually capture video at 720 pixels at 30 progressive frames per second (720p30) which is fine for YouTube. Some of the higher end DSLR’s will record video at 1080/60i with full-time AF and manual controls, such high quality video is closing in on the resolution previously only found in professional grade video cameras.

Power, while a few cameras still use AA batteries, most use proprietary rechargeable battery which will last longer than AA batteries, but are much more expensive. Generic versions are often cheaper. Figure out how long you will be away from a power source on your next adventure and buy enough batteries to continue to shoot in between charges or look into car chargers or solar chargers. Make sure you have the right converter/plug for each country you visit as power outlets vary in different countries.

Memory cards, most camera these days use SD (Secure Digital) or SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) format cards. SDHC cards are more expensive, offering storage capacities up to 32G. There are different classes of SDHC cards which refer to the speed that they can record the digital information. The higher the class number, the faster the write speed, so if you’re planning on shooting video or using a high-speed burst mode, look for a Class 4 or Class 6 card at the very least. Bring plenty of cards, so you do not have to delete “bad” images in your camera to make room on your card. Reviewing then deleting images in the field requires you to use battery power and you might potentially delete good images by mistake.

Camera bags, should be designed to protect your camera from the elements and accidental knocks and bumps while traveling. In addition, you should choose a a camera bag that will allow you to have quick access to your camera, so that you can capture those fleeting photographic moments. There are almost as many camera bags as cameras, but  a couple camera bags I have used and like are the Crumpler 8 Million Dollar Home for street shooting and the LowePro Slingshot AW 200 for more adventurous shoots

6. What are some excellent models available right now?

Presently there are hundreds of great cameras out there to choose from here are a few good ones

Ultra compact Point and Shoot: Canon S95

Medium sized Point and Shoot: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5

Larger Point and Shoot: Nikon Coolpix P7000

Micro 4/3 or Mirror-less Interchangeable Lens Cameras: Panasonic GH2 I shot almost every image on the LittlePo Adventures website with the earlier version (GH1) of this camera and the movie clips as well

DSLR: Canon EOS 5D Mark II

Ok, so you purchased your “dream camera,”  Here are a couple tips on how to capture the moment.

A great approach for new photographers wanting to capture great images an outdoor adventure is to use what my friend Jimmy Chin calls the AK-47 technique. Take lots and lots of images and by sheer volume you are bound to get a few good ones. Jimmy is a professional photographer/videographer as well as a North Face athlete. His expeditions and photography work have him constantly circling the globe capturing breathtaking images of everything from remote unclimbed spires in Africa to ski descents from the summit of Everest. These days he hangs out with celebrities and his work regularly appears in every major outdoor related online and printed media. However, I can still remember working a NOLS course with Jimmy in the late 1990’s and him asking me to explain how shutter speed and aperture worked. Since those earlier days Jimmy has refined his technique, so today he sees the image he wants to record in his mind before it occurs and has the physical ability and the technical skills to capture the image when and wherever it happens.

However, for those just delving into the world of taking pictures the digital age is a blessing. The ability to shoot lots of pictures and then review them in real time is an invaluable aid in the learning process of taking great pictures that was not available to Jimmy and myself when we began shooting using film.

The best way to learn is to take a bunch of pictures and experiment with your camera settings and composition. Instead of holding your camera at eye level directly in front of your subject try different angles, focal lengths, aperture settings and exposure settings. For composing images try using the rule of thirds instead of placing the subject of your picture directly in the middle of the frame. Studies have shown peoples eyes will often first go to one of the green dots in the grid below before they go to the center of the image.

Placing the main subject in one of the “thirds” can create a striking composition and a more balanced feel to your image. Take a look at the two images of LittlePo Adventures owner Szu-ting Yi bouldering in Penghu.While the image on the top shows more of her face, by rotating the camera to capture a vertically oriented shot and putting her in the bottom left third of the frame and the unique pool of water at the base of the cliff in the upper right third, the image is not only better balanced but much more interesting.

Technology is constantly evolving and the camera industry changes so fast that by the time you finish reading this blog some of the information might need to be modified. But remember it is the carpenter who builds the house not the tools!

I fancy Western China. One of the reasons I started LittlePo Adventures is that I want to bring as many people as possible to this less traveled region, the earlier the better.

Western China is exotic. Think Himalayas, expansive deserts, diverse ethnic cultures and more. While Read More... ]]>

The sand dunes along the Silk Road

I fancy Western China. One of the reasons I started LittlePo Adventures is that I want to bring as many people as possible to this less traveled region, the earlier the better.

Western China is exotic. Think Himalayas, expansive deserts, diverse ethnic cultures and more. While the wild landscapes might remain constant for generations to come, the local ways of life are changing rapidly due to globalization, tourism, and the interference from Chinese government. If the thought of visiting China ever crosses your mind, do it. Visit Western China where the cultures are the most intriguing, the scenery is the most breathtaking, and the soil was crisscrossed by footsteps of countless iron-spirited caravans traveling or vanishing on the two ancient trade routes – the Tea Horse Trail and the Silk Road.

The Silk Road

I traced the Silk Road back in 1995. Silk Road is famous and has always been a traveler’s highlight in China along with the Great Wall, Giant Pandas, and Three Gorges of the Yangtze. The tour started in Xi’an and ended at the Heaven Lake in Xinjiang.

I was 20 and everything about the trip was mind blowing. Terra-cotta soldiers, squatting road noodle eaters in Shanxi, the steepest stretch of the Great Wall, the layers of Buddhism wall paintings in desert caves. Delicious Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles made me almost swallow my tongue. Holding an arm-length iron stick of lamb kebab wandering in the night market in Urumqi was one of the best nightlife experiences. Crispy and juicy Xinjiang pears, candy-like Hami raisins, and long grained Xinjiang rice mixed with nuts, dried fruit, and most importantly dripping grease from roasted lamb.

The record of the Chinese Silk Road dated back to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), one of the strongest imperial dynasties in Chinese history. The main branch of the Silk Road starts in Xi’an, which was the capital of twenty ruling entities in Chinese history, via narrow Loess Plateau in Gansu, Gobi desert, and exits Xinjiang towards the Middle East.

Qinghai Plateau. Photo Courtesy: Raven Tsai

Xi’an was a commercial center where many high-end silk products from Southeast China were sent here for trading. Not too far west from Xi’an, the land soon becomes infertile, and local people make a living herding. A neighboring province Qinghai, where the average elevation is above 3000 meters and locals have a similar nomadic lifestyle on its endless alpine meadow, also plays a role in the Silk Road. Qinghai has a significant geological position because it is the source of the two major rivers in China, the Yellow River and the Yangtze. Little do people know, there is also an alternative route of the Silk Road across Qinghai.

The yumminess of the northwest cuisine though pleasant became a faint memory, but I can still feel the awe inspired by the vast landscape fifteen years later. Almost two full days of a train ride followed by a bus ride, I hardly saw anybody. Deserts truly have the ability to swallow people alive. No wonder the ancient stories along the Silk Road are forever legendary and romantic.

In 1995, I was a junior in college, curious about the world, but I was still an ordinary tourist on the Silk Road tour. As I recall, other than some old men wearing a Uyghur hat, holding a cluster of grapes and charging me 1 yuan for a photo, nothing was really that touristy. I was frightened by merchants crowding me when I happened to deviate from the group. The fear was soon replaced by the excitement triggered by the fact that every other Uyghur I met was so eager to take photos with us and made us promise to send the prints back to their villages. Little did I know the tension between Han Chinese and Uyghur had been accumulating which eventually led to devastating Xinjiang riots. Ironically I considered it the funniest joke when a Han book salesperson in Xi’an told me that they were going to liberate Taiwan.

Tea Horse Trail

Horses Haul Goods through the Oriental Alps, Siguniang Mountain Range Sichuan

I have always enjoyed studying Chinese history and geography, so it was surprising that I only got to know the Tea Horse Trail for the first time when I traveled in Yunnan in 2009. After digging in all the books I could find during the trip, I became obsessed with this ancient trade route.

The establishment of the Tea Horse Trail can be traced back to Tang Dynasty (618-907). The Tang era is one of the brightest period of Chinese history. The cultural development reached another climax and the society was very open-minded on female social positions and foreign policies. Princess Wencheng, a niece of the powerful Emperor Taizong of Tang, married the King of Tibet for political and diplomatic reasons. Wencheng was a tea lover and the marriage elevated tea drinking from occasional treats to a national drink of Tibet.

Tea is a necessity to the minority groups living on high plateaus, including Western Yunnan and Tibet, because of the shortage of fresh vegetables and the blandness of water. Each minority group has developed an unique way of tea drinking, such as copper kettle tea of the Sani people, oil-salt tea and thunder tea of the Lisu people, zamba tea of the Tibetan people etc. However, tea trees don’t grow at high altitude, and therefore importing tea from China was the only way to go. The minority groups offered horses in exchange for the tea which were the proudest asset on high plateaus and were in high demand because horses were crucial for transportation and military purposes.

Mountain View along the Tiger Leaping Gorge

Originally there was only one Tea-Horse branch, the Sichuan-Tibet Tea Horse Trail. Between flat Sichuan basin and Gongga (the highest peak of Sichuan, 7556 m), it lies Ya’an where the climate is perfect for tea and hosts the habitat for wild giant pandas. The Sichuan-Tibet Tea Horse trail traverses along Siguniang and Gongga mountain ranges, which are so-called the queen and the king mountain of Sichuan, finishes in the roof of the world at Lhasa Tibet. In modern standard, this trek is absolutely gorgeous and scenic, but back then it was the synonym of hardship.

The tea trading was closely monitored by the government and people bribed corrupt officials to be granted the position of Sichuan salt/tea governor to earn extortionate profit. At one time, the relationship between China and Tibet was tense and Chinese government closed the trail to punish Tibet. This measure accidentally gave birth to the other branch of the Tea Horse Trail – the Yunnan Tibet Tea Horse Trail. Back then, Yunnan area was ruled by a small kingdom and was not part of China.

Dali Old Town

The tea from Southern Yunnan is represented by Pu’er tea. Pu’er is the trading hub centering tea products from areas such as Sipsongpanna and Simao. The travel from southern Yunnan to Tibet was more intense than that from Sichuan to Tibet. The mountains are steeper and there are many scary deep canyons and gorges. In addition to passing high mountains, travelers had to bushwhack through dense rain forests and wade through raging rivers. When the weather conditions were bad, the route also took a detour through Burma.

Most of the Tea Horse Trail is covered by modern roads or dirt paths now, while some of it remains only in history. When I climbed in Fumin, I could see some faint remains along the canyon. Dali and Lijiang in Yunnan were two important hubs along the Yunnan-Tibet Tea Horse Trail. The stories of the “horse gangs,” who were the major forces behind the caravans, are still passed by words of mouth in the region.

Tea Horse Trail versus Silk Road

The Tea Horse Trail and the Silk Road each has a distinct tone. The word I give to the Silk Road is vast – vast desert; vast meadow. I feel that I can see everything when I travel in boundless landscape, ironically, this type of landscape is also the perfect way to hide everything. When I was younger, I often went to the east coast of Taiwan to gaze at the Pacific when I was depressed. The endlessness of the ocean always soothed my mind but I knew that ocean while seem peaceful can be the most dangerous place.

Yaks are commonly seen in Western China

It is difficult to use one word to describe the Tea Horse Trail, perhaps I will use mysterious. It seems that every time I go back to the area or study the area, I discover more fascinating stories. As climbing has become a major part of my life, it’s hopeless to try to resist the calling from the mountainous terrain of the Tea Horse Trail.

I wonder why the Tea Horse is not as well known as the Silk Road. Objectively speaking, the Silk Road has a longer history, has a larger scale, and way more internationally connected. Subjectively I think the Silk Road is more talked about because it is romantic. Vastness and boundlessness provoke wild imagination. Besides, the merchants traded via the Silk Road were high-end, while tea and horses were necessities. People usually brag about purchasing fancy luxurious items. Who would report on their daily errands shopping for groceries or toilet paper?

There are many books available about the Silk Road on the market. It is harder to locate English books on the Tea Horse Trail. The Tea Horse Trail wikipedia page provides some references. Ancient Tea-Horse Trails published by China Travel & Tourism Press is written in both English and Chinese and is an awesome coffee table read. A recent find was The Tea Horse Road: China’s Ancient Trade Route to Tibet.

Xinjiang-style lamb kebab is a popular snack nationwide

Present

The living conditions along the two ancient trade routes were not particularly easy. Locals were willing to endure difficult long journeys because trading merchants brought better income even though it entailed high risks. Nowadays neither the Tea Horse Trail nor the Silk Road provide this type of work opportunities, and locals have to find other ways to make a living. Things are changing rapidly here.

Migrant workers

Stupa maintained by the Chinese government in the Siguinang

Many young people become migrant workers and leave their children with their grandparents. These migrant workers send money back to the villages to support the families; however, the job of a migrant worker is not always stable, which causes their kids to drop out from the school. I detailed this phenomenon in the article “Village Kids in Western China Deserve Better – West China Story,” and LittlePo has made a commitment to support the philanthropy project by direct donation and providing service expeditions to interested small groups.

Globalization

The traditional ways of life are transforming or disappearing one way or the other because of technology advance and globalization. It is not fair to ask the minority groups to keep living the old-fashioned way, especially when that means poverty and hardship. Nevertheless, it’s very interesting to observe the transitions.

During our Trekking the Oriental Alps 2010, our two horse packers always checked their text messages on cell phones when they stopped ahead to wait for the group. Learning from our conversations, I managed to draw the map of cell coverage of the Siguniang mountain range. One of them played pop songs stored in his phone all the time. When I asked, “don’t you worry your battery is going to run out?” Another horse packer replied, “don’t worry about him, sister Yi, his cell phone is powered by solar.”

Satellite dish outside a ger in Central Mongolia

Dave, our associate director, showed me an interesting photo he took along his Long Walk expedition – the photo shows a portable satellite disk on the wild grassland in Mongolia right next to a yurt. No matter where they move their residence to, they can always watch TV.

For me, it’s a good sign that these technology gadgets look out of the place, and I like what my friend, James Kullander, said in an email, “even though there was a television turned on to some old American re-runs, the people watching it were sitting there over dinner eating lamb brains and discussing the year’s mellon harvest, just like they always have.”

Tourism

Trade is becoming an ancient concept for these two ancient trade routes. Nowadays these two routes are transforming into tourism hot places. Just like all other destinations which have transformed from a logging/mining/whatever town into a tourist destination, there are many side effects of tourism happening along the Tea Horse Trail and the Silk Road. However, I am very optimistic about the future development and confident that the beauty of the Western China will remain intact.

Lijiang Old Town

The most obvious side effect of tourism development is authentic minority singing and dancing performance became skin-deep and lost it’s soul. One day I was catching up with some emails in the open yard of a hostel in Lijiang. A group of people dressed in Naxi outfits hustled in and the leader yelled, “hurry, the next tour group will be here in a few minutes.” It is described in the book, China Road, A Journey into the Future of a Rising Power, that the stereotype of minority groups – they are always singing and dancing happily – is widespread by Chinese National TV. All the Han Chinese tourists want to see that. High demand has generated massive supply.

Tourism also gives mixed reputation to popular hubs. For example, Lijiang, a hub of the Tea Horse Trail is a famous old city. The ancient architecture and the cobblestone walkways in the Lijiang old town are definitely worth checking out. However, Lijiang old town is also like a big shopping mall. Outsiders took advantage of the business opportunities of Lijiang and bought properties for building hostels and selling yak jerky and other souvenirs. Most of the original Lijiang old town residents now live in the Lijiang new city. However, aside from the unauthentic business residents, Lijiang is beautiful. You can see the sacred Jade Dragon Snow Mountain anywhere in the city. The mountain to Lijiang is like Rainier to Seattle. Lijiang is also a central hub to get access to amazing outdoor paradise, including Tiger Leaping Gorge and Laojunshan National Park in Liming.

Both Lijiang and Lhasa have a reputation of being a “hook-up city.” Many Chinese tourists come to these two exotic places to look for casual relationships. Many travelers complained on travel forums that some Tibetans in Lhasa have learned ways to rip people off. Even monks would try to sell ancient artifacts which in fact were made in China. Fortunately once you step out of the city limits, the breathtaking scenery is totally worth the hassle and the local residents living in the village are the most simple and hospitable people I have ever met.

Another change tourism can bring echoes the influence of globalization. The article, Important Occasions that Hold Together Jia Rong Tibetans in Siguniang Mountain, describes how a Jia Rong family started a SUV fleet when the tourism picked up.

Interference from the Chinese Government

Red Rock Cliffs in Laojunshan National Park

After many times of traveling and leading trips in China, I often wonder whether Chinese government is promoting or destroying tourism. I praise the tourism development in many historic sites in Guilin. I have learned many new stories and gained much knowledge following the comprehensive mini guided tours sponsored by the government. However in many outdoor recreational destinations, I feel that the government just wants to charge money without giving positive contribution. For example, there are three layers of fee a backcountry traveler has to pay trekking and camping in Siguniang mountain range. My horse packer friend Mr. Huang is actively looking for new venue because his regular job, yak herding, is going to be banned soon by the government because “yaks consume too much grass and hurt the appearance of the national park.”

Chinese government’s plan to develop the West also worsens the relationship between Han Chinese and the local minority people as if the gap was not wide enough. Tibet’s issue is known by the western world. In Xinjiang there is a similar issue. My recent read, Peter Hessler’s Oracle Bones: A Journey between China’s Past and Present, described an interesting story following the author’s Uyghur friend, who was a black market trader in Beijing and eventually leaped to the States and obtained asylum right before the 911. Dragon Fighter: One Woman’s Epic Stuggle for Peace with China describes a story of a Uyghur human right fighter Rebiya Kadeer.

A naxi woman with her tie-dyed clothing

Interestingly, many Chinese people I talked to generally believe that Han Chinese have given Xinjiang and Tibet the best. They also believe the Tibetans and the Uyghur people are heartless and do not know how to properly express the gratitude. To quote one Chinese radio host I met in Dali, “in fact, Chairman Mao liberated Tibet.” Minority groups certainly are not on the same page as the Chinese government. One time when I dined in a Lanzhou pulled noodle chain owned by a muslim family in Yangshuo, a couple customers complained about the food and refused to pay. The noodle chef was irritated by the rude attitude of the customers, and screamed, “we traveled this far from Qinghai here trying to make a living, but you Han Chinese people are still oppressing us.”

Another phenomenon along with China’s political climate change is the revival of religions. Religions were banned during the Mao era. Once Chinese changed gear to develop economy, the rapid change draw out the quest of spiritual guidance from regular people. I visited this gorgeous town called Bai Sha in Yunnan. When I walked along the streets I was soon attracted by colorful handmade tie-dyed and wax-dyed cloth. I bargained with a Naxi woman and asked her whether I could make the final decision after I returned from my hike. She told me that she needed to “go to a church” at 4 pm and wanted me to come back before then because she did not want to miss it. I was intrigued because I thought Naxi has their own customs. It seemed that Christian seeds planted by missionaries starting from a few hundred years ago start to recover and prosper.

LittlePo Adventures and China’s West

Another view from the Tiger Leaping Gorge trail

I guess I don’t have to convince you that I fancy Western China. The more I visit the place, the more I am drawn in. The more I study the region, the more I want to study. The stories that happened and are happening in Western China are just endless much like the landscape. I wholeheartedly want to share my passion towards the region with you, and we at LittlePo Adventures are more than happy to design customized trips for small groups. Embarking on Trekking the Oriental Alps and Discovering the Lost Horizon is also a good way to start exploring the Tea Horse Trail as well. We are also thinking of going back to the Genyen massif and design a trekking tour in that region.

LittlePo’s friend Ed at Red Rock Trek also published a series of trip reports on Retracing Rock’s 1923 Expedition Across the Three Parallel Rivers. Joseph Rock (1884 – 1962) was a legendary explorer and botanist whose footsteps were all over the Yunnan province for his extensive study on the diverse flora of Yunnan.