Huang Long Shan – Near Jiu Zhai Gou
A calcified waterfall. The "rocks" you can see here are made from deposits of pure calcium built up over many centuries
On the way back from Jiu Zhai Gou
This is the town where we stopped for several hours while the crew took our rickety old bus to the local garage for repairs. This town is in the area of the earthquake that hit Sichuan a few months later. We have no idea whether it survived.
Eva, Michael and David waiting for the meal
After we got back to Chengdu, Michael and Eva flew across from Shanghai to "chill out" with us for a few days. Together we visited some sights around Chengdu and had many a spicy Sichuan meal!
Three Cuties in a Row
Lily, Eva and a Panda, all waving at the wrong camera! This was taken in the Panda Research Centre near Chengdu
Panda surrounded by half-eaten bamboo
Cute ain't they? But the way in which Pandas waste their food has probably contributed more than almost anything else to their imminent extinction. We learned that, as well as eating, Pandas also do a lot of sleeping and farting. Thought you might like to know that!
Two juveniles eating
Another thing we learned is that, contrary to their cuddly WWF image, adult pandas are very aggressive. In the wild they are solitary creatures; and in the Research Centre adult pandas have to be kept away from each other in separate paddocks
A quiet corner of the Leshan Temple Complex
Because the area around the Big Buddha Statue was so crowded, we went looking for some peace and quiet. We found it in this "Yin drenched" garden
Fat, Round Laughing Buddha
We don't know very much about this guy except that he's been here for centuries. Statues like this are carved into the cliffs all around Leshan. You eventually stop noticing them
A Perfect Rainbow Bridge
This bridge was totally unexpected. There were no signs leading to it and no information about it when we got there. We know nothing about it. We could only photo it, video it, examine it and marvel at it
A Fairytale Bridge in a Fairytale Setting
We came to the conclusion that this bridge had little practical use except as a purely ornamental walkway. It was too steep, for example, to drive a cart or a carriage across it. So why was it built? We decided there must be some deeply romantic story behind it!
Mystery Within Mystery
The grass growing on the roof, and the vegetation growing in the walls, indicate that this structure is not regularly maintained. Don't the local people know what they have here? And yet, in a strange way, perhaps this is exactly as it should be – mystery within mystery
Steps leading from the river to the village
These are the steps leading from the river to the main gate of the little fishing village where we had lunch. This photo was actually taken from the previously mentioned Rainbow Bridge.
Central Bell Tower of Dali Town
Dali has three other towers like this – one in each of its remaining three walls. But this one stands right in the centre of the town. This arrangement reminded us of the layout of the towers that we saw in Xi'an.
Fields around Dali
Having worked on a farm during the Cultural Revolution, Lily was especially interested in the work going on in these fields and spent a lot of time talking to the farmers. This was on the road leading to Dali Lake – where farmers were also able to catch fish
Fields around Dali
Another opportunity for Lily to talk to the farmers and to get a better idea of how things were in the Dali valley. This photo, and the previous one, show just how perfectly flat the floor of the valley is
