Himalaya Hotel

Sichuan Exhibition Center

by Sharrie

Mao Statue at Renmin Donglu in front of Sichuan Exhibition Center.

Mao Ze Dong - principal founder of Peoples Republic of China, is not only an astute politician but also a poet. If you are interested in some of his poetries (naturally in Chinese), please proceed to http://www.stanford.edu/~ulysses/mao/poems/ & http://www1.sarawak.com.my/org/hornbill/cn/modern/mao01.htm .

To read about the life of Mao Ze Dong (1893-1976), please proceed to http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/refarticle.aspx?refid=761559589.

Engineering at its best

by Tenzin

The master engineer behind this irrigation and water control project was Li Bing. He perfected the system of flood control and management so well that for 2200 years all that was needed was just to maintain and touch up the existing infrastructure.

I came from a civil engineering background and that helped me to appreciate not just Li Bing's technical mastery of complex water engineering concepts but his genius in adopting the simplest (i.e. cheapest) strategy to tame the river and irrigate the land. Without doubt Sichuan would never be able to feed 30 million people if not for Li Bing's breakthrough irrigation works.

Truly if you want your child to grow up saying,' I want to be a civil engineer too', bring him to Li Bing's temple and see how the people venerate him for his achievements.

Du Fu's Thatched Cottage - Part III

by mke1963

But back to Du Fu.......

The centre of the park is filled with largely contemporary, but sympathetic, Qing-style pavilions used for interpretation, a teahouse, shops and galleries. To the east are quiet gardens and the pagoda, while to the east are the wooded gardens, the replica of the Thatched Cottage and the newly discovered original at the back of the park. I would highly recommend entering the park through the southern or main entrances, which requires a long walk from the road - again through parkland. Taxi drivers will drop most visitors at the northern gate, which tends to put everything into reverse - it is useful seeing the interpretative displays before the cottage.

The beauty of this park is partly that you end up getting lost and suddenly discovering quiet places, silent pools and panoramas open before you.

The park seems to allow free entry to students and children - again unusual.

Across the Roof of the World

by nileshk

"Across the Roof of the World"

The Land of Snows, Shangri-La, Roof of the World... mysterious and mythical Tibet has always attracted the intrepid traveler.. It is now entirely feasible to fly to Lhasa from Kathmandu in Nepal. Or take the slower but immensely more spectacular Kathmandu-Lhasa Friendship Highway, and drive across the Tibet Plateau.Travel in Tibet is a novel experience. It is also a country under occupation. It offers fabulous sights, taxing high altitude treks, fabled pilgrim routes and stunning views of the world's highest mountains. For anyone who travels with his eyes open, Tibet is a memorable and at times, disturbing experience. Sometimes you meet the odd person or monk on the street who will stop you and tell you how much he loves India because it has given shelter to their beloved Dalai Lama

The Chinese-built, Kathmandu - Lhasa highway, approximately 950 km long, crosses the Tibet Plateau and on average traverses heights of over 4,000 m. A five hours' drive from Kathmandu takes you to a rather grimy border crossing. A bone rattling 45-minute drive up the steep road and you find yourself in Zhangmu. The drive from Zhangmu to Niyalam, the second major town en route, passes through virgin forests and some strikingly beautiful waterfalls. The road crosses some high passes at about 5,200m from where you get breathtaking views of the Everest region on a clear day.



ArchivesSep - 2000
After exploring Shigatse and Gyantse, our last stop is Lhasa, the heart and soul of Tibet, and the abode of the Dalai Lama. The mountaintop citadel has been transformed beyond recognition by the cultural onslaught of the Chinese.

The Jokhang, a millennium-old-temple at the heart of the old part, occupies a special place in my heart. The Potala, the official residence of the exiled Dalai Lama, is Lhasa's cardinal landmark. Having come all this way, fly to Kathmandu or begin another saga of travel--head for Mainland China.