WE WONT GET STUCK AGAIN..EH / Tianshui / 10.8. 2007

The truck got stuck - again. Sand, water and stones – plus some mud. The road that used to be did not exist anymore. Some concrete blocks here and there but basically the road or route for the last five kilometers had been on the levy. Not easy for any car and especially not for our heavy truck.

So here we were - on our way to Shulian Dong – or the water Curtain caves. Still some kilometers to go but we were like sitting ducks. Maybe it seems unfair to blame the driver and his limited skills…. but then again it is not. These Chinese drivers should at least listen to advice or then just let somebody else do it over difficult parts. Because, this was not the first time. I do prefer stick shift gears…but slowly I am about to change my mind…at least here in China…I have not stumbled into one driver who can use the clutch properly. In fact most of them ignore it completely. Poor gearboxes – you can hear them scream in vain.. With joint efforts we were able to continue - about 40 minutes later that was, and as we approached the small parking lot, the scenery that had been quite something for a while became even more so. Amazing eroding sandstone cliffs rise above a lush canyon walls. Buddhist and Taoist temples hidden here and there, high up in the cliffs. This landscape has not changed much in 1500 years. A big, 31-meter high figure of Sakyamuni, sitting cross-legged upon a throne made of deer and elephant figures. The overhanging cliff gives shelter to this fantastic piece of art. This is from the Northern Wei period (386 – 534 AD) and it does not look Chinese at all. This is pure India…then again, I am by no means an expert on this but compared with later Buddhist sculptures and decorations this is different. What also was a great bonus was that there was very few visitors here – just a handful Chinese. The road conditions must be the main reason. The amount of hours, days, moths, years it takes to produce, build this must be mind blowing and thanks to its remoteness this was also spared from the atrocities of the Cultural Revolution. The temple up in the hill – not on the hill, is fascinating place – it cannot be said of the monks. Almost as rule, they are unfriendly. Still, they do want visitors to come because of the money it brings in. But the hostile attitude is disturbing – not just here but almost in every monastery and temple. And I do not think it is fair either. Just arrogant and bad manners. On the way back we got get stuck again…but after a little hassle we finally arrived back to our horse and continued our way towards Tianshui – the second city in the Gansu Province Soon then the same problems appeared again – not surprisingly at all; to find a good route. Or a t least a possible route. Our guides fumbling efforts, with his very limited skills in the English language was more harm than help. He should have stayed in Lanzhou University concentrating on his studies - English literature. His big inspiration is Charles Dickens. But he totally lacked the street smartness that is typical of many Dickensian characters. He was our sixth guide sent to us from Lanzhou. Am I complaining top much…nah – in fact I am very polite. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- “ Ting Jiamen village 10.4. 1908 Yesterday my cook did not have an easy time trying to find even a humble accommodation for the night. Those houses that had signs of rooms to let were filthy nests that I would have preferred to sleep in a barrow. Finally, he did find a place – a dirty, small house on a backstreet. But when we had settled down, the owner of the place – an old witch was all over us and started to create all kind of problems. The “Kang” (sleeping place) in the only possible room was not available for me. All the endless talking by my Chinese staff, with their admirable patience was in vain. After awhile, I came upon the right solution and offered her to share the space with me. The old hag left the house cursing and swearing while collecting her blankets and belongings leaving for a shed nearby. She was a terrible pain and during the whole night she came back and forth with complaints and all sorts of nagging. The following morning we left this dusty village with a deep sigh of relief. “ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---------------- The route along the light brown muddy river Weir is impressive. Maybe even beautiful…but one gets spoiled with landscapes of beauty in China. The river makes bends and turns – as does the winding road, carved from the steep sandstone cliffs. On some parts, this mud/gravel road has cracked due to heavy rain and a lot of stone blocks were on the road too. I could not resist to look up every now and then…. to maybe spot something unpleasantly heavy following the laws of gravitation. No idea of course…and I did stick to my mantra..” its not in my karma to…” The two rail tracks on the other side of the river are results of some very hard work and skillful engineering – there is the old one on top of the new one. The latter built in the late nineties and the previous in the fifties. Wonder how many workers died during construction on those steep and inhospitable cliffs.. There it was and trains passing with an average of one every tenth minute. Mostly long and heavy cargo trains with approximately 50 carriages. This is a true lifeline to the western parts of China. Our truck was waiting for us at a road crossing that turned out to be the start of a good-sized village. Not so big, but big enough for us to get lost in and finally, after finding our way out…we were informed that this road did not lead to were we were going. Again we were ever so grateful to our guide Charles… but to be fair - he was far more lost all the time than we ever have been. . An hour later we were on the right road, climbing up towards a mountain pass. Two hours later we came to a village - located on a high spot and surrounded by terraced land. After some negotiations and bargaining we were offered a nice spot where to put up our camp. The vistas were stunning and our only problem was to find a safe place for the horses – no steep cliffs – thank you. The last one and a half hour took us on the mountain ridge – green and lush - but every little spot was farmed. Not a single place to put up even a minimal tent. It is somehow absurd – this total rape of these hills. But it is nothing new – it has been going on for ages. Mannerheim describes these hills or mountains as being covered with giant steps of all formats and sizes. So it is. Next morning we continue -Tianshui should not be far away. And even closer is the main road, road number 316. It is important for us to reach that road, because we were not 100% sure where we were – and every time we stopped to ask the locals…. A different tale was on offer….entertaining. Maybe..maybe not. But when we finally came to a muddy road and continue hesitantly along it – we did find a kilometer sign that informed us that this was it. And the climbing continued and continued. Late in the afternoon we reached a point where some tall buildings could be seen in the distance. Time to stop and put up camp. Tianshui was waiting...and so was the shower too..

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