China 2008 Roundtrip

1 A red Panda eating bamboo.	2 The swimming pool of our hotel. It's great and at night there are a lot fireflies.	3 Climbing the highest mountain of Hainan we came across this waterfall.	4 View from Wuzhi Shan with his 1867 meters the highest mountain of Hainan. Not many people managed to climb this mountain that day: 38 degrees Celsius and a humidity of almost 100%. But we made it.	5 The harbour of Sanya.
6 A monkey on the "monkey island" near Hainan. It's not my style of amusement because they train the monkeys to entertain people. But this little fellow looked so nice that I had to take a photo.	7 An other monkey on the "monkey island". This monkeys love to swim (it's only a small island so they had to get their food out of the sea). You arrive at "monkey island" by cable car, and that cable car line is the largest in the whole world.	8 A man repairing the fishingnets in the harbour of Sanya.	9 This guy fishes seaweed. Common used in Chinese traditional medicine.	10 Drying the seaweed in the harbour of Sanya.
11 Our first stop was the Island of Hainan. Hainan is in the far south of China, it's very close to Vietnam. This is an allmost unspoiled island, green with tropical rainforest.	12 Where would they have the biggest artificial waterfall in the world? Las Vegas? No, it's in Chengdu.	13 The two pagoda's in Guilin give a great view at night.	14 An glass bridge on the Rong Lake in Guilin.	15 Boat trip on the Li river.
16 This is a famous tourist spot for the Chinese also, so prepare for a boat trip full of noise and alcoholic drinks.	17 The view is stunning on the Li river.	18 Farmers houses in the ricefields near Longji.	19 A dog in one of the villages near Chengdu.	20 You can buy dried lizzards if you like. They are mostly used in Chinese traditional medicine.
21 Longji Terraced Rice Fields (Dragon’s Backbone Terraced Rice Fields) are praised as the marvel of the agricultural art in China. These ancient farming legacies drench in the strong local colors, and have a history of 700 years.	22 It's unbelievable how man was able to build this 700 years ago. And it's still working perfectly.	23 This is the way they cook in Longji, Bamboo parts filled with rice and meat cooked above charcoal. It's really nice and tasty to eat.	24 The Jinsha archeaological site was discovered in 2001 in Chengdu. The site has an area of five square kilometres, and a history of three thousand years. On the site there is a new museum showing the most beautifull artefacts found here. This is a golden plate showing the Phenix rising from the sun. This became the new symbol for the Chinese archaeological department.	25 Qing Yang Taoist Temple has some great colorfull statues of ancient empires who ruled Sichuan.
26 Great hall in one of the temples in Chengdu.	27 Qing Yang Taoist Temple is the No. 1 Taoist temple in west Sichuan. This is the Holy Land where Laozi once preached the Way. It is the birth place for the first patriach of Taoism.	28 Wolong Giant Panda breading and research center. This has been completly destroyed during the earthquak, less then two weeks after we have visited it. Happely the panda's survided.	29 Two Giant Panda's playing in a tree.	30 A Giant Panda in a tree in Wolong.
31 Chicks on a birdmarket in Sanya.	32 This is the pagoda-capped Elephant Trunk Hill, or Xiangbishan, long used as the symbol of Guilin. The river is the famous Li river.	33 In the Seven Star Park of Guilin is a Chinese temple. Here people burn incenses for the gods.	34 A beautifull statue in the Chinese temple.	35 Chinese people love to play cardgames.
36 One of the amazing waterfalls in the Five Star Park.	37 It is strange, the water is hot and comes out of the top of the hill. This is due to the vulcanic activity in this area.	38 The famous Karst hills, there are only a few places in the world where you can see this scenery.	39 The reed flute cave near Guillin.	40 Chinese love colors, even in caves. at first it's odd, but it gives some nice effects when you get used to it.
41 Water in the cave gives a great reflection.	42 With a sitting height of 71 meters, the Leshan Giant Buddha is the now world's largest statue of a Buddha carved in rock. That's since the Taliban destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan.	43 A bridge in the park of the mountain Emei Shan (3099 meters).	44 Waterfall in the Emei Shan Park.	45 There are a lot of monkeys in the Emei Shan park.
46 A mother monkey with her child.	47 The Thousand Buddha Cliffs, unfortunately a lot has been damaged during the cultural revolution. But still it's a great place to visit.	48 Museum near the Thousand Buddha Cliffs.