China Travel Log

Fellow Virtual Travelers,

Well, just when we think we've had and seen the best of the trip, it gets even better!  We are writing this on Monday afternoon, April 28th China time, so it is about 2:30 am Monday morning for those in the U.S!

We are recuperating today from an adventure yesterday that will be hard to describe in either words or pictures!  Off the beaten path and down the mountain from where we're staying is the oldest remaining temple in Wudangshan which was built early in the Tang Dynasty.  It's called The Five Dragon Palace or Temple.  We might add that it is a LONG way down the mountain as it ended up being a 7 hour hike, instead of the advertised 4 hours there and 4 hours back!  The trek coursed along a breathtaking river and ending with an hour's climb up stairways zigzagging up to the top of another mountain!  And that was for our fastest climber, Master Karl! Good thing we'd packed our own water (two 1.5 liter bottles each) and snacks from granola to dried local fruit!

Here are historical details of these ruins:

http://www.china-tourism.net/natural-landscape/mountain--mtwudangshan-25.html

The Five Dragon Palace was first built in Zhengguan reign of the Tang Dynasty (627-649 AD) at the foot of Lingying Mountain Peak. In 1412 the complex was extended and many constructions were added, such as the Imperial Hall, the Gate of the Palace, the Veranda Wings, the Jade Statue Hall, The Parents Hall, the hall of Revelation of holy Spirit, the Hall of the Founder of Taoism and Sacristy. Until the reign of Jiajing In Ming Dynasty, there were 850 bays of construction. In 1930 the palace was destroyed in a fire, however, many remains and relics can be seen there.

Our story continues from here!  Because it had taken us so long to get to the Five Dragon Palace (there was lots of photography to do along the river hike), it was after 5 pm by the time we finished photographing the Five Dragon complex.  While we had flashlights with us, another 7 hour hike down the mountain up the stream and then up another mountain to our hotel, seemed daunting.  Not to say anything of knees that were sore and hurting.  About that time (we'd already been invited by monks living at this site to spend the night), a small tour group showed up.  Dennis got out his handy translator and found out that the tour bus was too full to drive us to Shiyan City at the base of the mountain.  Instead the bus driver called a private car for us which arrived some 30 minutes later!  The road up to this complex is nice, but not yet open to the public.  There is a heavy metal gate at the base that is only opened for select purposes.  Someone had some pull to get a car up the mountain for us!  We're sure we looked like a rag-tag bunch!

After a 45 minute drive down a different mountain, we arrived in Shiyan City to find out that buses on the tourist route on Wudang only run until 6 pm!  So we were stuck in town!  Found lodging at the Holiday Inn of Wudang (VERY nice accommodations with soap, shampoo, towels, a European toilet and nice big beds).  So we crashed there for the night, letting Victor know where we were (the hotel was only set up to take Chinese credit cards so we had to pay in Chinese cash.  Victor stopped by later, as he was also in town, to check on us and all ended well. Albeit very tired!

In the morning after a Chinese breakfast of corn porridge, Victor helped us re-enter the Wudang area for a reduced fee.  Dennis and Anita had their Wudang tickets with them but Master Karl had left his up the mountain in his room, so we had to show the attendant a picture of the three of us to prove that we were traveling together. Fortunately we'd asked someone to take a picture of the three of us at the Hanging Cliff Palace with its three meter long Dragon-Head Incense Burner.

Got through the ticket office and on the bus up the mountain, to be delivered a short ways down the hill from our hotel.  So, yes, even though the weather is perfect for photography, we are recuperating today!  Handling some needed research and communications with friends back home, as well as downloading some photos!

Blessings,
Dennis&Anita

Five Dragon Temple - the main building at the end of the courtyard.

First view of the temple complex after climbing the mountain for almost an hour.

Exotic flora.

Master Karl and Dennis at work in the ravine that leads to the Five Dragon Palace.

China Travel Log

Fellow Virtual Travelers,

Wow!  Just wow!  Words can't describe what we're feeling right now!  Yesterday the weather was rainy and overcast which gave the perfect opportunity to review our data, compile additional questions and prepare camera gear for our upcoming hikes.  The weather is supposed to clear in a couple of days which could be just enough time to get ready.

After texting Victor that we'd like to see him a couple of times, he stopped by to invite us to breakfast in a nearby hotel.  We had a good chat about the book idea and upcoming days, then returned to our hotel to do our 'homework' to get a handle on where we are and where we need to be for this project.

At that point, we got a text from Victor, 'Come to my office right away.'  Upon arriving we discovered that he had distinguished guests.  A fellow martial artist master (Master Wu) from Chengdu China, some of his students and a tea baron.  We were served by the tea baron, one of the more expensive teas that China has to offer.  We were next invited upstairs to watch Victor and Master Wu perform a Tai Chi Chuan form and were allowed to video and photograph them.  Then they asked us to join them in a shortened Tai Chi form! To follow along!

Next we were invited to join them for lunch in a nearby restaurant, enjoying local cuisine as well as dishes from Sichuan province (very spicy).  We discovered a special pepper that provides a delicious flavor but that if you eat it, will make your mouth numb!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sichuan_pepper

We can't describe how honored it feels to be taken into a circle of people who don't even know us or speak our language!

We also haven't had so much tea to drink in the last year, as we've had in the last few days!  But that is how business is done in China.

As with everything, there is a yin and yang aspect and after such a beautiful day, we listened to construction on the other side of our hotel wall until 10:30 pm!  Not very conducive to sleep, so Dennis went next door and was able to convey the message that people in the next hotel were trying to sleep!  The construction noises subsided and we slept until it was light outside, for the first time since arriving in China!

We had a nice breakfast of noodles with vegetables and rice porridge.  The sun is out today, so we decided to make this a photo day, rather than staying inside to do research.  Walked about 5 miles (Saturday), visiting places like the Hanging Cliff (also known as South Craig Temple or Nanyan Gong) and got to look out over the Purple Cloud Pavilion, where we first performed the Tai Chi Iron Fan form on our Kung Fu School trip in 1996!

We've attached a map of Wudangshan so you can get a grasp of the enormity of this location, as well as another picture taken just this morning!

Blessings,
Dennis&Anita

China Travel Log

Fellow Virtual Travelers,

Surprise!  We are on the mountain and have better wi-fi in our rooms than what we had at the base of the mountain!

Being 14 hours ahead of Colorado time, we are now going to bed on Thursday, April 24th.  Yesterday, we visited a bank in Shiyan City for money exchange and then sent the luggage with Victor and the driver up the mountain in a small pickup.  We kept only our backpacks with camera equipment with us. Victor sent us to buy our own Wudangshan bus tickets that are good as long as we stay on the mountain.

Rode the bus up to the transfer station, caught another bus and rode to the Wuyaling Parking Lot where Victor met us.  Our hotel contains 4 rooms. A small restaurant on the first floor, then stairs (very narrow, I might add) that take you to the first floor hotel room, again up to the second room and finally up to the third (currently unoccupied) room.

The rooms are very small (the space at the foot of the beds is about a foot, so you have to walk through sideways) and are about 10 wide by 20 feet long.  White tile covers the walls, floor and ceiling.  You step up two stairs to the bathroom which is Chinese style. There is a small water basin in one corner on a table, a pit for the toilet with a flush handle on the wall, our own hot water heater hangs on the wall that is tied into a water spigot (to fill up the water kettle to boil water) and a hand held shower head.

Victor's school building and office space is just down the street a couple of doors.  We met with Victor and his students for two hours this morning to discuss aspects of the book project, show him a sample movie Dennis had put together and present gifts of books. One of those books is a prototype that Dennis created in iPhoto and sent to Apple for printing.  Part of the current printing experiments includes the use of 3D photography that our co-traveler Karl does. It seems that the four of us are on the same path to capture the mystical history, legends and myths of Wudang martial arts to share with the English speaking world!

Tomorrow we must figure out the details of getting laundry done (and in this humidity, dried)!

We've not had time to download pictures yet, but promise to send some new pictures your way soon! The mystical Wudang mountains have been shrouded in constantly changing fairyland mists - a testament to the spirit of this mountain range! Attached is a picture of one of the Wudangshan peaks taken on our 2012 trip to this mountain range.

Blessings,
Dennis&Anita

China Travel Log

Fellow Virtual Travelers,

It's been a busy two days with trains, tours and unreliable internet access!  We have wi-fi in our room at the base of Wudangshan, but the signal is intermittent enough that we've not been able to make all the email communications that we need to!

We have spent the last two nights in Shiyan City at the base of the mountain - our Wudang monk friend (English name = Victor) has been engaged here in town with a very important convention for his 15th generation of martial artists teachers and schools.  He is one of 5 - 6 people who have schools on the mountain, so is a pillar for his Master's lineage of Wudang Tai Chi.

Today we head up Wudangshan for the majority of our stay. Our bodies woke us early again, so spent some time drafting more detailed plans for our history research mission. We are looking to glean the legends, folklore and mystery of this mountain's 5,000 years of Wudang martial arts history.  We will be staying at Yang's Guesthouse whose address is Wuyaling Parking Lot.  !?!?!?  Should be interesting!  This house has three rooms and Victor has arranged for us to have the entire building to ourselves. It is centrally located to Victor's school, his residence and two of the mountain's bus stops. WE HOPE!! This will enable us to more readily get around the mountain on our own, as Victor has other obligations and will not be able to spend every minute with us (we understood this before we left the U.S.).

On Tuesday April 22nd, we woke up early (not biologically synced to China time yet), looking forward to a nice hot shower after two days of airplane and train travel! Only there was no hot water.  Dennis shivered through it, Anita skipped a shower this time around! Apparently they turn off the hot water heaters at night and don't turn them on again until 7 am. By the way, the bathroom IS the shower stall - using the shower gets the whole room wet!

We packed up to bring luggage to the lobby for safe keeping while we tour around town, only to find out we're staying in town another night and if our rooms are okay, we can leave the luggage in our rooms! So, lug the 50 pound suitcases back up to the third floor!  No elevator. There is a void in the occidental-oriental communication system. This is a small example of that reality. We know the chasm exists, but we keep trying to fill that gap of different thinking styles as best we can -- a challenge.

We have reflected on our first trip to Wudangshan with our Kung Fu school in 1996.  Back then, things were even more austere and rugged!  We had hot water, but it was brown in color.  We had a tub with a curtain rod, but no shower curtain.  Then the drain in the tub was clogged, so someone had bashed a 6-inch hole in the corner of the tub, so that the brown water could drain across the bathroom floor from the tub to another drain in the floor under the sink!

At that time, it was customary for hotel staff to come and go into rooms at will, without even knocking.  If you were caught in the shower or partially unclothed, they reported you to hotel management for being unpresentable when they entered.  That has changed - we've not had one surprise visit from hotel staff yet! Most try to be very helpful, even though no English is spoken.

We also haven't seen a rat climbing the curtains in the dining hall, as we did during the 1996 tour!  So life at the base of Wudangshan is good this year!

We are truly on our own for the most part - relying heavily on the electronic translator that we brought along. Managed to order a delicious breakfast of noodles, cabbage, garlic and other unrecognizable vegetables at a local restaurant down the road!

Victor (our friend and local guide) had hired a van and driver to take us around to sights we'd requested: the Wudang Cultural Museum which didn't open until 3 pm; Yu Xu palace ruins that are in the process of being rebuilt; a visit to a Tea House to treat our driver; a visit to the the original Wudang gate and finally a visit to the the reconstruction site of an old temple that burned down in 2003!

The Yu Xu palace ruins hold a place in our hearts as this is where our martial arts instructor Sharon, met an old Nun who headed up the school at this location.  While this elder has passed away (2002 early 2003), we had another fun experience at Yu Xu on this trip!  While taking a rest at the rear of the complex, an elderly Taoist nun approached us, holding out a plate of pumpkin-type flakey pastry ball.  While the taste was somewhat unknown to our palettes, they were delicious and energizing!

The visit to the original ancient Wudang gate was breathtaking!  This gate was the entrance to the mountain area and while we had seen it on our 2003 trip to Wudang, our co-traveler, Karl had never seen it before, though he has visited Wudang more that we have.

Here are some links to check out:

http://www.wudanggongfu.com/kungfu/school.htm

http://www.wudangchina.com/index.htm

Oh and the truck with the megaphones just drove by again, talking loudly about something that we couldn't understand!

We were on our own again tonight for dinner in the hotel.  It took 30 minutes to get something ordered for the three of us to share, even with our electronic translator!  A young lady with some English happened in (was clearly friends with some of the dining room staff), so with her iPhone and an English App, she helped us get past their initial understanding that we wanted one whole chicken for each of us, and nothing else. FINALLY we conveyed our order of fried tofu and rice to share between the 3 of us! Exasperating! But, there were many laughs and we hope that they enjoyed the communication challenge as much as we did!  The meal was delicious!

So we've had some busy and very successful days!  Remember I.I.W.I.I. - IT IS WHAT IT IS!

Blessings,
Dennis&Anita

P.S.  Our co-traveler, Karl, keeps getting lost, but we've found him every time so far.  Oh, and Anita is not blending in very well in rural China… Go figure!

China Travel Log

 Fellow Virtual Travelers,

For those we've heard from thanks for the well-wishes!  We are doing good so far and are in Shanghai living the high life! Checked into the hotel here about 9 pm on April 20th and have discovered wi-fi in the room!  That is a first ever for us!  And will change tomorrow as we head to the remote areas, no doubt!

We did connect with Karl (our co-traveler) at the hotel.  Missed each other at the airport because our flight from Seattle came in early, so we were already through immigration and customs, while he was looking for us at the baggage claim!   The times of IIWII have begun - it is what it is!

We won't have time to see Shanghai sites on this end of the trip, but you can check it out online:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/shanghai

After living a Day Without A Night on the airplane (the sun was shining on us the entire flight), we're off to Wudangshan tomorrow!  This will begin the unknown internet time, so don't worry if you don't hear from us every day!

Blessings,
Dennis&Anita

China Travel Log

Fellow Virtual Travelers,

We just arrived in Seattle after a very long night! Never went to bed trying to handle the puzzle of fitting 200 pounds of equipment and supplies into two suitcases.

This includes not only equipment, but some books for gifts.

Conclusion - it can't be done. We'll need two suitcases each. Now how many combinations and permutations do we try until each suitcase weighs less than 50 pounds? It took until 2:30 am! Left the house a little after 4am.

After getting on our next flight in two hours, we'll only have 12 hours left 'till landing in Shanghai! Then catch a train on our own to the hotel, for a one night stay!

Blessings,
A tired Dennis&Anita

China Travel Log

Fellow Virtual Travelers,

This is a test sending from our iPhone while still in the U.S.

Put a candy bar in your pocket. Grab a bottle of water. Skivvies, socks,
shirt, jeans, and hiking books.  Plane and train tickets.  Big camera?  
Nah, the cell phone has a camera in it. Let's go!

It's not so fast or easy getting ready for a history research mission in
China. It takes more preparation than stuffing a carry-on bag with a
swim suit and a tooth brush. Because unlike a holiday romp on a beach,
in China one cannot just bop over to Walmart, 7-11, Starbucks,
MacDonald's, or Safeway and get an instant fix for the need of the
moment.

That's not say it is impossible to "live in the now" in China, but to
capture images and stories about thousands of years of martial arts
history, there are concepts of CONTINGENCY PLANNING and LOGISTICS that
are huge factors in our trips.

WHAT IF:
- there is no toilet paper in the restroom/outhouse?
- it rains when you reach the mountain summit?
- the electricity goes out during the night?
- there is no recognizable food in sight?
- you get sick or hurt?
- the ONLY way to communicate to anyone is to talk or write, and we
speak different languages?

A BRIEF LIST OF CONSIDERATIONS FOR OUR TO-DO LIST:
Electricity -- Foreign voltage very different from USA. Our missions
rely on electricity!
Luggage -- Flight restrictions on weight and size.  Carry on and
checked.
Medical/first aid -- No drug stores in remote areas to buy anything. You
get sick/hurt, you are your own doctor.
Travel documents -- Originals and copies of passports, visas, hotel
vouchers, train schedules, plane tickets, names and addresses, credit
card data, US Customs equipment receipts and more. Register with the US
Embassy in China.
Speaking of equipment -- While we've honed down the 720 cataloged items
needed for the 2002 expedition, we will each carry a backpack containing
25 - 30 pounds. What we need, can't be bought in rural China.

Then don't forget:
Things in your photo vest, like pocket knives, can't go in your carry-on
bag at the airport. But when you're on top of a mountain and need to
make a repair, you'll want to have that pocket knife handy!
Everything has to be light enough for YOU to carry by yourself in areas
where there are no elevators in hotels, or smooth sidewalks or even
streets sometimes. And keep the pocket translator handy. English is not
spoken except on rare occasions.

Things that make the trip FUN:
We make friends on the other side of the planet.
We design logos for every trip to go on shirts, luggage tags, etc.,
which we order or make ourselves.
Practice hikes, photo shoots, make small sample movies, build photo
album books. All to savor the memories, and share with our friends.

So, hands across the oceans. Friends over there and friends at home.
Such happiness is what life is all about. And as our cats, Sherlock &
Dr.Watson, teach us: sometimes life is SO FUN, you just have to RUN and
play hard!

Says the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu, "A journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step".

Much like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's character Sherlock Holmes' phrase,
"The game is afoot".

So off we go….
… adventure in Wudangshan during the Chinese year of the horse.  Our
next update should be from the other side of the planet!

Blessings,
Dennis & Anita

China Travel Log

Fellow Virtual Travelers,

The last China story you heard from us was about the buried Terra Cotta Warriors found in 1974, near Xi'an, China.  These are the life size terra cotta replicas of the armies of the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. We sent that story almost a year ago (April 2013)!

http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/archaeology/emperor-qin/

We've had many questions since then, about how does one prepare for a trip to remote regions of China?

Simple answer: Everything you might possibly need, 'cuz there is no Walmart nearby.

Complex answer: Don't try to pack the night before you are scheduled to leave on your trip!

Vaccinations: Depending on where you go and what time of year you're traveling in China, you may need to prepare weeks in advance to protect yourself from unknown bugs:

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/extended_student/china

Packing list: Medicines you might need (aspirin, Excedrin, cold, flu, bandages, bandaids, anti-septic salves, disposable ice packs, moleskin for blisters, sunscreen, aloe vera), vitamins to maintain heath (multi, magnesium, potassium, b-complex, probiotic, electrolytes, resveratrol, GreensFirst and AloeCran drink mixes), chopsticks, shower curtain and rings, duct tape and bailing wire for repairs, scissors, powdered coffee and creamers.

Snack bags: Since we tend to hike a lot on these adventures, we are often not near any food sources for 2 meals per day.  As such, we pack 1 snack size bag of granola/nuts mix per person per day and 1 snack size bag of dried fruit per person per day where hikes are planned.  Of course, it's imperative to have M&Ms in constant supply.  Peanut and milk chocolate. Also flavors like Mint, Peppermint and Raspberry!   Even then we typically lose 5 - 20 pounds each on these adventures!

Water and water purifiers: The best rule of thumb when traveling in China is that no water source is safe to drink. Unless it's in a sealed bottle. Some of the areas we travel don't have readily available bottled water vendors, so we bring with us water purifiers or filters. Our favorite are pump water filters like the SweetWater or Katadyn.

Electronics: This is the complicated part, due to the mission of our trips. Documentary and now book writing!  Computers and chargers. Cameras, batteries and chargers. Phones and chargers. An American style surge protector, pigtail adaptors that allow plugging in more than one unit per plug. A transformer to change Chinese current in to U.S. voltage. A Chinese style surge protector.  Memory cards for your varied equipment, card readers, external drives and thumb drives for backups. DVD's and DVD burner also for creating backups.

Power Conversion: China-220v/50hz -> US-110v/60hz. If you don't hook things up correctly, circuit breakers start to trip off in the hotel. Trust us. So we take this picture as our memory schematic.

Clothes: Keep to a minimum. Depending on when you travel, bring layers to battle the colder evenings and nights.  Pants: 3-4 pair per personShirts: 4-5 per personSocks: 5 pair per person Hooded sweatshirt: 1 per personRain coat: 1 per personShoes: 1 pair of proven walking shoes.  Never, ever wear a new pair of sneakers!  You'll get blisters in no time and will wish you'd packed moleskin!

Compartmentalize the luggage contents:  As we tend to travel to multiple locations on one trip, we learned to buy small, clear bags to pack related items.  This bag holds pants, this bag holds shirts, this bag holds charging equipment, this bag holds toiletries.  That way you can quickly find the item you need and repack in a hurry.  Then the next time you look for something, you're not digging through a disheveled heap to find something.

Chinese Translator: Regardless of where you travel, it is likely that you'll find yourself in a place where no one reads or speaks English.  As such, we recommend hiring a national and local guide to take you throughout the country.  We also brought an electronic translator that even speaks the words.  We had a lot of fun with that when we ran into people who didn't speak English but we needed to ask questions of (like when Dennis was looking for his yellow-haired wife - turns out there is no word for blonde! They laughed and immediately pointed in the direction they saw her!  Guess Anita doesn't blend in as well as she'd hoped!).

Communications: Prepare in advance to communicate with friends and family in the U.S.  We plan on two modes of communication: 1) iPHone with the AT&T international package (this allows unlimited texting) and 2) email. For email we have the email list set up with admin access via numerous email accounts, ranging from yahoo.com to gmail to hotmail.  Because you never know what you might and might not be able to access from within China:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_websites_blocked_in_China

Part of communications is keeping a diary of sorts.  What happened when, with whom, what was discussed.  Were there actions items on anyone's part?  Are they to be done in country, or when you get back home?

Gifts: It is customary to bring gifts for those you visit. Anything from an English book about the area you're from, to a silk scarf, to small candy bars, to a high powered pocket size flashlight, to American postcards, to a Colorado calendar or a hand made gift (like an Apple iPhoto book with your own pictures and stories).

Security: Always carry a high-powered flashlight on you at all times.  Carry a pen and paper at all times. Make copies of your passport, travel visa, drivers license and credit cards.  Carry a copy with you and have your travel partner also carry a copy, in case your documents, etc are lost or stolen.  Always keep an eye on your traveling companions, always be aware of who is around you and what they are doing!

On October 30, 2012, we sent an email to our list, talking about our friend Victor who lives at the most remote mountain, Wudangshan.  How we'd met years before (we were looking for an English book about Wudang in the bookstore where he worked), re-established connection via email and how he served as our guide at Wudangshan in 2012.

We asked him again during the last trip, if there was now an English book about Wudang's history to buy.  His answer was, 'No and so you must come back next year and we will write this book.'

We laughed!  Well, we're not laughing anymore.  Instead we're packing for spending 3 weeks in Wudangshan with Victor to get the stories, legends, folklore, myths and history of Wudangshan for the first ever English book about martial arts in this area!  Wudang is the birthplace of Chinese Tai Chi history, dating back 5,000 years.  That is the same timeframe of the Egyptian pyramids!

So here is where we'll be, from about the middle of April to about the middle of May 2014!

Shaanxi and Hubei Provinces:

http://www.maps-of-china.net/province/shaanxim.htm

http://www.wudangchina.com/index.htm

Shiyan City (pronounced SHEE-an) is at the base of the Wudang mountain range and is not to be confused with Xi'an (Xi'an is pronounced shee-ON), which is north west and where the Terra Cotta Warriors are found.

Wudangshan is one of the more remote locations, so internet access will be minimal. Before we leave we will be sending a test email to this list from Anita's iPhone. Though even if that works in the U.S., it may not help us stay in communications with you while we're in China.  We promise to do our best to keep in touch as we can!

We just met with the Lunt Security Team, who will be taking care of Sherlock and Dr. Watson (our two kitties) and watching the house for us.

Now off to finish packing…  Less than two weeks before our departure!

Blessings,
Dennis and Anita