while travelling with Elena on super-high elevated trails
Meeting Yaks in the Mountains of China
We are well aware of cows that graze on the field grasses of Ohio farmers. The yak is a distant cousin of these cows. The yak is similar to the cow in size, in having horns, in getting their food by chewing and digesting grass. The yak is different from cows in their long hair (and their winter coat of down that keeps them warm in temperatures below freezing), their enlarged lungs (that enables them to climb mountain slopes when the air is thinner at 10,000 feet and higher), and their absence of sweat glands (that makes them very uncomfortable above 20 degrees Celsius [=68 Fahrenheit]).
Here is what a yak looks like here in China:
When we began hiking along the mountain river, there were seven yaks cooling themselves by wading in the river. The water comes from melting snow; hence, the water is very cold. But the yaks were very pleased to have these frigid waters. As we approached, this wooly black yak came out of the river and approached us. I pulled some delicious grass to offer as a peace offering. I was not trying to scare the yak or to interfer with his activities. I was just trying to say “Hello!” and offer some sweet grasses.
Yaks are very peaceful creatures, normally. Notice that the yak has a red ribbon tied to a tuff of his fur. He also has some colorful weavings attached to his ear. What do you imagine these signs say? Yaks travel freely in this small town of 800 people. Like chickens, they return home as the sun begins to set and sleep in a farmer’s shed prepared for them.
Here is a yak bull and cow. The bull has a saddle that allows his owner to ride the animal. Notice that there are no stirrups. Notice also that the cow is tied to the right horn of the bull. The rope in the nose of the bull is tied to a spike driven into the ground. This signals to the bull that he is not to wander off.
Needless to
say, there are no yaks in Shanghai which is very close to sea level. Where do we find cities in China that are above 10,000 feet (3000 meters)?
Release a yak anywhere in Ohio and, immediately, it will be looking for a mountain to climb. But there are no mountains in Ohio. Our highest mountains are the Rocky Mountains that are out West. So our suffering yak would go West. And, as it moved West, it got higher and higher in elevation.
| Note to my daughter: Jessica, remember our trip to follow the Oregon Trail (US route 40) to Denver, CO, where the Rocky Mountains begin. The change is shocking. We were travelling on straight roads that were lined with grass lands where beef cattle grazed. Then, out of nowhere mountains rise up and at the foot of these mountains is the flat-city of Denver. | |||
| Colorado’s capital city of Denver is known as the “Mile High City” because it officially sits at an elevation of 5280 feet (1610 meters). Click here to see Denver. |
For the sake of simplicity, I will use the international metric system from here on in.
- To convert meters [abbr: m] to feet, multiply by 3.28.
- To convert degrees of Celsius [abbr: C], multiply by 9/5 and add 32 to get the degree Fahrenheit.
We took a three-hour flight from Shanghai to Chengdu which has an elevation of 1621 ft / 494 m. Our poor yak was very much suffering in the stifling airport temperature of 28 degree C [= 82 F]. But we rent a car and immediately begin our trip toward the mountains in the West. Chengdu is like Denver, CO; it is the gateway to the mountains.
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#1 What we have decided NOT to do in Chengdu = to see and pet Panda Bears in captivity.
Chengdu tries to take on the image of itself as being in the heart of Panda Bear country. There are plenty of bamboo groves around Chengdu. Panda Bears eat bamboo leaves exclusively. The sad fact, however, is that almost no one in Chengdu has ever seen a Panda Bear in the wild. Almost everyone has seen Panda Bears in cages.
Here is what the promoters are saying about their “Hands-on Encounter with Cute Pandas”:
- Feed a panda and make panda cakes with your own hands at a very close distance.
- Clean the enclosure [metal cage] for pandas.
- Join in a panda volunteer program.
This two-day experience costs $600. While it emphasizes that Panda Bears are an endangered species, Elena and I believe that “living in cages” causes suffering to the Bears themselves and trains the bears not to be afraid of their captors; hence, we refuse to participate. God designed these wonderful Bears to live free in their bamboo forests surrounding Chengdu. Retraining these Bears to amuse humans is a sure formula for extinction.
#2 What more we have decided NOT to do in China = to do cliff climbing or plank walking or using a suspension walkway.
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More about Getting There
On our trip in the mountains, we come to a turn in the highway, and this beautiful suspension bridge greets us.
Look at this picture closely. If you have ever been to San Francisco or seen movies made in SF, this will remind you of the Golden Gate suspension bridge. So, did I get mixed up and fool you into believing that the Golden Gate bride exists in China? Look at the size of the cars crossing this bridge. Then notice the terraced hills in the upper right. This cannot be SF. It has to be an asiatic country, where rice paddies are created exactly like this. Notice also that the four-lane roadway takes a sharp turn to the left and separates into two branches and disappears into two tunnels in the mountain in front of it.
If you look very closely, you can see the switch-back roadway (left center) that snakes down toward the river and then moves along the edge of the river until it encounters an old bridge that is now in the shadows of the mountain. This is the traditional way of crossing the Daduhe River before the super suspension bridge and tunnels were constructed. The Xingkang Bridge and the associated tunnels reduced our trip by two hours. What a treat!
In 2018 the Xingkang Bridge was opened for the first time. We passed over this bridge that has a length of 1.1 km and is 200 m above the Daduhe River that flows under it. This looks very much like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. The Golden Gate has a length of 1.6 km and is 227 m above the San Francisco Bay.
After passing over the Xingkang Bridge we immediately went into the Erlangshan extra-long tunnel which passes through a mountain with the same name. It is a part of the Yakang Expressway and has a total length of 13.4 km making it the 11th longest road tunnel in the world. This tunnel had many red and blue lights. Halfway through the tunnel, an electronic sign listed the license plate number of the last person who was given a fine for speeding through the tunnel. The speed limit in the tunnel is 60 km/hr. In China, all the highways have an electronic monitoring system (sometimes called speed cameras) that detects the speed of all oncoming vehicles. When the monitoring system detects a speeder, it takes an electronic picture of the vehicle and stamps it with the clocked speed and the clocked time. Instead of having traffic police to stop speeding vehicles as in many places in the USA, Chinese speeding fines are calculated electronically and sent out in the mail. Those receiving the fines pay for them electronically. The advantages of this system are as follows: (a) Speeders are penalized for speeding without endangering the lives of highway patrolmen who have to pursue them and pull them over; (b) speeders themselves have no incentive to pursue a policy of reckless driving so as to avoid being fined; and (c) speeders no longer need to appear in court unless they want to present circumstances that necessitated their speeding, e.g., a medical emergency. Please notice the monument to the skills and hard work of those who built these tunnels. The buisness men of SF recently erected a monument to the Chinese immigrants who came to SF from China to provide 90% of the muscle and know-how to build the first transcontinental railroad through the Rocky Mountains. Go here to view a 3-minute analysis.
Are speed cameras legal in the US?
19 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that permit the use of speed cameras. 8 states have passed laws that prohibit the use of speed cameras. Ohio criminal law now requires a police officer to be present at a camera location to properly issue a traffic violation charge. “From 1996 to 2015, an average of 355 people (about 1 per day) were killed annually in pursuit-related crashes. In just 2014-2018, over 2,000 people in the USA were killed in police pursuits.”
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Here is our overall trip plan:
| Date(s) | City/town | Elevation |
| July 24 dep. 07h10 | Flight from Shanghai (3 hours)
To Chengdu (home of Panda Bears) |
118 m
500 m |
| July 24-25 | Leshan (home of Super Tall Buddha) | 570 m |
| July 25-26 | Had a reservation for Ya’an but this ancient town was quarantined so we went onward and stayed outside Kangding (sky room hotel) | 2560 m |
| July 27-30 | Xinduqiao (Tibetan culture) home of yaks and Buddhists galore! | 3300 m |
| July 30-31 dep. 15h20 | 7-hour 2-day return to Chengdu with an overnight stay in Kangding followed by 3 hours of driving to the airport for our 3-hour return flight | 3300 to 500 m |
Here is our destination:
On this map of China, you can see Shanghai (where we live). Xinduqiao is due West and near the center of China. If you keep going West, you will get higher and higher mountains until you reach the highest mountains in the world, the Himalayan Mountains which form the border between India and China. Mt. Everest has the daunting elevation of 8800 m.
For those who understand how mountains are formed I say this: The condition of the dry land surfaces on the face of the earth is continually and slowly changing all the time. Why so? The dry surfaces of the earth are huge rocky “islands” that are floating on the hot, liquified plasma that forms the inner core of the earth. When there are cracks between these “islands”, the hot plasms comes to the surface as lava that forms volcanoes. When two of the “islands” [technically these are called “techtonic plates”] crash together, they push up the rocky interiors and form mountain ranges. Thus, the Mimalayan Mountains are actually growing in size year to year. If this interests you, go here.
Is China larger or smaller than the USA? What do you say?
United States is approximately 9,833,517 sq km, while China is approximately 9,596,960 sq km, making China 97.59% the size of United States. Meanwhile, the population of United States is ~332.6 million people (1.1 billion more people live in China).
Note on High Elevation Sickness and the Cooling Effect of Elevation
When I was studying in Fribourg, Switzerland, I enjoyed living in this medieval town surrounded by the Alps. On weekends, I would sometimes buy a bottle of wine, half a loaf of heavy course-ground bread (made by the Cistercian monks) and a chunk of Gruyere cheese, and then I would bicycle with a friend up into the Alps. Our bikes at that time had three gears. The trip up to Lac Noir (Black Lake pic shown) required three hours of arduous pumping in first gear on roads that went up, up, and up. Fribourg was at an elevation of 610 m. Lac Noir was at 1046 m. I was in my late 20s at the time and in good physical condition. Hence, I had no awareness of High Elevation Sickness. However, I did notice the effect of cooling temperatures as I moved higher in elevation.
This is what happened. On one Saturday, we began early while there was a cold drizzle in Fribourg as we began to cycle up the hilly two-lane roads upward. When we arrived at Lac Noir, however, we found that their was three to four inches of fresh snow on the ground. The change in elevation was 450 m which translated into nearly 3.0 degrees of cooling. For every 1000 m gain in elevation, the thinning of the air results in 6.5 degrees of cooling. Thus the cold drizzle in Fribourg was reducing the effective temperature below freezing once we arrived at Lac Noir.
This helps to explain why yaks suffer at 25 degrees and why they immediately look for a mountain to climb. They know that the higher they go, the cooler the air will be. We also discovered this. At Leshan, the heat was an uncomfortable 25 degrees C. But, on July 25th we drove up, up, and up until we were 2000 m higher at the end of our three-hour drive. That means that the temperature should have dropped 13 degrees. I just did an online temperature search for Leshan = 33 and Kangding = 23. Something is wrong. The temperature difference is only 10 degrees while I had expected a 13-degree difference. Thus some unknown weather factors enter in.
At 3300 m, the cooling would be even more pronounced. An 18-degree difference is expected. Just perfect for the yaks. Thus, when we arrived at Xinduqiao, we had to wear a jacket in the morning and the evening because the temperature at that point was usually 10 degrees C.
What I did not expect was High Elevation Sickness. Here is what the professionals at the Cleveland Clinic are saying:
What are the symptoms of altitude sickness [when going up to 3000 m within a single day]?
You’ll likely feel nauseous and lightheaded. You may vomit and have a headache. Different levels of altitude sickness have different symptoms:
Symptoms of mild, short-term altitude sickness usually begin 12 to 24 hours after arriving at high altitude. They lessen in a day or two as your body adjusts. These symptoms include:
Dizziness.
Fatigue and loss of energy.
Shortness of breath.
Loss of appetite.
Sleep problems.
How is altitude sickness treated?
The main treatment for altitude sickness is to move to a lower elevation as quickly and safely as possible. At the very least, do not go higher. If symptoms are mild, staying at your current elevation for a few days might be enough to improve the symptoms.
Other treatments depend on how severe the symptoms are:
Mild altitude sickness: Over-the-counter medicines can relieve headaches. Other symptoms will improve once your body adjusts or you move to a lower altitude.
Moderate altitude sickness: Symptoms should improve within 24 hours once you are 1,000 to 2,000 feet lower than you were. Within three days, you should feel completely better.
Severe altitude sickness, HACE and HAPE: If you have severe symptoms, you must be taken immediately to an elevation that’s no higher than 4,000 feet. Get to a healthcare provider as soon as possible. You may need hospitalization.
When we arrived in Xinduqiao, everything seemed normal. The following day, however, Elena had a headache and woke up numerous times at night. I had a minor headache, slept soundly, but felt like I was catching my breath once in every hour. There were also times when we were out walking when I found it difficult to walk in a straight line. Elena took an aspirin and a Melatonin sleeping tablet at night. I took half an aspirin.
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Now for a bit of humor. The task of translating from one language to another is always difficult. But, at times, the translators go the extra mile by providing humor in their translation. Here is an illustration of this. What is the purpose of this sign? What does it want you to do or not to do?
BEWARE OF GRASS. Is the grass covered with some dangerous chemical? This is yak country. Yaks wander about and they don’t read signs when it comes to grazing. So you can be sure that there are no “dangerous chemicals” here. I’m puzzled. So I ask Elena to translate the Mandarin. She tells me, “Take care of the grass and don’t destroy it.” I respond, “That makes good sense. The yaks need to eat; hence, caring for the grass is effectively making sure that they have a good meal. But then look at the international symbol for “no walking here.” Now I’m really confused. Walking on the grass would not destroy it. If too many people walked on the grass, that would destroy it. Why didn’t the translator simply write, “Stay off the grass”? or “Don’t walk on the grass”? Did the translator want to cause fear in the hearts of non-Chinese visitors? Was he warning me against the threat of “grass snakes”? Or did he just want to be funny? You figure this one out.
Figure these instructions: 1st at airport; 2nd at toilets; 3rd billboard ad for giant Buddha
First objective: visit the Giant Buddha
This Buddha was made by carving out a limestone cliff situated on a river. The work was finished around 800 CE. The face of the Buddha is traditional for this part of the world. Tight curly hair, elongated earlobes, eyes half-shut [the meditation position], the Hindu bindee [red circle] between his eyebrows, his relaxed face [also part of the meditative position]. But, what is puzzling, is that this Buddha is has taken the sitting position with his hands on his knees. This is very, very untraditional. Everything above his neck indicates the act of meditation; everything below his neck portrays a relaxed seated man. Normally Buddha is portrayed sitting on the ground in the lotus position and his right and left hand are portraying symbolic gestures. Here is an example of a traditional Chinese Buddha:
Buddha is sitting erect on the ground with his feet in what practitioners call “the lotus position.” His right hand is touching the ground, and this recalls his vow to the earth not to set aside his meditation until he has attained the enlightenment that he has earnest hungered for. This signals to the devotee that unbounded determination is required.
Elena and I rose at 6 am on Monday, did our Yoga, showered, and walked fifteen minutes to the entrance of the Giant Buddha. We had taken a Covid exam the night before. But the women guarding the gate said that anyone entering had to have two exams within the last 72 hours. Elena argued that we had just arrived the day before and that the airlines required two Covid tests within the last 72 hours. The guard explained that our tests in Shanghai were invisible to her. Only tests in the Province of Sichuan were visible. So we never did get to climb up the 560 steps to the viewing area (shown in the top left) and to be able to whisper our wishes into the enormous right ear of the Buddha.
We ate breakfast at our hotel and then went to find a place to get a Covid test. We knew that we could take a short boat ride and view the Buddha. “When does the boat depart?” “Whenever it is filled with passangers.” And our boat was filled in the next fifteen minutes. Seemingly one Covid test was all that was needed for the boatride. It was pleasant to be out on deck and to feel the cool morning breezes and watch the birds fishing for their breakfast in the rough waters. Here is the picture that I took from the boat:
The pic is not blur due to the camera. Rather, it is due to the haziness sometimes found in the mountains. You can see how small the people are who are standing at the feet of the Buddha.
During the boat trip we realized that the steps carved into the side walls were being repaired. Hence no one was able to ascend the 560 steps to the viewing area. So, it was a blessing in disguise when the guard did not let us buy tickets that morning.
Later in the afternoon, we visit the Oriental Capital of Buddhism. This large park houses hundreds of Buddha statues and figurines from around Asia, including a 170m-long reclining Buddha, one of the world’s longest. Don’t miss the impressive Ten-Thousand Buddha Cave (万佛洞; Wànfú Dòng). Entrance fee = 80 rmb. The two hours we spent in this outdoor museum was incredibly more enriching than the giant Buddha. Thanks to Elena, she did her homework in advance. The Oriental Capital of Buddhism is not well advertised; hence, most visitors don’t even know that it exists. Here is our pic of the 170 m reclinging Buddha which commemorates the time when the Buddha was surrounded by his principal disciples and died a very peaceful natural death [never again to be reincarnated]:
Visiting Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns at 3300 m
During our four days in Xinduqiao, we had the occasion to visit four Buddhist monasteries. Our interactions with the living Buddhist monks was very fulfilling. Here is the most extraordinary discovery that we made 6 km outside of Xinduqiao. What immediately attracted our attention were the rows of Stupas (originally Stupas contained some of the possessions of the Buddha or ashes of his followers). So we slowed down and parked nearby.
While admiring the rows of Stupas (as shown), we heard the chanting of a single monk. It took us ten minutes to find the source of the chanting. It came from a loud-speaker attached to the second floor of a modest white home. The house was surrounded by a 1.5 m wall. The gate was locked. Puzzled at this, I noticed a woman coming outside. I waved to her and then folded my hands (hoping that this might communicate my interest in joining in the Buddhist ritual). She evidentially got the message, because, after waving to us, she went into her home and exited holding up a key. She walked quickly the 25 m to the locked gate, opened the lock, and invited us in. We followed her to her home. Going inside, we found a 40-year-old monk (with his head shaved) sitting in the lotus position on a bench and beautifully chanting in a hauntingly-clear voice. He gestured to us to sit next to him.
Buddhist monks do a lot of silent meditation. Morning and evening monks usually meet in a room and chant suttras. Christians might think that they are praying, but in fact they are chanting the words given to them by the Buddha who described how to live their lives so as to achieve nirvana. Lord Buddha made it clear to this disciples that the gods of India could neither help nor hinder them in their search for nirvana. This departure from Indian tradition clearly distinguished the practice of Siddartha Gautama, the man who would later attract followers (both men and women) who would join him in the movement that would later be known as “Buddhism.”
Our monk made some traditional hand gestures as he chanted. At time he took up a brass bell and used the sound of the bell to harmonize with his words. From time to time, he was gently and silently guiding a young girl of three who seemed to want to join him in his practice. Then, unexpectedly, the women who unlocked the gate served us with boiling-hot bowls of water. She asked Elena whether we had eaten breakfast. Elena explained that we had eaten. It was immediately apparent that she was ready to make and serve breakfast for us.
After 10 minutes, our monk brought his chant to a close. He introduced his “daughter” (the three-year old) and his “son” (the six-year old boy) and his “wife” (the woman who unlocked the gate). It appears as though, some ten years ago, that his monastery was disbanded by the government. He was left behind at the “caretaker” of a beautiful and ancient meditation hall on the second floor. He was proud to show us the “treasures” that he was preserving (See pic). Meanwhile, he had become a farmer, and he married a woman from the local village. I admire this “survivor” and, now that we have email contact, I am expecting that I will hear more about his unusual life story.
To view a typical day in the life of four nuns living at 5000 m, click here.
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