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Taming the Tiger

(That's beijing)
Updated: 2007-04-09 09:44


A flight delay of more than two hours is never a good way to start a
holiday. However, the prospect of a nine-day adventure tour was enough to
offset the inconvenience. Indeed, the very thought of escaping the city -
where life is predictably unpredictable - for lands truly unknown
produced an unfamiliar sense of real excitement.




As a long-term resident of China, I've grown accustomed to risk, and so I
signed up for a Tiger Leaping Gorge tour. Our flight arrived in Kunming,
the sub-tropical capital of Yunnan in southeast China, late at night. The
next morning our party of 11 traveled by long distance bus to Lijiang,
home of the Naxi ethnic minority.

Lijiang Old Town (officially, Dayan Old Town), founded more than 800
years ago, is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with charming cobbled
streets, quaint tiled-roof buildings and red lanterns hanging from the
street lamps. That said, about one-third of the town was destroyed by an
earthquake in February 1996, and subsequently restored. Controversially,
the local government has added new sections to the "old city," a move
designed to accommodate more tourists, and one that might result in
Lijiang losing its UNESCO status.

Not far from the town itself we visited one of the must-see sites: the
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Chinese Herbal Clinic, which is in Baisha, the
ancient capital of the Naxi people. The clinic is also known as "Dr.
Ho's," after the 84-year-old Ho Shitiu, who is something of an
international celebrity. Most visitors, myself included, request an
examination. The good doctor took my pulse, had me stick out my tongue,
and inquired after my eating habits. He then prescribed a dose of
"healthy tea" and some advice: "Be happy - happiness is best medicine,
you know."

And so I left Lijiang on a natural high. The next stop - six hours by bus
- brought me higher still, up to 3,200 meters, where I entered the fabled
Shangri-La. Actually I had arrived at Zhongdian, a pleasant enough
Tibetan town that was renamed Shangri-La in 2002 to attract tourists. The
strategy seems to have worked. Like the fictional Shangri-La, Zhongdian
boasts a medieval monastery, known locally as the Ganden Sumtseling
Gompa, perched high above the town. The monastery was razed during the
"cultural revolution" and subsequently rebuilt. While one can take the
steep steps that lead to the monastery compound, I chose the road that
winds along the back and provides a more rewarding journey, especially on
a sunny day. Indeed, the view of the lush green pastures, distant town,
and smiling monks on their way to prayer was a reward in itself.

After returning to Zhongdian proper that evening I visited the old town,
which hosts a nightly communal dance under the stars. A word of advice:
go easy on the alcohol. At this altitude it only takes a few drinks to
knock you out. Not having had the benefit of that advice the night
before, I cured my hangover with a hearty breakfast at Noah Cafe, and
then joined the group as we set off for the most spectacular part of our
trip, Tiger Leaping Gorge. Deeper than the Grand Canyon and almost 15
kilometers long, at its narrowest point the gorge measures just 25 meters
(this is the spot where, as legend has it, a tiger once jumped across the
raging torrent to escape a hunter). Technically part of the Yangtze River
(known locally as the Golden Sands River), many a risk-taker has died
trying to navigate the rapids. The best way to follow the river is not on
it, but above it, on the hiking trail that runs the length of the gorge.

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