Towards Kangding, the eastern edge of Tibet. In the foreground are woolly yaks, and in the background, although difficult to see, is Mt Gongga, rising to 7,556 metres and being the tallest mountain in the region.
A high pass on the road prior to ascent into Kangding. At this point I was travelling with some locals in a private car.
Chairman Mao standing majestically in central Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. Chengdu was a modern and pleasant city of about ten million people, saved by the bicycle. It's a central hub for industry and transport, and I thoroughly enjoyed McDonalds after quite losing the plot through recent isolation.
Chonqing. I thought I'd read a little about this town as the overnight train pulled in, only to discover that I'd accidently stumbled upon the most populated city in the world. I love my extremes. I enjoyed spending a day here before taking a boat down the Yangzee for three days and through the Three Gorges.
A Luokan Si temple, in central Chonqing. The highlight here was 500 grotesque statues of Buddha disciples. They were so ugly and eerily realistic.
A super-friendly Chinese couple from the same cabin on the boat. Many Chinese were exceptionally friendly and hospitable during my travels. This photo is in the three minor gorges on a tributory of the Yangzee River.
Other ferries along the river. I still didn't see a single other foreigner during the trip down the river.
A hairy Jack, but alas with no Rose. Scarily enough I heard some dreadful karaoke renditions and duets of My Heart Will Go On while on board.
This river is damned (sic). The entire 800 km stretch downstream from Chonqing, including the three gorges, will shortly be the world's largest dam, at an enormous cost of 30 billion USD. It's a worry. These buildings are below the future water-level. Along the length are two levels of development, the old and the new, including buildings and roads. Over one million people need to be relocated out of the area.
A new bridge down-stream of the damn wall, approaching Yueyang where I left the boat on its travels to Wuhan.
The exit gate of China at the border with Vietnam. I travelled non-stop for 48 hours by train from the Yangzee to Vietnam. I had no time to spend there. One wait was from 3pm until 3am in the station waiting room, which turning into 5am as the train was late. The following night I arrived at Nanning at 4am and waited on the station steps until 8am for the next train. No worries!
