Other 2 months have passed since the last update: time runs fast and I’m becoming a lazy writer, even more so in budget time (when I sit in front of excel sheets all day).

By the way, excuse me if it takes me so long to reply to e-mails…….

July: The Big Heat

I know, Europe has had its share of heat this summer: this might help you in imagining how it was to spend July and August in the hottest/most humid part of China. You would go out in the morning and just the short walk from the cool hotel lobby to the minibus would make you sweat the watermelon you had for breakfast.

I had to give up cycling.

And then the rainy season came... (nobody had warned me!). 3 days and my laundry would still be wet.

I went to Hangzhou with Joyce and Wim, but the heat was unbearable.

The Chinese have their methods to survive the heat: men roll up their trousers and shirts so that their bellies protrude into the ‘fresh’ air, while women make big use of umbrellas and fans.

Typical Summer Look

Being the heat so extreme, at the end of July I started worrying about my friends’ visit in August: would they survive the climate?

August 2003: Travelling through Central China

In spite of the sars-paranoia and the difficulty in finding a seat on the few flights that are left, on August, 2nd Federico, Cristina and Marco land in China. The impact is particularly harsh for Federico, who arrives in Shanghai and whose glasses mist on the very second he exits the airport.

On the next day the four of us join together in Beijing and there we start our trip. Our mission: to conquer China with Maraffone* .

* “maraffone” is a game of cards of the Italian region the 4 of us come from.

August, 3: the Great Wall, from Jinshanling to Simatai

Nice weather, very hot, no tourists on the wall.

Lonely Planet estimated 4 hours for the walk. We proudly manage to do it in... 5 hours and a half!! (pictures)

August, 3-4: Pingyao

Pingyao is one of the best preserved Chinese towns that I have seen. After seeing other towns my friends will come to share my enthusiasm for it.

   Pingyao, 7 AM

Maraffone conquers the daoist temple of Pingyao and starts attracting the curiosity of the Chinese.

The food is delicious: I reckon that the cuisine of the North is much better than what I get in Changzhou.

August 6-7: Xi’An

Apart from the Terracotta Army, we don’t particularly love Xi’An. Probably it’s because of the heat and the mist, but we are totally exhausted.

Luckily, the Chinese keep us in a good mood: one old man hugs Marco out of happiness for meeting us; some little girls follow us to give us a flower; under the Great Goose Pagoda (conquered!) a Chinese woman pronounces: “Malaffona”!

August, 8-12: Northern Sichuan

We travel 10 hours by bus from Chengdu to reach the mountains of Northern Sichuan, home of the impressive natural parks of Jiuzhaigou e Huanglong.

Being extremely popular among the Chinese, both parks are overcrowded. In Jiuzhaigou Marco gets upset and starts complaining with the hoards of tourists that invade his photo-subjects. Federico and Cristina, given their blond scalp, are considered a sight even more interesting than the turquoise lakes: many Chinese stop us to take pictures. Luckily, at a distance from the main sightseeing points we have the parks to ourselves. The water is unbelievably transparent and the colors are vivid.

It’s a pity that it rains all the time! :-(

The Natural Reserves of Jiuzhaigou and Huanglong

The population of this area is Tibetan and we are above 3000m of altitude. We fall in love with Songpan, the Tibetan village where we taste yak meat (delicious, even for me!) and where Marco makes the purchase of the trip (see picture): a coat in original yak hair.

Later he will have to send it by mail because its smell is contaminating the contents of his backpack.

Arrival in Songpan                                                Very yak!

August, 13: Chengdu, Leshan

In Chengdu we taste the original Hot Pot. None of us will want to repeat that experience.

Apart from the mouth torture that I just mentioned, I really found Sichuan food worth its reputation (and again: it dwarfs Changzhou cuisine).

One hour from Chengdu, the Buddha in Leshan is said to be the biggest Buddha in the world. We can’t play the planned maraffa on his toe because of the crowds (the leitmotiv of any sightseeing spot in China).

  Da Fu (Leshan)

On the evening of the 13th I leave the others to go back to work in Changzhou.

I take the 6 pm train from Chengdu, convinced that I will arrive in Changzhou the next morning at 8am….. I actually get there 40 (F O U R T Y) hours later. Just when I thought I had managed communicating in China!

August, 16-17: Shanghai

I re-join the others, who in the meanwhile have proved able of coping, if left by themselves (except for Federico, who got some huge circular bruises on his arm and back, after trying a strange kind of traditional massage).

  An exceptional event: a clear view on the Bund!

August, 18-20: Changzhou

I go to work on Monday and then I collapse: I have a temperature of 38.5! Luckily the times of sars are over and I can go to see the doctor without the fear of being put in isolation. The others keep me company and take the chance to relax some days at Mingdu.

On the evening of the 20th they leave for Beijing, where I’ll join them the next week-end.

August 25-26: Beijing

Last stop. The maraffone match on Piazza Tian An Men is the obvious conclusion of our great 3 weeks. Thank you guys!

To see more pictures click on:

Beijing, Pingyao, Xi'An, Sichuan, Jiuzhaigou e Huanglong, Shanghai