New Year's Day In Zhangjiajie

On the first day of 2005, we got up to be ready by 7:30. It was extremely hard to get up since it wasn't even warm IN our sleeping bags, let alone outside of them. Nige went down to the hotel counter store to get me some thermals. I had washed mine the night before due to a little accident I'd had earlier yesterday. They were not only still wet, they were ice. He hopped downstairs in his sleeping bag like a little caterpillar. We went downstairs and noticed that everyone else had packed their bags and brought them along. So we had to go back up to our room and pack our bags, wet laundry and all. They were left in the hotel lobby, presumably to meet up with us at some point later in the day...at least we hoped. All of our communication with the tour guide and group was done through charades and our book.

We walked out of the hotel to stunning views of huge rock formations jutting out of the earth. Zhangjiajie Village is inside Wulingyuan National Park, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. The mountains have gradually eroded to form a landscape of craggy peaks and huge rock columns rising out of the sub-tropical forest. We walked to the base of one of the cablecars where we were told we had to pay 100 yuan each to ride it to the top. After trying to explain that it should have been included in our tour fee, but getting nowhere, we said we'd just walk up. But the guide said that we could not walk up, and that we'd have to pay the fee and take the cablecar (we would later learn this was not true, we could have walked up, and the cablecar actually only cost 86 yuan per person). We spent a few hours at the top of one of the peaks, overlooking many of the rock formations. At this height, they were all covered with a layer of snow. It was beautiful. Many of the rock formations have names, such as 'Pig-like rock,' 'Five Fingers,' and other names, of which we could see no resemblance to in the rocks.

We rode the cablecar back down and walked out of the park and into the village for lunch. On our way there, we stopped at a gallery of paintings and ceramic pottery. We were show into a back room where we all sat on sofas and were served cups of tea. The boiling hot tea was in cheap plastic cups, practically melting in our hands. A girl talked on and on to us about something we couldn't understand (we can only assume it was about the art) and then a man in a suit was ushered in. He started lecturing us in Chinese. The girl rolled in a black leather office chair for him to sit in to try to give the impression that he was someone important. He had the longest, grossest hair coming out of a mole on his face, sticking straight out about 2 inches. When he was finished rambling, we were escorted around the gallery, presumably to buy something that they just spoke about in the room--we can only guess at all of this, since we understood nothing. Weird.

For lunch, everyone was taken to a restaurant where they paid 20 yuan each. We managed to get across to our guide that this was too expensive for us (our meals have been an average of about 10 yuan total) and that we would eat elsewhere. Since Zhangjiajie is a popular tourist spot for Chinese, there were an abundance of restaurants. Unfortunately for us, the Chinese prefer to visit the park in summer and autumn, so all of these places were closed. This was very bizarre to us, since it seems like someone is selling something or other to eat on every corner in China. We shared some instant noodles for 4 yuan and sat on a wall along the sidewalk.

After lunch, we followed the group back into the park along the same path as the morning. We had no idea where we were going (again). We ended up walking about 10km through the valley between two of the peak formation ranges. It was a beautiful walk, with views of the peaks from ground level this time. It is so lush and green there. We even saw some monkeys.

At the end of the walk, we were taken to another minibus--but first, we had to walk through a series of lines, designated by metal handrails, like waiting in line for a ride at an amusement park. All of this despite the fact that there was no line, no one was around except our group, and it would have been faster and more convenient to walk straight to the bus instead of through the lines. Another communist thing??

Next we were driven to a 'hotel' where we got off the bus and were taken upstairs into an 'anteroom' full of recliner chairs. We all took a seat, and people came in and placed bowls of steaming hot grey-black water at our feet. Again, a man in a suit came in to speak to us. Nigel and I just looked around, having no idea what was going on. One of the girls in our group spoke a tiny bit of English, and she pointed to the word 'wash' in our phrasebook. Apparently we were going to get our feet washed. But no one was taking off their shoes. After a few minutes of waiting in silence, someone came into say something, and we all got up and left. Weird.

Next we were taken to another place where we were given badges and shown into a back room. We sat on couches, were offered cups of hot water, and a girl spoke to us about something we couldn't understand. Yet again, a man in a suit came in to talk to us, then we were escorted out of the room and into a very large jewelry 'gallery.' Ahah! They wanted us to buy their jewelry. We pretended to be interested in looking for a few minutes, then everyone headed back to the bus. Weird.

Next we were driven to another place, given badges, and walked through a display of different geological rocks and stones and what types of jewelry is made from these rocks and stones, all accompanied by a chattering Chinese guide. We were shown into another huge jewelry store. I guess they thought we'd be more likely to buy something if we knew where the jewelry actually came from. This time we were on to them, so we just walked straight out. While we were waiting outside for the rest of the group, a man approached us and asked if a few of the girls working inside could take a photo with us. Nigel said yes, and they all scurried out of the bathroom, where they had been fixing their hair. They were cute, giggling and very shy, especially around Nigel.

Next we were taken to yet another place where we were shown into another room at the back. This one had low tables and stools as chairs. We were given an elaborate tea tasting of three types of teas. A woman talked the entire time as she brewed the teas in different pots and poured them for us to try. We had no idea what she was saying, but it was very interesting watching her. Each tea required different types of pots and brewing styles. It was fun trying the different teas. Then of course she tried to sell us some tea.

Our journey through gallery hell over, we were finally taken to our hotel for the night, where our bags were waiting for us in the lobby. This place did have heat; although it didn't work great, it was definitely an improvement from the night before. We set up our still-wet laundry and walked to find some dinner. We have no idea where we were at this stage, but it was somewhere in the National Park. We went into a restaurant that looked busy, pointed to fried rice and dumplings in our phrasebook, got a 'Yes' as an answer and quickly took a seat. The meal was hot, fresh, and delicious. We had been eating instant noodles for nearly every meal during the last 3-4 days, so it was really nice to have something else. Our tummies full, we went back to the hotel, had a hot shower, and went to sleep.

Such a great day almost made up for the miserable day before.