Kingsley Live from China Days Two & Three

I have been struck well and truly between the eyes!

China is not at all what I expected, and I suspect that this is what most people would say if they found themselves in this amazing place.

Banish forever any perceptions that China is rough and ready, and that visitors are about as welcome as flies at a barby. 

In fact, based on my experience so far I think its almost fair to say that China has embraced capitalism like a Gold Coast property developer!

However, and very importantly, the Chinese people I have met are very focussed on the preservation of heritage areas and conservation.  This may appear at odds with what people see when they visit the larger cities, but for those willing to see more than simply Beijing and the Great Wall, an awe inspiring experience awaits in the province of Sichuan.

The major city in Sichuan is Chengdu, and our group was briefly in Chengdu on our way to the Juizhaigou Scenic Area.  Sichuan itself is known as the ‘Land of Abundance’, with plateaux, plains and snow-capped mountains and considered by many to be the most beautiful province in China. 

Many Chinese also believe that the most beautiful area in China is Juizhaigou and from what I’ve seen so far it would be hard to disagree!

Sichuan has 5,000 years of recorded history and was the first area to develop agriculture and it became the granary of China. 

Its cloth travelled along the Silk Road to Europe, and it is the homeland of the only serious competition to the Koala in the ‘cute & cuddly’ stakes – the Giant Panda!

Before raving about the delights of Juizhaigou, some points to note!

Chengdu is a large city that reflects what is going on all over China.  It is a large working city, and certainly has its urban sprawl with 5 million of its 10 million population living near the centre of the city.

The Government is investing heavily in tourism and is creating what are known as “Holiday Cities”, which is good news for Chengdu in particular, as it is already the number one leisure city in China. 

Yep girls, it is chock full of luxury stores and in one area alone there are over 10,000 shops!

A complete underground system is being built and there are shiny new buildings  everywhere.

For all its size, Chengdu somehow appears uncluttered (at least in the city areas – this view may change later!) with wide streets and all the feel of a city that might be anywhere in the western world.

China is perceived as a country that is built up, with lots of people everywhere and this may certainly be true in places like Shanghai & Beijing, but China has an amazing amount of wide open spaces that visitors rarely reach.

The Way To Go

So what is the best way to visit China? Without doubt, the only real barrier that people face is the language and ff you were beamed down onto a street in Chengdu and knew little or no Chinese, then your day could be very exciting and exhausting!!

No doubt as time goes on this will become less of a barrier and the numbers of budget travellers will increase, but my advice at the present would be to go with a tour package option for anyone taking a first trip to China, indeed this is probably the best option for later trips!

Once familiar with how things work, and the comfort level is right, this is then the time to head for a little more independence if this is your thing, which leads us nicely to the ‘2007 Jiuzhaigou-Huanglong International Conference’.

2007 Jiuzhaigou-Huanglong International Conference

Today our group attended the Opening Ceremony of the 3rd Ice Festival of the ‘Jiuzhai a-ba Prefecture’ in Jiuzhaigou.  This was an outdoor event was held inside the Juizhaigou Scenic Area, next to frozen waterfalls with jade trees and ice flowers.

The location was simply stunning showcasing the beauty of Juizhaigou, also known as ‘The Fairytale world’.  Speeches, ticker-tape & cultural dancing were the order of the day and a tour of Juizhaigou followed where we were treated to some unforgettable scenic locations.

In the afternoon we attended the 2007 Jiuzhaigou-Huanglong International Conference at the Sheraton Juizhaigou Resort, with the conference held to promote Juizhaigou.

Awards were presented to various organisations promoting tourism in Jiuzhaigou, with local, national and international delegates attending.

[Pictured, Jason Xu ( China Holidays), Minister of Juizhaigou, Scott ( China Holidays) and Bob Sparks at the Welcome Banquet]

Bob Sparks addressed the conference as a senior executive of the Australian Travel Industry, thanking Prefecture and tourism representatives for their invitation to the official opening of the Ice Festival and for the kind hospitality extended to our group.

Bob also spoke of his close relationship with Jason Xu, the founder of China Holidays, one of the largest wholesalers in Australia and New Zealand, specialising in holidays to China with China Holidays having developed close links with both the Chinese Govt and China tourism bodies and is also globally marketing China to the world, including Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK and South Africa.

Bob informed the conference of the retail and other distribution channels being used to reach the various tourism organisations worldwide, including Australia and he also detailed the future strategy for the expansion of China Holidays.

Bob introduced me, Kingsley Mason representing the global industry eNews TravelMole and the delegates were very pleased to hear that live reports were being fed back to the Australian Travel Industry to assist in the education of China as a “must go to” country.

Bob summarised the strengths of China Holidays, and stated that he was very keen to continue the good work started previously with the Prefecture, and increase distribution on a global basis, ending with:

“Let’s be winners together and allow our customers to experience the magnitude, tranquillity, culture and the sheer brilliance of China today”

Juizhaigou Scenic Area

Where do I begin?

Physical descriptions do not suffice – it is the sort of place where you really do feel a cleansing of the soul, and where your worries really can be forgotten. 

It is simply one of those places where your camera will scream out “I canna take anymore Jimmy!!”

For mystics, romantics, arty people of any kind, just find yourself a glittering (and/or frozen!) waterfall next to one of the mirror lakes and…er… reflect!

If you have clients who seek a photographer’s paradise, then this is the place without doubt, but first, some realities from my so far brief experience, if old perceptions surface….!!!

The Chinese people are really very friendly and even if they cannot understand you, it is clear from their expressions that they are keen to help however they can.

There are no lines of machine-gun wielding communists inscrutably looking at your every move!  The airports are modern, the infrastructure is modern. 

We were amazed that even in the remote mountains, there was still mobile reception – take note Telstra!!!

Signs of technology are everywhere, with dial-up internet in China we are told,  ‘ancient history’.

Come back to a city in 12 months and it has significantly changed with the pace of change building for the last 20 years and what you have now is a country that really is ancient, but with all the infrastructure of western civilisation.

I will wax lyrical (or as close as I can get!) about the Juizhaigou Scenic Area in my next report and I will also send some amazing photographs, but for now its time for another cultural performance (possibly followed by a Karaoke experience…!) I wonder if I can really sound like Tom Jones or maybe Bob can?

A report on location in China by Kinglsey Mason for TravelMole