Tianmen Mountain. Natural Arch and 99 Bends.

View of the natural arch and the stairway leading to it.

Typically, I am a half glass full person but as I took the photos in this posting, I was a glass half empty person - bemoaning the fact that in a few short hours, I would be saying goodbye to everyone and boarding a plane that would eventually take me to Beijing.  Tomorrow, I fly back to the US.  Even though I had shoved all these thoughts to the back of my head, I was still already feeling so bittersweet that I really don't think I enjoyed the last bit of my visit to Tianmen Mountain.

Tianmen Mountain. Tianmenshan Temple.

Given that we are in a National Park, I did not expect to see a temple here but indeed there is one.  I guess that really should be no surprise as this was not park area when the temple was originally built.  From the Coiling Dragon glass skywalk, we made our way along the Coiling Dragon trail to Tianmenshan Si ("Heavenly Gate Mountain Temple").

Killing Time in Zhangjiajie.

We had the afternoon to ourselves so we killed time wandering the streets of downtown Zhangjiajie which is just about a fifteen minute walk from our hotel. Returning from Tianzi Mountain Reserve, Lee and the driver dropped us near a bank as Mal needed to withdraw more money from the ATM machine.

Tianzi Mountain Nature Reserve.

Arghh!! I saw nothing but cloudy skies when I threw open the curtain windows in our room.  I scanned the skies looking for a glimpse of blue sky and saw none.  I had so hoped for a sunny day.  Yim is going to be so disappointed :-( 

Night Stroll in Zhangjiajie.

It was 9p when we set out from the hotel for a short walk around the hotel which is located right on a main road.  The only obvious place to walk towards was a complex of buildings that looked like a commercial complex of some sort.  We were drawn in by the lights :-)

Zhangjiajie. A Walk Along Golden Whip Stream.

After lunch, Lee and our driver took us back to the park entrance where we took the path leading to the trail that ran alongside Golden Whip Stream.  The trail was basically a loop and it took us about 2 hours to complete. We had the occasional stop to take photos and admire the scenery but otherwise, we didn't break our stride.

Zhangjiajie. Huangshi Village.

W

e arrived into Zhangjiajie late yesterday afternoon.  We had flown from Dunhuang with a layover in Xi'an.  As we were waiting for our luggage, I spotted our guide waiting for us on the other side of the window.  We had been guessing if Lee was going to be a boy or a girl and at first glance, I thought Lee was a boy but in fact, she's a girl.  Very much a tomboy :-)

Random Shots of Dunhuang. Our Last Day.

Today was our last day in Dunhuang and I think we were all more than ready to move on.

Mal and I lazed around a good part of the morning but it really was a beautiful day so I used her need to buy bottled water as a way to get her out for a short walk around the hotel.  The hotel itself is on a relatively busy road but the side roads are not as they all seem to lead to neighborhoods.

More of Sazhou Night Market.

Give us free time and where do we go? Back to the market - to the Sazhou Night Market to be more precise.

Yumen Pass.

The Small Fangpan Castle.

On the way back to Dunhuang city from the Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark, we stopped for a short visit to Yumen Pass (aka Jade Gate) and to see an original section of the Great Wall dating back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD).

Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark.

Today, we got to see a most and incredible,  surreal desert landscape that I will not soon forget!

When I first heard the term, *yardang*, as in the Dunhuang Yardang National Geopark, I thought the word was a Chinese word.  It sounded Chinese and maybe it referred to the specific region the geopark was located in.  I could not be more wrong!

Shazhou Night Market....In The Daytime.

Yim and Sal have been pretty much the ones who are coming up with ideas on where we should go and what we should do.  You cannot believe how incredibly grateful and relieved I am to be able to take a back seat.  Usually, I'm the one having to make the decisions and it's not often an easy task. So I thank them and graciously just tag along.

Mogao Caves.

The Fab Four at Mogao.

Mal and I managed to drag ourselves out of bed bright and early.  Mal had our vouchers for breakfast. The hotel itself did not have a restaurant so we had to go to a local restaurant that was located pretty much next door to the hotel.  Our voucher entitled us to some noodles and an egg.  I wasn't all that hungry so it was easy for me to pass up on the noodles.  Mal was not enticed  either. Very sad breakfast even by my budget travel standards and this is supposedly a 4 star hotel we're staying in.

Encore Dunhuang.

I only have one simple word to describe what I saw tonight - Wow!!!!

When Cathy asked if we wanted to see a performance event, tied to the International Cultural Expo that Dunhuang was hosting, we all said yes though we really didn't have any idea what we were all in for. 

Killing Time in Dunhuang.

We had the afternoon free to ourselves today and as often happens, we had little clue as to how to keep busy.

After Cathy dropped us off at the hotel, we headed out in search of a place for lunch and we found what looked like a nice place to eat.  Most importantly, it was air conditioned - the heat here has been brutal....at least for me :-(

Echoing Sand Mountain and Crescent Lake.

Crescent Lake

We spent the morning at a place that I have been looking forward to visiting ever since I decided to come on this trip.  The dunes sounded so unique.  Walk on them and you can hear them echoing ergo their name - Echoing Sand Mountain.  Well, the whole echoing thing didn't happen probably because the place was mobbed with tourists but it was still a fun experience hiking up and down the dunes and see the lake which has never dried up.

A Short Stroll in Dunhuang.

After pretty much what was a full day's journey getting to Dunhuang from Jiayuguan, we all looked forward to stretching out legs for more than just a few minutes.  We all took some time to get ourselves settled into our rooms and then we all met back up in the lobby.  Cathy had given us a rough set of directions to walk in.  I think we were all a bit tired so we set out but I don't think we knew exactly which way to walk but we  knew we had to head towards the river and so we did.

On the Way to Dunhuang. Yulin Grottoes.

After a VERY uninspiring breakfast at the hotel, we left Jiayuguan bright and early this morning. By day's end, we had arrived into Dunhuang. It was a long road journey and along the way, we made a few stops - most notably at Yulin Grottoes, hands down the nicest cave temples we've seen so far. 

The Overhanging Great Wall.

After our visit to Jiayuguan Fortress, it was off to climb a section of the Great Wall. The last time I was on the Great Wall, I climbed the Simitai section which was partially reconstructed.   Today, I walked a comparatively shorter section known as the Overhanging Great Wall, that was pretty much fully reconstructed.

Jiayuguan Fortress.

Mal and I met up with Yim and Sal for breakfast at 8a. We took Mal to the same woman that we had bought the Chinese cruellers form yesterday. Today, I had two and a small plastic cup of warm soy milk. That was a perfect breakfast for me.