Chengdu Research Base Of Giant Panda Breeding, Sichuan, China (12/23/2011)

And how could I forget to write about one of the major attractions of Chengdu?  The giant panda, related to the ancestor of raccoons and bears, is a bit of an evolutionary anomaly. They are carnivores that spend 16-18 hours a day doing nothing but eating nutrient poor bamboo. They move slowly and awkwardly (as if intoxicated), have difficulty reproducing, and when they do successfully reproduce, have cubs that require months to learn to do even the most basic things (much like human infants). They aren't particularly bright, and when young are quite vulnerable to predation. Yet despite these numerous apparent disadvantages, pandas have been around for 8 million years.  Despite recent population erosion due to habitat loss, the Chinese have taken drastic measures to ensure these extremely cute 'national treasures' continue to survive both in the wild and in captivity.

Harbin, Heilongjiang, China (01/04/2012-01/06/2012)

For several years now, I had wanted to visit the Ice and Snow Festival in the frigid northern city of Harbin and I finally had the chance.  It happened to be a warmer than usual January at only -21C.  Harbin is also the closest I've yet been to Russia, a place that is definitely on my to-do list given my ancestry and so I caught myself doing things like drinking kvas, eating at Russian restaurants and admiring the old Russian sections of town.

The Siberian tiger park, and Polar World were also interesting visits.The Ice and Snow festival was breathtaking, especially at night.  The blocks are hauled from the frozen Songhua river that runs through the city and assembled over weeks into grandiose, and sometimes life-sized replicas of famous places, people and events. Children from a young age are taught to make ice lanterns (by filling emptied eggs with water then freezing them).

Despite the frigid cold, smoke-laden air, and rather bland taste of North-Eastern food (minus dumplings), I would highly recommend a visit - the very warm and kind people, interesting history, and natural scenery are added bonuses.

Dujiangyan, Sichuan, China (12/28/2011)

The complex irrigation system of Dujiangyan was built over 2,000 years ago and is largely responsible for the fertility of Sichuan province.  It is impressive on both scale and complexity, and my lack of Chinese ability really prevented me from understanding more about how it actually worked, other than controlling silt content in water. Many beautiful temples were built alongside this ancient engineering project.

Sanxingdui, Sichuan, China (12/27/2011)

Ever since the artifacts of Sanxingdui were presented at the Royal Ontario Museum over a decade ago, I have wanted to learn more about the mysterious civilization that inhabited central Sichuan 3,000 - 5,000 years ago. They left no written record other than 7 characters and there was no record of their existence in Chinese texts.  Their artifacts were remarkably detailed, precise and modern-looking. Their style demonstrated significant foreign influence and had a strong resemblance to Meso-American artwork (or perhaps vice versa?). While no mysteries were solved, it was great to see the museum and site where on-going excavations are occurring.

Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟), Sichuan, China (12/24/2011-12/26/2011)

A short flight north from Sichuan, in the ancient Tibetan province of Kham lies a series of Tibetan villages along mountains that are known for their all-season beauty. I was lucky enough to have gone to one of China's most popular domestic tourist destinations off-season (so much so that entire hotels were closed); at the same time, I missed the more colourful landscapes seen during autumn colour changes and spring blooms.  Jiuzhaigou is most famous for its multi-coloured lakes (due to high mineral content of the water, notably copper).  As it was dry season, there were numerous trails that were closed off to tourists due to the propensity of local tourists to chain-smoke. The prospect of walking along the road did not sit well with some (including myself) and luckily the trails were not monitored - otherwise this would have been a very boring experience walking along the road between lakes.

One of the more unique experiences offered in Jiuzhaigou was the opportunity to dine, drink and dance with a local Tibetan family. While very touristy (and cliches a plenty), it was still quite fun.