Saturday, December 22, 2007

Chongding Catholic church, Bingzhongluo

I'm on the Nujiang river, following in Rock's footsteps throught the communities of Lisu and Nu people in NW Yunnan. I have my 8 year old son with me so won't be doing anything much adventurous.

Lonely grave, Bingzhongluo


Lonely grave, Bingzhongluo, originally uploaded by jiulong.

This is the grave of Pere Genestier, the French missionary priest who gave Rock shelter during his Mekong-Salween trip that he described in "Through the Great River Trenches of Asia".

Along the Nujiang river, Yunnan


Along the Nujiang river, Yunnan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Bingzhongluo, Yunnan


Bingzhongluo, Yunnan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

First bend of Nujiang river, Bingzhongluo, Yunnan

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Friday, October 26, 2007

Mosuo families, 1926 and 2006, Yongning


Mosuo women, Yongning, originally uploaded by jiulong.

First photo by JF Rock, 1926.

Second photo by Chen Qingagng, taken in 2006:
Lijiasun Mosuo family

Lijiasun, Sichuan


Lijiasun, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Some great pictures of Lijiasun (a village between Lugu Lake and Muli) by photographer Chen Qingang can be seen at:
http://www.china-fpa.org/en/hpa2006/C/HPA5-0970CT.html

Lijiasun, Sichuan


Lijiasun, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Pic by Chen Qingang

Lijiasun, Sichuan


Lijiasun, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Pic by Chen Qingang

Lijiasun, Sichuan


Lijiasun, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Pic by Chen Qingang

Lijiasun, Sichuan


Lijiasun, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Pic by Chen Qingang

Lijiasun, Sichuan


Lijiasun, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Sunday, September 30, 2007

Minya Konka trek - latest news


It's been many years since I did the Minya Konka trek. If you want to know what conditions are like now, try the ongoing blog by Amy West, who has blogged so far of her scary trip over a snowbound Gyazi La. She is trekking with a guide from a company called GeoEx and is accompanied by the daughter of Arthur Emmons, one of the first climbers to ascend Minya Konka.

The blog is Amy West Needs Medication

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Above Mengdong (Mundon)


Above Mundon, originally uploaded by jiulong.

After spending a cramped night sleeping on the floor of the filthy houses in Mundon we hitched up our horses and set off up the hill to see the mountain Maidi Gangga (Muti Konka). This involved a long haul up the hillside through burnt out forest. It culmintaed in this spectacular view of the valleys below, before we turned around a spur and into the Chang Haizi valley.
This photo taken with the cheap and cheerful Olympus XA.

Mengdong (Mundon)


Mundon, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Arty black and white pictures of Mengdong (Rock's "dreary hamlet of Mundon") on the edge of the Yalong canyon.

Mundon, near Jiulong, Sichuan


Mundon, near Jiulong, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Arty black and white pictures of Mengdong (Rock's "drearry hamlet of Mundon") on the edge of the Yalong canyon. Taken with my old Leica IIIa which is almost as old as Rock's expedition.

Wuxu Hai


Wuxu Hai, originally uploaded by jiulong.

This lake near Jiulong is now a tourist resort - funny how Joseph Rock never mentioned it despite passing by twice on his way between Muli and Kangding. Most people photograph it from the oppposite direction - this is looking south back towards the lake and the tourist cabins on the other side.

Chang Haizi and Maidi Gangga


Chang Haizi and Maidi Gangga, originally uploaded by jiulong.

View of the sacred mountain framed by prayer flags in the early morning.

Kangwu Shan Pass, near Jiulong


Kangwu Shan Pass, near Jiulong, originally uploaded by jiulong.

This is looking back towards Kangwu Shan - the pass between Jiulong and the dead-end valley (Yangwe Kong) leading to Sanyanlong.

Above Sanyanlong, Jiulong county,Sichuan

This is the view back down to Sanyanlong in the Yangwe Kong valley after climbing up towards Mundon (Mengdong).

Chang Haizi, Sichuan


Chang Haizi, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

This is the lake below Miadi Gangga (Muti Konka) taken from an easterly direction looking towards the Yalong.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Visitors to Choni before Joseph Rock, 1923


Silver breastplate, Choni 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

In 1923, two years befor Joseph Rock arrived there, two other Americans viited and photographed the Tibetan monastery at Choni (Zhuoni) in Gansu province. They were By Janet and Frederick Wulsin, wealthy Americans who were based in Beijing. Frederick was an aspiring naturalist and took a Graflex camera on this expedition. These are some of the many photogrpahs he and his wife took - and which are now in the archives of the Peabody Museum at Harvard University. They are taken from the book Vanished Kingdoms by Mabel Cabot (daughter of Janet).

This picture is a silver breastplate worn by a Tibetan dancer at Choni, marked with astrological signs, at Cham-ngyon-wa festival, Kansu 1923.

Chanting Hall, Choni, 1923


Chanting Hall, Choni, 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

By Janet and Frederick Wulsin

Choni Lamas, Gansu


Choni Lamas, Gansu, originally uploaded by jiulong.

By Janet and Frederick Wulsin

Choni monastery, 1923


Choni monastery, 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

By Janet and Frederick Wulsin

Little Poplar Temple, Wang Yeh Fu


Little Poplar Temple, Wang Yeh Fu, originally uploaded by jiulong.

By Janet and Frederick Wulsin

Golden Temple, Kumbum, Qinghai


Golden Temple, Kumbum, Qinghai, originally uploaded by jiulong.

By Janet and Frederick Wulsin

Kumbum courtyard 1923


Kumbum courtyard 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

By Janet and Frederick Wulsin

Golden stupa, Labrang, 1923


Golden stupa, Labrang, 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

By Janet and Frederick Wulsin

Labrang monastery 1923


Labrang monastery 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

By Janet and Frederick Wulsin

Kumbum monks 1923


Kumbum monks 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

By Janet and Frederick Wulsin

Kumbum monks, 1923


Kumbum monks, 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Tibetan herders with yaks, Kokonor 1923

Great Chanting Hall, Choni, 1923


Great Chanting Hall, Choni, 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Tibetans in Kansu, 1923


Tibetans in Kansu, 1923, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Friday, July 27, 2007

Panchen Lama, Kumbum, 1948


Panchen Lama, Kumbum, 1948, originally uploaded by jiulong.

A picture from Life magazine by Mark Kauffman, which shows the young Tuteng Chueh-chi at Kumbum monastery.

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Aerial shot of Gongga Shan


Aerial shot of Gongga Shan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Not my photo - another Flickr find.

Bad karma driver near Deqin


Bad karma driver near Deqin, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Not my photo - another Flickr find

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Wife of Tendon Dzongpon, Lhasa


Wife of Tendon Dzongpon, Lhasa, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Not really related to Joseph Rock, but I couldn't resist linking to these beautiful colour photographs of Tibet from the same era. They were taken by British envoy Spencer Chapman during an official expedition to Lhasa in the 1930s. The whole collection can be seen at:
http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk

Tendon Dzongpon, Lhasa


Tendon Dzongpon, Lhasa, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Not really related to Joseph Rock, but I couldn't resist linking to these beautiful colour photographs of Tibet from the same era. They were taken by British envoy Spencer Chapman during an official expedition to Lhasa in the 1930s. The whole collection can be seen at:
http://tibet.prm.ox.ac.uk

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Muli valley to be flooded

Sad news. The Muli river valley is to be flooded with the creation of six dams by China Hydro. This maps shows the location of the dams, with several between the old monasteries of Waerdje (here marked as Muli Sanqu) and Muli monastery.
Map of planned dam of Muli river valley, Sichuan

A larger, high definition version of this map can be downloaded here.

Naxi Dongba ceremony, Muli, 2005

Joseph Rock would be pleased to see that the Naxi ceremonies he studied and recorded are again being held near his old home north of Lijiang. [All pics are from the local Muli newspaper, the Liangshan Ribao].

On the road to "Dream Mountain":
Naxi Dongba ceremony

Naxi women are not allowed to take part but in 2005 they attended for the first time.
Naxi Dongba ceremony

Men chant with the dongba;
Naxi Dongba ceremony

The old shamen presides:
Naxi Dongba ceremony

At home with the dongba [priest]:
dongba

Yi people hit by mudslide in Muli, 2005

These photos are from the website of the country paper, the Liangshan Ribao.

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Yi people near Muli mourn their relatives killed my a mudslide.

Yi people in mourning after mudlside, Liangshan region, 2005
Yi people displaced by mudlside, Muli, 2005.

Yi people after mudlside, Liangshan region, 2005
County leader inspects mudslide relief work, Muli, 2005