Traffic jam near Ya'an

The road to Erlang Shan

Looking down from Erlang Shan tunnel to the Dadu river and Luding

Erlang Shan, between Kangding and Chengdu

Erlang Shan, between Kangding and Chengdu, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Chengdu "Tibetan-town"

Chengdu "Tibetan-town", originally uploaded by jiulong.

Joseph Rock's old house, Yuhu (Nguluko), Lijiang

Joseph Rock's old house, Yuhu (Nguluko), Lijiang, originally uploaded by jiulong.

A video of Chongu Si (temple) at Yading (Konkaling)

This is a video I took about three years ago of a monk chanting at the tiny Chonggu temple at the Yading nature area in Sichuan. These three sacred peaks are the ones that Joseph Rock referred to as the Konkaling or Konka Risumgomba peaks.

Lamsa celebrate the ascension of Tsongkapa at Choni (Jone) Gansu

Lamsa celebrate the ascension of Tsongkapa at Choni (Jone) Gansu, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Public market at Labrang monastery (Xiahe)

Public market at Labrang monastery (Xiahe), originally uploaded by jiulong.

Joseph Rock with the Prince of Choni

Joseph Rock with the Prince of Choni, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Axili Prince's cave - near Lijiang

Axili Prince's cave - near Lijiang, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Baiyue temple, Lijiang

Baiyue temple, Lijiang, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Yufeng temple decoration of Gemaba, Lijiang

Yufeng temple decoration of Gemaba, Lijiang, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Tsemoling incarnation decalred by 13th Dalai Lama

Tsemoling incarnation decalred by 13th Dalai Lama, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Lamas sun the Buddha at Choni [Jone] Gansu

Lamas sun the Buddha at Choni [Jone] Gansu, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Tibetan, Nu and Naxi porters carry Joseph Rock's gear at the Sila pass, NW Yunnan, between the Mekong and Salween (Nujiang) rivers

Tibetan, Nu and Naxi porters carry Joseph Rock's gear at the Sila pass, NW Yunnan, between the Mekong and Salween (Nujiang) rivers, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Salween (Nujiang) river, Yunnan

Salween (Nujiang) river, Yunnan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Two of Joseph Rock's "Naxi boys" back from a succesful hunting trip

Two of Joseph Rock's "Naxi boys" back from a succesful hunting trip, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Naxi boy with the head of a blue sheep

Naxi boy with the head of a blue sheep, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Rock's expedition near Choni, Gansu

Rock's expedition near Choni, Gansu, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Rock near Lijiang, returning from his journey to Konkaling (Yading)

Rock near Lijiang, returning from his journey to Konkaling (Yading), originally uploaded by jiulong.

Choni prince Yang Chi-ching

Choni prince Yang Chi-ching, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Two unmarried Naxi girls with married woman (right)

Two unmarried Naxi girls with married woman (right), originally uploaded by jiulong.

Moslem of old Taochow, Gansu

Moslem of old Taochow, Gansu, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Naxi men with their barrows en route to Gaba from Lijiang

Naxi men with their barrows en route to Gaba from Lijiang, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Naxi girls in Lijiang with market baskets

Naxi girls in Lijiang with market baskets, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Naxi brides in rented Chinese bridal gowns

Naxi brides in rented Chinese bridal gowns, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Likiang market, 1920s

Likiang market, 1920s, originally uploaded by jiulong.

North end of Lijiang, 1920s

North end of Lijiang, 1920s, originally uploaded by jiulong.

And here's a more recent picture I took of the same area:

Joseph Rock's expedition caravan in a Yunnan village

Joseph Rock's expedition caravan in a Yunnan village, originally uploaded by jiulong.

New video of a trip from Daocheng to Litang.

After my visit to Yading in 2003 (the Konkaling peaks of Dr Joseph Rock's 1920s travels) we took a jeep and bus back to Kangding, via Litang. This video shows some of the sights along the way, including the Rabbit mountain "Tuzi Shan" and the monks at a lunch time truck stop near Litang.

Gomba, Tibetan nomad, by Joseph Rock, 1929

Gomba, Tibetan nomad, originally uploaded by jiulong.

81-year old Living Buddha of Dzangar monastery

81-year old Living Buddha of Dzangar monastery, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Lamas assemble at Choni (Jone), Gansu, 1927

Lamas assemble at Choni (Jone), Gansu, 1927, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Village girl at Choni (Jone), Gansu, 1928

Village girl at Choni (Jone), Gansu, 1928, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Tibetan nomads, Gansu, 1927

Tibetan nomads, Gansu, 1927, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Butter sculptures at Choni, Gansu, 1927

Butter sculptures at Choni, Gansu, 1927, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Tibetan nomads east of Kokonar

Tibetan nomads east of Kokonar, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Nguluko, near Lijiang, Yunnan

Nguluko, near Lijiang, Yunnan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Butsang Ngolok chief with his wife

Butsang Ngolok chief with his wife, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Lijiang market, 1928

Lijiang market, 1928, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Yi woman in market near Yanyuan, Sichuan

Yi woman in market near Yanyuan, Sichuan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Yongning monastery, 1928

Yongning monastery, 1928, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Yongning monastery 2004

Yongning monastery 2004, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Spoof TV holiday programme from Muli

Happylee's pics of Gongga Shan/Minya Konka

贡嘎寺 Gongga Shan/Minya Konka, originally uploaded by jiulong.

These are a couple of samples of pics taken by a Chinese guy called "happylee" and posted at the douyouhike forum. You can see all his excellent pics here:

http://www.doyouhike.net/forum/157272,0,0,1.html

Gonga Shan 贡嘎寺

Gonga Shan 贡嘎寺, originally uploaded by jiulong.

More glimpses of Muli monastery ( 四川 木里) and Wachang

Here's some video of the area around Muli monastery. It all looks very green and fertile because it is the middle of the rainy season - August. Usually it is much more bleak and brown than this. The video also shows a bit of the valley around Wachang - the nearby small town where most Muli people live. As you can see, the inhabitants of this so called "Shangri-La" are more interested in mobile phones and motorbikes than in eternal life!

Muli ceremony and lunch

Latest video is some more coverage of the Muli monastery ceremony and me having lunch with the monks there. All from August 2004.

More Muli monastery video 木里大寺

muli front 木里大寺, originally uploaded by jiulong.

This one shows a ceremony taking place at the monastery in August 2004. Includes conch shells!

Arriving at Muli monastery: video

A short clip of the walk around from Wachang village to the monastery at Muli. Taken in August 2003.

Ford trimotor at Lijiang, 1936

Ford trimotor at Lijiang, 1936, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Hired by Joseph Rock to fly from Kunming to see the Yulong Xueshan mountains.

Zhongdian Songzanlin temple

Zhongdian temple, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Zhongdian Songzanlin temple

Zhongdian Songzanlin temple, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Hike to Muli part 3: descent from Gibboh Pass

Muli porter2, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Here is the video of my hike to Muli in August 2004. The scenery is very green because it is the wet season. This section shows the descent frm the Gibboh Pass at about 12,000 feet down towards the town of Wachang. It was getting late in the day so we hitched a ride near the end and the jeep got stuck in the river. This was the only traffic we saw on the Yongning to Muli track.