Dali Cangshan

Dali Cangshan summit ridge, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Dali Cangshan summit TV relay station

Dali Cangshan summit TV relay station, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Cangshan mountain summit ridge, above Dali, Yunnan

Cangshan mountain summit ridge, above Dali, Yunnan, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Some old pulley equipment for bringing up supplies from the trackhead

Above Looking down on Abing, Tibet (Nujiang)

Above Looking down on Abing, Tibet (Nujiang), originally uploaded by jiulong.

On the Kawakarpo circuit

Kawakarpo trek: Day 3

Kawakarpo trek: Day 3, originally uploaded by jiulong.

The bridge by our stop for the night at Chonating.

Joseph Rock portrait from the archives

Joseph Rock and friends - in the US?

Still on my 'to do' list

One place I'd still like to visit is Kangwu monastery near Muli - known to Joseph Rock as 'Kopati'. It was one of the Muli king's three residences and seems to be the one he favoured as being more personal and homely compared to the grandeur and formality of the big monastery complex at Muli proper. This is one of the few modern pictures of Kamgwu that I have been able to find on the Chinese interwebs:

Tibetan pilgrim on Kawa Karpo kora, Oct 2012

Tibetan pilgrim on Kawa Karpo kora, Oct 2012, originally uploaded by jiulong.

The pilgrims travel in family groups and use bamboo rods as walking sticks.

Tibetan pilgrim female on Kawa Karpo Kora, Oct 2012

Tibetan pilgrim female on Kawa Karpo Kora, Oct 2012, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Got my Epson V500 scanner working on my Ektachrome 120 photos so will post a few highlights from our Kawa Karpo/Doker La trek from last October soon. Here's one to start you off ...

Intermission - Digging through the archives

Been a bit quiet lately as I have been moving between the UK and Australia. Now back in Sydney and hope to post a few interesting snippets about the Joseph Rock archives that I perused at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. Fascinating to read Rock's diaries and see some of his correspondence with people such as Alexandra David-Néel (touchingly asking him for hints on how to get published). Will post more pics of my photos once I get my scanner unpacked and sorted.

Dokerla Doker La Duokela 多克拉

Dokerla Doker La Duokela 多克拉, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Doker La, Yunnan-Tibet border

Doker La, Yunnan-Tibet border, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Kawa Karpo kora Day 3

Kawa Karpo kora Day 3, originally uploaded by jiulong.

This is the 'bowl pass' on the way to Chonatong camp.

Kawa Karpo kora: Looking down on Abing, Tibet (Nujiang)

Looking down on Abing, Tibet (Nujiang), originally uploaded by jiulong.

Kawa Karpo pilgrim with an iPhone

Kawa Karpo pilgrim with an iPhone, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Taken on Day 3 - on the way up to the Abing Pass. A pilgrim, like many, who spent a lot of the trek mucking about with his phone.

George Patterson 1920-2012.

Sad to hear of the death of the remarkable George Patterson, a Scottish missionary turned adventurer who was in Kangding at the time of the Chinese takeover of Tibet. George went to Tibet as a medical aid missionary on behalf of the Plymouth Brethren. Although he wasn't a qualified doctor, he lived and worked providing medical aid to the Khampa people of Kangding in the era 1947-50. When the Red Army invaded, he rode over the Himalayas on behalf of the Dalai Lama to send an appeal to the western and Indian governments via Sadiyah in India. After Tibet came under Chinese rule he went back to the west but later returned to Asia and made forays into China. He eventually settled back in Scotland, and I was surprised to hear that he was not only alive but  active at the time of the Beijing Olympic Games, protesting on behalf of a free Tibet. He even had his own website. His spirit and adventures were remarkable, but I have to admit that I found his books a bit hard going.

Close up of the Doker La pass.

Close up of the Doker La pass., originally uploaded by jiulong.

Western (Tibetan) side of the border pass between Yunnan and Tibet. Taken with a Bessa R2 90mm Tele-Elmar and Ektachrome. Oct 2012.

Doker La - from the Tibetan side.

Doker La - from the Tibetan side., originally uploaded by jiulong.

Kawa Karpo Kora

Kawa Karpo Kora, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Rolleiflex 3.5F and Ektachrome E100G

Cangshan, Dali, in 2012 - and 22 years earlier

Cangshan, Dali, by Rolleiflex 3.5F, originally uploaded by jiulong.

Here is a picture of the Cang Shan summit ridge - and specifically a place called 'Horse Drinking Pool'. This was taken in October 2012 with my Rolleiflex 3.5F and Ektachrome. Below is a picture taken by me from the same spot 22 years earlier. It was taken during my first ever trip to China in October 1990. I had just met my wife-to-be Linda in Guilin and was on the backpacker circuit doing Kunming-Dali etc before returning to Hong Kong. Me and a few other backpackers did a day hike up to the Cangshan peaks courtesy of Jim (of Jim's Peace Cafe), who hired a tractor to take us half way to the top on a rough service road. This first picture was taken with an old Praktika and used colour print film that was developed in HK. As you can see, in 1990 the summit area was fairly wild and untouched. now there is a cable car installed to bring tourists up to an alpine hut and walkway. I should say that this is quite tastefully done and fits in with the environment - quite unlike the concrete ugliness inflicted on the Yading nature reserve.