September 20, 2006, 5:44 am, Leeds
Many thanks for your continued support during our expedition to the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. We hope that the expedition has helped to provide you with some insight into the challenges facing this region and the new trainline, as well as the culture, environment and lifestyle in Qinghai and Tibet.
Whilst the physical elements of the expedition may be over, the team members continue their interest in this area and furthering the Qingzang Project 2006. Within the following months, further information and features will appear on this website including:
- the short video of Qingdao Tourism School (China) to complement the existing video of Intake High School (Leeds, UK) as part of our schools project to promote understanding and knowledge between British and Chinese communities;
- reports submitted by team members to their sponsors the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust and the University of Leeds
- articles written by team members
- a radio documentary recorded and contributed on location by team members.
Once again, thanks for your support so far and feel free to contact us via the comments section.
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August 24, 2006, 3:37 am
'It is as amazing as the Great Wall,' our ship guide gushed in an attempt to persuade us to visit the new attraction on the Yangzi River.
As spectacular as the mountainous Three Gorges are, many of those who take the 3-5 day cruise are just as curious about the new kid on the block.
After ten years in the making and a barrage of international criticism, China's Three Gorges Dam will to go into operation next month (Sept 2006).
Poised over the third longest river in the world, the dam is forecast to create as much electircity as 18 nuclear power plants.
And whilst millions of people alongside the Yangzi have already been relocated, with just over a month to go, others have not.
Searching for dinner after our ship had docked, we walked up hill to find a dozen street restaurants selling sea food fished from the river. As we asked one restaurant owner what she thought of the dam, she pointed to a sign above her family restaurant marking out where the water will rise after the dam begins operations. In less than one month that street will be underwater alongside countless others we saw from the boat. The restaurant owners were pragmatic about the change in their life - they saw that the new dam will bring benefits and they had been offered compensation of some kind from the government.
Like others on the cruise, we felt compelled to see the dam - this massive engineering project that the Chinese compare to the Great Wall. What a concrete monstrocity and, at over 600 feet high, you can hardly miss it. After being frisked by security guards, by bus we were brought onto the dam itself and allowed to walk across a small section of it, overlooking the holes where water will flush out when the dam is in operation.
Whilst we didn't see the full power of the dam, we did see the beauty of the Three Gorges. As the Yangzi rises, we will become higher in comparison to the mountains alongside, which, to tourists, will surely decrease their beauty.
Yet the dam is a project celebrated across China - it will generate much needed, 'cleaner' electricity. And the river's history spells out a sad tale - millions of people have died throughout the ages in unpredictable floods along the river, and it is hoped that the dam will tame the Yangzi.
And yet we come back to that age old question - can man really tame nature? Environmental groups fear a complete shift in weather and climate conditions in the region as well as for the future of wildlife both in and around the river.
But throughout our time in China, people have frequently told us that until they reach a good standard of living and a certain quality of life, environmental concerns will always be second best, if not even further down the pecking order.
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August 6, 2006, 4:56 am, Qingdao
Staying less than 24 hours in Lhasa, I started out my journey home.
It took me just 3 days to get back from Lhasa to Xi'ning. It was a quick review. I passed by every spot that we stayed at on the trip. Lots of memories reproduced in my mind as the scenery changed. Meanwhile I image what Qingdao and my family and friends will be like. I can't wait to be home. In China there's an old saying: a heart eager home, is a spear off the bow. That's exactly how I feel.
But it's not easy to get back home! Qingdao is such a hot place of visiting. The tickets are always sold out! I have to make a decision: stay in Xi'ning and wait, or go to Lanzhou to see whether I can have some luck there. I chose to go to Lanzhou.
In my second morning in Xi'ning, I struggled to the railway station. It must have looked very strange. A man with mustache, in a poor straw cow-boy hat, carrying one huge rucksack on his back and another in his hand, strives forward to catch the train in the early morning. 4 hours later I was in the queue for the train ticket in Lanzhou. The queue lasted from the window all the way to the gate of the hall, and I gotta start my luck from the back. As the board showed: No ticket for today; Tomorrow, one; Nothing left for the next 4 days.
I wish I could get the one for tomorrow. It was 12:45 when it became my turn. I still asked for the ticket today, and the lady's first word was: no. then she said : wait. There was a ticket, and it is a hard sleeper! I bought it right away and rush to the platform because it runs 20 minutes later! Lots of people wait for this tickets for days, I just get it so easily and occasionally, Bruce, you lucky bird!
I counted minute by minute on the train, telling myself I am getting closer to home. On the other hand I miss the trip. Miss the amazing sky in Qinghai and Tibet, the great yak yoghurt, and the camping days, even the altitude sickness. Rare! I am proud of myself, because I made it and I get my own story to tell my son!
But there are two things that I hate most on this world: Train and Instant Noodle. I believe this train is the same train that I took to Xi'ning. Neither of them are equipped air-conditioning. It runs more than 30 hours through several of the hottest areas in China. Every car is a sauna room.
In the last 5 hours, we enter Shandong. I am supposed to be tired, but I am not. Every little change outside the window could cause my excitement. They all told me I am home. I don't know what hold me so, but I just keep smiling. When the train ran over a street familiar to me, I sighed - home, I am home.
It was 10 o'clock. The train finished its job. I leapt of the train, rush to the exit. A girl in white appeared in my eyes, she's looking for someone. That's my girl, she's looking for me. It was quite a surprise to see me "jump" in front of her. As she told me later, she saw me, but couldn't recognize me. I am much tanned and more than 20 pounds thinner than I used to be. I hug and kiss her, told her I miss her. She told me my parents are at home and prepare dinner for me.
Home, I am home.
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