Below is the report from Mr.Sun who lead this 20100510EK group from Zhangmu to Kashgar. 

May 2010 Himalaya Tibet-Xinjiang Summary
Route: Zhangmu- Everest Base – Shigatse – Lhasa – Shigatse – Saga – Paryang – Mt.Kalaish – Shiquanhe (Ger)- Red willow beach – Yecheng – Kashgar
Time: 10^th May, 2010 -7^th June,2010. Total of 30 days (plus empty back time of tour guides) 

May 20, 2010 Zhangmu
1. Meet Alex and Julian in the Customs(note that due to time difference and the lunch break, Nepal Customs about 3 o’clock in Beijing time that will switch release)
2. For entry clearance, had finished vehicle inspection disinfection procedures.
3. The local immigration office for the temporary travel document (written on the part of the travel sites) 

Accommodation: Caiyuan hotel standard room 380 RMB (3 stars hotel), Manager Nipin 13648926969 0892-8745888 (Generally speaking, Zhangmu port due to its location, accommodation is more expensive, but the guest can also find less expensive hotels, such as the Sherpa,etc.)

Fuel: a gas station

21^st May, 2010 -22^nd May Zhangmu – Tingri White Dam
1. White Dam to Tingri, over Lulu checkpoints get off of all registered, leaving a copy of the government permits for the self-driving tour in China (This permits should be ask as in-country agency to help apply it 2 or 3 months before the vehicle enter China)
2. Tickets (180RMB/PP, 400 RMB/per vehicle only free drivers, not free for guide) to Everest, again passing inspection, off register, leaving the government permits copy. To the base camp on the way there are two check points, check points the way back Lulu registered off again, and leaving the government permits copy.
Accommodation: Everest Hotel Standard Room 280 RMB/Room. Tel: 0892-8262775 (Note: the town has opened a number of new hotels, such as the white Dam, cheap and good)
Fuel: white dam has gas station

May 23, 2010 White Dam in Tingri – Shigatse
En route visits Sakya Monastery, Tashilhunpo. (Sakya Monastery need travel permits and approvals required to check)
Accommodation: Jiumuyamei four-star hotel, standard room 360 RMB/Room (outside) 320 RMB/Room (within) Tel: 0892-8841040 13908928360 Manager: Jan
Fuel: White Dam, Shigatse has gas stations
Voice-over: Tashilhunpo in, ALEX mysterious smile, “I know where is the Panchen Lama’s bedroom, then move the fingers up, self-confidence to say, look, there are air-conditioned rooms”.

May 24, 2010 Shigatse – Lhasa
1. Morning to the Vehicle Administration for temporary driver’s license and driving permit, and complex procedures. Generally have the following elements: desk application form, certificate hall on the 3rd and the 6th and from the hand over the envelope window, leaving the approval and fill in a form filing number, permit medical personnel, to learn traffic laws, vehicle inspection, and traffic compulsory purchase insurance. Fortunately, many people though Monday, well within the buttoned in a morning.
2. Afternoon, head to Lhasa, there has five speed limits registration stations along the way to Lhasa, driving about 5 hours.
Accommodation: Lhasa Hotel 4 Star 360rmb/rooms (of course, varied selection of Lhasa, is the whole night soak in the nightclub you have no control.)
Oil: Gas stations along the route are

May 25 2010 -5 26 Lhasa
Visit Barhkor street, Jokhang Temple, Potala Palace, rest and repair vehicle, food and equipment procurement to Ali, and so on
Accommodation: Lhasa Hotel 4 Star 360 rooms
Oil: There are many gas stations
Voice-over: hotel front desk younger sister, secretly pulled me excited asked: and your fellow foreigner is a Hollywood star? I said, how clever u are, so low-key surprise was that you saw it, I try to help you get his signature? Ear flew screaming repeatedly. Add, they mean the star is JULIAN, indeed a real person like Feng Xiaogang’s “biggest names” which the name Donald? But JULIAN insist that he is more like George Clooney.

May 27, 2010 Lhasa – Saga
About 10 hours driving, poor road conditions Lazi later before entering Saga city checkpoints
Accommodation: Saga Crescent Hotel standard room 360 RMB/Room Mada 0892-8900078 0892-8202888)

Oil: Lahze Saga both has fuel station.

Voice-over: To search for more comfortable accommodation, the elderly decide to discuss long road to Saga, at last, when arrive in the Crescent Hotel, behind a barracks, prohibition of photography, but I suddenly found that the toilet barracks high visibility ~ ~

May 28, 2010 Saga – Paryang
Road rehabilitation, poor traffic
Accommodation: double room 120 Xixiabangma Hotel Tashi 13989027077
Oil: a gas station Saga
Voice-over: Do not be shocked that the atmosphere of the hotel the word, in fact, that is, a relatively large hotel, relatively clean, no shower.

May 29, 2010 Paryang – Mt.Kalaish

Visit the holy lake Manasarovar Lake, Mt.Kalaish
Road rehabilitation, road conditions poor, to Baga asphalt after all.
Mt.Kalaish endorsement travel points, 50 Yuan/person
Accommodation: North Sichuan Hotel (recommended) Double 240 yuan 0897-2607019 13638970235
Oil: no gas stations
Voice-over: In the face of Kailash Mansarovar, cautious ALEX finally agreed to hand the flag NAVO photographed, and a few unsuccessful publicity photos was born.

May 30, 2010 Mt.Kalaish – Shiquanhe (Ger)

Here are checkpoints along the way
Accommodation: Shiquanhe Hotel standard room 220 Yuan Cirenpingcuo 13,989,976,099
Oil: Shiquanhe can refuel
Voice-over: the internet café, proprietress for a harmonious, tightly stood, watching the two foreigners visit the website. Finally, she found, are even more noteworthy is that Internet cafes have been a man shouting into their cell phone, how on Jiangsu TV’s “You Are the One,” as long as half an hour.

May 31, 2010 Shiquanhe – Red willow Beach
Accommodation: DAZHOU Hotel double room 60-100 Yuan 13,369,988,619
Oil: Ritu & Red willow beach (existing in the flow of oil filling stations) has gas stations
Voice-over: In Red willow Beach “hotel” JULIAN found air-dried rat, he danced for joy, excitement, flew into a photo and send it to his daughter from childhood fear of mice.

June 1, 2010 Red willow Beach – Yecheng
There are checkpoints along the way
Accommodation: Dianli hotel standard room 100 Yuan 0998-7289800
Oil: Yecheng a gas station

June 2, 2010 Yecheng – Kashgar
Accommodation: Yambu hotel standard room 240 Yuan 0998-2588888
Oil: a gas station in Kashi

 I went to the venue right after I put my luggage in the hotel. It was a very hot day in shanghai, however there are tons of people there; you need to wait at least half an hour to get in even the least popular pavilion there, let alone the 4 hours long queue outside Japanese Pavilion and 8 hours outside Saudi Arabia pavilion. The shanghai EXPO committee seems to have predicted the situation, so there are security everywhere. Plus, in order to prevent people from heatstroke, there are fans and sprayers along the queues.

 Due to my personal attachment to Antipodes, I went directly to New Zealand and Australia Pavilion. New Zealand Pavilion is quite small but an interesting one, especially from the perspective of architecture design. Inside of the Pavilion are there many videos playing everywhere, which is an introduction of life in New Zealand. The rooftop of this pavilion is a slope that is used for a garden with local flora.

 Australia pavilion is a large brown-colored building, which symbolizes the red rock in the middle of Australia. Like all other pavilions, it shows the culture and life styles in Australia via sorts of means, either videos, sculptures or posters. The whole theme of Australia pavilion is how different people, either Caucasian, Asian or Black people, live together in harmony there. One interesting thing about Australia pavilion is that they have a camera and a screen with a plate in front of it that will play video on the screen, once you hold towards the camera. That’s why I took a picture there.

 The most innovative pavilion in this year’s EXPO must be British pavilion. British pavilion looks like a hedgehog which is made of thousands of glass needles with seeds in each of them. British attach a great deal of importance on greenery, which is why they choose the seeds of plants as the idea of their pavilions. It’s hardly for me not to be surprised that what a detailed work they have done when I took a close snapshot of the needles with seeds in each of them.

 Some of the pavilions take a lot of time queuing, like Japan, Germany, Switzerland, China and Saudi Arabia, the average time of queuing is above 3hours. I woke up quite early in the second day and I went to Japanese Pavilion, even so it took me 2 hours to get in. The most important part in Japanese Pavilion is the cutting-edge technology, like high-definition camera from Canon and the future personal vehicle from Toyota. Sadly, they don’t allow taking pictures inside of the pavilion. I also went to the Switzerland pavilion, the most interesting thing in that pavilion is the chairlift. However, we failed to take that because there were thunders while we waiting and they shut the chairlift down.

 The last day I went to the urban best practices Area, where there are some practical examples in my professional field, but nothing new.

 The theme of this year’s EXPO is “Better city, Better life” linked closely to energy conservation. But after I come to the EXPO, I cannot help joking with my colleagues that how much energy they could have saved if there were no this EXPO with tons of people here at all.

With guests sitting on the lawn with their picnic in a beautiful garden and with soft breeze and an orange colored sky, our magic madrigal evening starts. It might sound familar to you especially if you are a fan of movies and mini series based on Jane Austin’s novel. True, this cannot be more british. I am very lucky to attend such an activity last weekend at June 5th, not as an audience but as a madrigal singer. Madrigal concert is one the the IFC concerts every year, which is usually held in british ambassador’s residence.

I am always a fan of accapella, chorus without accompaniment, but I didn’t sing it before until this year’s madrigal concert. The repertoire is sort of miscellaneous,  british traditional songs mixed with a bit jazz. I have many favorites this year, including the Prince of sleep, Faries, I got rhythem, Miss otis regrets, Every time we say goodbye.

This year’s madrigal concert proves to be the best of this kind so far. Afterwards at the party, we basically did it again  just for our own sake of fun. Oh, i forget to mention that we had another madrigal concert the day before in Tianjing Concert Hall, and we sang together on the train on our way back. It was so much fun, though it seemed we annoyed some passengers on the same carriage. One of other things i need to mention is that the british ambassador was standing right besides me when he gave the opening speech of the evening.

“We have met the enemy and he is Powerpoint” says a senior officer in U.S. army after he saw a slide shown above, which is a diagram about the military strategies in Afghanistan made by Powerpoint. He even remarked that we would have already conquered the terrorists if we figured out the spaghetti-like slide when the audience erupted into laughter in a conference meeting. It is not just government officers who are complaining. As an engineer myself, I increasingly find that Powerpoint is the culprit in modern enterprises that lowers down the productivity because of its time-consuming and over-simplified nature, or over-complexity for that matter.

 Making Powerpoint slides is obviously a time-consuming task, which, all too often, overwhelms the concrete and productive work. The purpose of making slides is for the convenience of presentation, however its time-consuming and overwhelming nature goes against this intention. A junior officer based in Afghanistan said that he spent most of his time making Powerpoint slides when interviewed by New York Times. In a modern enterprises like the one that I am working at, employees making Powerpoint slides are easily spotted in the office. Sometimes, one may wonder what the slides are about when they make slides all the time. The time-consuming nature of making slides occupies too much time for people that would otherwise be used to do more productive work, thus bringing down the productivity.

 Powerpoint slides tend to be over-simplified, as some victims might state, or over-complex for that matter, the reason of which can attribute to another nature of making slides, interpretation. When making slides, one needs to interpret concepts and ideas in a thesis or a report into Powerpoint language, bullet points. However, the fact is some logical relationships are often too complicated to be stated in this forms. On a contrary, some ideas are straightforward enough that they need not to be interpreted into the diagrams in Powerpoint, or simply not applicable at all. Even so, people in modern enterprise tend to stick to Powerpoint while neglecting the downsides.

 In China, People sing praises to Powerpoint while it is undermining their productivity without their notice. Chinese people, from central government to small local business, are inclined to rank form as their first priority, while Powerpoint really hits the spot for that need. In addition, due to the bureaucracy, it is always your superior who is the presenter of the slides instead of you who make the slides. Therefore, making Powerpoint is not only an interpretation from reports to bullet points but also an interpretation for your superior to understand the reports since they are too busy to read it through. The double interpretation task increases the work load of employees that wasn’t in existence before, thus lowering down the productivity.

 All in all, Powerpoint is the reason of a low productivity in modern society due to its time-consuming and misinterpretation nature. A good presentation does not mean fancy pictures and animations shown on slides but a lively and wholehearted speech delivered by the presenter that arouses compathy and recognition from the audience, which can never be done by just several stupid bullets points.

I heard from the teacher that Dai students love to go to school but Aini and Lahu students are not so eager to go. Some of them even can’t undertand the chinese. They have their own languages, but they can’t wirte it out with letters. They can only speak it while learn it from their family.

Since we have done the students’ project in Hekai 2008, in the mountain area,  almost all the school masters know world challenge team. And they hope this kind of thing can be continue carrying through  as much as possible among the  mountain village schools there.

About half an hour later, I made out a very simple basket; my teacher Yu Kang comfort me that I have done it well.

On the way to Menghai county, we passed a large paddy fields which have been repairing the road between the fields had a better road situation than 2008, so transportation is not a problem now even in raining season.

In the half way, we meet the elementary school principals in the schools. Once he worked in Hekai School, and last year he was maneuvered to this larger school. The appearance seems good, but the furniture (desks and chairs) is quite shabby.

Here you can see some children dressed like monks. In fact, the custom here, like Thailand, the boys must go to the temple before the adult some time, because first place to learn something is in the temple in the past and it’s a kind of custom there.

One section on the road with both sides has very tall tree with yellow flowers. It feels like driving in xinduqiao. Feel like in the fall.

Passing Menghai, we go straight to mountain area, one the road we can see Shuhu Village far away. As the vehicle roadway and trekking routes are different. So I

Only saw a rough outline but not experience it on my own feet. The mountains of the roadway is narrow, very suitable for mountain biking, motorcycle riding.

Evening we reached the final point, the Nannuoshan Hani village. We has our own base there

.On top of the village, a local cottage made by hand through 2 years hard work. We often carried out where the outdoor training activities.

Since it is Aini family (Hani), of course, live based on tea plant and make Pu’er Tea.

As each family has very good ground, people there are very wealthy. Their lives are basically very rural. When you visit that place, you can involve in their daily life which is filled with tea culture.

From the hill overlook the Gasa Airport, the night sky is very beautiful.

After breakfast, my host is very glad to shows me his old tea tree garden, so we drive the 4×4 vehicle up to the mountain. The road is very suitable for off-road vehicle and motorcycle, the dense vegetation on both sides, due to relatively high above sea level; it’s not wet, feeling very cool and dry. Not too much moisture, bamboo leaves are stepping scratched the ground, is a very good trekking routes, small off-road vehicles and motorcycles’ driving circuit.

As the trekking route is walked by the local tea farmer everyday except in winter, it has a very clear path, lush foliage on both side, old tea trees group among the original great trees which have vines off by each other, the ecological environment is very harmonious. There are a lot flowers and fruit (and even wild blueberries).

Although the road is clear path, we still need a local guide leading the way, because the many places are seems similar on the way.

We drive back to Xinbanzhang village to have the lunch and in the afternoon, I followed the locals to go the tea mountain (This time I go another trekking itinerary not vehicle drive road). This route can be used both walking and mountain trails Motorcycle roads. From Xinbanzhang Village to their tea garden there was about 20 minute walk. Then I have experience two hours of picking tea twig activities. Beneath the cool breeze blowing in the shade, I became love this places and the sounds of wind finger the trees.

Starting from the 14:45 pm, I decide to do the trekking from the tea garden to Laobanzhang, about 2 hours of walking around an average elevation of 1700m.

Xinbanzhang village – Laobanzhang village is 8 km, walking time is about two and a half hours – three hours or so. Basically walking on the ridge, I went uphill downhill intermittent. In the jungle where they have a very significant country lanes and off-road vehicles road, but very few vehicles go there.

Old Ben is still Hani village chapter, the more affluent villages, basically covered the new villa, every household is established cement house, and wooden house was relatively rare.

After arriving at Laobanzhang, our 4×4 vehicle was waiting there, and the I travel from Laobanzhang- Hekai Dai village on vehicle,
Around Heikai is the big barn located in Xishuangbanna, living there are the Dai people. Dai Minority is some kind like the Thailand people, they love a clean and they are very hardworking people. Because their hardworking, some people build their new house with new concrete, and toilets are very clean.

In 2008 WCE volunteer team did the project in the Hekai school, volunteer activities, as was more successful, so the schools by the local government’s attention once again built up a new classroom building for the students there..

Since the time we arrived the evening and sunset is very beautiful, color is pink. With fertile fields, the campus playground formed very beautiful patterns.

Usually, you can visit the water fall on the first day you arrive Weidong, or you can choose to visit the Lahu minority village nearby the Hani village in Weidong. Lahu Minority village. Lahu people like drinking, and lazier (it’s said by Hani people), In the conversation we can see that different nations have different habits.

Below itinerary from Weidong-Chayuan-Xinbanzhang, I haven’t experience it but I consult the local people about this route:

As the forest is relatively isolated, it is generally difficult to have large creatures appeared.

From the beginning of the next stop is Chayuan (tea garden): From Weidong to Chayuan, the distance is 6 km (the way are forests) contains 4.5 km of the climbing road.
Starting from the tea garden, the next stop is Xinbanzhang: From Chayuan to Xinbanzhang , the distance is 5 kilometers (all tea trees around )

It seems, the mountain road has an average of 2km / h walking speed and smooth trail has an average of 3km / h.

Chayuan (Tea Garden) elevation is: 1700m
Xinbanzhang elevation is: 1750m

Jinghong- Damenglong :

We start from Jinghong City around 9:50 am by 4×4 vehicle and head to Damenglong for lunch. 11:17 pm passing Manfeilong Reservoir to Damanhaidamu (Dai Village) – Manda State

The scenery along the roadside is plains landscape, and the main plant there is the rubber tree. However, the tree will be bald from November to March. Some of the land is also planted bananas, but locals do not like to eat this banana. Because businessmen leased the land to farmers on banana cultivation, the use of a large number of fertilizers resulting from structural change, in general, to banana cultivation over other crops species no longer has.

Dai villages along the way are two layers. Will be passing along the way the East Wind Farms which is very well known (similar to one of our small town, there are country markets, schools, shops, etc.)

12:00 arrive Damenglong, from the bottom to the Manfeilong White Pagoda walk about one hour walk around back and forth.

14:34 from Damenglong starting to Weidong.

Starting from Damenglong to Weidong is basically winding mountain road; the asphalt has been well extended to the local village (official said Hani, but locals prefer us to call them Aini people). Aini people are live on producing the Pu’er Tea.

Hani housing characteristics: the roof has two horns like gladiatorial combat decoration, the man of the house if the house had died, and then we should pluck decorative horn. In general, the more affluent families, the more layers of roof houses.

Hani’s houses are wooden structures, and the bottom layer is the pillar of wood or other generally used for tea making. It can also be used as parking place for motorcycles or tractors. Every household has a lot of dogs and cats, chickens, ducks, etc., are generally open up to feed.

Ground will have a ladder extended to the Hani terrace, balcony generally used as a sun tea. General Guests take the ladder, while two ladders is extended to the second floor from the ground inside the room, in general, women should go the right one, while the men go the left.

Hani people are not allowed gambling. They are very warm heart and modesty.

Wei-Dong Hani village (Weidong means to defend Mao Zedong Chairmen Mao)
One family house can accept for around 15 guests to stay overnight
Temperature: Summer :20-30 degrees 8-17 degrees in winter
Food: Food is generally not the stockade for group team, all the food or to supply daily transportation to the designated villages.
Transport:  Starting from Jinghong to Weidong, there is no public bus, so we’d better use the rental vehicle.
Altitude: 1020m

“Xishuangbanna, with an area of 20,000 square kilometers, is located in the south most corner of Yunnan province at 21°10′～22°40N and 99°55′～101°50′E. It is neighboring Myanmar Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, with a boundary of 966.3 kilometers. It is a bright pearl of southwest China, beautiful, rich and miraculous, with Lancangjiang River (Mekong River, praised as the oriental Danube) passing through from north to south. There are three state ports, one provincial port, and six highways, one of which connects Laos and Myanmar, forming an Omni bearing transport network on water, land and air.

It has a population of 840,000, among which Dai minority takes 28.8%, Han 25%, Hani 19.04%, nine other Ethnic Groups 24.76%. Xishuangbanna … [ View Details ]”

“Mainland China blends into sub-tropical Southeast Asia as you approach the southernmost tip of Yunnan Province and enter into the region of the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. Here, lowland rice fields along the banks of a broad Mekong River are bisected by rolling hills covered in virgin rainforest and interspersed with isolated communities of Dai, AiNi (Hani), and Bulang minority peoples. The diversity of cultures is in this area is nothing short of amazing, and walking between villages becomes like crossing international borders, where entire languages, customs, diet and architecture all change widely within a span of a mile or less.

On this journey, we focus on exploring the intriguing southern region of Xishuangbanna, starting from the prefecture capital of Jinghong and then traveling to the vibrant Dai markets of Galanba (one of the liveliest such markets in Yunnan). We next undertake a 2 day hike through primal rainforest and during which we come across delightful villages belonging to various Dai, Hani and Bulang tribes. As we trek from village to village, we see local markets bustling with native women in colorful embroidered ethnic clothing, and watch them barter for rice and spices. We study the traditional style architecture used in different villages, built with palm, bamboo and other local materials and in observance of each tribe’s native customs and beliefs. Waving to farmers hard at work, we watch their young children play in the sugarcane fields, and drop in on teenage monks studying in Burmese and Dai languages. We also find an opportunity to dine and converse with a local minority family, and spend a night in their home. This journey is intended as an adventurous excursion, filled with enchanting moments of gorgeous subtropical scenery and the vibrant colors of ethnic minority daily life. At the same time, it also focuses on gaining a deeper and more personal insight into the underlying social, cultural, and environmental factors that affect the rural people of this remarkably dynamic landscape.” from China  Travel

Before i wrote this log, many people have visit this magical place-Xishuangbanna. So i just quote one of them on above to show you the overview of Xishuangbanna.  Then next, i will use pictures to show you the real Xishuangbanna in my eyes.

Xishuangbanna Local market:

During our Tomb-sweeping day (Chinese traditional holiday), I arrive Jinghong, capital of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. In the first day, i visit the local market, yes, it’s very interesting to do this because you will get the first hand news from the local market which can show the real dailylife of the people there.

One of the famouse Xishuangbanna Dai Minority flavor is Barbecue “Shao Kao”. This cusine, it’s very different from the normal Barbecue, because in Chinese Shao & Kao are different cooking style. “Shao” is much like boil while is much like roaste.

You can find out many many kinds of raw material (vegetable and meats) on the Barbecue stall. And the air around the stall was filled with the aroma and tempt the appetite.

For details please visit Xishuangbanna Food