A Black Crane Nature Reserve in Yushu County, China & Unusual Dinner
There was another day to fill without the scheduled Yushu horse races and Mr. Wang drove us into another valley of grasslands to see the Black Crane Nature Reserve. Black-necked Cranes breed in much of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and even winter here. We saw exactly two cranes and one frog (lucky to see any, I guess) and headed back to downtown Yushu for a semi-unusual dinner.
Have you ever seen a deep fried chicken head on a plate?
Thousand Stone Castle Kingdom, Danba | Tibet, China
Thousand Stone Castle Kingdom, Danba | Tibet, China
The county of Danba is located in Tibetan Plateau in western Sichuan, China. Damba means “Rock City”, but it sounds better to call it as the “kingdom of the thousand castles of stone.” This area of Tibetan-speaking hamlets perched stunningly on 8,000-foot-high mountainsides that loom over the town of Danba, has long been a way station on a circuit through the country's southwest, which is home to some of China's most exotic travel destinations. The groups of castles are scattered around strategic positions in the valley or near villages. Towers and citadels were built hundreds of years ago, for defensive purposes and passing messages between different villages. The height of these stone-built military structures is often above 30 meters, while the tallest tower measures 60 meters in height. Looking from afar, the scene of groups of towers and castles standing in the gorgeous Danba valley is breathtaking.
Danba or Rongzhag, is famous for Thousand stone castle kingdom, with many kinds of old stone castles like watchtower, Qionglong in ancient, scattered over the county, built as early as 1700BC. The watch tower in Shuopo village is very varities. There used to be 5,000 watchtowers in Danba, but only 343 that mostly date back 200 to 1,000 years remain. Local inhabitants have a custom of adding one storey to a watchtower to mark each year of a boy's growth until he reaches 18 years old. Usually 30 meters high, Dongba's highest watchtower stands at 60 meters, with four, five, eight or thirteen corners. During Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) wars in the area that lasted for 30 years these watchtowers were a vital aspect of military defense as they could provide human sanctuary for 15 days. The height of watch tower from 16-35meters, they stand on hillsides or the top of hills. The materials for the watch tower as stone slabs for the walls, stone blocks for the foundations. Usually designed as ploygonal shapes, such as square, pentagon, hexagon, and octagon, and the best watch tower is 13-sides watchtower as a pearl in Damba area (only about 3 13-sides watchtowers in Gyarong Tibetan area). 4kinds of Watchtower are protected very well in Rongzhag: Strategic Paas, Bezcon-Fire, Village and Dwelling as its different usage.
The county varies greatly in altitude, from peaks that are as high as 5,820 meters to river valleys as low as 1,700 meters. The Big Jinchuan and small Jinchuan Rivers meet here, marking the beginning of the Dadu River. The green mountains and waters, birds and flowers, is the most brilliant pearl of Kantse. The Tibetan-Gyarong style buildings and watchtowers are surrounded by fields and orchards.
The green mountains and waters, birds and flowers, is the most brilliant pearl of Kantse. The Tibetan-Gyarong style buildings and watchtowers are surrounded by fields and orchards. Danba men are strong and the women are pretty, special in Badi for the Beauty Valley. Stone castles as Thousands Watchtowers of Kingdom with it's various Gyarong folk residence as Jiaju for it famous. The Molto Holy mountains with it's unique Gyarong culture play important roles in Danba county.
The Tibetan-Gyarong style buildings and watchtowers are surrounded by fields and orchards. Danba men are strong and the women are pretty, special in Badi for the Beauty Valley. Stone castles as Thousands Watchtowers of Kingdom with it's various Gyarong folk residence as Jiaju for it famous. The Molto Holy mountains with it's unique Gyarong culture play important roles in Danba county.
Out of Danba. Our first of many stops to take pictures along the way. The scenery over the next 6 hours is simply stunning, as will be the bumpiness of the road.
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A High Class Tibetan Wedding, in Yushu, China - Waiting for The Bride & Groom
A little unusual activity at our hotel this morning when gaily dressed Tibetans began walking through the lobby. There was going to be a high-class traditional Khampa wedding. This was very exciting and we stood outside for hours watching all the ritual and tradition unfold.
There were western touches, a video camera man and photographer to record the ceremony but first, we had to wait for the Bride and Groom to arrive while endless firecrackers were set off for good luck.
Yushu Earthquake, Tibet - Jyeckundo, Rising from the Rubble
This was a film I shot in June 2010 in སྐྱེ༌དགུ༌ Jyeckundo, Tibet. A devastating earthquake struck on April 14 2010, registering a magnitude of 6.9 and killing 2,698 people with many thousands injured. We visited to make a film about the re-construction operation. The earthquake has become known as the Yushu earthquake. Yushu is a county in the Chinese province of Qinghai. Historically it is actually in Tibet despite what the Chinese government claims.
Chinese President inspects Yushu.mp4
The Best of Yushu 玉树 : Discover 5 Things To Do Among Tibetan Nomads in Qinghai Province
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Yushu (玉树; Yùshù; also known as Gyêgu, “Gyêgudo”, “Jyekundo” or “Jiegu”) is a town in Qinghai Province located on high rolling grasslands at 3,700 metres (12,100 ft).
Yushu has an alpine subarctic climate with long, cold, very dry winters, and short, rainy, and mild summers. Average low temperatures are below freezing from early/mid October to late April; however, due to the intense high altitude sun the average high never goes below the freezing mark during this long winter season. In November, the city receives 2,496 hours of bright sunshine annually. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −7.6 °C (18.3 °F) in January to 12.7 °C (54.9 °F) in July, while the annual mean is 3.22 °C (37.8 °F). As with most areas in northwest Sichuan and southwest Qinghai, about 74% of the annual precipitation of 486 mm (19.1 in) is delivered in the relatively rainy season from June to September.
Highlights of your visit to Yushu may include a walk up the hill to the Jiegu monastery, also known as the Jyekundo Dondrubling Monastery, which has an excellent view over the town below.
The Gyanak (Jiana) Mani Stone Pile, Tibet’s largest pile of sacredly engraved stones with 100’s of pilgrims that walk and prostrate around its perimeter, is a 30-40min walk to the east on the main road. Or it’s convenient to take bus #1 or #2 for just 1 RMB to this interesting spot. The best time to visit the Gyanak Mani, assembling over 2 billion individually carved stones, is in the early morning when locals show up en mass to make the pilgrimage circuit before the day’s activities. At this time, the Mani Stone pile is buzzing with energy and you could easily spend 2-3 hours just people watching as a wave of Tibetan nomad culture walks right in front of you.
Another highlight in the Yushu area is the Temple of Princess Wencheng. The Temple of Princess Wencheng is a historical and cultural relic left by Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) on her way to Tibet in the year of 641 to marry the then ruler of the Tibetan Kingdom, Songtsen Gampo, in a move for political unification. This is an excellent place for a 2-3 hour hike around an entire mountain totally covered in a blanket of bright colors of prayer flags. From a distance the mountain appears to have been the home to a giant spider who has woven its all encompassing web from mountain top to mountain top. A taxi to the Temple of Princess Wencheng cost around Y50. Try to negotiate with a driver to see both sites as they are both outside of town in different directions.
The Tibetan Wedding Ceremony and Reception in Yushu, China
With more cartons of firecrackers set off, the bride and groom arrived and circled three times around the incense burner. A procession into the ballroom where a member of the family welcomed the at least 500+ guests, the head Lama put prayer scarfs on them and said a blessing. Married, the catchy music cranked it up to ear-splitting decibels, and all the guests stood in line to place scarfs on the bride and groom's necks.
If you speak this dialect of Tibetan, you are will understand everything said or sung. I was lucky to catch a tashi delek (hello). The people couldn't have been more welcoming to Steve and myself and even wanted us to sit at tables with them and eat! Talk about good fortune or karma, today was our lucky day...
Geygu Temple, Yushu
As a result of distinct ethnic and religious traditions, Gyegu Temple has become one of the centers of rescue-effort organization in disaster-hit Yushu. The Lamas' rescue efforts, consisting of digging with their bare hands and intoning sutras to pray for blessings, have proceeded in parallel with the modernized rescue efforts of the government and military; the people of Yushu have obtained what they need from each side
YUSHU BLOSSOM - Short Documentary
Cairen is a 9 years old girl from Yushu, in Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. We will follow her life during one day and will discover her past.
A film by Maël CARADEC
Producers Zhou Yifan and Geng Xueli
Looking China 2019
Music composed by Florian Steinebach
The Highest Pass and Dege, Sichuan Province, China
Try heading over a 5,050 meter/16,568 feet pass and see if you can breathe! And then, there were the sheer drop-offs on both sides of the pass. I don't know which was scarier...going up and over or down the other side.
Dege is the westernmost town in Sichuan before continuing on one of the main routes to Lhasa, another four days drive from here. All those extremely hot Sichuan peppers for lunch perked us up for the afternoon sightseeing, Bekong Printing Lamasary...
Cycling in China: Xining to Yushu
Cylcing from Xining to Yushu (2016), Qinghai
avelo.weebly.com
On The Road Again From Qinghai Province to Sichuan Province, China
It was time to leave all those wonderful Yushu experiences behind us and cross from Qinghai Province into Sichuan Province for the rest of this trip. We never did have a chance to see the inside of Guidje Monastery in this video. It was closed today.
Something delicious and different for lunch and through small towns on the way to Mani Gange. If you have both time and guts, take a bus through China. Cheap...cheap...cheap...
earthquake in Yushu_Nangchen
the massive earthquake which hit Khegudo, Nangchen and Yushu killing many hundreds of people and leaving many hundreds of others injured, with school buildings, monasteries and family homes in ruins throughout.
Chamgon Kenting Tai Situpa in his enlightened Bodhisattva activity, arranges grand Monlam Prayers and Butter Lamp offerings whenever such disasters occur. These prayers are dedicated, as always, simply and sincerely so that all living beings who have lost their lives in these events may have better rebirths and rest in peace, while those who survive may recover swiftly and easily. We also dedicate with the aspiration that these kinds of disasters never happen again and that our planet remain in harmony.
Lively Downtown Yushu, China Markets
Downtown Yushu was forever fascinating. Music blares all over the streets, the Khampa Tibetans were browsing and buying along with us. I was on a pilgrimage for the typical Khampa felt hat that both men and women wear daily and everywhere. In the fields, to parties, shopping...never off their heads (so it seemed).
A person could die happy just parking a chair in the middle of all the action to watch. Where to look first!
GPN NEWS EARTHQUAKE IN CHINA 7.1 RICHTER Yushu Qinghai Province
Qinghai 2005 Part 10
This is the final clip in the Qinghai film, and is a montage of highlights, showing the best of the people, places and wildlife that we saw on our expedition.
Yul shul (Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in 1999
SENG ZE VILLAGE AND NEARBY AREAS IN 1999
1-3.20: On the tenth day of the first lunar month prior to 2008, Seng ze Village, Jyekundo Town, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China held the Lo sar 'Tibetan New Year' performance at the center square of the village. Bro a type of circle dancing, is performed only by men. Bro dance was performed during the day. Sometime gzhas, a dance performed by both men and women, was performed as well.
3.21 Dgu gtor is a religious festival held at Jyekudno Monastery on the tweinty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month to exorcise all evils and obstacles at the end of the year.
4.55 'Dam mkar Monastery in the winter of 1999. Several villages danced and sang to celebrate the completion of some monastery construction.
4.18. Tibetan New Year performance at the stadium in Jyekundo in 1999. This performance was organized by the Jyekundo Town Government and performed by several administrative villages, under the administration of the town government. Usually, the performance started from the second day of the New Year to the fifth day. After the morning performance, people gathered at the downtown square and played with knuckle bones from sheep and goats. Young people also showed off their expensive traditional New Year costumes. People observed each other's clothes and made comments on the quality. Occasionally, young men fought each other for little or no reason. The fighting drew the crowd's attention as well as policemen.
54.00 Seng ze Village summer gathering in 1999. Seng ze Village summer gathering started from the mid part of the seventh lunar month to the end of the month. Villagers pitched tents on a meadow near the river. People danced and sang during the day. There was no organizer or host of the performance. People spontaneously contributed performed. In 2013 Seng ze Village had changed dramatically with migrants from nearby counties numbering more than the native population. The summer gathering and tenth day of the New Year performances had not been performed for several years by the year 2013.
Pray for Yushu.m4v
It is now almost 40 hours since an earthquake struck, devastating Jyekundo town in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, China. Aid continues to pour in but thousands of people still remain without basic necessities - food, water, and shelter.
Please do your best help people in the earthquake.
Mask & Cham Dance during Katok(Kathok) Festival in Katok Monastery, Baiyu County, Sichuan, China
The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism (the other three being the Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug). And Katok(Kathok) Monastery is one of the six principal (mother) monasteries of the Nyingma. It is located in Baiyu County, Garze Prefecture, Sichuan, China, This monastery is 930km from chengdu, mountain road from baiyu county dowtown to the monastery is bumpy. Vedio show one of activities during the Katok(Kathok) Festival. More information:
EXPLORING THE STREETS OF XIAHE: EASTERN TIBET - EP #016
After a year of effort and 80+ videos later, a small growing creator such as myself has been demonetized by Youtube in the ADpocalypse.
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EPISODE 16: Our first day in walking the streets of TIBET! We get settled into our hotel and then we go out to explore. We try tibetan yak burgers, explore the Labrang monastery and begin to take in what Xiahe really has to offer!
My life went 'boom' so I quit my job to pursue my passions!
Watch EP1 HERE -
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