By Tanner Johnson I am in love with this place. We woke up at the crack of dawn after a short night in Chengdu. Zeke and I couldn’t exactly figure out how to work the air conditioner (our Chinese isn’t exactly proficient), so we slept in a mild sauna. Things at the airport were a bit stressful, given the surprisingly massive herd of people at 5:30am on a Sunday. Thankfully, Claire, our amazing VIA staffer from Yunnan, guided us through a sea of people and signs we couldn’t read. Without her, we’d be so lost. Touching down in Shangri-La (otherwise known as Zhongdian in Chinese), I struggled to catch my breath. I guess a 10,000 ft. jump in elevation will do that to you. Maybe it was that, or maybe it were the pristine, misty mountains teeming with green that stole my breath away. The city's in a valley carved between the mountain range currently full of rainy wetland. Zhongdian rests next to the Mekong River, a member of the three parallel river family, according to Dr. Bob, our resident expert on… well, just about everything. At the airport, we were greeted by Sam, Brooke, and Tsarin Droma, a Duke alumna, and made our way to the CERS site. We drove through the new-old town—it burned down at the turn of the century due to a single candle that fell in a wooden hotel room. Prayer flags and beautiful wooden architecture lined the streets. After passing through town and a couple of small villages, we arrived at the CERS site. Initially, I wasn’t sure we were at the right place. I thought we were making a pit stop at some historic wooden palace. Sure enough, this is where we’ll be staying for the next two weeks. At CERS, a clan of old Tibetan mastiffs—huge dogs, some scary, some adorable—greeted us. You can tell the difference based on who’s chained up. We’re quickly becoming attached, evidenced by our naming the cutest one Chauncey, a.k.a. Chang Mao (“long fur”). Once we loaded our things off the bus, we indulged in a communal breakfast: delicious home-baked bread with gooey banana chunks, hard boiled eggs, rice noodles, and delicious earthy tea. You can’t talk about Tibetan culture without talking about tea. Visit any local home here, and you’re bound to find at least one or two areas exclusively dedicated for tea time—a pot, cups, benches for company, and of course plenty of those magical little leaves. The history is quite fascinating, too. According to Droma, the tea trade started centuries ago. It was transported from areas in the south, and ultimately made its way to Zhongdian. In return, consumers traded horses, a valuable transportation commodity in those times. The leaves would be fermented and packed into dense cakes to last the long trip, the fermentation giving it a distinct taste, different from any tea I’ve been exposed to back home. After breakfast, we were shown to our living quarters for the next two weeks. Girls in the main house, and boys in the cheese house. Apparently, the cheese house was used as a revitalization center of yak cheese production a few years back. Even more than tea, yaks are paramount to Tibetan life. Nomadic Tibetans have long used the yak to transport goods and as a source of food—milk, cheese, and meat. The cheese house is incredible. Wood carved by hand with a scent so intoxicating you’d think it was cut and stained yesterday. My expectations for CERS were blown out of the water. Later on, we returned to the main house for communal lunch (from this point on, just assume all meals are communal). We met the interns, Valerie, Emily, and Julia, who are studying local yak cheese, political geography, and opium history, respectively. Then, Dr. Bill and Droma gave us the run-down on CERS. This wonderful organization is the brainchild of How Man, a former National Geographic photo journalist who is most notably famous for his documenting the true source of the Yangtze River. His beautiful photos line the walls of each building. After the full tour, we reconvened and made our way to town. Some parts are clearly touristy but others feel much more authentic. Locals lined the streets: women in traditional Tibetan garb, young boys squatting on the ground, cute babies attached to their father’s backs, motor cycles darting in and out of oncoming traffic. The city bustles. We popped in the yak cheese shop and sampled an aged batch. It’s quite salty with a really unique flavor. Then, we walked to the grocery store for some snacks. Somehow I ended up with a packaged chicken foot. At the cash register, I practiced some Mandarin Claire taught me. I felt very official, but I’m sure my pronunciation was laughable at best. I really wish I could interact more with locals, but even small efforts use the language seem to be invaluable for enriching interactions. Later on, we worked out as a team, ate a delicious dinner, and discussed our agenda and goals for the upcoming weeks. Droma wants each of us to research a topic related to Tibetan life, give a presentation to the group, and write an article for the CERS magazine. I don’t think I’ve ever dug this deep into another culture. Everything about it so far is absolutely fascinating and I still have about a million questions I’m dying to ask. This place is special. | By Jenna Frowein I awoke, somewhat confused, at 4:30AM this morning to our quiet but irritating alarm. We took a bus to the Chengdu airport with all the ACE athletes, and wow was it crowded! We eventually got checked in, through security, and to the gate but several people had to sprint back to the check-in just ten minutes before our flight took off because of some “suspicious items” found in their checked-in luggage: shaving cream, apparently. We had to hold the flight with our minimal Chinese skills but eventually everyone made it. During the flight we saw majestic snow capped mountains jutting through the clouds. Stepping off the plan in Shangri-La we were welcomed by a sharp and refreshing breath of fresh air which took our breath away – we are at 10,000 foot elevation after all. Some other CERS (China Exploration Research) and VIA (Volunteers in Asia) staff met us at the airport. We piled our stuff in a van and started driving through Shangri-La and up the mountain to the CERS center. Shangri-La’s actual name is Zhongdian, but it was changed to Shangri-La when the government thought it would help attract more tourists. The name Shangri-La originated from a novel describing a mystical place where people never grow old. We arrive at CERS: a beautiful, massive mansion in traditional wooden style Tibetan architecture. Intricate carvings surround every window and the doors are all a bit too short for us. We are greeted by more staff and locals, and an incredible smell fills the room: breakfast! We had yak milk butter tea and traditional Yunnan rice noodles with pork. And rice. Always rice. We all note we have significantly improved our chopsticks skills and will be pros by the end of the trip. We quickly unpacked then took a tour of the grounds, exploring every stone walkway up the mountain and through the trees. There are several more beautiful wooden houses and several ponds with gazebo-looking wooden traditional structures. The view of the marsh below and surrounding mountains are stunning. The walls in the main house are all covered with maps of China of all kinds. We learned more about the geography of the area from Dr. Bill (the biologist doing research here right now) and saw the museum of traditional Tibetan culture downstairs. After lunch we headed to Old-town Shangri-La to visit the Yak Cheese Shop (CERS just started making the first ever yak cheese about ten years ago). We walked between wooden Tibetan style structures, past little shops selling chicken feet, souvenirs, clothing, and more. We turned left down a small alleyway lined with majestic wooden buildings. Looking up, against the sky, hundreds of strings of Tibetan prayer flags zigzagged between the buildings. One of my favorite sights thus far. After the cheese shop we went to the supermarket. So many interesting things, especially in the snack aisle of whole fishes on a stick, chicken feet and yak meat, and 90% of all other things which I had no idea what they were. Back at CERS lodge, we all went on a run together up the dirt road into the mountains. The farther we went the more the stream merged with the road and it became less of a trail. We had to slowly maneuver around two yaks who were blocking the road. Horns held high and their bells on their necks gently ringing through the crisp air. For division one varsity athletes, man were we out of breath. Altitude is rough. Even stairs get us winded. We ran back to the lodge and did an ab circle to finish our workout in typical varsity athlete fashion. Took a quick shower which was BY FAR THE COLDEST SHOWER I’VE EVER TAKEN. Painfully cold. The water must come straight from the glaciers. It’s colder than the ice bath, and I’ve had many ice baths during my years with SWG (Stanford Women’s Gymnastics). It took my breath out of my chest, and I couldn’t even put my body under the water stream directly. But getting clean felt wonderful. One of the many dishes at dinner was yak meet, which was pretty good! Then we had some time for orientation, reflection, and several good rounds of fusball in the game room upstairs. Watched a documentary on yak cheese and now we’re heading to bed. The exhaustion from three days of travel and early mornings that was covered up by our wide-eyed excitement has worn off and it is finally time for bed. Today felt like three days – the longest day ever. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings in this beautiful place! |
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ACE IN CHINA
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