Yuanjiajie Park > FengHuang--ZhangJiaJie--ChengDu--JiuZhaiGou Day 06 - 22th August 2012 > China

At 08:00 we walk to Yuanjiajie Park.

Then after eating lunch, we go to Baofeng Lake and ride boat in there.

Then we go to sand gallery picture.

After eat dinner, we go to airport to take flight to Chengdu at 23:30. But we got delayed to 01:00.

Dragon Cave - Tianzi Shan > FengHuang--ZhangJiaJie--ChengDu--JiuZhaiGou Day 05 - 21th August 2012 > China

We supposedly depart at 08:30, but because there's problem in some room, so we are waiting for those who wants to change room.

It took 1 hour for processing. Then at 09:30 we depart. And it's rainy, so we go to Dragon Cave first. It took 40 minutes from hotel.

From Dragon Cave, fortunately the rain is stop. So we go to Tianzhi Shan by bus for 20 minutes then by cable car for 6 minutes then continue using bus again.

Firstly we visit Helong Park at Tianzhi Shan.

Then we ride bus again for 40 minutes to see Avatar. This is the shooting place of Avatar Movie. It's beautiful. And with a little fog, it's really beautiful. We walk around and take photos for almost 2 hours.

Our hotel is located right in front of Tianzhi Shan area. And we go back to hotel on foot only for 5 minutes.

Credit:
- http://www.visitourchina.com/zhangjiajie/attraction/the-tianzi-mountain.html

Furong Town - Zhangjiajie Tianmen Shan > FengHuang--ZhangJiaJie--ChengDu--JiuZhaiGou Day 04 - 20th August 2012 > China

We continue our journey to the next city, Zhangjiajie. The journey took 5 hours by bus. We drop by Furong Town 芙蓉镇.

Furong Town is a small ancient village proudly boasting on the top of a cliff with a huge waterfall flowing underneath – an amazing view. ( http://travelcathay.com/2015/02/03/hibiscus-furong-village-hunan/)

Then we go to Zhangjiajie.

Zhangjiajie (simplified Chinese: 张家界; traditional Chinese: 張家界; pinyin: Zhāngjiājiè) is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan province, People's Republic of China. It comprises the district of Yongding and counties of Cili and Sangzhi. Within it is located Wulingyuan Scenic Area which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992 as well as an AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration.

The city itself was previously named Dayong (大庸), and has a recorded history dating back to 221 BC. Humans lived here along both banks of the Lishui River (the mother river in Zhangjiajie), now within the boundaries of Zhanagjiajie City, very early during the Stone Age. Human settlement in this region dates back 100,000 years, rivaling such famous sites as Xi’an, Beijing and others. In 1986, the Academy of Chinese Social Science discovered Stone Age relics in Cili County, unearthing 108 articles of stoneware; mostly tapered-form, hacked-tamped and plate-shaped works. According to archaeological experts’ textual research, all of these wares were produced about 100,000 years ago. Shortly thereafter, in 1988, the Archaeological Institute of Hunan Province found other relics in Sangzhi County, including three pieces of stoneware which were estimated to have been fashioned over 100,000 years ago.

Ten thousand years ago, those who lived within the boundaries of what is now Zhangjiajie City employed fire to bake pottery. Archaeologists have found more than 20 relics of this kind in Cili County, while in Sangzhi County, a black clay pot adorned with a unique design was unearthed dating back ten thousand years. During that period, this pottery-firing technique was the most advanced in China. These technological advancements in the fashioning of stone tools and pottery would seem to indicate a highly developed culture in this region. However, the society which developed only endured briefly before waning and being superseded by other regional powers. This seems understandable in view of Zhangjiajie's remote geographical position, its undeveloped land and river transportation, and its mountainous terrain making cultivation difficult. For these reasons, Zhangjiajie has been labeled "the Land of the Savage Southern Minority" since the earliest recorded history. Additional name descriptors have been the "Wuling Rude People" and "Tujia Rude People", indicative of discriminatory views held against the regional culture.

The new name of Zhangjiajie City was adopted in 1994, after the National Forest Park in the Wulingyuan Scenic Area (武陵源) in order to give it more prominence and after this site had been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. The National Forest Park had been given the name of Zhangjiajie after the name of a small village located within its bounds, and now a popular tourist attraction within the park. The three-character name (张家界) can be interpreted as follows: "Zhang" (张) is a common surname in China; "jia" (家) can be translated as "family"; and "jie" (界) can be translated as "homeland", giving the completed translation of "Zhang family homeland." It has been reported that at least one tourist guide has said that the name may have been chosen to convey the idea or impression of "Open the family door to welcome the world" (张开家门引进世界), but this is not the locally accepted and directly-translated meaning of the name. The official version of its name is linked to a Han general, Zhang Liang, who resettled in the area after a suspicious Liu Bang, the Han emperor, started to persecute his staffs and generals who had contributed to his becoming emperor. It was so named to signify that the Zhang family had set up home there.

Credit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhangjiajie

The first destination in Zhangjiajie is Tianmen Shan / Heaven Gate Mountain.

Tianmen Mountain (Chinese: 天门山; pinyin: Tiānmén Shān) is a mountain located within Tianmen Mountain National Park, Zhangjiajie, in northwestern Hunan Province, China.

A cablecar was constructed by the French company Poma from nearby Zhangjiajie railway station to the top of the mountain. Tianmen Mountain Cableway is claimed in tourist publications as the "longest passenger cableway of high mountains in the world", with 98 cars and a total length of 7,455 metres (24,459 ft) and ascent of 1,279 metres (4,196 ft) The highest gradient is an unusual 37 degrees. Tourists can walk on kilometres of paths built onto the cliff face at the top of the mountain, including sections with glass floors. An 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) road with 99 bends also reaches the top of the mountain and takes visitors to Tianmen cave, a natural hole in the mountain of a height of 131.5 metres (431 ft).

A large temple is also located on the summit with chairlift or footpath access. The original temple here was built in the Tang Dynasty. Today a more recent construction with Tang dynasty architecture occupies the site and includes a vegetarian restaurant in the 10000 sq mi of setting.

On September 25, 2011 Jeb Corliss glided through the 100 feet (30 m) wide archway in the mountain using a wingsuit. The flight began from a helicopter at 6,000 feet (1,800 m), and ended with a safe landing on a nearby bridge. The World Wingsuit League held the first and second World Wingsuit Championships in Tianmen. On October 8, 2013, during a training jump for the second world championships, Viktor Kováts plunged to his death when he was unable to open his parachute.

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First we ride cable car for 7 km. Don't stop in the middle but go to the highest first. When we arrive at the upstair, there's a flash then it's raining hard. The cable car has been set that if there's a flash they will stop operated. Thank God that we have arrived at the uphill. One of our group has been stuck inside the cable car. They arrive at the uphill, but didn't reach the terminal. And the staff try to open the door with force and they can come out. We walk around the area, there's a long path and there's a short path. We choose the long path.

We can see Tianmen Temple from there. And also, there's a glass walk in there, if you love challenge, you can walk on glass walk and see what's below. Unfortunately, it's closed due bad weather.

Then we ride cable car again, to go down halfway.

We arrive at Tian Men Mountain. You can see 999 steps of stairs to the Heaven Gate.

After climb the 999 steps, we rest for a while then go down by shuttle bus.
We passed 11km road with 99 bend. This is the view that we got.

Arrive at the downhill, we go to eat dinner and those who wants to watch the show, they will go to watch the show. Meanwhile, we didn't want to watch so we go shopping while waiting for those who watch the show.

At 22:10 they pick us up then go back to hotel to rest.

Fenghuang / Phoenix City > FengHuang--ZhangJiaJie--ChengDu--JiuZhaiGou Day 03 - 19th August 2012 > China

Woke up early, then eat breakfast at 08:00. Then we go to Fenghuang City by bus. It took 7 to 8 hours via toll then another 1 hour throught mountain which means the road is bad. But the view is different from others city.

Fenghuang County / Phoenix City is an ancient town. There's 2 part of the city, the modern one and the ancient one. Our hotel is on the modern one.

Credit:

- Wikipedia

- Travel China Guide

Fenghuang County (凤凰县/鳳凰縣 /Fènghuáng Xiàn) is under the administration of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Hunan province, China, bordering the prefecture-level cities of Huaihua to the southeast and Tongren (Guizhou) to the west. It has an exceptionally well-preserved ancient town that harbors unique ethnic languages, customs, arts as well as many distinctive architectural remains of Ming and Qing styles. The town is placed in a mountain setting, incorporating the natural flow of water into city layout. Over half of the city's population belong to the Miao or Tujia minorities. It was the center of the unsuccessful Miao Rebellion (1854–73), which created a Miao diaspora in Southeast Asia during the last two centuries. The city is revered in Miao traditions and funeral rites and is the location of the Southern China Great Wall (中国南方长城 / 中國南方長城 / Zhōngguó Nánfāng Chángchéng / Miao: "Suav Tuam Choj"), a fortification built by the Ming dynasty to protect the local Han Chinese from Miao attacks.

The ancient town of Fenghuang was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on March 28, 2008 in the Cultural category. This ancient town was regarded as the most beautiful town in China by New Zealand writer Rewi Alley. It was built in 1704, and has 300 years of history. The ancient city is a gathering place for Miao and Tujia ethnic minority.

Though there is no airport or train station in Fenghuang County,it is quite convenient to go to Fenghuang. The nearest airport Fenghuang Airport in Tongren City is only 34km away from Fenghuang County and the nearest train station in Jishou City is only 50km away. After arriving at Fenghuang Airport or Jishou Train Station, tourists may take a bus or taxi to Fenghuang County. Besides, Zhangjiajie Airport and Huaihua Train Station are also often used as transfer stop for Fenghuang County.

We arrive at Fenghuang at 15:00 then we go to the ancient part and walk around. It's beaufitul. We even managed to ride boat.

Then when sunset, we go back to hotel to eat dinner and rest.

The weather is too hot, and not comfortable.

Stranded at Hongkong > FengHuang--ZhangJiaJie--ChengDu--JiuZhaiGou Day 02 - 18th August 2012 > China

Arrive at Hongkong at 09:20, we surely missed the flight. A lot of people missed their flight, for example those who has continue flight to Seoul. But they are a big group, almost 30 people. So, the plane is waiting for them. We are  only 8 people T___T

Once entering the waiting hall, the staff from Cathay has already call us "Changsa.. Changsa.." and then they take us to the nearest transit hall and give us 2 option.

1. Stay at Hongkong, then go to Changsa with next day flight (they already hold the ticket).

2. Continue the journey, but they will re-route our route. We will first go to Hangzhou with Dragon Air at 12:25-14:40, then continue to Changsa with local flight at 15:40-17:05.

We choose the 2nd option, because surely we can't do anything in Hongkong, so it's better if we today arrive at Changsa.

They give us lunch voucher at Hongkong International Airport.

Then after eating lunch, we go to waiting hall.

And you know what, the flight got delayed again. We depart from Hongkong 13:00 and arrive at Hangzhou at 15:30, so we missed the flight to Changsa again. Haha...

Arrive at Hangzhou, the staff from Cathay Pasific has already waiting for us. They assist us to domestic terminal, then give us the flight ticket to Changsa at 23:30 and give us afternoon tea voucher for 90 RMB.

We eat dinner at Kungfu Restaurant then waiting for check-in counter to open at 20:30.

Then at 23:30 we depart to Changsa, and arrive at 01:15. We got a business class at Eastern China Airlines.

Our local guide has already waiting for us at Changsa. And he take us to Xiang Rong Hotel to rest.

It's really a long journey to start a trip. haha.. But, will always remember this memory.

From Jakarta to Changsha by Cathay Pasific > FengHuang--ZhangJiaJie--ChengDu--JiuZhaiGou Day 01 - 17th August 2012 > China

This trip is organized by my cousin's friends and my cousin as the tour leader.

Fenghuang - Zhangjiajie - Chengdu - Jiuzhaigou trip for 10th days, organized by Lumba-Lumba Tour & Travel Surabaya, with cost USD 2.980/pax (depart from Jakarta) by Cathay Pasific.

The additional cost:

- Visa: IDR 590.000/pax

- Jakarta International Airporttax: IDR 150.000/pax

The price is high because it's high season in Indonesia.

At 13:00, we depart using Damri Shuttle from Hotel Wisata to Adisucipto International Airport. It cost IDR 35.000/pax.

At 14:18 we arrive at Adisucipto International Airport Yogyakarta then proceed to check-in counter. 

We are flying with Garuda from Yogyakarta (JOG) to Jakarta (CGK).  Our flight is at 17:15-18:15 with rate IDR 505.000/pax. We arrived at airport too early, but because it's Indonesia Big Holiday, we affraid if there's a traffic. So it's better to go early than missing flight.

There's a delay, we depart at 18:20, and arrive at Jakarta at 19:35. Then we go to International Departure to check our flight and we still can't check-in yet.

Then, my other cousin that stay at Jakarta, take us to eat dinner at Smokey Ribs at PIK Jakarta.

At 23:00 we arrive at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Terminal 2 again, and when we check the flight time, there's a notice that our flight to Changsa will depart at 4 o'clock. Actually, our flight time should be at 23:55 around that time. But earlier we got notice via sms that it's already delay 2 hours become 13:55. And now delay again 2 hours become 15:55. 

We heard that there's a big hurricane at Hongkong and surround and it makes our plane depart late from Hongkong to Jakarta. Not only our plane, but all of the plane got a delayed.

And the big problem is, we should arrive in Hongkong at 05:20. Then continue our flight at 09:15. But because this delayed problem, we will arrive in Hongkong at 09:20 which means we will missed our flight. The staff at counter check-in help us to call Hongkong Airport and she said, the staff at Hongkong Airport will give us option when we arrived there.

Then at 15:55, we depart to Hongkong. This is the longest departure, we spend almost 33 hours to depart haha..

Again, The Place 世贸天街 Mall - Farewell dinner at Golden Jaguar 金钱豹 Buffet (3) # Beijing - China

The study semester is over and some of us will go back for good. So we decided to have a farewell dinner at Golden Jaguar 金钱豹 Buffet in The Place 世贸天街 Mall. It's a all you can eat restaurant, with price 180 Yuan/person.

Defining itself as an “international cuisine collection,” Golden Jaguar is a paradise for buffet lovers - a mecca to gluttony - lose yourself in the enormous selection of dishes from both the Western and Chinese cookery traditions displayed in a seemingly endless succession of cooking stations armed by a veritable army of a waitstaff. The concept may seem dubious, but Golden Jaguar stands out for the sheer variety of dishes and cuisines is reason enough to indulge on everything from sushi, steak, oysters, salads, swallow's nest soup, abalone, dim sum, steaks, Southeast Asian food, Italian pastas, French cuisine, sushi, sashimi, all-you-can ice cream and more. (credit)

*The restaurant is closed already


Address: The Place and Central Park世贸天街新城国际4/F, North Bldg, The Place, 9 Guanghua Lu Chaoyang District 朝阳区光华路9号世贸天阶大厦北楼4层

Watch the big Projection Screen in The Place Mall 世贸天阶 (2) #Beijing - China

The 1st semester in Beijing is finished and we are on school summer holiday. We go shopping to The Place 世贸天阶 Mall and wants to see their famous big projection screen. And it's really beautiful.

Dinner at Din Tai Fung 鼎泰丰 # Beijing - China

Din Tai Fung 鼎泰丰, A Taiwanese chain that has earned its international renown – taste just one delicate, hand-rolled xiaolongbao 小笼包 and you’ll join the fan club. The soups, fried rice with pork and noodles are also guaranteed to please. (The Beijinger)


Address: 北京渔阳店 朝阳区新源西里中街24号 Chaoyang District（渔阳饭店西北角）

There's some Dintaifung Branch in Beijing. (Official Website).

Xiao Long Bao 小笼包 , is the famous food in this restaurant (Wikipedia). It is a type of Chinese steamed bun (baozi) from Jiangsu province, especially associated with Wuxi and Shanghai (Shanghai was formerly a part of Jiangsu province). In Shanghainese, they are known as siaulon moedeu or xiaolong-style mantous as Wu Chinese-speaking peoples use the traditional definition of "mantou", which refers to both filled and unfilled buns. It is traditionally prepared in xiaolong, which is a kind of small bamboo steaming basket, which give them their name. Xiaolongbao is often referred to as a kind of "dumpling", but should not be confused with British or American-style dumplings, nor with Chinese jiaozi.

They are also called a soup dumpling in English-speaking countries because they are filled with hot soup (and therefore must be eaten carefully).