China Travel: The Sanxingdui Museum

 

     In 1986, workers digging for a brick company near Guanghan City in Sichuan Province unearthed a treasure trove of artifacts that became “the most important archaeological discovery of China in the 20th Century.”

A gold-covered bronze mask from the Shang Dynasty, nearly 4,000 years old

     Many Westerners would say the Terracotta Army of Xi’an was China’s most significant archaeological find of the past 50 years. It was discovered in 1977 and dates to 210 BC.

     Hard to argue, yet the Sanxingdui ruins, which are between 3,000 to 5,000 years old, was described by the major media as the “most important” and “most attractive archaeological discovery in the world.”

     Archeologists excavated two large burial pits that yielded more than 3,000 gold, bronze and jade artifacts of surprisingly high-quality workmanship.

     It was reported that the discovery of the pits pushed back the perceived date of the Bronze Age in China by as many as 1,000 years.

     Among the items found were tools and practical instruments, weapons and daggers, artifacts of religious worship, and a series of bronze masks, some with gold coverings.

A bronze statue from the Shang Dynasty

     A guide at the Sanxingdui Museum, located about two hours from Chengdu, said an unnamed city existed at the site 5,000 years ago but disappeared 2,800 years ago for some unknown reason.

     It is said that this was the capital city of the ancient Shu Kingdom and these are the largest ruins from that period to ever have been uncovered.

     What’s incredible is visiting the museum and looking at artifacts that are 5,000 years old; particularly because so many of the items are in incredibly great shape.

     For those into history and archeology, the Sanxingdui Museum is a must-see for the China Traveler. 

• Next week: An irrigation ditch that attracts tourists like Disneyland.
• Still to come: A fire-breathing opera star.

The Mount Rushmore of China

 

      From the tip of its toes to the top of its head, the Leshan Giant Buddha makes an enormous impression carved into the side of a cliff, overlooking three rivers.

     It’s the Chinese version of Mount Rushmore, but it’s much older and you can actually get fairly close to check it out.

     The Buddha, standing (or rather sitting) 233-feet tall, is one of the world’s largest stone statues of Buddha, though not all of it is stone. The ears were actually carved out of wood.

The Leshan Giant Buddha looks out over the confluence of three rivers in the Sichuan Province, about a 2-hour drive from Chengdu. For China Tourists, it's a must-see.

     Construction began in 713 AD during the Tang Dynasty and was completed 90 years later.

     The locale was determined by the confluence of the three rivers, the Min, Dadu and Qingyi.

     Throughout history, many that plied the rivers for a living wound up dying in the raging waters. So prevalent was the dying, it prompted a monk to create a giant Buddha to tame the waters.

     Interestingly, a complex drainage system was built to redirect water away from the Buddha to preserve the structure.

     Remember, they didn’t have cranes and other modern equipment back then. It really is an ancient marvel.

     To see the Buddha, visitors board any number of tour boats that parade by the massive structure. You get two good photo-taking angles — one close, one a little further out.

     Tourists can also see it by land. You enter the park and wind your way up the side until you reach the top, where you can look over the side of a rail and stare at its ears. You get nice profile shots from both sides.

     From the top, you zig-zag your way down a steep stairway until you reach the foot of the Buddha. When you look up, you realize just how massive it is. To get an idea, check out the video below.

The Leshan Giant Buddha

     When you’re ready to leave, you start climbing steps and more steps and more steps. You get your exercise, that’s for sure.

     A haze hung over the river the day we visited, but it was still crowded. Obviously it is one of the more popular tourist destinations in China.

     It’s located in Leshan, about a two-hour drive from downtown Chengdu in the Sichuan Province.

     For any China Traveler, it’s a must see. 

• See the video
• See more photos
• Next week: See 5,000-year artifacts.
• Still to come: A fire-breathing opera star.

The Human Taxi of Mount Emei

    

     The path down from the Wannian Temple on Mount Emei is not really a path at all. It’s a long series of stairs and they can be tough on arthritic knees.

The stairy pathway of Mount Emei in Sichuan Province of China.

     A mile and a half worth of stairs can be brutal, but there is an alternative solution: Take a human taxi down. That’s what I did.

     I haven’t a clue as to what they’re called, but men in green vests carry you down on a contraption that has a cloth seat fashioned between two long bamboo poles.

     The men stand with two ends of the bamboo poles resting on their shoulders. The rider sits between the two.

     The price being quoted was $120 Yuan. My friend Yan negotiated with the two “carriers,” who agreed to take me down for $100 Yuan. Cool.

     So off we went, one carrier in front of me, one behind me, both running down the steps in unison. I asked them more than once not to drop me, not that they understood.

That's me being carried down the stairway of Mount Emei.

     We passed several people and a couple of rest stops, but these guys never stopped until they had carried me a little more than a mile.

     As I disembarked, I thanked them and my knees thanked them.

     They smiled and asked me to fork over $160 Yuan. One man suddenly started rubbing his “aching” shoulder. It reminded me of the M*A*S*H episode in which Radar accidentally runs over Whiplash Hwang, who made a career out of faking injuries to make money.

     I shook my head no and said, “$100 Yuan.” They weren’t smiling anymore. They shook their heads and said, “$160 Yuan.”

     Finally, I relented. I told them, “OK fellas, I’ll pay you guys the full original asking price.”

     I gave them $120 Yuan and suddenly their smiles returned, the injured shoulder disappeared and they were happy to have gotten a little extra out of the foreigner.

     Once they left, I chuckled to myself as I figured out how much they took me for. They had gotten an additional $3 from me. I paid them a grand total of $18.

     My knees will tell you it was worth every penny.

     Incidentally, the rest of the hike down to the bus station (mostly walkways, not stairs) was some of the most beautiful landscape we saw while we were in Sichuan Province.

A cool shot on the way down Mount Emei.

     Without question, China Travelers will enjoy Mount Emei.     

• See the video 
• Next week: A Mt. Rushmore-sized Buddha.
• Still to come: A fire-breathing opera star and 5000-year-old artifacts.   

Monkey Business on Mount Emei is Inevitable

 

     Tourists walking down the steps away from Wannian Temple on Mount Emei expect to get mugged — or at least they anticipate an attempted mugging — and if it doesn’t happen there is disappointment.

     You see, this band of hairy thieves on Mount Emei is as popular as the numerous Buddha temples on this historic mountain.

     What are they after? Food. And when it comes to finding it on unsuspecting tourists, the macaque monkey is as adept as a pickpocket.

A Wild Monkey of Mount Emei in Sichuan Province, China.

     They are wild and so numerous that you cannot help but run into a band of them while walking down the mountain. 

     The wild monkeys are also fearless. They are as comfortable around humans as they are around a bunch of bananas, which is among the things they’d enjoy stealing from you.

     You could be walking down the cement stairs and suddenly find a monkey on your back. Or you could sit calmly on a fence post and have monkeys crawling all over you, sifting through your pockets, searching for something to eat.

     Roaming along parts of the stairs are monkey watchers — or whatever they’re called. They carry long bamboo sticks to shoo away the real trouble-makers.

A man with a bamboo stick keeps a wary eye on a wild monkey on Mount Emei in the Sichuan Province of China.

     According to our guide, Alex, the wild monkeys are pretty smart, too.

     “They’ll take your small camera and put it in the trees,” he said. “They’ll take the camera to a local farmer’s house. They know to trade it for food.”

     OK, so they probably aren’t that smart, but it sure makes for a great story.

• See the video 
• See more photos 
• Next week: The Human Taxi.
• Still to come: A Mt. Rushmore-sized Buddha, a fire-breathing opera star and 5000-year-old artifacts.