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Jiuzhaiguo Airport...at 3,500M above sea level, it is the 3rd highest in China and with straight cliffs at each side of the runway ends. No night-time landings/take-offs. The airport is built on three mountains...and is relatively new (2008 if I'm correct). It's amazing how China sliced off the top of three mountains to make an airport...would never happen in the West (well..it would take years /decades to get planning permission!).  The runway at Jiuzhaigou is built on the top of three mountains: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhaigou Airport- at 3,500 metres above sea-leavel, it is the third highest in China: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  An Air China A320 takes off from Jiuzhiagou Airport: Photo Navjot Singh  Fairy Lake: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Spectacular Jiuzhaigou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh Closed to outsiders until a generation ago, Jiuzhaigou has come a long way since the 1990s. It is a spectacular national park located in the village of Jiuzhaigou, comprising of natural sulphuric lakes at around 9,500 feet above sea level in rural Jiuzhaiguo valley. The view is truly spectacular and upon first sight you just want to dive in and swim but obviously you can't because the water is so toxic. The sapphire- and emerald-tinted waters of the park are the result of dissolved limestone, and high concentrations of calcium carbonate are responsible for the lakes’ crystal clarity. This is one of the loveliest places on earth. The lushness of the mountain, the willows hanging down over the lakes, the gently moving water lilies, the faint white mist hanging over the limpid surface. Steeped in history, the modern world brings tourists in their millions, from Beijing, Shenzhen, from Japan, and from Germany, Britain, and Korea, to a place which the emperors once reserved for themselves. As a travel snob, I am glad I can travel throughout China, yet I can't help remembering when it was next to impossible to get to a place like Jiuzhaigou. Despite the tourists, despite the sudden modernization of almost everything in China, despite the rapid destruction of its alleyways and wooden houses, China's history is a continuum. The distant past seems very close at Jiuzhaigou — worth every penny. I first heard about the place when, one summer's afternoon in Shenzhen, during a conversation with another journalist. "You have been in China for 12 years and you have never been to Jiuzhaigou?!" "Go now...quick; it won't stay undiscovered for long." He was absolutely right. It is best to go early in the morning and avoid the national holidays to Then there are also the fairy lakes, which are located quite high up...takes three hours to drive...not many foreign tourists come here, not only because it is difficult to get to, but also because if you cannot converse in Chinese then it is very difficult to get around, and the place isn't really sold to foreigners as a tourist destination. It is therefore, hidden gem. Jiuzhaigou, formed in large part by glacial avalanching, covers an area of 720sqkm and is made up of three valleys arranged in a “Y” shape. Each valley is composed of lakes and waterfalls with names like Tiger Lake, Double Dragon Lake, Arrow Bamboo Falls and Pearl Shoals Falls. My first impressions were that it is one of the cleanest parts of China. It is well-kept by the locals, with roads and lakes all in pristine condition. On the drive down, my ears popped due to the pressure changes...nevertheless, it is an amazing place to visit. SEE MORE PHOTOS Some Tips
 Calcium carbonate deposits on the bottom of the lakes assume fanciful shapes, like those at the bottom of Sleeping Dragon Lake: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The Upper Seasons Lake serves as a watering hole for the yaks tended by the Tibetan villagers who live inside the Jiuzhaigou borders. Among the park’s other wildlife species are golden snub-nosed monkeys, hog badgers, musk deer, lynx, civets, the littler red species of panda and rhesus macaques: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Jiuzhiagou: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Probably not. The Swastika has been used since the dawn of time and is still used in many religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and by Vietnam's Cao-Dais. Contratry to popular belief, religion is actually allowed to be practised in China- just don't go around preching about it! Tibetans are mostly Buddhists, and Jiuzhiagou has a large popualtion of Tibetans (as well as the whole of Sichuan province): Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Tibetan driver can't understand my Chinese...going to the hotel in the middle of nowhere...5,000ft above sea level...on the plus side...nice to breath fresh cool air!! After a short 35-minute flight from Chengdu, arrived in Jiuzhaiguo...from 30 degrees Celsius to 5 degrees Celsius, with Jiuzhaigou being 3,500 metres above sea-level and the third highest airport in China. I forgot my jacket. But thankfully, the airport is well-equipped for such emergencies and one can easily purchase a nice thermal jacket for around 70 RMB (USD $14). The same jacket in the West could cost anything over ten times the price. Interesting airport...as soon as the baggage arrived everyone opened their bags at the carousel and changed into winter attire...I bought myself a nice thermal jacket from a local Tibetan shopkeeper (my first encounter with a Tibetan person!)...amazing jacket cost only about US 12 (I'm sure the same jacket would be much expensive in the West)...night-time temperatures drop to -2 degrees Celsius in the mountains.  The beautiful Min mountains surround Jiuzhaigou. Only a 35-minute flight from Chengdu: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Airport arrivals...everyone changes into winter clothes!: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Navjot Singh with a Tibetan shopkeeper in Jiuzhaigou with the green thermal jacket: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh Chengdu Airport is so big, that they have guides on skates and Segways to help passengers!   Photo Copyright Navjot Singh At Chengdu Airport, bumped into an IL-76 belonging to PAF. No doubt a sign of the excellent relations between China and Pakistan! Amazing to see that this aircraft still flies. This one has missiles attached to it, too! Wonder what the Pakistanis are delivering or taking from Chengdu.   Pakistan Air Force IL-76 at Chengdu Airport: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh At the world's biggest shopping mall... in Chengdu...what you're seeing is just the half of it...it contains an artificial beach with lifelike waves - able to host 5,000 people, a chapel, an amusement park, and the Intercontinental hotel...plus around 765 high-end restaurants...  New Century Global Center: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  A full sized chapel: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh   While Boeing's plant in Everett, Wash., is the world's biggest building by volume, the Chinese mall seems to be tops in floor space. Almost the area of Monaco, its 420 acres of floor space could fit nearly three Pentagons, four Vatican Cities, or 20 Sydney Opera Houses. Check out the video below: Retail outlets are out in force to beat the competition - two very different companies selling the same/similar products. As they say, the best way to beat a competitor is to set up shop next to them!  Retail competitors next door to each other in Chengdu, China: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh "Grandma's Kitchen", serves the BEST Sichuan cuisine in Chengdu. Dinner time! In Chengdu...home of the Panda, Sichuan opera and the exceedingly HOT Sichuan food...Not sure why Chinese people always complain about Indian food being hot...in my opinion Sichuan cuisine is hotter than a chicken vindaloo! Except for the Panda and the local cuisine, the city doesn't really have much to offer for the tourist. In terms of quality of life, the city provides very attractive lifestyle options for expatriates (lots of companies dealing with the oil and gas industry are based here), however in my opinion, Chongqing, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are more attractive and full of life for both tourists and expats (except the haze in four of those cities!). I stayed at the amazing Ritz-Carlton, Chengdu VIEW MORE PHOTOS  Quite possibly the biggest Panda in the world?!: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Sights of Chengdu: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Sights of Chengdu: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Sights of Chengdu: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh   Spicy chicken: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Chengdu: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh The BEST orange juice ever, and only 10 RMB: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Business as usual in Chengdu: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh   Athens? No, this is Chengdu: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Police on Segways in Chengdu: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Traditional Sichuan Style homes...a dying breed among the concrete jungle: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Sichuan food galore!: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh I'm inside the real Apple Store in Chengdu and right outside are hawkers selling great quality fake equivalents for up to 70% off the RRP! No one can stop them...amazing...they're cheeky enough to sit right on the doorstop of the Apple Store and hawk customers as they come out of the Apple Store...some even go back inside to get a refund and buy the fake!!  Inside the real Apple Store: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The fakes!: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Daydreamer - he just sat there quietly for about two hours...:Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Having a nice snooze!: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  What a lazy life: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Way to sleep: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh Video below taken at the Chengdu Panda Reserve. 
Thanks, Steve Jobs...you really have changed the world! Culture clash?! (both chaps look like 'yesterday's men'....but seems today's technology has got the best of them!)...photo taken in Chongqing: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh
Home to just under 30 million- I say again- 30 MILLION souls, who share an area of 82,403 km2 (31,816 sq mi) -- compare that with London's population of 13.8 million sharing an area of 8,382 square kilometres (3,236 sq mi), Chongqing is one of the world's fastest growing cities. That statement is evident when you visit the city and see for yourself the vast amounts of construction and heavy pollution that dominates the skyline. With the added in humidity and the hilly topography, the city somewhat feels a bit like Hong Kong (except for the heavy pollution and the cultural differences, of course). For more photos you can check my Flickr account by clicking here.  Chongqing lies on confluence of the Yangtze River (pictured) and the Jialing River: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  3-wheeler taxis are popular in Chongqing: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  The 'stick men' of Chongqing are known to carry all sorts of heavy luggage on their shoulders: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Colourful food: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Rush hour in Chaotianmen: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Chongqing is known for spicy food...especially spicy hot pot: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh    Chongqing on the Jialing River: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  A typical view of Chongqing on the Yangtze: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh   Great Hall of the People: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Graffiti on the Chongqing metro: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Evening time: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  A man past some graffiti on Huangjueping Street, known as China (if not the world's) most graffittied street: Photo Copyright Navjot Singh To mark the beginning of the Year of the Tiger, and as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, the renowned Sichuan Art Group is touring the UK for a few special (and rare) shows. The performance group is touring from the 12th of February until the 22nd of February to showcase the “The joyful Spring Festival” performance. The group consists of 26 actors; most of whom are natives and ethnic minority people from Sichuan Province - the home of the Panda, and the scene of a large earthquake in the spring of 2008. Their breathtaking performances are all aimed at introducing Sichuan culture to western audiences through music, song and dance. As I explained in an article written in the UK Telegraph last year (click HERE to read it!), Chinese New Year can be a very colourful occasion, and this event is no exception to that note. With a total of 16 programs in the UK, the performances’ will focus mainly on native Sichuan dance, folk songs, human sized puppets and extravagant acrobatics which Chinese performers are quite well known for. The cities being toured are as follows: Belfast, Edinburgh, Sheffield, London Greenwich (18, 19), and the Westfield Shopping centre in London (20th). I was provided a special preview by the Chinese Tourism Authority. Below are the photos:  Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Photo Copyright Navjot Singh  Photo Copyright Navjot Singh |
Get in Touch:LIFE MATTERSHere I share my thoughts
and experiences during my travels, and how some things have affected my life as an expat and world traveller. Travelling is about capturing that moment in life. Every word, view and opinion on this page is that of Navjot Singh - except where indicated. The most recent is at the top. Scroll down to read the archive. Or search using CTRL+F (COMMAND + F) and enter a keyword to search the page. Just some of the stories you never heard before. The NAVJOT-SINGH.COM web blog is separate to this web site....Click blog, which may not be visible in some countries due to local firewall restrictions, so in those cases this weblog may be read. The weblog also includes some of my press trip reports- most of which are not published on the official blog because of copyright issues. The weblog also contains articles that may be associated directly with a PR trip for a country, airline or a hotel. These are PR reviews done in relations with various companies. If you are an investor or a trend watcher then you may find this website useful as investing has a lot to do with personal observations and finding the ideal trend or next big thing. The average human on the street frequently knows far more about the state of the economy than politicians, university professors, subject matter experts, and financial analysts who seldom travel, or if they do so, only from one hotel to another hotel! The pulse and vibrancy of an economy is nowhere more visible than on a country's streets. 
All photos and words are © Navjot Singh unless stated. Photos taken by others or by agencies are appropriately copyrighted under the respective name. No photo or word/s may be taken without the prior written permission by the author (i.e. Navjot Singh). All Rights Reserved. 
Navjot being interviewed by Cecila Lu at GDTV.
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