From the Prayer Flags atop Labrang Monastery its steep interesting downhill ride to the Meditation Caves near Labrang Monastery 35.213869 102.478092

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Tibetan Nomads ~ Nomadic herders in Tibet are known usually as Drokpa. They make up about 35 percent of Tibetans in the Tibet regions. In some Tibetan counties they make up 90 percent of the population. Herding families tend to be very poor, with a family typically getting by on an income of between $100 and $300 a year. Money is earned by trading animals for grain or selling them or their meat for money. Some traders and pilgrims are regarded as nomads as well.

Generally, Tibet can be divided into farming areas and pastoral areas. Those living in pastoral areas are called nomads or pastoralists. These people sometimes build houses as home bases, for their old folks and for storage. Otherwise, they live the nomad life and in traditional nomadic tents. Nomads are people who graze animals within particular places. Those in Tibet are specially adapted towards high altitudes. Their primary aim is to feed their animals with the best available grass and foods. They have traditionally worn thick clothes, lived in tents and moved from place to place in order to feed the animals. Their income is derived from their animals: namely from selling their meat and skins, which they have traditionally had to do in towns and cities. Tibetan nomads have a lot in common with Mongolian nomads. Tibetan nomad culture is quickly disappearing as more Tibetans each year are being relocated off of the grasslands......

Nomads across the Tibet plateu have for decades always welcome us with open arms, we ask nothing from them but they always try to help out in every way they can, they have basically nothing but offer you everything.
One learns quickly in remote regions, they further away from the big cities we travel, we seem to meet people that are far more nicer and helpful.

Well, here is one of our many Tibetan Nomad stories, the lonely helpful Nomad guide, we met him by accident in valley near his Yak herd and tent camp, approx. 3 hours before we reached our planned riding destination, the Prayer Flags on the way back to Labrang... Well ~ local nomad on his carbureted 125cc domestic motorcycle followed us without our knowledge as he kept some distance. He insisted to guide us back to Labrang (Xiahe) town limits starting at the prayer flags, unsucessful ~ we tried to tell him in two China dialect (Mandarin / Shanghainese) that we know our exact location and the way to town, what can one do ~ he rode in front of us all the way for approx. 90min. Tried hard to hand him some cash to replace the petrol he used up as he had to make the return ride up the mountains to his camp. Wedged a 100RMB note on his bikes cockpit for petrol as he was admiring the pictures we took for him on his phone, still he tried to run after us shouting to hand us the money back....

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

LANGMUSI "Enduro" ~ once upon a time in a small sleepy village called Langmusi, in a remote breathtaking location inhabited by a colorful mix of Han Chinese, Hui and Amdo Tibetans. It is said that the provincial borderline runs through the middle of town with Sertri Gompa in Gansu and Kirti Gompa located in Sichuan. The power struggles between the two Gompa (temples) may have been the reason for the border location. Both Gompa (temples) have distinct styles making both well worth the visit alone.

Sertri Gompa (Dacanglangmu Saichisi) - temple on the Gansu side, located on the Northern mountain.
Kirti Gompa (Dacangnama Ge'erdisi) - temple on the Southern mountain (Sichuan side)

We are not hanging around the temples much as the main attraction in Langmusi is the surrounding natural beauty. Just a few kilometers outside of Langmusi lies an ocean of grasslands, which is home to yaks, sheep, and Tibetan nomads. The surrounding mountains give off a very much alpine flair reminiscent of rural Austria or Bavaria and perfect for hiking, mountain biking, horse trekking and of course enduro motorcycling. Langmusi "Enduro" ~ truly enjoyed the fast going across the grassy mountains, not much into the technical slow riding must say....























































LANGMUSI (Amdo-Tibet) Gansu - Sichuan = 34.091389 102.636389

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Next Amdo Tibet region stop, looking for the perfect challenging enduro trails = SONGPAN ~ a county of northwestern Sichuan province, China, and is one of the 13 counties administered by the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. It has an area of 8,608 square kilometres, and a population of approximately 68,000 composed of Tibetan, Qiang, Han and Hui populations. The ancient city of Songpan was built during Tang Dynasty and it was later rebuilt during Ming Dynasty. Songpan was an important military post. It was also an important economic and trading center for horse and tea exchange between Sichuan, Gansu, Qinghai and Tibet. At the time of the Tang Dynasty, it was the border between Tibetan Empire and Chinese Empire. Songtsän Gampo king of Tibet tried to military invade China by this gate. Chinese Emperor Emperor Taizong of Tang offered him the Princess Wencheng to calm down the Tibetan king at Songzhou (now Songpan) in 641. According to Tibetan and Chinese legends, Princess Wencheng then brings with her among other things the Jowo statue to the Tibetan Empire.
While Songpan can be a charming city in its own right, the countryside surrounding the city offers a variety of tourist attractions. The hills surrounding the city are visual delights of Tibetan cattle herders leading their livestock over rolling grasses, endless valleys, and generally beautiful landscape. All of this can be seen through affordable horseback riding outlets on the outskirts of the city.

The economy of Songpan is dominated by agriculture and livestock raising. In recent years, tourism has become an increasingly important sector, and is actively promoted by the authorities *very tacky charmless new old town comes to mind once again*... Additionally, Songpan is popular among foreign students and other Chinese language learners staying in China as the base for treks through the scenic mountains nearby. Apart from the scenic attraction of Huanglong which is located in the county, Songpan with its strategic location also acts as the gateway to world famous Jiuzhaigou Valley at the north. Unfortunately for the whole region in terms of needed tourisms, Jiuzhaigou Valley was hit hard by destruction (Earthquake 08/08/17) and the whole national park was closed right after the quake struck.

Songpan felt strangely weird, soulless and no real vibe while we stayed, the serious earthquake (7.0) a few days earlier definitely contributed quite surely to the situation as the national highway (G213) between Chengdu / Songpan was closed due to heavy land slides after the powerful earthquake. The earthquake struck Jiuzhaigou County in China's southwestern Sichuan Province late on Tuesday night 8th. August, we spent our time up in Labrang (Xiahe) at that time and did not feel anything....

Songpan (Amdo-Tibet) Sichuan - China = 32°39'00.0"N 103°36'00.0"E



Northern Sichuan lies in an area with high tectonic activity. In this region, the Tibetan Plateau abuts against the Yangtze Plate with immense pressure forming faults along the edges. Jiuzhaigou County is located in the Min Mountains, a range that was formed at the intersection of these faults. The devastating 1879 Gansu earthquake had its epicenter approximately 65 km (40 mi) to the east of where the 2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake occurred. The mountainous areas to the south of Jiuzhaigou County were the epicenter of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake that resulted in tens of thousands of fatalities.

The 2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake struck at 21:19:46 China Standard Time on 8 August 2017 in Zhangzha Town in Jiuzhaigou County (33.20°N 103.82°E) with magnitude 7.0. Cities as far away as Lanzhou, Chengdu and Xi'an felt the quake. The epicenter was 39 kilometres from the county seat of Jiuzhaigou County, 66 kilometres from Songpan County, 83 kilometres from Zhouqu County, 90 kilometres from Zoigê County, 105 kilometres from Longnan City, and 285 kilometres from Chengdu City.



We had a look around Muni Valley (Mounigou Valley) and Zhaga Waterfall. it's like a very "miniature" Jiuzhaigou Valley in some ways... Mounigou, located to the west of Songpan Ancient Town, occupies an area of 160 square kilometers. It has an elevation between 2,800 meters to 4,070 meters with an annual average temperature of 7 degrees. Celsius. It belongs to the western part of Huanglong National Scenic Reserve. After ten years of development, this unknown valley has now been listed as the World Biosphere Reserve, World Natural Heritage as well as the Green Globe 21 of UN. Its spectacular mountain scenery, large waterfall and the surrounding culture combine to create an attractive landscape. There are two major scenic spots in Mounigou Valley: Zhaga Waterfall and Erdaohai Scenic Area.

Zhaga Waterfall ~ there are many colorful pools and round waterfalls in Zhaga Valley. The various sounds of waterfalls echo throughout the forest. Some fall down from the calcific steps while others pass through the woods creating an impressive spray and some misty fog.
Among the most beautiful waterfalls, Zhaga Waterfall feels like the most supernatural one. It is the largest travertine waterfall in China. It is 93.2 meters high and 35 meters wide with an elevation of 3,270 meters. In the upper reaches of the waterfall is a lake and in the lower reaches, is a multistep waterbed. When the waterfall rushes down from the travertine steps, it creates a large spray and an earsplitting sound. Visitors will be astonished by the amazing scene. The filemot rock cliff of the waterfall shows some flowery color under the sunshine.
When wandering along the path, you can not only see the countless flowers blooming in profusion in the primeval forest, but also some dense bamboo forest. It is the sphere of activity for the pandas-the national rare animal. If you are lucky enough, you can meet them on your way. Also along the 5 kilometer valley, you can find hundreds of colorful pools of different shapes and sizes, they are very attractive.































Sidenote: Nearby the waterfall, Erdaohai Scenic Area (access was closed during our August 2017 visit due to earthquake damage) hides in a jungle with an area of 6800 square meters. Visitors can get here by horse or on foot from the Zhaga Waterfall. The upper part of Erdaohai Lake is so limpid and clear that people can see little fishes under the water. While the lower part of it is a deep pool, it is too deep to be fathomable. Erdaohai Lake is a typical fallen lake. The color of water changes gradually from light blue to black blue as the depth increases.

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Walking around Songpan town, dried & spiced Yak meat cuts (Yak Jerky) of all sorts hanging on display up for sale to the tourists groups. In Qinghai and Sichuan provinces of China, beef jerky is mainly produced in the meat-processing plants. There are two kinds of beef jerky - spiced and curry. The fresh meat is boiled in water for one to four hours, depending on its tenderness. When cooled, it is cut into thick slices 1.5 cm long, 1 cm wide and 0.5 cm, which are put into a pot and sautéed for three hours to remove some water from the tissue. Spices are placed between the meat slices, which are then covered with water and left to simmer for about three hours. The slices are taken out and hung to drip-dry for four hours, then dried at 65 degr. celsius for six to eight hours. This product is known as "Spiced Yak Jerky". "Curry Jerky" is made by mixing the spiced jerky with curry powder. These products can be eaten directly or after additional cooking, frying or boiling.

Well ~ the most popular meat eaten by Tibetan is Yak meat of course. Contrary to popular belief, most Tibetans in Tibet are not vegetarian and Yak meat is very important to the Tibetans diet. Yak meat is usually eaten boiled or dried, but in some areas of Tibet it is sometimes eaten raw in the winter. Traditionally, prior to winter, the nomadic herdsmen living in the Tibet highlands cut yak meat into long narrow strips (approximately 4 - 5 cm wide and 30 cm long) and dry these suspended from woven-hair ropes. Drying takes only a few days. The air-dried meat will keep for one or two years either hung in a tent or stored in hide bags - this is a longer storage period than for the naturally frozen meat. The air-dried meat is very dry indeed and has a distinctive flavour. Some of this dried meat is eaten as it is, only cutting or tearing the strips into smaller pieces; and milk-tea is drunk as an accompaniment. When cooking the dried meat, there are two main methods. One is to roast it by burying the meat in the stove, fuelled by yak dung, until the meat smells fragrant. It is then taken out, cleaned and cut into pieces. The other method is to soak the dried meat for several hours and then boil it in water, salt and other condiments are not usually added.

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

We did not spent much time around the Songpan region, somehow very hard to explain to people to be honest, lets just say ~ its not one of our favourite destinations. While around town, we had to check out Mount Zhaga, a stone mountain on the west side of Songpan town. It stands at the north end of Songpan’s Mu Ni Valley. On a clear day, it provides some of the best views of XueBaoDing "Snow Mountain". It is one of the most easily accessed mountains in Songpan but at an altitude of nearly 4300 meters it is not easily climbed. Mount Zhaga is one of eight brother mountains throughout the Amdo-Tibet region in Sichuan.

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Back up in the preferred Northern part of Amdo Tibet once again, Gannan Prefecture (Gansu) exploring the greater Hezuo / Ritoma region. Hezuo (Zö) is the administrative seat of the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southern Gansu province in Western China. It is home to the Gêndên Qöling (Zö Gönba) and its Milaraiba Tower, the Langshangmaio Temple.

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR