Hin Leung: China in the Winter

I'd originally planned to take a cruise down the Yangtze from southwest to central China, but the 0 degree weather and incessant mist changed my plans. I decided to take the train, Spring Festival season be damned, and joined the biggest annual migration on earth.

Leshan, Sichuan

Carved into a red sandstone cliff is the largest standing Buddha in the world, the Leshan Buddha. I crawled ant-like down his (its?) head and body.

Lotus Ear

Guardian

Earth

Chongqing

This city left the biggest impression on me. At the confluence of two rivers, with little alleys hewn into undulating hills, it really did feel like the "Hong Kong of the West."

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Brave New World

View from my Hostel

View from my Hostel II

Old and New

This city is caught between life and death, old and new.

Destroy, Destroy, Destroy

Build, Build, Build

On the outskirts of Chongqing, I stopped by Ciqikou, a Qing-dynasty old town that had mostly succumbed to tacky tourism. But there were a couple of authentic moments:

Family Dinner
Ciqikou Old Town, Chongqing

Rice
Outside Ciqikou Old Town, Chongqing

Hubei

Downstream, I stopped off at Yichang, a middling industrial town with spectacular views of the Yangtze.

Farming the Yangtze
Yichang, Hubei

Yangtze Cargo
Yichang, Hubei

I ended my journey in the treaty port of Wuhan (also the birthplace of the Revolution). The main bus station terminus at Hankou, Wuhan, was a sprawling mess, with motorcycles, buses and cars leading every direction. I was surprised by how much colonial architecture lined the Jiangtan (Wuhan's counterpart to Shanghai's Bund, Waitan). Walking across Wuhan's massive bridge reminded me of San Francisco and the plume of mist that shrouds the Golden Gate Bridge.