Journey Across The Middle Kingdom

Ron recently joined forces with author and former Formula 2 and 3 racer, Peter Schindler, on a journey off the beaten paths of China and Tibet in a brilliant yellow Caterham Super 7 automobile to explore life on and off the roads in the heart of The Middle Kingdom.

The 95 day project, based on chance encounters and the opportunity to discover the lesser known stories within the third largest country on earth, was made possible by the exclusive sponsorship of Nokia. Ron joined Peter at selected locations as he covered over 20,000 kilometers through crowded city streets, open highways, rural villages, and lonely, twisting mountain roads in the world's most populous, diverse, and fascinating country.

At the conclusion of the journey, the vehicle was auctioned off, with all proceeds going to the China Youth Development Foundation.

BACK

Beijing: The Beginning

The South-Central Provinces

Tibet: Life on a Higher Plane

In the Beginning...

The tiny Caterham boasts a ground clearance of scarcely more than the width of a standard box of matches. On a cool, crisp spring morning prior to the start of the voyage, we don our hats and gloves and rumble through the streets of Beijing and into the surrounding countryside to test its ability to handle the bumpy secondary roads and a bit of dirt as well. Everywhere we attract the curious attention of wide-eyed children, commuters, and villagers.

The River Junction

At Long Wan Miao, the city of Wuhan is divided into three parts where the Han River drains into the mighty Yangtze. In the subdued light at dusk on an overcast day, we encounter a group of enthusiastic swimmers on the river bank who undertake the sport religiously by coming to this spot every day of the year to dip into the waters. In the winter, amid the icy chill of the river winds, they lift their energy by holding a swimming competition in the frigid weather.

The World is Watching

When you are big, everyone notices. And China is just that - big in geographical size, big in population, and big in aspirations - and when you are big, you leave big footprints.

Here, a tourist ship enters one of the five levels of locks at the recently completed Three Gorges Dam, near the city of Yichang, the largest hydroelectric river dam in the world.

The reservoir behind has been filling for over 4 years, and at its full height it will create a lake over 600km long that stretches nearly to Chongqing.

China's economy is growing at a frenetic pace. Enormous development projects abound. She is in a rush to modernize - a quest to achieve first world living standards for all 1.3 billion citizens. The consequence is first world levels of consumption of resources and impact on the environment.

The nation's environmental hurdles are considerable. While the government has recognized this, will the steps taken be enough? When the one child policy was mandated some years ago to control the population growth, it seemed severe. It appears now that if impactful policies are not adopted, the state of the earth as we know it will be in question.

With globalization weaving the economies of the world's nations together ever more tightly, a single country's problems, whether environmental, political or whatever, inevitably spill far beyond its geographical boundaries. China is but one of many nations who must work collectively towards environmental sustainability. But when you are big, you tend to be at the centre of it all. The name Middle Kingdom never rang truer.

The reservoir nearing its full height.

The police stop us many times. They are never interested in issuing us a ticket however.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Reserve is secluded in the far northwestern reaches of Hunan Province, a magical canyon pierced with thousands of quartzite sandstone towers that are often shrouded in mist and mystery. Walking paths wind around the green topped giants at the edge of precipitous drops down to hidden streams meandering along the chasm floor far below.

A Tujia ethnic minority girl at a cultural village within the boundaries of Zhangjiajie. At over 8 million strong, this group lives in the Wulong Range in the border areas of Hunan, Hubei, and Guizhou Provinces. Although not known definitively, the Tujia are possibly the last descendants of the ancient Ba empire of western China.

Tujia men demonstrate the traditional method of squeezing out oil from the rape seed to be used for cooking.

A lone man crosses a river at sunset near the entrance to the reserve.

The Caterham isn't designed for muddy roads, but sometimes we have no choice, or we simply decide to go for it.

Stepping Back in Time

Old Chinese towns are fascinating. They are a welcome respite from the nondescript white tiled buildings that are becoming the standard for modern Chinese architecture. Filled with narrow, twisting alleyways, arched bridges, wooden and brick low-rises, worn cobblestone streets, and tiny shops and restaurants hidden away in corners and around bends, such townships conjures up an air of mystery and enchantment for the curious wanderer. Pingyao in Shanxi Province, and Lijiang in Yunnan Province are two such places at the forefront of well-seasoned travelers' itineraries, but don't expect to be the only foreign traveler even in these places.

When we stumble upon Fenghuang in western Hunan Province, we discover an ancient town where some aspects of life have remained unchanged for centuries. Fenghuang, thus far, has managed to slip under the omnipresent radar of the rest of the world - I see one western traveler in three days there. However, it has its share of domestic tourists, albeit only a recent phenomenon.

The life-blood of the local people, the Tuo Jiang River, winds through the town, both sides lined with stilt homes. Here the men fish with nets, women wash clothes, and food is prepared. As is happening all over the world, however, the number of portals into the past is rapidly disappearing. Will Fenghuang eventually be overrun with luxury hotels, discos, and theme parks that have little to do with its original charm?

Fenghuang at dusk.

Chairman Mao's legacy lives on in Fenghuang.

Generations Apart

The Miao people are a minority group living primarily in southern China. In one village near Fenghuang, we come upon an elderly woman sporting 104 years of life behind her. She is separated from the young boy by six generations. That would make him her great great great great grandson. Apparently for her, cigarettes are the secret to longevity.

An energetic drummer giving us a thunderous welcome at the gateway to the Miao village.

Terraces in the Sky

High up in the mountains near the town of Longsheng in northeastern Guangxi Province are some of the most astounding rice terraces in China. Gradually carved by farmers over hundreds of years of endless labour, they occupy entire hill ranges and cling precipitously to the mountainside dotted by fascinating Zhuang and Yao minority villages. Even on a rainy, overcast morning, the view from the village of Ping An is spectacular.

A Second Child

As the Chinese economy strengthens and people begin to have more disposable income, pet ownership is on the rise. In Hechi, a customer measures up her potential purchase from a street vendor. With the one child policy adopted a number of years ago, perhaps this is the simplest way to add another young member to the family.

The Rock Star

The Chinese are an enterprising bunch. On our way to Chongqing, we encounter a car accident on the provincial road. Rather than remove the vehicles and clear the lengthy backlog of traffic, the local villagers proceed to fashion a makeshift detour comprised of a cluster of logs wedged into a ditch, and then charge 4RMB per vehicle to pass through. Our car draws laughter and disbelief from the crowd for it seemingly has no chance to make it. But we do... and then we are stormed like rock stars, and a battle within the frenzied crowd ensues for a chance to leave a signature on the Caterham. We are given a discount.

Welcome to Chongqing

As usual, pulling into any city, we are quickly surrounded before we even have a chance to step out of the car. Curious minds from all walks of life peer in for a closer look.

In 1997, the municipality of Chongqing, and its 30 million inhabitants, was created by carving some 80,000 square kilometers off the eastern end of Sichuan Province. The guidebooks claim Chongqing city to 'not be particularly attractive', but I discover that the immediately surrounding hills and the Jianling and Yangtze rivers that pierce the metropolis are a pleasant break to the monotony of the jumble of concrete buildings.

The city is famous for its 'bang bang' - eager porters wielding bamboo poles on the lookout for any approaching customer hauling a heavy load. Nowhere is this more prevalent than at the Chaotianmen docks at the confluence of the Jianling and Yangtze, the staging point for river cruises to and from the Three Gorges area, where they await tourists to help them negotiate the huge set of stairs between the road and river.

A Vanishing World

Not only in Chongqing, but all over China, old, aesthetic low rises are being replaced by huge commercial projects.

The Old Town

Sometimes, the old is preserved. Ciqikou, established around 1,000 AD, is a charming town in western Chongqing city. On this particular day, an afternoon shower clears the crowds off the cobbled streets.

Lamppost and the twilight sky reflected in a post rain shower puddle in Ciqikou.

Taxi!!

Lost in Luxury