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Pressley's China Adventure Continues
Madison, Wis.

(Badger fullback Chris Pressley continues his diaries from China. Following here are his recollections from last weekend and earlier this week).

OK, so I know that it has been a while since my last blog, but a lot has gone on over the last couple of days. I am still having a blast, and I still do miss my friends and family. Since Saturday we went from living in a village, to hiking and living in the mountains, and back to living in the city again. Like I said before, we travel a lot and at times it seems like a lot for the small period of time. The hardest part is not being able to understand the language, but besides that we have learned so much about the culture and how the people here plan to develop economically. The area where we stayed over the last weekend is called the Yunnan Province, and this was an area with even more minority cultures to explore.

Saturday began with a long ride to a small village just outside of Shangri La. On the ride we got to observe farming on some very steep slopes along the eastern Himalaya mountain side, as well as pass through many smaller villages where we saw some of the Tibetan culture. Along the way, we visited the Tiger Leaping Gorge, which is a famous site in one of the valleys of the mountains. It got its name because the local people have a legend that says that a tiger leaped over the valley to the other side giving it the name Tiger Leaping Gorge. This was a nice site because we got to go deep into the mountains and see the river that runs through the valley. The gorge is being threatened by a Hydropower dam that the people would use for power, because the water that runs through here has such a strong flow. Along the ride we also got to see the first bend of the Yangtze River and Shigu old town, as well as the site of crossing by Communist Army on the Long March of 1934-35.

The ride was very long but well worth it because of all that we got to see. The mountain ranges were a site to behold, and there aren’t words to describe how exciting it was to see and learn about different cultures and ways of life firsthand. As we arrived in the village on Saturday evening, we were greeted with a nice dinner, and had some free time to hang out and learn about the National Reserve we were hiking to the next day. The bus ride had me a little exhausted; the beds at the hotel were a little more comfortable so the sleep was nice. There was one weird thing to note about the hotel. The shower in the bathroom was just open. It was right next to the toilet and had no tub or shower curtain so all of the water just went down the drain in the middle of the floor. Very interesting. Let’s just say I was glad that we only stayed there for one night.

In the morning, we had an early wake up and then had breakfast before we headed off into the mountains for the six km hike. It was another long ride to the part of the mountain, and the roads were very windy and bumpy as we reached the top. We had to pack a back-pack with clothes and things we needed because we hiked to a lodge in the middle of the mountains to stay over night. The hike was really long and tiring, but I was the first one to arrive at the lodge, with the next person arriving almost an hour after I did. I just tried to jog it as much as I could because I didn’t like the slow burn of each step that I took, and I wanted to get it over with because I knew that the next day we would have to do it all over again. Along the hike we were to watch for the Snub Nosed Monkeys that live in the forest but no one saw any. As we all arrived at the lodge we were greeted with a lunch that was very filling because my energy stores were pretty much depleted. After that we were able to learn about the environment and observe the natural habitat of where we were staying. Later in the evening we had dinner that they basically spent all day preparing, then we sat around the fire, had some drinks, and sing songs to each other. The people of the village would sing some native songs to us and we would sing back to them. It was a really fun evening and we did this until we all got tired and decided to go to bed because we knew we had another long hike in the morning.

In the morning they had breakfast for us, but I didn’t really have an appetite. I was so tired of eating the same foods, and I just needed something that was more nutritious for breakfast. So all I had was like a sip of tea, but that came back to bite me later on because the hike on the way back up was so much more tiring than the hike the day before. Most of the rest of the group got to ride donkeys but the one I was suppose to ride was the biggest one and much too aggressive for me, and I decided to just walk. I kind of regretted that decision by the end because I was so dehydrated. I liked the scenery of the hike, but I am definitely not a big fan of hiking, I probably won’t do it again for a long time! Anyhow, after the hike we drove another five-hour ride back to Shangri La. We stopped to have lunch on the way, but everyone was in need of a shower so we got back to the hotel as quickly as possible. We visited the old town in Shangri La and learned about environmental management and Tibetan culture. We then had free time for the rest of the night. Shangri La was a very nice city, but because we were here for a short time we didn’t get to enjoy it as much as we wanted to.

(Pressley in Yunnan, China)


The following morning we flew to Kunming where we would spend the next two nights. Kunming is a much bigger/nicer city than the village and mountains that we stayed in the previous nights so I was really excited. We met back with our tour guide, Angel, who accompanied us for the time were in Liajang and will finish guiding us while we are here in Kunming. After arriving at our five star hotel, which I was very excited about because it was different scenery, we met for lunch with some UW professors and grad/PHD students who are also in China doing research. It was Professor Ken Shapiro and he and the grad students are here to work on biodiversity conservation in the Yunnan area, and they talked about their experiences while they have been here in China. They will be here for two more months and they seemed really excited about the work that they are doing here in China. Other professors from the UW that we met with were Ed Freemen who specializes in Chinese Politics, and Professor Terri who specializes in conservation biology. We were all happy to see some new faces that spoke English and it also helped that we are all UW students. After lunch we went to the Kunming Institute of Zoology to visit the museum and have a lecture. We learned a lot at the lecture, but the best part of the day came when we all got to go and get 100-minute massages at a very famous massage place in downtown Kunming. The massage was amazing and we all got to enjoy the experience together in a large open room. This really helped after all of the walking, hiking, and climbing, and for the people that rode the donkeys up the mountain because we were all in need of a massage. They brought out some tea, watermelon slices, and bananas as we were getting massages, and we all really felt pampered. It was just great. After the massage we went back to the town to get dinner and then some free time.

Today, we woke up and had another really nice breakfast, which is good because I can actually sit down to eat opposed to throwing a cereal bar down my throat before running to class when I am back at school. We then visited a small touristy village and saw how the village people in Kunming live. Now I am back at the hotel where I finally got a hold of a computer just checking my Facebook and e-mails. I think we are about to go to a large market and then I am going to have dinner with my good friend Jake who I met on the trip. He is my best pal on the trip and he also is a student at Madison. He is going to teach me to play tennis when we get back. We are going to have some salmon in the nice restaurant on the second floor. I also just want to give some shoutouts to some people back home if that’s OK: I want to send some love to my mom, CJ, brothers and sisters, Uncle Glenn and fam, Carter and his new daughter, the fellas from the football squad, the roomates of 124 Broom, and all of the Badger fans that show the team support. I'll fill you guys back in in a couple of days. Tomorrow we leave for Nanjing for a week, then Shanghai for a week, and then I am back in Mad Town for the summer. I am having so much fun, and I am really learning a lot and it has only been a little over a week. I am looking forward to the rest of the trip. Talk to ya'll soon. GO BADGERS!!!!!!

Wisconsin Athletic Communications
5/31/2007 9:01:55 AM