by Chalerm Raksanti
While eastern Sichuan is densely populated, the western
part is thickly forested and mountainous. Its bamboo forests are the final
refuge of the giant panda. For more than half a million years, pandas
roamed the regions north and south of the Yangtze River. But human
encroachment on their natural habitat has shrunk the panda population and
they are now limited to Sichuan and the southern edges of Gansu and
Shaanxi. Worried that the pandas might become extinct, the Chinese
government invited the World Wildlife Fund to participate in a joint
research and conservation project in the Wolong Natural Reserve.
The
viewing pavilion in Kunmings’ Stone Forest is itself beautiful to look
at.
About 150 pandas live in the Wolong Reserve, one of the
eight panda preserves in Sichuan. It is the largest in the area with about
770 square miles. According to Chinese folklore, ten dragons from the East
China Sea were flying over this region between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau
and the Sichuan Basin. Overwhelmed by its natural beauty, one decided to
settle down and eventually turned into a mountain, which the people named
Wolong, or Reclining Dragon. The other nine dragons became mountain ranges
nearby.
The drive to Wolong, about 150 miles northwest of
Chengdu, takes many hours because of the rough road. At the reserve there
are two communes inside its borders. Most of the members are of Tibetan
decent. Smoke curls up from the chimneys of the low stone and wooden
houses on both sides of the road. Patches of vegetables under cultivation
stretch from the roadside halfway up the mountain.
The
train’s dining car is not luxurious but serves Chinese and some Western
food.
A drive up the Balang Mountain, one passes
black-turbaned Tibetans grazing goats that climb with agility over the
steep cliffs to reach for leaves. On a grassy slop, professors from the
Chengdu Medical College lecture to groups of students on wild herbs.
Across the way, in an emerald green meadow spotted with alpine flowers,
villagers dig for medicinal herbs and which the commune will then buy. A
sense of peacefulness pervades Wolong. It takes time for the place to
reveal itself. But of course there is never enough time for the traveler
making a trip though this vast region.
A
train crosses one of the 653 bridges that connect China’s provinces.
A 24 hour train ride will take the visitor Kunming. The
railroad station always has a long queue. “Welcome aboard! Please
don’t spit at random. Put cigarette ashes in the ashtrays.” And with
that announcement I boarded the train and found my sleeper at the top of
the triple-decker car. The accommodations are far from deluxe. The
passengers had brought their own tea cups. I wondered what I would drink
from since I had not thought of that. An elderly Chinese woman had an
extra glass which she let me borrow for the journey. Mats and blankets
covered the leather bunks. The sleeping arrangements were not luxurious
but spacious and comfortable compared to the congestion in the hard seat
cars.
The Chengdu-Kunming line which crosses over the eastern
edge of China’s most forbidding mountain terrain was not completed until
1970. It passes through 427 tunnels and over 653 bridges. Many workers
died in the attempt to cut paths through sheer rock. Near Puxiong is a
cemetery in memory of those who sacrificed their lives to the railway.
Rows and rows of forlorn tombstones stand on a hill.
China’s
Giant Panda
Kungming capital is beautifully situated on a high,
fertile plateau surrounded on three sides by gently rolling mountains.
Southwest of the city, colorful patched sails skim the surface of Lake
Dian, a shimmering body of water some 25 miles long. Broad avenues, pastel
buildings and parks filed with trees and flowers give the “city of
eternal spring” the atmosphere of a relaxed southern outpost.
Over 2,000 years ago, a highly skilled bronze-making
culture flourished near Lake Dian. Tomb excavations at Shizhaishan have
uncovered thousands of artifacts, including weapons and drums full of
cowry shells that were used as currency. They have unearthed objects of
silver, jade and turquoise. Vividly realistic scenes of action; warfare,
hunting, and ritual sacrifice give us a rich pictorial account of this
people’s distinctive life.
If one follows a stream of people along the narrow
paths through the crevices in the rocks of the Stone Forest, at the
highest point is the Viewing Peaks Pavilion. It is easy to lose one’s
way in this labyrinth, but the steep climb of steps reveals a breathtaking
view of a vast sea of craggy peaks and high cliffs which are dramatically
different in shape. This is one of nature’s giant sculpture gardens and
the 200 acre park is a marvelous canvas of fantastically shaped rocks.
