The drive from Chengdu to Leshan Giant Buddha took about 2.5 hours. Leshan Giant Buddha is carved out of a cliff face during the Tang Dynasty and took 90 years to complete, from 713 to 803 AD. The seated Maitreya statue is 71 meter tall and sits on the river banks at the confluence of … Continue reading Leshan Giant Buddha May 2017
Dujiangyan irrigation system 都江堰 was first constructed in 256 BC to control floods. It is still used today to irrigate the region. Instead of building a dam to prevent floods, governor Li Bing constructed an artificial levee to redirect a portion of the water as well as cut a channel through Mount Yulei to discharge the … Continue reading Dujiangyan & Qingcheng May 2017
Sanxingdui 三星堆 is the name of the archaeological site outside Chengdu of a previously unknown Bronze Age culture. The site is believed to be a major ancient walled city on the banks of the Minjiang River dating from the 11th century BC. Archaeologists are identifying it with the ancient kingdom of Shu before the Qin conquest. … Continue reading Sanxingdui & Jinsha May 2017
Giant Panda Breeding Research Base is a must when visiting Chengdu. It is the closest panda base to the city. You will see many pandas ranging from cubs to adults playing, eating, and just relaxing inside the enclosures. If you want to have your photo taken cuddling a panda, then you must head to Dujiangyan … Continue reading Chengdu Giant Panda May 2017
Chengdu is the capital of China’s Sichuan province and is one of the only major places that has maintained its name nearly unchanged and its location from imperial to communist eras. Chengdu served as capital to Liu Bei’s Shu during the Three Kingdoms Era (220-280 AD). Nowadays, it is famed for being the home of … Continue reading Chengdu May 2017
From Munnar, we continue our journey west to Cochin. It took us about 4 hours by car to arrive at the Taj Malabar Hotel where we spent the night before boarding the Oberoi Vrinda Boat in Alleppey for our 3-day cruise in the backwaters of Kerala. Kerala is a state in South India on the Malabar … Continue reading Kerala: Alleppey & Cochin Feb 2017
From Madurai, we drive about 4 hours to reach Munnar. Munnar is a hill station located at 1,600 meters in the Western Ghats range of mountains in Kerala. It once served as the summer resort for the British Government in South India. It is still a popular resort town nowadays with tea plantations, small towns, … Continue reading Munnar Feb 2017
