The Red Panda in Chengdu

Panda, the National Animal of China is probably the most lovable and adorable animal in the world. Our itinerary in Chengdu includes a visit to Chengdu Panda Research Base for Giant Panda. We did see the Panda but not after much "struggle" for space with the massive crowd thronging the Centre that day.

That was not the first time I saw Panda. I had the opportunity of not just seeing Panda but "cuddling" one when I visited the Chongqing Zoo in 1993 with tour members of the Institution of Engineers Malaysia.

This time, I was surprised to learn that there is such animal called "Red Panda" beside the Giant Panda. The Red Panda is more like raccoon than the usual black and white Panda that we are used to see. For the Chinese names of Giant Panda and Red Panda, they are being referred to as "Big Panda" and the "Small Panda". Other than the name, they are in actual fact of different species. The only similar thing they share is probably they both eat bamboo. The Red Panda is said to be a more fearsome animal compared to their much loved cousins. Understandably, cuddling a Red Panda is not one of the "To Do Things" in this Centre.

I can't remember paying a substantial fee to cuddle a Panda way back in 1993. But now in Chengdu Research Base, it will cost Panda lovers a whooping RMB2,000 to cuddle one. I can fully appreciate the rationale of imposing such massive fee. Any "affordable" fee would have flooded the Research Base with all sorts of people and the poor Panda would probably have fallen ill because of stress and lack of rest just to entertain such massive crowd.

I was impressed by what the Chinese are doing to protect this endangered species in this Base. The RMB2,000 which is also called "donation" is just one way Panda lovers can do in the conservation effort of this animal!

Red Panda.

A tourist after paying RMB2,000 and donning full gear of sanitary protective clothing, cap and surgical mask would have the luxury of watching and examining the Panda at close range.

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I can't recall paying any major fee to cuddle a Panda in Chongqing Zoo in 1993. That was 23 years ago! 

Alma Mater

Some say Alma Mater is not applicable to the primary school one has attended. They contend that Alma Mater is normally reserved for university or a college. I hold slightly different view. I regard the impact of the first school one attend to be very significant, hence, the declaration of Lok Yuk Primary School Jesselton which has been renamed Sekolah Junis Kebangsaan (Cina) Lok Yuk, Kota Kinabalu as my Alma Mater should be acceptable when viewed from this perspective.

I spent six years in this Chinese primary school from 1958 to 1963. Since then, fifty over years has passed. Today, I can still vividly remember all my primary school teachers and most of the incidences both happy and sad that happened during those formative years. That part of the brain that stores those information surprisingly is intact compared to another part of the brain that stores recent events. Recent events, names of people just don't stick well in the cerebral cortex these days!

I could not remember exactly the last time I attended an official function of this school. Definitely, it was a very long time ago. I did visit the school many times in the last twenty years or so. Those were occasions when I acted as the Consulting Engineer for the construction of the two of the three building blocks of the school. When the School Management Board held the Official Opening Ceremony for the last and most recently completed school block - the New School Canteen and Multi-Purpose School Block, I was invited but I could not attend that function for reason I now can not remember.

Since early this year, the school has a new management board and its first project is the widening of the main entrance access road. This time, I was able to attend the ground breaking ceremony officiated by the Bishop of the Basel Christian Church Malaysia.

I was early for the function scheduled at 8.00am on 18 October 2016. I was asked to join a group of board members and other signatories who also came early and seated in the school canteen. I recognized practically all except a young lady seated in front of me. For a split second, I thought the face looked familiar but I immediately stopped trying to recall. I was told by the Senior Pastor of BCCM KK (C) sitting next to me that she is the chairperson of the PTA of the school after I asked him for her identity. Suddenly, she looked at me and said,

"Did you stay in Taman Foh Sang before?". That question immediately triggered my memory. I suddenly remembered the Shim family who lived exactly across the street opposite my house. I was then staying a Semi-D house, a government rented quarter when I was with JKR. Before she finished the word "Ger...", I could instantly finished saying her name "Geraldine" for her.

That year was 1983, almost 33 years ago when she came over to my house with her younger brother to attend Serene's and Sam's joint birthday celebration. She was probably 8 or 9 then.

When the name Geraldine was resonating in my ears, I was in no doubt that kids do remember faces, better than we think and imagine.

We had quite a long chat to update ourselves of events spanning over 33 years. Her eldest kid is in Form 1 in Tshung Tshin while her second kid in Primary 2 in this primary school. That explained her role in the PTA. Her only reservation is her lack of Chinese language proficiency as she was educated in BM/English medium schools. I was certain and assured her that she would be more than capable of handling this role.

I was glad the school management took another step to upgrade and improve the school. I was more pleased to realize that people grow and excel and move to be your equals and peers! I was reminded to never disregard or ignore people no matter how small or insignificant they are. You may never imagine that someday, somewhere, he may just turn out to be your peer or even your superior and best of all your lucky star.

Group photo after the ceremony.

December 1983 in Taman Foh Sang. 
Standing at back row middle is Geraldine..

Kelantan, a Paradox

These days, besides 1MDB, the other most talked about word is probably Hudud. Whenever we hear or read about Hudud, we think of Kelantan This is because Kelantan has been relentless in pursuing the implementation of Hudud. To be more precise, it is PAS' Hadi Awang of Kelantan who is obsessed about this rather than Kelantanese perse.

Before 11 October 2016, I could not say much about Kelantan because I have never been there before that. But after spending almost three days in Kelantan, I do have a better idea of this so-called Islamic heart land of Malaysia.

Other than the constant blaring of Azam prayers every now and then and the predominant Muslim population, there is little difference between Kota Bharu and any other West Malaysian town. Occasionally, one can see a few women donning the niqab. Yet, they are the minority rather than the majority. In Kota Bharu, women appear to be in the forefront dominating most business premises, outlets and counters. Most stores in Siti Khadijah Market are manned by women as I observed.

After crisscrossing Kelantan, it appears to me that Kelantan is more culturally and religiously diverse than what it has been portrayed.

Thai or Siamese influence is particularly strong in the northern part of Kelantan. In some locations, one may feel like visiting Thailand or part of China rather than an Islaimic state.

In Rantau Panjang, a town close to Thai border, the local mosque design looks more like a Chinese museum rather than the traditional Arab dome-shaped roof structure that we are used to.

Food wise, one can savor typical Kelanese food, Thai and Chinese food. There is no shortage of Chinese food if one knows where to look for them. We particularly enjoyed Khau Jam which is the equivalence of Nasi Kerabu but of Thai origin. The rice is cooked in a variety of herbs and leaves and is served with the same accompaniments and topped with chilli paste and fish crackers, a must for all Kelantanese dishes.

According to local Chinese I talked to, pork is openly sold in public markets and in full view of the Muslim!

After seeing Kelantan first hand, the question remains. What is the real agenda for Hudud?

 

A building complex  in Rantau Panjang which is a mosque
looks more likea Chinese temple than the traditional mosque
design that we are used to.

Siti Khatijah Market.

Khau Jam of Kedai Kopi dan Makanan U-Lang Corner.

Chicken grilled by coconut husks fire and Tong Fen Prawn

Temple of Siamese design in Kelantan.

Pulai, Gua Musang, Kelantan

Our round trip driving tour to Terenegganu and Kelantan covered a total distance of some 1,350 Km. We passed through Pahang and stopped for our first break in Bentong before proceeding to Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre to look at the elephants.

We spent a night at Cukai (now renamed Kemaman) which was our first stop in Terengganu. From Cukai, we took the coastal road passing through Kerteh, Paka, Dungun, Marang and then to Kuala Terengganu. After two nights in Terengganu, we moved on to Kota Bharu in Kelantan. The trip actually ended after two days stay in Kota Bharu.

Since the distance from Kota Bharu to KL is 440 Km which could be too demanding to drive at one go, we decided to take a break and spend a night in Gua Musang. From Kota Bharu to Gua Musang, we also took a detour to Rantau Panjang, a border town at the Thai border at the northern boundary of Kelantan.

As it turned out, my greatest surprise was Gua Musang, a name synonymous with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the MP for Gua Musang. This is because of Tengku Razaleigh long history as an MP for Gua Musang. He is the incumbent MP since 1986, his 7th term since he won in the 7th Parliamentary Election in 1986.

When I asked the Inn Keeper in Gua Musang for interesting places to visit, without hesitation, he recommended a little town called Pulai, 14 Km away.

Pulai, tucked away in the middle of Malaya Penisular and next to a small river Sungai Galas is a Chinese settlement. According to the chap I had a lengthy chat with, Chinese in Pulai is 99.9% Hakka. Their Hakka accent as I discovered first hand is identical to the spoken Hakka in Sabah. The Hakka in Sabah and the Hakka in Pulai all came from the same villages in mainland China!

As told, the Chinese Hakka came to Pulai from the period of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1662) to the reign of Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty (1796 - 1820). This Chinese settlement is said to be at least 600 years old. The chap I talked to claimed to be the 7th generation resident. Assuming 30 years per generation, his ancestors would probably first set foot on Pulai some 200 years ago.

Like all Chinese immigrants who chose to settle in new found land, they made their way deep inland by boats along rivers. One could imagine how the first settlers set sail from the river mouth of Kelantan River and moved upstream to Galas River until Pulai. These immigrants came here for gold! This story has many similarities to what my maternal grandfather went through when he went to work in Sungai Lembing Tin Mine (Read here).

Settlers in Pulai had had a fair share of traumatic lives. During the Malayan Communist Insurgency (1940 - 1960), all the Chinese were forced to relocate from Pulai and settled elsewhere. It was only until 1967 that they were allowed to come back. By then the only Chinese Temple built in the 40's had collapsed. This was then rebuilt from scratch.

The Chinese Temple called the Shui Yue Temple (or Swee Nyet Temple in Hakka) is now declared by the Government as a historical building. The Government allocated RM200,000 in 2007 to help in the restoration work. Lives of the local residents of this community literally centre around this Temple. The Temple Committee organizes annual and seasonal events to cater for the religious and social needs of the people. All communal meals are prepared and cooked in the Temple premise. However, as the chap claimed, no woman has been allowed into the Temple kitchen as it is forbidden by tradition. Hence the foods are all cooked by men! But this tradition is in for change. There is plan to build a new kitchen that permits women to cook!

Chinese here are mostly rubber estate owners or they work in the oil palms plantations nearby. The Chinese hardly do the actual rubber tapping these days but leave that to the Thais workers whom they employ.

The only Chinese Primary School.

Residents gathered to commemorate the ground breaking
ceremony to rebuild the collapsed Temple in May 1967

Much of the interior and exterior finishes and ornamental works of the restored Temple were done by craftsmen in China. They were then shipped and transported here for installation.

Ornamental carvings of Guan Gong and Chang Fei on main entrance doors.

7th generation Chinese Hakka who is a committee member
of the Temple.

There are not many choices of good Chinese food in Gua Musang. Our Inn Keeper was very obliging to tell us where to have good Chinese food. True to his recommendation, Kedai Makan 888 proved to be able to come up with good and tasty dishes.

Another interesting feature among the Chinese businessmen and traders is their preference to choose a number for their outlets or eateries! You will find signboards with 888, 333, 138 and so on. Choosing phonetically nice sounding numbers for business premises and cars seems to be an obsession of Chinese business people in Malaysia!

Leshan Giant Buddha, China

Have you ever wonder what a mere man is capable of doing and achieving? Well, a tour to see the Leshan Giant Buddha will probably help to open your horizon and get a glimpse of human capacity for unthinkable achievement.

I was moved by the story told by the tour guide about the history of this Giant Buddha. It was told that a monk by the name of Haitong was saddened to see the disruption to shipping vessels and even loss of lives caused by the turbulent water at the confluence of three rivers - Min River, Qingyi River and Dudu River. He decided to build a massive Buddha statute at the cliff directly facing the confluence with the hope that it would calm the water. Work started in 713 AD.

According to legend, when some local corrupt government officials wanted to have a cut of the money Haitong raised for this project, Haitong flatly told them that they could have his eyeball but not the money raised for the statute. The government official thought he was just joking and challenged him to do it, Haitong did indeed gouge out one of his eyes and offered it to the officials. The officials were utterly shaken by such act and left quickly never to disturb the project again. As a result of his sincerity and devotion, more donation poured in. But the project was half finished when Haitong passed away and two of his disciples continued the project. The project was finally completed in 803 AD by the local governor, some 90 years after it was first started.

The statue is 71m high. The head is 14.7m long and 10m wide. The hair was carved with 1,021 buns. This is the tallest Buddha sculpture in the world, 18m taller than the Bamiyan Buddha in Afghanistan which was dynamited and destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001.

Apparently since so much stones were removed from the cliff and dumped into the river below, the currents of the rivers were in fact altered and the passageway was made safe for moving vessels.

It was said that when the statute was built, a huge 13-story wooden structure was erected to shelter the statute from rain and sunlight. The structure was destroyed by the Mongols during the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. From then on, the statute was exposed to the elements. In the engineering aspect, a sophisticated drainage system was incorporated which is still in working order. It includes drainage pipes carved into various places on the body to channel the surface water away.

Boats that traverse from the jetty to the Giant Buddha spend probably just over five minutes in front of the giant statute. With such small window of time, all tourists would scramble to take shots as quickly and as many as possible. For tourists who have more time and who are prepared to do more walking, they would be driven to the top of the mountain and asked to join the queue to descend to the base of the statute. At the peak season, the queue can last easily to two to three hours.

A few years ago, it was discovered that Wuyou Mountain, Lingyun Mountain and Guicheng Mountain behind the Giant Buddha appear in the shape of a sleeping Buddha when viewed from a distance. Soon after, this was promoted as the Giant Sleeping Buddha. The head is Wuyou Mountain, the body is Lingyun Mountain and the feet is Guicheng Mountain. The full length is estimated at 4,000m  in a north-south alignment with the head at the north.

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The long queue is clearly visible in long winding staircase from the top to the base.

Abstracted from 
http://www.chinadiscovery.com/sichuan/leshan/
leshan-giant-buddha.html

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Bamiyan Buddha before and after the destruction. 
Abstracted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Buddhas_of_Bamiyan#/media/

File:Taller_Buddha_of_Bamiyan_
before_and_after_destruction.jpg

Huanglong, Sicuan, China

Tourists who come to visit Jiuzhaigou most probably will do a detour to visit Huanglong as well. In the past, tourists had to take long distance buses to come to Jiuzhaigou from Chengdu. It is an 8-hour road trip. With the completion of Jiuzhai-Huanglong Airport in 2003, the flight time is only one hour.

Jiuzhai Huanglong Airport built at an elevation of +3,448m AMSL (11,310 ft) is one of the high altitude airports in the world. According to our tour guide, many flights are frequently delayed because of bad weather. Our flight on 13 September 2016 landed on schedule.

The initial stretch of the road from the airport to Huanglong is downhill and winding until it reaches a town at the valley. From then on, the road ascends uphill in a zigzag winding manner until the peak at just over +4,000m AMSL. It then descends downhill all the way to Huanglong. The view along the drive was spectacular!

The landscape and geology of Huanglong is markedly different from Jiuzhaigou. Over millions of years, the glacial effect, tufa water and climate condition created this travertine landscape in Huanglong. Travertine is a form of sedimentary rock, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from solution in ground and surface water and or geothermally heated hot spring. Travertine often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exist in white, tan, cream-coloured and even rusty varieties.

Zig-Zag winding road with multiple hair pins to Huanglong

Guest Welcome Pond at elevation 3,230m AMSL 

Guest Welcome Pond

Guest Welcome Pond at elevation 3,230m AMSL

Marvelous Flying Waterfall at
 Elevation 3,245m AMSL

Washing Cave at elevation  3,280m AMSL

Lianyan Pond at elevation 3,251m AMSL

Lianyan Pond at elevation 3,251m AMSL

Flying Waterfall on Lotus Platform at elevation
 3,260m AMS - a good example of travertine
 in rusty colour.

Golden Sand Pavement at elevation 3,305m AMSL

Bonsai Pond at elevation 3,320m AMSL

Bonsai Pond at elevation 3,320m AMSL

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Unfortunately, we were not given enough time to climb to the very top at +3,576m AMSL where the Multi-Colour Pond is situated. There are 693 ponds in this cluster of ponds.

Dazu Rock Carvings, Chongqing.

On 16 September 2016 when I visited  Dazu Rock Carvings or Dazu Baoding Mountain Rock Carvings, it was just a couple of days shy of 23 years since I last visited this place.

The most striking change at I noticed is the frontage or the entrance to this World Heritage Site. In 1993 when I visited this place with a group of Engineers from the Institution of Engineers Malaysia, the entrance was a simple stone arch with the Chinese characters "Baoding Mountain" inscribed on it. It was said that Bo Xilai during the pinnacle of his political career as Mayor of Chongqing spent billion to upgrade the entrance to its current monumental scale. He was known to focus on aesthetic development projects such as massive boulevards, monuments and large public parks. His appetite for gargantuan projects probably triggered his political downfall. The sheer size and intricacy of all the structures built for the entrance truly is mind boggling!

Back in 1993, no video recording was allowed in the Rock Carvings Site. Many staff and under-covers were assigned all over the place to warn people against doing video recording. They stopped and asked to check for any sign of recording. Recording video tape would be ripped off if they find any recording!

With the introduction of smartphones into the market in 1999, it would be impossible to enforce such rule. In any case, any posting of video of the site in the internet nowadays would be promotional materials and likely be encouraged by the Chinese to promote tourism! What a change!

It still amazed me to look at these carvings said to number over 50,000 statutes. Carved over a period of 500 years from AD650 during the Tang Dynasty up to the 12th Century, the carvings are good historical records of what people then perceived the living, the dead and the afterlife. It is the synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

While I was impressed by the "knowledge" of the tour guides as they narrated the tales and significance of all these carvings, I was wondering just how much these teachings and tales affect their belief system in China today?

Simple archway in 1993 as against gargantuan square 

and archway in 2016

Another huge square and massive building after crossing the gigantic entrance archway

September 1993 Vs September 2016

September 1993 Vs September 2016

September 1993 Vs September 2016

The huge lying Bhudda was closed for renovation and restoration. It was fortunate that I can dig up my old photo to have a look of this huge rock carving.

September 2016

September 1993