The Week of “This is the Most Beautiful Place I Have Ever Been in My Life” Moments

7 min readMar 1, 2016

Trains

There’s something romantic about riding a train, not romantic in the sense of chocolates and anniversaries, but romantic in sense that it feels intimate. Riding the train is like taking a trip back in time, to a world before the immediacy of the internet, a world less obsessed with efficiency and more interested with sitting back and enjoying the ride. There is soothing unsteadiness to the ride, as the train snakes through the mountains, rumbling through countless tunnels like a wooden roller coaster retired on the job. The sleeper car rocks back and forth like a cradle being gently licked by ocean waves. It does not provide optimal sleeping conditions, but it is sufficient.

The train ride from Xi’an to Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan, is long, sixteen hours, but for me the length was welcomed. Nothing makes a man more productive than locking him in a moving train for sixteen hours with no wifi. It gave me well-needed time to read, to write, and to simply enjoy the world around me. Perhaps when I have important deadlines approaching, I’ll start taking long train rides to finish up whatever work I might have. Or perhaps I’ll become better at time management. It does seem like the cheaper option.

After the restful train ride, we arrived in Chengdu bright and early, ready to face the day. I spent the morning traipsing around the hotel room in the provided bathrobe and wandering through a nearby monastery. Chengdu was a filled with a mystical air, brought on by the incense burning away in its various temples and monasteries. Of the few places I have visited in China thus far, Sichuan is easily my favorite. The amalgamation of nature and the cityscape created a pleasant atmosphere, and I enjoyed my time walking through random streets and alleys.

I loved the weather in Sichuan. It was humid and warm, just like weather in Mississippi. Spring is just around the corner, so there were flowers blooming. The pollution was far less serious than it is in Xi’an, and the city was also very much alive. I am looking forward to see Xi’an in the spring because I think it will be much more pleasant. I truly hope to get an opportunity to return one day soon to once again wander through its tree-laden streets and monk-filled monasteries.

Sichuan Opera

On the first night in Chengdu we went to a Sichuan Opera performance. The performers wore elaborate costumes matched with equally gaudy makeup. It was a humorous spectacle, and I found the performance delightful. The highlight was easily the face changing of the performers. In Sichuan Opera, some of the performers are skilled in this mysterious art. These masked performers are able, in the blink of an eye, to change their mask. It is really amazing to watch, and I’m still unsure how they do it.

Pandas

Known as China’s national treasure, pandas are an ever-present symbol at Chinese tourist sites. Even in Beijing, far from where pandas actually reside, one can purchase panda shaped backpacks and panda shirts. Sichuan province is home to a panda nature reserve, and we took a trip to see them.

You know how when humans talk to babies, their voices get higher and they revert to using weird noises rather than actually talking to communicate? That is exactly how people talk to pandas.

I am now officially convinced that pandas are the laziest animals alive (next to the modern teenager, that is [a joke that I can make now that I am twenty]). I’m hoping that by the time I retire the United States government will have established a “Panda Plan,” that involves free meals, laying around all day, and a comfortable bed. The pandas kept in captivity are essentially in a nursing home, and it looks pretty splendid.

Dujiangyan Irrigation System

What if I told you to come to China to see an irrigation system? You’d hop on a plane right now can come, right? No, of course not. Honestly, I thought that a day-long tour to an irrigation system would be boring. As always, China is full of surprises.

Chengdu is home to the oldest irrigation currently in use. It has been in use for more than two thousand years, an incredible feat. It is composed of three major parts that do everything from removing sand from river water to acting as a flood channel.

A bonus for touring the irrigation system is that it is surrounded by beautiful scenery. There are temples stuck onto the mountains, and the river itself is a sight worthy of seeing. The day we went was covered in a haze, and it reminded me of the stereotypical painting of Chinese nature that most foreigners are accustomed to seeing in museums.

LeShan Giant Buddha

As soon as I heard we were going to Sichuan, I knew I wanted to see the giant Buddha there. I don’t know why I knew it was there or what made me so eager to see it, but it just felt like something I had to do in my life.

From Chengdu to LeShan is about an hour ride on the high speed rail, and then another forty-five minute bus ride to the actual site. Seeing the giant Buddha in person was an amazing experience. I had seen plenty of pictures of it before, but something of that size cannot be captured within the small frame of a photograph (as I learned while trying to take pictures). Rather, it must be experienced in person, face to face.

Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhaigou is a national park about a fifty minute plane ride from Chengdu. The airport is about 3600m above sea level, crammed between mountains lightly dusted in snow like frosting on a cake. On the drive to our hotel, we stopped at a Tibetan village and walked around. I was completely unaware that Tibetan culture extended into Sichuan, and the monks garbed in traditional attire wandering around their village was a real treat. Yaks occasionally crossed the road as we continued to our hotel, as we descended from 3600m to about 1500m. The next day we went to the national park itself.

Jiuzhaigou is a place worthy of poetry. The lakes throughout the park glisten like a pie just out of the oven. The waterfalls gurgle through chunks of ice as they defrost. There is a serenity cast over the whole place like a net, protecting it from the noise and pollution of metropolises. I have never been somewhere so beautiful in my life.