255. WINTER IN HUBEI

This lovely old tune is praising the beauty of a green island, Taiwan - lol !

The surrounding countries...

The Year of the Fire Horse tells me there's money coming - 'rolling in wealth' too! Yes please!

Wuhan's the capital city of Hubei province. It's best remembered as the epicenter of the covid19 virus that launched the pandemic that shut the world down bringing entire nations to a standstill. Humans brought to their knees by an invisible, microscopic attacker/enemy, call it whatever.

Brings to mind the novel by HG Wells, War of the Worlds! Aliens from Mars attacked Earth causing much havoc and the humans were losing out to them despite their 'superior' weapons. The aliens succumbed to Earth's common cold bug and other microbes as they had neither immunity nor had vaccinations on Mars!

Electric train travel is the way to go these days and I enjoy the long rides as it's comfortable, speedy and cool. The stations are huge and to walk from one point to another may take 15 to 20 mins.

 

Hankuo station, Wuhan

It's early Winter and there's a certain stillness which is really peaceful...calms the body and mind. Leaves don't rustle, there's hardly a breeze, or the leaves have fallen off. No birds nor insects nor squirrels chattering, they've gone silent as they prepare for the cold and frost and snow, perhaps blizzards even - like a period of transition, the calm before the storm...

Leaving Wuhan, I travelled by fast electric train into the countryside. It's beautiful, it's silent, it's cold, it's wild.

Most areas were deserted save for members of my group, it was the end of the travel season and they were preparing to shut down for the Winter save for some areas that open during the skiing season...

Part of Shennongjia Forest District comprise of the Dajiuhu Wetland Reserves, a peat forest...it appears desolate now but comes alive when migratory birds stop by...

It's pleasant in the day when the sun's up, gets really chilly nights and early mornings when I'm tucked up in bed under the sheets, thank goodness. What's unbearable...except for the hotels, most public areas have no warm running water, after washing the hands, they're uncomfortably frozen and numb for some minutes.

I've told myself before I will not go any place in Winter that has ice and snow, and here I am...(face palm)

On this icy road, that white car went off the road. Fellow motorists helped pushed it back...

In such conditions, even vehicles need to have chains wrapped around its wheels for better grip.

I had on a shoe 'grip' that wraps around the shoes with spikes for better grip to prevent slipping on ice. A wonderful invention, I think it's more secure than non-slip shoes...

Below me, the Shiziguan floating bridge (above) in Enshi, kept afloat on pontoons, a brilliant construction. This Qingjiang river meanders a lot so they solved the crossing problem by coming up with a bridge cum road that meanders with it. Drove across for the 'floating' experience - the driver sped along it to give the sensation that we were on the water itself as water splashed around us - good fun! The speed limit was 20km/hr I think he exceeded that to give us a thrill!

The Wu Gorge is in Badong an ancient county...

Across this craggy mountainous terrain, they just had to put up another of their ubiquitous glass bridges. The scarier the better...

It's quite a drop...

Don't look down...

Several of their better known sages and poets - the only name I recognised is Li Bai - a translated poem was deeply spiritual. A pilgrim's spiritual journey is solitary...our 'journey' Home is solitary...

Offered thanks as the sun peered through the mountains...ushering in a beautiful day that's not too cold...This place is Shennongjia. I can imagine with each changing season how beautiful the countryside must look...

I went down nearly 800 steps into the bowels of the earth to check out a beautiful spot, Pingshan Gorge, and after the ubiquitous boat ride, walked back up those same steps to the coach...it felt like a continuation of the walking and climbing I just did in nearby Chongqing ...

There'e very fond of cliffhangers, re-enforced to take visitors...

It's beautiful in Pingshan Gorge, sailing through it for a closeup of the ancient cliffs was really something. I sat quietly, taking everything in with my eyes and camera...

This piece of ancient rock with so much character would make a lovely installation artwork on the lawn of an equally lovely old house...complete with a waterfall...

Somebody, likely, possibly an important person of perhaps, wealth and influence, saw fit to have his coffin placed high up on this stony ledge, where out of fear and superstition, nobody will desecrate it...but than, who knows the story behind that - it's something interesting for visitors to gawk at...

Guess they don't get much rain here...

Coming down from the mountains, stopped to take a look at these bee hives, at a glance they look like coffins for little young people! They are cultivating mountain bees for their honey...I've tasted mountain honey before, they seem a little different, more floral...

Little red riding hood with Snow White momma...lol !

 

In Enshi fair city where the maidens are so pretty!

Cosplay for the youngsters and the oldies...

Corny - I'll stick to the phone camera the next time

  

Potted plant in what's left of a pot - love this, as long as there's light and water, they'll flourish...the wise owner knows this...and it holds pride of place in front of her tea house...

Mountain tea - in the Winter cold, the tea produced in this region seems different, tasted almost 'fishy'

From the mountains to a canyon, it was back to earth to Wuhan by fast train, to look at city things for a change of scenery...

The Yellow Crane tower with a matching ice cream...

Colonial buildings from the British and Germans. 2 from the art deco era...classic!

The shops' decor are terribly interesting, original and creative - for maximum eyeballs. All food items had samplings, I went around tasting...!

Comrades

They slip their arms into these to keep out the cold and the sun...a common sight in Vietnam too...

Parts unknown...human or animal !

The night cruise on a river is almost mandatory on every China itinerary. This one is different and quite enjoyable. They've used waterbodies as the stage with a mountain or karst pillars as the backdrop. This particular show using the city as the backdrop was quite spectacular.

This performance was of a dragon boat in which bamboo rafts were strung together forming the dragon's body. The dragon weaved its way along this canal as the tourists relaxed on each raft. Entertainment was provided from a floating platform where a band played and singers sang and danced, fireworks went off too! 

This chap added some excitement to the performance with some flips on his flyboard

The dragon head chasing a ball as it weaves along this canal, pulling us along behind it...

This was the highlight for me. What was interesting was, the youngsters at this robot innovation center looked not a day older than 20! The 2 I spoke to (interviewed!) were 20 and 24 and they were considered Head of their group! Oldies above 30 are redundant here, it would appear! Unless they are the bosses!

There's a muscular one for lifting heavy loads or obese humans...

On an upper floor robots were been trained and programmed to carry out cleaning and food prep work - they're kind of slow! In SG's fast work environment, they'll break down!

The robot that makes coffee at this kiosk seems to be off duty or perhaps, it's back to the drawing board!

They dance, do taichi steps, they speak in currently 2 languages, English and Mandarin!

When asked 'do you have a girlfriend?' no answer! Perhaps it dosen't know what gender it is, they didn't program that - lol !

I, Robot

Humans are automatons, like it or not. Programmed from a young age, they go through morning rituals from home to school to work, to houses of worship, inside the work place, so on so forth till even when no longer employed, they repeat those same patterns with some variations...switch on when awake, go through the motions...lol !

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The super tour leader, Jeannie Tan of Experience Tours, put together a varied and most interesting program (from the mountain to the sea!)  She was ably assisted by the superb local guide from Wuhan, Chris. The dynamic duo! Propelled by a dynamo, it was go go go...

Some pictures came from Susan, Jeannie, Chris...