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I(H)C34 – Walking Through Poems
One of my trips through the middle kingdom landed me in 张家界 (Zhangjiajie) in the southern province of 湖南 (Hunan).
The karst landcapes of this UNESCO World Heritage site are famous all over the country, so I was very excited when I got there.
And it was magnificient:
October 5th 2006, 张家界 (Zhangjiajie).
I spent a whole day in the mountain paths.
There didn’t seem to be that many tourists around, probably because there was a constant notion of rain in the air. Sometimes it was absolutely quiet, and I remember it felt somewhat like walking around within the realms of an old poem.
When I got to a lake, I decided on a boat trip to the other side. I sat down in the boat. Then a Korean couple sat down next to me, then another one. Then the whole boat was full of Koreans. I couldn’t understand a word they were saying. They were all wearing red hats, and some of them had been carried along in carrying chairs.
October 5th 2006, 张家界 (Zhangjiajie)
I hated it.
There was a Chinese girl on the boat, holding a microphone. The boatman started steering us along with his pedal. When we got to the middle of the lake, the girl started singing a song. Although her voice didn’t sound very motivated, her singing was actually not too bad. We all smiled politely when she was done, and most of us softly applauded.
Then an old Korean dude got up from his seat. He walked to the center of the boat and stood there for a moment. The boat was gliding along, everything around us had the color of emeralds.
Then the old dude started singing.
It must have been an aria from some opera, and he definitely didn’t need a microphone. The boatman, the Chinese singer, the other Koreans, and me – we were all completely in awe.
Nobody made a sound, and the boat kept gliding along through the emerald world. It was beautiful.
When the old dude was done and we were applauding, my seat neighbor turned around to me and said something in English. I couldn’t understand what it was, so I asked him to repeat it. He was wearing a big pair of glasses, and he had a very happy expression on his face.
This time I understood what he said: “Famous opera singer.” Of course, it couldn’t have been anything else.
I smiled and gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.
The world was a poem and a song.
Soundtrack: Enrico Caruso – “La Donna È Mobile”
April 8th, 2010 at 04:29
Hi brother,
My name is Nikolas. I from Brazil (Rio de Janeiro). I make one link for your travel in my site (www.nikolassinopoulos.blogspot.com). Congratulations and good travels.
Nikolas
April 8th, 2010 at 07:46
It is amazing when in the midst of everything something truly surprising and beautiful happens. I adore those moments.
ps. Your pictures are beautiful. They always inspire me.
April 8th, 2010 at 09:09
What a beautifully written piece – it sounds like such a magical experience to have been there with all of that loveliness occurring simultaneously. Gorgeous photos :-)
April 10th, 2010 at 00:17
“the world was a poem and a song.”
sigh.
i would love to walk inside an old poem…
your words are beautiful.
xxx
April 11th, 2010 at 05:58
Really? Not many tourist around? You are a lucky guy…I will die for a day with no tourists around these famous spots in China.
April 12th, 2010 at 06:22
Hello
I think you a very good photographer,
very determined and healthy guy to do what your doing,
you make me feel that i should go to all these cool places &
i was wondering what type of camera you have?
have fun on the rest of your journey and you made me a fan of the Kingpis :D
thanks Connor
April 13th, 2010 at 06:51
Hey christo :)
saw your youtube videos and facebook group.. xD i still can’t believe i dotaed with you, old man!! haha =)
Hope all is well with you!
msn – moonism@hotmail.com
April 23rd, 2010 at 13:08
Wonderful place, I hope to see it once. But that story of yours adds much beauty to it, it must have been really nice experience. Love such posts, keep on!
May 6th, 2010 at 07:20
Nikolas Sinopoulos: Hey dude, thank you for your comment and your link, I made a link to your blog post on the media section :)
Jaymin: Happy you like the blog!
Shannon OD: A magical place, I hope you get a chance to visit (if you haven’t already)!
mccabe: Just what I needed in this time of dried out pens and blank pages!
ZMH: Just go there when the weather sucks! ;)
Connor: Hey dude, using a Canon 5D. Happy you are also a fan of the Kingpins now!! :)
Eileen – dota girl: Dota forever.
Matous Mihalicek: Hope you can go there soon, while it’s still beautiful!