ROAR, it's Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Tiger Leaping Gorge (hu3 tiao4 xia2, 虎跳峽) is where you can go to literally experience a mountain IN YOUR FACE in the most obscene manner ever. It's sandwiched between two ~5,500m mountains (Jade Dragon 玉龍 and Haba 哈巴) and boasts a series of sheer 2,000m cliffs.

To get to TLG, we had to pass by Lijiang first from Dali on yet another disgusting 4 hour busride. Lijiang is a booming tourist area, particularly because everyone wants to meander through its adorable old town, an UNESCO Heritage Site. The old town has winding cobblestone roads with waterways and 2-story traditional Naxi style houses on both sides. However, after the town built its own airport, it has experienced such a sudden domestic tourism boom that most backpackers now shun the place in favor for more peaceful and sleepy outer villages, such as Shuhe (束河). We stayed in Shuhe and LOVED IT... apparently Shuhe is where the Naxi people first settled after descending down from Tibet hundreds of years ago. Through our interactions we found the Naxi to be a very warm, polite, and honest group of people... a breath of fresh air in China. :)

Our adorable B&B, the Sleepy Inn.

The lady is making my breakfast. :)

We only stayed in Shuhe overnight and I truly regret not being able to extend it for day or two. I wasn't sure if it was worth staying in the Lijiang area at first because of all the negative reviews from Western travelers -- the general consensus was that Lijiang was overrun with notoriously obnoxious Chinese tourists, but we discovered that Shuhe was nothing of that sort. Of course, the government has pumped a lot of money into renovating Shuhe into becoming Lijiang 2.0, so you should haul ass and go there while you can still get a glimpse of authentic Naxi life!

Gene and I met up with some fellow HNCers (Luke, Margaux, Richard, Hannah) for the TLG leg, which made for excellent company! :) From Lijiang we took a bus to Qiaotou, the beginning of TLG, feeling a steady incline into mountains while passing though patches of fields that were nestled between valleys. I noticed that people here not only plant a lot of crops, but they also plant a lot of tree nurseries. My hunch is that these trees are part of the supply chain that goes into the massive push to beautify cities across China... how did you think Beijing got green and pretty all of a sudden? I also read an article recently about how cities compete with each other to purchase whole groves way in advance.

Tiger Leaping Gorge was a fantastic experience. I think the key draw to hiking TLG is that it puts you at a visual perspective where you can appreciate a mountain in all its glory from foot to pinnacle. You look down and ponder your mortality. You look up and ponder your mortality. Basically as you stand at its gaping maws you feel like Nature can pwn you at any second. You don't have to be a triathlete but the trail does require some level of physical fitness, there were certainly some parts that left us all begging for mercy, but it's mostly mind over matter.

So how did we hike TLG? When we got to Qiaotou, we left our backpacks at a hostel at the beginning of the trail and hired a car to bring us to Middle TLG. OMG, the car ride was simply terrifying. Not only did the twisted and narrow road not have any guard railings, but our driver thought he was at a NASCAR racer or some shit. I almost pooped my pants. At some point I just realized that it was just better to close my eyes and accept my fate, and after 30 minutes of what I never want to live through again I realized God still wants me alive. I'M ALIVE, BITCHES!!!

At the Middle TLG section we stayed at Tina's Youth Hostel overnight because it was already late afternoon, so instead of tackling the long trail we decided to just explore the part that brought hikers all the way down to the rapids. It was extremely tough... even Gene was totally smoked. Was it worth it? Well, I guess it's something you have to do, but not particularly breathtaking. You also had to shell out 10 RMB here, 20 RMB there in tolls or you wouldn't be able to pass a certain section, just like the troll in Three Billy Goats Gruff. That annoyed the lot of us, but I guess it supports the local economy.

According to legend, this is where the Tiger leapt over the Gorge.

The next day we set off from Middle TLG back to Upper TLG (towards Qiaotou). The scenery was breathtaking. It was tough getting to the "high trail" from Tina's Hostel, but once we were on the path it was completely flat and made for a relaxing stroll. The "low trail" was that death-defying road for vehicles I mentioned earlier. The vantage point is much better higher up!

您好, 媽媽 Nature.

The animals of TLG! SooOOoOooOoo cute!

No leaping tigers, unfortunately... only cute cuddly farm animals like cloned Babes and badly-sheared baby goats.

Open smile -- thanks for the good times, guys! :)

Next and final stop, Shangrila.