My planned trip to Hong Kong and Sechuan Province kept eliciting that response from friends and acquaintances who had been to Beijing, the Great Wall, and Xian, where the Terra Cotta Warriors were found. Yet I knew that Victor Emanuel Nature Tours (VENT) would not be offering its “Classic China” trip if there were few birds to be seen, so I headed off, having studied the field guide and anticipating some lovely pheasants, lots of leaf warblers (little greenish jobs), and perhaps a look at the gorgeous, blue Grandala. I was not disappointed!

The flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong on Singapore Airlines was non-stop, quite comfortable, and I even managed some sleep. The most difficult part was waiting in the San Francisco Airport (which is a far more pleasant experience than LAX) for the 1:40AM departure of my flight. That was 4:40AM Eastern time, so it had already been a very long day for me! However, upon landing in Hong Kong I was energized by views of the city in early morning light as I was whisked to my hotel in a black Mercedes limo – not a bad way to start. The sheer volume of high-rise buildings, most about 40 stories high, is simply awesome, and the city sprawls over and between rocky hills and around busy, convoluted waterfront and complex coastline, with a most impressive road system through what must once have been gorgeous coastal scenery. There are several beautiful suspension bridges, and the road from the new airport into town is modern and swift. My room at the Regal Riverside Hotel, in the Shatin section of Hong Kong, was just dandy, with clean, sparkling white duvet cover, terry bathrobe, mini-bar and marble-topped vanity, in short, very nice! I headed out to explore the local area immediately and found my first life birds in a “rest park” just half a block away. Shatin seems to be a relatively quiet, newer part of the city, with lots of small parks where people were enjoying their early morning Tai-Chi. Laundry was hung in virtually every window of the high-rise apartments towering on all sides, and the Shatin River was the focal point of it all, with broad riverside walkways and green hills to be seen in the distance. Weather was warm and humid, so early morning was a nice time to be out. I discovered an old temple, now closed, in one park, with a lovely bit of roof tile sculpture, and nearby, a sign warning about contact with birds. Other than the temperature sensor which does a thermo-scan of all entering passengers in the airport terminal, this was the only sign of any concern about bird flu. I spent the rest of the day recharging and beginning to overcome the 12 hour time difference, which seems to me to be easier to do going west than east.









A city tour the following day was delightful, as we not only took the cable-tram up Victoria’s Peak (with fabulous views of the amazing cityscape on a perfect day), but took a quick tour of the harbor by boat, and visited a Taoist Temple. We were all fascinated by the Western Market section of town, where shop after shop provides the endless and exotic ingredients for traditional Chinese dishes. There were such delicacies as dried sea cucumbers (oh yum!), dried fish, shrimps and abalone, more types of funghi than I ever dreamed exist, delicate birds’ nests (for soup), and all the world’s shark fins (also for soup – there were so many of these it’s hard to imagine that there could be a single shark left in the sea with a fin intact!). All of this was very expensive, our local guide pointed out (about $300US/lb. for birds' nests), but there were plenty of shoppers. There were also various dried animal parts – you are what you eat, apparently, though I would have thought Viagra might be enough! Oh well, this was one of the sources of my ambivalent feelings about China, just as well to confront it early on. As became obvious in conversations with our local guide throughout the trip, the Eastern way of life, in China, at least, is intricately wound up with what we consider to be alternative medical beliefs, as well as a certain amount of numerology, and astrology too.
Though, to my knowledge, we never ate anything that contained the less appealing of these many ingredients, the food throughout was quite good. Most meals in Sechuan were served at large round tables with lazy susans, with as many as 8 or 10 dishes from which to serve ourselves. Sechuan cuisine is quite spicey, and features a local peppercorn that seems to numb the tongue and lips. I learned quickly to pick those out but the occasional mouth-number still snuck through to remind me of where I was! We were well advised to learn to use chopsticks from the outset, as many of the places we traveled are seldom visited by Westerners, thus forks are often not available. Though we all struggled a bit the first few days, it wasn’t long before I could pick up a soy bean with some confidence. It was the noodles, however, that baffled us all. A warming bowl of noodles and broth, often with a sprinkling of ground meat and some Chinese cabbage, is a welcome and quick lunch option which we enjoyed at small, local stops along the way, but the noodles themselves defy delicate, mannered consumption! It seemed wisest just to get on with it as best one could, without close observation of anyone else’s technique… Emily Post would not have approved! Many meals were massive buffets, with lots to choose from, though breakfasts were a bit dicey. We carried our own bread, peanut butter and jam, as often the Chinese offerings just didn’t appeal: cold, pickled veggies, fermented tofu squares, a watery rice “porridge” called Congee – just didn’t quite do it for me! There were sometimes steamed pork buns and dumplings, which could be tasty though occasionally brought rude, garlicy surprises too. Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of lunches and dinners was the reluctance to serve any rice until the very end of all the other dishes. Here were all these wonderful sauces demanding some rice, yet none was served in a timely manner, despite repeated pleas. Finally we came to understand that, for the average Chinese, rice is such an everyday/every meal commodity that it's considered as merely an add-on for those who are enjoying dining out.

One further word about dining – the Chinese are a very loud people, and though I thought Americans were pretty bad in this department, the Chinese we encountered have us beaten by a mile! We could hardly carry on conversations with those seated next to us at times, as large parties of Chinese tourists seemed to engage in near-shouting level conversations and repartee all around us. Instructions to diningroom staff often seemed to be shouted across the room, and many “discussions” of what appeared to be routine matters seemed to require raised voices.

My stay in Hong Kong included one full day of birding in the New Territories, not far from Shatin. Our morning at Tai Po Kau Forest Reserve yielded a cooperative Hainan Blue Flycatcher, among other things, and the extensive Mai Po Marsh was our afternoon stop. While disappointing, as the tide was out and shorebirds were way too far away to see even with a scope, it did produce the rare Chinese Egret. Just across the shallow bay, through a good deal of smog, we could see "the factories of the world", pumping away on the Chinese side of the border, mile after mile of them.





A 2 hour flight to Chengdu, the capitol of Sechuan Province, and we were in the heart of central SW China. The city, with roughly 10 million in the metropolitan area, sits in the bowl of a huge agricultural plain, circled on its SW, West and NW by a series of mountain ranges. The area around Chengdu is heavily farmed, though it seemed most plots were smaller than I had expected, with hand labor still very much involved. Rice seemed to be the primary crop, with corn and beans also in evidence. There were not many trees of great size, as most had apparently been chopped down during the Great Leap Forward, when the demand for wood to stoke smelting furnaces superseded all other considerations. Instant landscapes throughout the lowlands featured 30-40’ trees propped up on all sides, having been recently transplanted from nurseries. It occurred to me that the Chinese had engineered every square inch of land in one way or another. Hydroelectric installations and the demolishing of whole villages with resettlement in concrete, instant towns also appeared common, especially later in the trip as we descended from higher mountains along rushing rivers. Everywhere the riverbeds were being mined for rock and gravel, with the cement industry going strong. Construction of roads, dams and housing was evident wherever I looked, and it seemed the construction crane might indeed be the national bird of China! It is clear that the Chinese can accomplish any physical change of their country that the government may direct, though much is still done by simply throwing hordes of workers at the scheme. Major earthmoving machinery, for instance, was only seen at tunnel and dam projects. Otherwise, there were bucket brigades, men and women hauling crippling loads of wet sand and cement in baskets on their backs, and people making small rocks out of big ones.
Our time in town began with a gorgeous, sunny afternoon and a visit to a riverside bamboo park which produced not only some great birds, but a glimpse of the Chinese people at leisure, with many Mah-Jongg games in progress in the tea garden, and children playing along the paths, many men (often smoking) and women out strolling and enjoying the afternoon. A picturesque pagoda and rock garden, and red paper lanterns strung overhead added to the pleasing scene. The next morning, a visit to the huge 234' high Le Shan Buddha yielded some further fine sightings, such as the Tiger Shrike and the Red-billed Blue Magpie.








We also visited the Panda Breeding Center, which is well worthwhile as the Giant and Red Pandas are kept in attractive, moated and wooded outdoor enclosures, allowing lots of photo ops. They are surely the definition of “cute”, and seemed healthy and happy, though the youngest ones were being kept indoors in dark, cement walled cages; we were told it would be too hot for them outside, and that was rather depressing. Having read George Shaller’s The Last Panda I knew that the few Giant Pandas left in the wild are only to be found at higher, cooler altitudes in dense bamboo forests. I highly recommend reading the book to gain an appreciation for their requirements and a broader picture of “panda politics”. Within the last month the Chinese had released their first captive-bred panda into the wilderness at Wolong Panda Reserve, which we later visited. This is not an overwhelming success record, as they have been capturing wild pandas and bringing them into the “breeding centers” for decades, but at least it is a step in the right direction.
That evening, following an excellent Sechuan banquet, we were delighted to attend the “Sechuan Opera”, which took place on an outdoor stage (though under cover) in a large tea garden. It was a fast moving and fascinating spectacle of dancers, musicians, acrobats, a superb puppeteer, and even a shadow-picture specialist. The whirl of colors and costumes kept me glued to the action throughout the hour and a half performance.







The next morning, however, was gray with smog, the eye-watering kind, and I was very happy to hit the mountains at last, when we arrived in Emei Shan, a relatively small (by Chinese standards) tourist-oriented town at the base of the mountains. From here we birded some local farmland areas, but the main focus was on the sacred mountain of Emei Shan itself, a major tourist destination which is accessible by park bus and cablecar to the “Golden Summit”, or via a very lengthy footpath, for the Buddhist pilgrims seeking the merit of having kneeled and prayed at every step along the way up to the 10,200’ peak. There has been a resurgence of Buddhism since the Cultural Revolution, encouraged in part by the Chinese government, and the structures at the top of the mountain are either recently refurbished (the smell of gold spray paint wafting on the air) or still under construction. The huge, multifaceted golden statue at the top is actually only a few years old, though the many small religious buildings along the way have been there for a very long time. There are plenty of warblers and sunbirds amongst the wooded slopes and even at the top, away from the construction and crowds, we found such beauties as the Vinaceous Rosefinch, stunning as it fed on stray patches of snow. Have a look at this web site to see what a beautiful bird this is. There was even a small colony of Chinese Stump-tailed Macaques, who seemed to be making a good living from the passing tourists who tossed them food.
Lower down on the mountain, Wannian Monastery provided a glimpse of an active Buddhist temple and monastery complex, as well as some good birds in the surrounding forests.






Our next stop was Wawu Shan, another of the sacred mountains, but this one very little visited, much to our delight! The road was long and winding, but also loaded with birds, and on later days of birding along the road near our inn, I saw 7 Lady Amherst’s Pheasants, the males in their sharp white-tailed breeding plumage, with iridescent patches of blue, green and orange too. Our accommodations were basic, though being located right at the foot of the (many) stairs up to the cablecar was definitely a plus, and the wooded grounds around our “villas” (a bit of a stretch, that term!) were loaded with goodies. All the rooms had their own bathroom, though the toilets were Asian style (good for the thigh muscles!), we did have hot showers, featuring a disembodied Chinese voice which would speak to me from the depths of the wall-mounted water heater from time to time. I was visited by a large, buffy colored mouse on two nights, having failed to zip up the last inch of my duffel. I guess he found it all too irresistible not to explore, though I did draw the line when he ran across my pillow! Sleeping with the lights on seemed to put an end to that activity, thankfully. Our meals here were very tasty, freshly cooked, and while not offering a great deal of variety, certainly kept us energized. The top of the mountain was quite magical, and we were virtually the only ones there. The two-person cable car ride up, about 30 mins. each way, gave terrific views and the air was filled with birdsong. At the top, we found ancient fir trees towering over the thick bamboo and rhododendron understorey, with relatively level rock paths upon which to explore the special birds there. One, the Sechuan Treecreeper, is found virtually nowhere else! We spent 10 minutes or so watching a pair of diminutive Fulvous Parrotbills building their nest, using bits of shredded Kleenex which had been discarded on a nearby rhodo. While it would have been an unfortunate sight on its own, that Kleenex took on a whole new meaning as we watched the industrious duo work away at gathering their chosen nesting material.

We next returned to Chengdu and the comforts of our 5 star hotel, before heading to Wolong, back in the mts. Here we hiked up to a Panda research station, realizing at each step of the 1500’ up to the top at 8300’ how valuable all those lower altitude steps and stairs had been for conditioning. It was about 2 hours straight up hill, but once at the top, level paths led to our simple overnight accommodations, with 3 beds to a room and shared Asian toilets (though no running water). The forest all around was filled with birds and it was here that the Giant Panda had been released just a few weeks earlier. We were told by the panda trackers that he was doing just fine, his radio collar functioning as hoped and enabling them to keep tabs on him. The highlight here was definitely a gorgeous, male Temminck’s Tragopan. A short-tailed member of the Pheasant family, this 2’ long, bulky fellow is a deep crimson, with small round white spots outlined in black over his upper parts, and grayish-white oblong spots on his breast. His head is black with a golden stripe behind his eye, and bright blue facial skin, inflatable throat “lappet” and “horns”. We found him settling into his night roost in a fir tree, and again the next morning, had the pleasure of watching him fly down to begin his day’s foraging at dawn. While my photos could never do him justice, I suggest you look at the following to get the full effect. After our hike down the following afternoon, we explored the lower road up to Balang Shan Pass, stopping at Beimuping for roadside, charcoal grilled chili yak strips, sold by Tibetan ladies for a few cents per stick. They were actually quite delicious! Best of all, however, we found a male Golden Pheasant strutting along the road on our way back to Wolong. He simply glowed in the late afternoon light!
A night at yet another 5 star hotel in Wolong served to recharge and renew before a long but spectacular day of birding the Balang Shan Pass. We made many stops going up to the 14,250' summit, where light snow fog turned into more recognizable snowflakes, and we birded down the far side of the pass as well, enjoying scope views of such prizes at the rainbow irridescent Chinese Monal, Chestnut-throated and Snow Partridges, and the Tibetan Snowcock. Even close to the summit, the wildflowers were gorgeous, with yellow "Snow Poppies", blue gentian, and other alpine species in full bloom. We also saw a large herd of Bharal, better known as "Blue Sheep", a favorite food of the snow leopard. However, the day's highlight for me was a single bird, the Grandala, which is, indeed, grand! The blue of this bird is a knock-out, and as he was at the top of my wish list for this trip, I was thrilled to have lengthy scope views! On the way back to Wolong, our male Golden Pheasant popped out by the roadside yet again, a fitting ending to a memorable day.









During our long day's drive up to the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau we passed through many small cities and towns, and encountered considerable delays due to road construction, but finally reached the vast, short-grass plains and rocky hills in the late afternoon. Yaks dot the landscape here in all directions, with nomadic herders' tents and turf-walled corrals nearby the more permanent looking buildings. We spotted our first Black-necked Cranes and Upland Buzzards, and finally arrived at our lodgings well after dark, in a town called Hongyuan. While adequate, these rooms were quite a step down from Chengdu and Wolong, and it was obvious that Western tourists were few and far between here, as we were often the obvious source of entertainment judging by the intent observation of some of the locals! Over the next few days we explored to the North and east, finding nesting Tibetan Snowfinches, Tibetan Larks, Little Owls, more Black-necked Cranes, including one on its nest, Hume's Groundpecker, and many other birds who manage to breed in this specialized habitat. There were several Himalayan Griffon Vultures, 3 wolves, Himalayan marmots galomphing to and from their burrows, and even a Chinese Desert Wildcat, carefully stalking Pikas in the rough, grassy turf. Though our luck with the weather persisted, it was clear whenever a cloud passed over that this plateau offers an extremely cold, windy, dry and harsh environment most of the year. The local women frequently wore some form of face covering to protect their skin from these conditions, and even those working in the hotels had very "rosy" cheeks. The young men seemed to enjoy zooming about on their motorcycles, though we did encounter a few "cowboys" on horseback (I think they were really yakboys...). Our young Chinese guide from Chengdu was quite thrilled to stop at a scenic viewpoint for the 7th bend of the Yellow River, believed to be highly auspicious as Buddha stopped here during his travels. The hills are dotted with prayer flags strung along the slopes like the spokes of huge wheels, and the monastery is undergoing considerable refurbishment, more gold paint being applied! There are small campgrounds of tourist yurts, which looked to be doing very little business to me, but perhaps it was yet early in the season.
Our final stop, saving the best for last in terms of scenery, was Jiuzhaigou National Park. This World Heritage site is truly lovely, with steep, fir-clad slopes buttressing craggy, snow-capped mountains, and an seemingly endless string of crystal clear, peacock blue lakes. Linking these are cascades and waterfalls, running through islets of blooming lavender azaleas. There is a massive park visitors' center, and a huge fleet of buses (the only allowed transport within the park) to take up to 20,000 people per day to the miles of boardwalks and scenic stops within the park boundaries. Here, as at Emei Shan, we were required to have our photos taken for imprint on our entry tickets (apparently to prevent resale), but we were fortunate to be able to have our own, private park bus to whisk us to the quieter stops and paths before the crowds descended. The wildflowers here were notable, with wild Peonies, Cotoneaster, and deep mauve lady-slipper orchids, in addition to the rhodos and azaleas. There were also some lovely butterflies and moths. Our accommodations for 3 nights were not shabby either: the Ziuazhai Paradise Resort was billed by our local guide as a "5 star plus" hotel, and it certainly did seem a bit over the top! Our "VIP Wing" rooms each had a gas fireplace, huge bathroom with separate marble shower and tub, and all other mod cons, plus lovely views to the mountains surrounding us. The lobby was an immense domed area with waterfalls and ponds inhabited by Bar-headed Geese (which have a call that sounds like a bad sax player), Black Swans and one moulting Mandarin Duck. There may have been other birds lurking in various creeks and corners, who knows! The breakfast buffet rooms were huge, and offered extensive Chinese choices, but also some welcome Cornflakes! Our dinners were in a Chinese restaurant about 10 minutes walk from our rooms, one of several choices within the extensive hotel complex. We felt like we should have dropped breadcrumbs along the way that first night, and had to have a special guide to show us the way back to our rooms.













Our last night in China was spent in a large city near Chengdu, in order to better position us for getting to the airport and our flight to Hong Kong the following day. Before we left the area, however, we visited a nearby park, which had a beautiful, very old temple gate, roofed with intricate tiles and statues. Here we also saw 2 new birds for the trip, the White-crowned Forktail being a favorite of mine.
Back in Hong Kong, it had been raining virtually the entire time we were gone, while we had enjoyed fantastic weather all along. It was very hot and humid, and the air conditioned bus and hotel were most welcome. We enjoyed a final dinner together before we went our separate ways the next day. As my flight was not until 9PM that evening, I was able to nip out between rain storms to locate one last life bird in a nearby park, the Masked Laughingthrush. What a nice end to my Chinese adventure!

Some random, general thoughts on China - This is a very mercantile culture, with roadside shops lining every town and city street. Spring items such as Bamboo shoots and fiddlehead ferns are sold at curbside, along with great quantities of other "greens" which I could not identify. In different areas we saw roadside stands selling loquats, cherries, and other local produce. People use large baskets, with what usually appear to be back-breaking loads, to haul anything and everything. There are street sweepers even on remote mountain passes using twig brooms. I kept wondering how they got there and who checked their work, but the roads were indeed nicely swept. It seems that the economy is booming, with masses of people employed in construction of every sort. If the economy does suffer a downturn, I wonder how all those masses will fare. I can't remember exactly, but I believe petrol worked out to around $4US per gallon. The gas station toilets are nasty! If there is toilet paper (usually not), it isn't properly perforated and, as in S. America, must not be flushed, even if there is a means to do so (often not). The "one child policy" imposed by the government some years ago seems to have been relaxed to the extent that if both husband and wife are from single child families, they are now allowed to have two children. Perhaps this is a result of the "unintended consequence" of the one child policy, which has left at least two generations of young people who must struggle to support a disproportionate number of venerated elders. One feels the press of population almost everywhere, though we were fortunate, I feel, to have been in some of the more remote areas of Sechuan. It seems amazing that Chengdu, with its population of 10 million, was totally unknown to me prior to reading the trip itinerary, and there are probably 30 more cities of this size in China, of which we are completely unaware, and whose names often don't even appear on maps! Traffic in the larger cities includes a large number of bicycles, three-wheeled bicycle "taxis" still may be seen, and lots of motorbikes and cycles. There seems to be very little crime of any sort, and I felt quite safe and secure throughout the trip. There are huge contrasts in living conditions, as seen in our tourist hotels vs. concrete flats with storefronts below (government housing) vs. city highrise, one-room apartments (government housing) vs. the elegant architecture of big city, non-government highrise apartments. There seems to be no real rural architecture except for that we encountered closer to Tibet. There are still many who smoke, and the men, especially, spit a good deal, not the most pleasant of sights and sounds to our Western sensibilities. China is a vast, vast country, yet they use only one time zone all the way from West to East, across 2700+ miles. Little English is spoken in the countryside. I kept wondering how all the Westerners headed to the Olympics will fare if they venture beyond the usual tourist tracks.



Finally, there ARE birds in China, but you have to go looking for them, and know where to look! I'm glad I went - VENT arranged, and Susan and Dion led a great trip, it's a fascinating place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there...