Asian_Geographic_Issue_4_2017

(John Hannent) #1
IMAGE © MICHAEL LEE

Dafo Temple – which translates to


the “Giant Buddha Temple” – and


it’s certainly deserving of its name:


It houses the largest indoor reclining


clay Buddha statue (34.5 metres long)


in China, depicting the Gautama


Buddha’s attainment of Nirvana.


From here, we drove to the

Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological


Park, famous for its rainbow “layer


cake” mountains. Having only ever


seen pictures of these iconic rock


formations before, I was under


the impression that the orange-


hued mountains had been overly


photoshopped, and I was prepared
for an anticlimax. Imagine my
surprise when we arrived to see that
these rock formations were just as I’d
seen in photographs. The rain had
cleared much of the dust from the
air, and we were treated to a clear,
full-blown Technicolor view of these
spectacular landforms.
The next day, we visited the
Overhanging Great Wall. Built in
1539, this was a key strategic point
in the Jiayuguan military defence
system. Climbing to the peak was
quite physically demanding, and

made us appreciate the manpower –
and stamina – that would have been
required to build it.
After a 10-minute bus ride, we
arrived at the Jiayuguan Fortress,
which was built even earlier, in 1372.
This was the primary transportation
node linking the East and West along
the ancient Silk Road. All travellers
passing through here had to retrieve
a special exit pass from the officer on
duty – much like your passport for
international travel. Today, little has
changed: Each of us had to acquire a
special pass to exit the fortress gate.

IMAGE © MICHAEL LEE IMAGE © SYLVIA YONG


The colourful Jiayuguan officer

The Tiandishan Grottoes are some of
the earliest grottoes built in China

Yueyaquan Lake, Gobi Desert
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