Monthly Archives: November 2015

It just so happened that my recent Chinese holidays mostly took place in the Sichuan province (the Giant Buddha in Leshan, Mount Emei, Huanglong and Jiuzhaigou). They say: when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I say: when in Sichuan, do the panda thing!

Somehow it’s turned out I’ve written loads about China – its mountains, ravines, forests, lakes, waterfalls, roads, airports, lines, Buddhas and weather – but have been conspicuously silent on China’s supreme, universally adored animal! So to fix that, this post is all about the Chinese panda, with nothing held back…

Here’s one – at the Chengdu Panda Base.

Giant #panda is endangered species with ~3K of them living in the wild. Despite this animal is classified as a 'bear' its' diet consists almost exclusively of bamboo. Panda consumes up to 15kg of bamboo. Why so much? Because it digests if 17% of that amount. Because panda is still a bear // В мире в дикой природе осталось около 3 тыс. #панда Хотя эта животинка считается медведем, кушает она почти только бамбук. В день до 15 кг. Зачем так много? А потому что панда способна усваивать только 17% этой пищи. Медведь есть медведь! #ekinchina #China #Китай #Чэнгду #Chengdu

A photo posted by Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) on Oct 26, 2015 at 7:53am PDT

Read on: Red panda is not a panda!…

Next stop on the route of my hidden China vacation – the Valley of Nine Villages, aka, the Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) nature reserve and national park: Yet ANOTHER absurdly astounding Chinese natural beauty!

Cascades of lakes and waterfalls, crystal clear – albeit fluorescent turquoise! – water in lakes, and a freakish forest of horizontally growing trees under that same crazy colored water, and all that set in the most picturesque of mountainous landscapes. And in the fall there’s a bonus: the blends of reds and yellows and oranges of autumn leaves. Oh my gigabytes.

#No filter – no, really!

#Jiuzhaigou is composed of three valleys arranged in a Y shape. Long Lake of Zechawa valley is the highest, largest and deepest lake measuring 7.5 km in length and up to 103 m in depth. No wonder local folklore features a monster in its depth // Длинное озеро – самое высокое, большое и глубокое озеро в заповеднике #Цзючжайгоу. В некотором смысле "побратим" Лох-Несса – местный фольклор поселил в озере сказочное чудище! #China #Китай #ekinchina

A photo posted by Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) on Oct 22, 2015 at 3:30am PDT

Read on: Jiuzhaigou walkthrough…

Half an hour away on a plane from the not-so small (14-million-peopled!) Sichuan capital, Chengdu, in Southwest China, there’s yet another masterpiece of Chinese natural beauty: Huanglong. Basically it’s a cascade of brightly colored lakes and waterfalls made up of highly mineralized (calcareous) water. But that’s enough words. Better just check out the pics…

More than beautiful. No swimming, just watching. #Huanglong #China #sichuan #ekinchina // Выглядит как бассейн на крыше небоскреба. Здесь в #Хуанлун этих красот 2 тыс. кв.км.

A photo posted by Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) on Oct 17, 2015 at 12:36pm PDT

Read on: Bewildering beauty…