a big boulder has parked itself on the road
the bridge over the Yangtze tributary seems sturdy enough
we drive along a swollen Yangtze
the road starts getting flooded too, we better move on
this is the famous First Bend of the Yangtze, the lower reaches are flooded
but finally we reach the higher plains
in some areas the road is fully flooded as we travel in a convoy
a manmade construction has given way to the forces of Mother Nature
if you only could hear that river roar...
we have reached Hutiaoxia Zhen, where locals sell rain-soaked vegetables
The winding road from Lijiang to Shangri La is touted as a very scenic drive.
Just outside Lijiang you can witness
the Yangtze river taking an almost 180 degree turn at the historical First Bend.
Just past the junction to the small town of Hutiaoxia
Zhen, the Yangtze has carved itself a deep canyon, almost 3800 meters below the mountain tops.
The road to Shangri La follows the small Zongdian River north
through a rugged and mountainous area before arriving at the "royal plaines" of Shangri La where you can have your first views
of the local Tibetan Monastery.
Unfortunately, when we traveled this road in August 2005,the rain was pouring down, just like it
had the previous days. So all we saw was a swollen Yangtze and flooded roads.
And the roads to the First Bend and Tiger Leaping
Gorge were closed so we had to skip those detours.
just outside Lijiang we pass a horse market, it's raining cats and dogs
but our driver poses with a big smile on a rained-out vegetable market
there is more and more water on the road
normally the Zongdian River is a quiet tributary of the Yangtze, but today it is a roaring monster
we round the stupa at the outskirts of Shangri La, we made it!
waiting with daddy for the rain to stop. Might take a while...
