WELCOME TO INNER MONGOLIA AND CHINA'S DONGBEI

I went to Inner Mongolia and China's Dongbei (North-east). I visited Hailar, a city of Inner Mongolia, and Qiqihar and Harbin of Heilongjiang Province as well as Changchun, capital city of Jilin Province, and Shenyang, capital of Liaoning Province. This photo, taken outside my hotel in Hailar at 7.30 in the evening, shows that it is generally quiet there.

Hailar, a small city, from my hotel window.

Members of the Huhenou'er Tribe welcoming us to the Hulunbuir Grasslands. To symbolise that you reciprocate their welcome, you have to use the fourth right finger to dip into the wine and sprinkle it once to the sky, your respect to heaven, another to the ground, your respect to the earth, and then mid-way, your respect to your welcoming host. Then, you drink the wine from the cup held in your left hand. 

Mongolian tents in symmetry. 

The Hulunbuir Grasslands, also known as the most unsullied prairie. What you see is just grasslands all around you and no trees, which perhaps explains why Mongolians are such good horsemen.

A Mongolian Ao'bao which is a pile of stones built as a road or boundary sign. Mongolians revere such structures as symbols of worship and they go around them on their journeys for blessings and a safe journey.

The Xishan Nature Reserve in Hailar. In view of the sandy nature of this reserve, in contrast to the grasslands of Mongolia, the roots of this pine tree grow out of the soil. In this district, the only trees are found in this nature reserve as trees don't grow in the prairies.

On the train from Hailar to Qiqihar where we slept in an open cabin meant for six pax. An uneasy feeling prevailed in most of us because of the open concept. Tony, our guide, was here to check on us in the morning.

Da Ma Lu (the main street) of Qiqihar City, Heilongliang province. Qiqihar is also known as the Cranes City, thanks to the red-crowned cranes which are found here. Traffic is relatively light compared to other cities in Dongbei. The street lamp design here is very contemporary and this was evident in the other cities as well.

As a sign of the progress in Dong Bei, these people freelance and await renovation jobs at a street corner in Qiqihar. As they are not accredited with any company, the jobs they do may well lack the necesssary QA/QC. To protect herself from UV, the only lady here covers herself up.

While in Qiqihar, I also visited the Zhalong Wetlands Nature Reserve where red-crowned cranes are found in abundance in summer. Some of the confined cranes are "performers". Each day at 10.30 a.m. and 2.30 p.m., some cranes will be let out of a pen and they will fly around. On hearing their trainer's calls, they will return to earth and won't stray off. Here they are in flight after being let out.

After their aerial performance, they are free to roam, feed and clean themselves up in the pool while their human visitors admire them from close range and busily photograph them.

The cranes are used to humans because of their trainers. Some of the cranes here will be selected to participate in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

A prancing lion standing guard outside the Dacheng Temple in Qiqihar, the second biggest in Heilongjiang province. Also called the Big Buddhist Temple, it was built in 1929 and covers an area of 320,000 sq m.

The joss-sticks being offered are large by normal standards. Perhaps, people here are magnanimous.

Harbin steamboat. You take what you like and cook it in your own pot. All in, a nice meal and different from the one we are used to.

A fruit vendor in Harbin. The fruit display method is markedly different from that in Shenyang.

This is how tea eggs, a Chinese delicacy, in sold in downtown Harbin. 

For two RMB, you get a packet of nuts to feed squirrels at the Sun Island Park. Tony just loves the adorable creatures.

Never mind that it's summer time! One can still view indoor ice Harbin sculptures at the man-made Sun Island Park