Wansheng Stone Forest

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip out to the Wansheng Stone Forest 万盛石林 (2-3 hrs outside of Chongqing city) at the tail end of summer just over a month ago. It was getting just cool enough to not completely melt while we hiked up the endless stairs (typical of a Chinese natural attraction) and through the stone forest. As far as things to do in and around Chongqing, this is definitely worth the 2-3 hour trip. This stone forest is older than Yunnan's Lunan Stone Forest, having formed approx. 465 million years ago. That's right, million. We were lucky to go with a lovely host that packed up a fancy picnic for us to enjoy at the end of the hike. You will notice there is a slide/luge as you hike up the mountain to the stone forest, on your way back down - go ahead and SLIDE the rest of the way. Touristy/gimmicky, that it is, it is pure fun if you are lucky enough to not be crowded down the slide and adventurous enough to pick up your feet and let the slide take you down nice and fast.

Lotus Love

We stumbled upon a lotus farm while out on a fruit picking adventure this week. It just so happens I am writing about the lotus plant/flower and all it's medicinal virtues (from it's seeds to it's root) this week. It was a real find to get these pictures! Enjoy.

It's Been a While and the Year of the Snake is coming...

Apologies for the delay in getting back on here for an update in some months. We are well settled into our life in Chongqing after a year and a half and loving it though S works more hours than he ever has and rarely does he have a moment to explore, let alone relax. I bring the adventures in to our home often though! Recently, making homemade Chinese New Year sausages which can be seen hanging all over the city now as we are only a week away from ushering in the Year of the Snake. Our lovely and kind shifu Jiang shared his family recipe with us after we devoured what he gave us last year from his family stash. These are filled with Sichuan peppercorns and are meant to be steamed, sliced, and eaten whilst drinking cool beer to temper the fun tingling sensation from the Hua Jiao (Sichuan peppercorns) which is an herb/spice meant to battle the effects of the damp weather here. If you want to see more pictures and a recipe go here to my work fan page on facebook : Chinese New Year Sausage recipe and pictures.

Chongqing continues to amaze, inspire, and grow on us.