亞洲丨ASIA

黃龍溪古鎮是 Klook「樂山大佛和黃龍溪古鎮一日遊」的下半場，由於我此行主要是想看世界遺產樂山大佛，原以為黃龍溪古鎮沒什麼亮點，走過一趟後，覺得這個與諸葛亮有深厚淵源的地方還是值得寫下來。

Located about a two-hour drive from Chengdu, the Leshan Giant Buddha is a World Heritage Site that I had always wanted to visit. This time, I joined a local tour through Klook to Leshan. The tour included hotel pickup at 6 a.m. and returned to downtown Chengdu around 6 p.m. Although it was a packed one-day itinerary covering both the Leshan Giant Buddha and Huanglongxi Ancient Town, it was well organized, and the lunch was surprisingly good as well. I would definitely recommend it.

The Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding is a must-visit destination in Chengdu. It serves as a conservation and research center dedicated to giant pandas. The entire park is designed with bamboo forests and natural woodland, providing pandas with a habitat that closely resembles their natural environment. Giant pandas are a species native to China and are mainly found in the mountainous regions of Sichuan, the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi, and parts of Gansu. There are currently more than 1,800 wild giant pandas, and they are classified as a vulnerable species. So far, the Chengdu Panda Base has successfully bred more than 200 giant pandas.

去西藏前，在成都待了五天，素有「天府之國」之稱的成都，擁有超過 4500 年的歷史，從西元前 311 年的戰國時期，秦國在這裡築城，2300 多年來城址未遷、城名未改，是少數延續至今的千年古都。

After leaving Everest Base Camp, we spent two days on the road before finally arriving in Darchen, the small town at the foot of the sacred Mount Kailash, where we would begin our three-day kora (pilgrimage circuit).

After spending two days in Lhasa and giving our bodies time to adjust to the high-altitude environment, we set off southward to begin our journey through Shannan and Shigatse. Located south of Lhasa, Shannan borders Nyingchi to the east, Shigatse to the west, and Bhutan and India to the south. Often regarded as the cradle of Tibetan civilization, it is home to many "firsts" in Tibet, including Tibet's first palace, Yumbulakang Palace; its first monastery, Samye Monastery; and Yamdrok Lake, one of Tibet's three sacred lakes.

Tibet has always been near the top of my travel bucket list. During a trip to Nepal two years ago, I visited a Tibetan refugee settlement in Pokhara, where I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Tibetans living in exile. That experience deepened my desire to one day set foot in Tibet. This year, I finally fulfilled one of my long-held dreams.

In the cosmology of Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Bon, there is only one mountain regarded as the center of the world: Mount Kailash, located in the Ngari region of western Tibet.