Jamie Fullerton

Jamie Fullertonhttps://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/about/contributors/jamie-fullertonJamie Fullertonhttps://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/eastern-asia/china/searching-for-extraterrestrial-life-in-guizhouWhile traveling through the Chinese province of Guizhou, Jamie Fullerton visits the biggest radio telescope in the world.2019-08-20T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/eastern-asia/china/searching-for-extraterrestrial-life-in-guizhouhttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>Is there life outside the confines of Earth’s atmosphere? Will little green men and women (or members of any other extra-terrestrial gender denomination) ever attempt to make contact with us?</p> <p>If the answer to both questions is yes, there’s a chance that any chatty aliens’ first contact with our species will be via an enormous wok-shaped metal structure that has been dominating the landscape in China’s rural Guizhou Province since being switched on in 2017.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#fast"> The Biggest Radio Telescope in the World </a></li> <li><a href="#guiyang"> Driving from Guiyang to the Dish </a></li> <li><a href="#visitors"> Inside the Visitor’s Center </a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes"> Trip Notes </a></li> </ul> <h2 id="fast">FAST: The Biggest Radio Telescope in the World</h2> <p>The 500 Meter Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST) is the biggest radio telescope in the world, and making way for the huge pan which, as its name suggests, is half a mile wide, meant 9,000 <a href="/explore/eastern-asia/china/5-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-going-to-china" title="5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to China">locals were relocated</a> from Guizhou’s green Pingtang County valleys. </p> <p>Although its design might suggest that its mission is to cook the world’s biggest stir-fry, it is in fact part of China’s push to <a href="/explore/guides/usa-nomads-guide" title="Download our free guide to the USA">surpass the US</a> as a space exploring superpower. FAST is designed to map space and to listen for signals from aliens.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/china/aperture-spherical-telescope-china-rightsmanaged-gettyimages-607235112.jpg" alt="An aerial view of the FAST telescope in China" /> <figcaption>It took five years to construct the FAST telescope. Photo credit: Getty Images/VCG / Contributor</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="guiyang">Driving from Guiyang to the Dish</h2> <p>The 110mi (180km) <a href="/explore/eastern-asia/china/how-to-get-around-china" title="How to Get Around China">drive to the dish from Guiyang</a>, Guizhou’s capital city, is not the most futuristic experience – but is rather lovely. The province is one of China’s poorest, and, although alien tourism is emerging here, farming is the dominant industry. After passing a petrol station quirkily designed to resemble a circular spacecraft, our driver slows to allow an elderly lady to cross the newly laid road cutting through the countryside. A large buffalo obediently follows the wicker basket bound to her back.</p> <h2 id="visitors">Inside the Visitor’s Center</h2> <p>Things get more surreal in the theme park-like visitors’ center. Models of humanoid aliens and whoosh-bang motion sensor-based light shows teach visitors about planets. The notion that the truth is very much out there is stoked with plenty of depictions of bulbous-headed Martians. </p> <p>“Aliens have probably been messaging us for decades, but we missed them,” a sign confidently declares. Another reads: “Although the US has UFO monopoly, they don’t have any privilege.”</p> <p>It is the climb to the mouth of the dish, though, that really swizzes the imagination. With an electronic equipment exclusion zone around the structure strictly enforced, I <a href="/explore/eastern-asia/china/how-to-stay-connected-and-use-the-internet-in-china" title="A Guide to Using Your Phone in China">hand over my phone</a> and <a href="/explore/worldwide/tech-and-travel-the-gear-you-really-need-and-what-to-leave-at-home" title="Travel and Tech: What Gear Do You Really Need?">digital camera</a> before being bussed through roller-coaster valley roads to FAST.</p> <p>A lung-busting staircase climb, combined with the gasp-inducing first sight of the dish, exhausts me. Plonked in the base of a tranquil, tree-covered valley and shrouded in mist, FAST is a spectacularly eerie vision.</p> <p>China’s President Xi Jinping called the dish the country’s “eye in the sky”, and the sense of national pride in it is strong here. Mr Fu, a 60-year-old military supply worker standing next to me, is awestruck. “I’ve never seen such a big iron pan,” he says. “The US has a similar one, but this is way bigger.”</p> <p>Later, back in the visitors’ centre, the question of the existence of aliens is being discussed among the staff. Mrs Zhu used to be a farmer but now works here as a cleaner. For many farmers, FAST has meant stressful forced relocation, for others it has created steady new jobs.</p> <p>“There might be aliens out there,” Mrs Zhu says, not looking particularly bothered about whether there are or not. “But that’s the government’s business. Even if they found one, they wouldn’t tell us.”</p> <p>She swipes her hand over a sensor, bringing up an image of Jupiter on the wall projection in front of her.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/china/telescope-china-rightsmanaged-gettyimages-626582398.jpg" alt="A side view of the FAST telescope in China" /> <figcaption>The Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in Pingtang, in southwestern China's Guizhou province. Photo credit: Getty Images/STR/Stringer</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="trip-notes">Trip Notes</h2> <p>Various <a href="http://fast.bao.ac.cn/en/">group tours visit FAST</a> on day trips from Guiyang, with most costing 400-500 yuan per person, including tickets. You must buy tickets in person, if not as part of a tour.</p> <p>Hiring a car and driver for one day from Guiyang costs around 1,000 yuan. Contact the FAST ticket office (+86 0854 4831 788, <a href="/explore/guides/mandarin-travel-phrasebook" title="Download our free Mandarin travel phrasebook">Mandarin language</a> only) for the latest entry ticket prices. If you <a href="/explore/guides/mandarin-travel-phrasebook" title="Learn how to speak a few phrases in Mandarin">can’t speak Mandarin</a>, as your accommodation staff to help out.</p> <p> </p>Getty Images/guifang jian 11138407210 Getty Images The night sky over Guizhou Province, China

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/eastern-asia/china/surfing-in-hainan-chinaDiscover a close-knit surfing community in Houhai Bay, a bohemian town in a corner of Sanya on the Chinese island province of Hainan.2019-08-20T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/eastern-asia/china/surfing-in-hainan-chinahttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>Arriving at the beach shack bar of Jile Hotel on Sanya’s Houhai Bay, I initially feel a little out of place, as I don’t have a six-pack stomach.</p> <p>On any given afternoon here, <a href="/explore/eastern-asia/china/5-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-going-to-china" title="5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to China">Chinese</a> surfer bros and babes spray each other with hoses after surfing in the ocean a few meters from the bar, then recline in hammocks with cold beers. Surfing is still an incredibly niche sport in China, but in this small corner of Sanya, Hainan Island’s south coast city, it<span>’</span>s a way of life.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#community"> Sanya’s surfing community </a></li> <li><a href="#surf-lessons"> Local surf lessons in Houhai </a></li> <li><a href="#times-are-changing"> How surfing changed Hainan </a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes"> Trip Notes </a></li> </ul> <h2 id="community">Sanya’s surfing community</h2> <p>I meet two people at the center of Sanya’s surfing community: Monica Guo and Darci Liu, aka the queens of Houhai Bay. Guo is a pro surfer and is on the Chinese national surf team; Liu is a pro surfer turned environmentalist and documentary maker.</p> <p>Liu and Guo were part of the first wave of Chinese surfers, catching the bug after the sport was introduced to Hainan around 15 years ago, largely by US and Japanese surfers visiting the island. “There weren’t even any Chinese versions of many surfing terms, so my friend and I had to make our own Chinese surfing dictionary,” says Liu.</p> <p>Guo leans out of a hammock to pet her small, sandy-colored dog Honey, who likes to fearlessly hop on her human mum’s board in the water. “I used to be like, ‘Work, work, work’ in the city before I discovered surfing,” Guo says. “I loved buying high-heeled shoes, partying every night, shopping every day. Surfing changed me.”</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/china/nanshan-cultural-zone-sanya-china-unsplash-denny-ryanto.jpg" alt="A large statue in the water at Nanshan Cultural Zone in Sanya, Hainan Island" /> <figcaption>Nanshan Cultural Zone in Sanya, Hainan Island. Photo credit: Photo by Denny Ryanto on Unsplash</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="surf-lessons">Local surf lessons in Houhai</h2> <p>When not training or competing in surf competitions, or giving public lectures about <a href="/responsible-travel/make-a-difference/participation/help-save-our-planets-coral-reefs">marine conservation</a>, Guo and Luo give surf lessons on Houhai – and today it’s my turn. As we enter the water, the pair teach me to paddle like heck with my hands just before incoming waves breaks, then attempt to leap onto the board. As my teachers effortlessly soar to the sand, I giddily topple under the surface.</p> <p>Still, even if you’re less naturally suited to water propulsion than a waste disposal truck, Houhai Bay has much to offer. Its bohemian vibe is bolstered by a small skate park built into the front of a bar neighboring Jile Beach’s terrace, and nearby artsy hangout spot Kaleidoscope hosts film screenings and DJs. It’s a little bit hipster, and a lot of fun.</p> <p>Indeed, with Sanya being little over 186mi (300km) from the <a href="/explore/guides/vietnam-cambodia-and-laos-insiders-guide" title="Download our free guide to Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos">eastern Vietnamese coast</a>, the atmosphere at Houhai is more tropical southeast Asia than modern China. Attitudes towards surfing here were not always so laid back, though.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/china/sanya-at-sunset-gettyimages-1147941530.jpg" alt="Sunset from Sanya, Hainan Island" /> <figcaption>Sunset from Sanya, Hainan Island. Photo credit: Getty Images/Zhou Zhou / EyeEm</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="times-are-changing">How surfing changed Hainan</h2> <p>When surfing was introduced to the region, local authorities took a dim view of young, tattooed, bikini and Speedos-wearing bohemians plonking big colorful boards in their pristine oceans. Police used to tell them that they weren’t allowed to surf near swimmers.</p> <p>In the summer of 2016 things changed on Hainan. The government built a surf academy at Riyue Bay, a large beach with great surf north of Houhai, and recruited legions of child surfers to train there. The aim was to train a new generation of surfers to win medals for China in international competitions.</p> <p>I take a taxi up to Riyue and meet Li Jing, another member of the first wave of Chinese surfers, who is based at a Riyue surf shop. She says that once local authorities realized that the central government ‘approved’ surfing, things became easier for her and her friends, including Liu and Guo.</p> <p>“If we carried boards on our cars police would stop us, saying it’s dangerous,” she says between slurps of coconut milk. “But now police are like, ‘Oh, they’re surfers!’. And on beaches, if surfers go, we’re welcomed… they now know we’re not just ‘homeless’ people who don’t work.”</p> <p>I also meet Michael Weaver, a Florida-born surf coach hired to train the government-approved surfers. He says the new ‘official’ surf center has created two surf factions on Hainan: “The ‘free surf spiritual’ thing, and the competitive side.”</p> <p>Houhai Bay is very much the home of the former group. As sun sets on the bay, a few miles west the tourist hoards exit coaches and cascade into the strip restaurants by the large, packed beaches. In contrast, on Houhai the dominant sounds are waves and lazily-plucked acoustic guitars.</p> <p>“This is my happy place… my happy temple,” says Liu, gently pushing her hand against a tree trunk to get her hammock swinging again.</p> <h2 id="trip-notes">Trip Notes</h2> <p>For surfing lesson enquiries, contact Darci Liu at darciliu[at]gmail[dot]com.</p>Getty Images/zhengjie wu 11152791445 Getty Images Clear waters of Houhai Bay and surfers

https://public-web-wn.uat.wng.me/explore/eastern-asia/china/scuba-diving-the-great-wall-of-china-at-panjiakou-reservoir-chinaJamie Fullerton goes scuba diving to see an underwater section of the Great Wall at Panjiakou Reservoir.2019-07-31T10:00:00Z https://wng-kosmos-wn-cms-uat.kaos.nibit.com.au:443/explore/eastern-asia/china/scuba-diving-the-great-wall-of-china-at-panjiakou-reservoir-chinahttps://www.worldnomads.com<p>Each year in northeast <a href="/explore/eastern-asia/china/5-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-going-to-china" title="5 Things I Wish I Knew Before Going to China">China</a>, more than 10 million visitors, many cascading from coaches before following flag-wielding tour leaders, arrive to explore various sections of the Great Wall of China.</p> <p>Unfortunately, it is now possible to scoff a Burger King Whopper or slurp a Starbucks cappuccino before climbing the most popular sections of the ancient, 13,000mi-long (21,000km) structure, the origins of which date back to the 7<sup>th</sup> century BC. Adapted by various dynasties over the centuries, largely to keep marauding forces attacking from north of China at bay, the wall is one of the most impressive architectural feats ever achieved.</p> <p>It's very easy to travel to the Great Wall in a minivan from Beijing before walking along it for a few hours <a href="/create/learn/photography/6-adventure-photography-tips" target="_blank" title="6 Adventure Photography Tips">taking photos</a>. However, few visitors are aware that they are also allowed to <a href="/travel-safety/worldwide/safe-scuba-diving" title="20 Essential Scuba Diving Safety Tips">scuba dive</a> through some of its underwater turrets.</p> <ul> <li><a href="#diving"> Scuba Diving at Panjiakou Reservoir </a></li> <li><a href="#underwater"> Underwater Section of the Great Wall of China </a></li> <li><a href="#trip-notes"> Trip Notes </a></li> </ul> <h2 id="diving">Scuba Diving at Panjiakou Reservoir</h2> <p>In 1976, the Panjiakou Reservoir, around 100mi (160km) northeast of Beijing, was built to provide a new water source for the capital following an earthquake that caused water supply infrastructure damage. Forming the new body of water meant submerging a section of the Great Wall. The result is the bizarre sight of a craggy wall section, created during China’s Ming dynasty (1368 to 1644), plunging into the murky grey-green reservoir, then rising from the water 330ft (100m) away.</p> <p>The site is now a mecca for <a href="/travel-insurance/activities/scuba-diving-travel-insurance" title="Travel Insurance for Scuba Diving">scuba divers</a>, surely representing one of the most unique travel experiences in Asia. However, with dives here rarely going deeper than 55ft (17m) underwater, dive trips are suitable for those with PADI Open Water certificates.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/china/great-wall-above-and-below-panjiakou-reservoir-photo-by-giulia-marchi.jpg" alt="A section of the Great Wall is visible above and below the water at Panjiakou Resevoir" /> <figcaption>A section of the Great Wall is visible above and below the water at Panjiakou Reservoir. Photo credit: Giulia Marchi</figcaption></figure> <p>“The Great Wall of China is the only Wonder of the World that you can actually dive,” says Steven Schwankert, the New Jersey-born founder of SinoScuba, a dive company that takes around 50 divers a year to the site.</p> <p>After a drive of around three hours from Beijing, in a van heaving under the weight of air tanks, Schwankert and I arrive at Panjiakou. It’s an eerily impressive place, the vast reservoir flanked by hills dotted with ancient Great Wall watch towers. Historians believe that this section of the wall was built during the Ming dynasty and was adapted in the 1570s by Qi Jiguang, an army commander.</p> <p>Historian William Lindesay, who has walked the Great Wall in its entirety, explains that much of the wall here was damaged in the 1930s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. “The wall section occupied the high ground then, it was useful even in the age of mechanical warfare,” he says. “Any ground army would have had to pass through the mountain via those passes. They were strongly fortified and in good repair since the Ming dynasty – the towers had ready-made garrison posts for machine gunners and the like.”</p> <p>Now, all is peaceful here. Fishermen stroll by, carrying plastic bags stuffed with flipping fish. We take a small, smoke-burping fishing boat to the submerged wall section and tool up on the wooden planks of a rustic restaurant, raised above the drink by stilt-like wooden poles.</p> <p>There are few signs of marine life beyond the occasional dead fish head floating by. Schwankert says that there are a few fish around here, lucky escapees from nearby keep nets. “You can be diving next to the wall and suddenly see a flash of scales,” he says.</p> <p>We walk into the cold water, slowly following the uneven rubbly wall as it disappears into the murk. “Diving the wall, getting this 360-degree view, really makes the structure feel more human,” Schwankert says before we descend. “You get a sense that people built it, that people were stationed on it.”</p> <p>We hold onto the wall as we go under the surface, looking down through our masks at the utter blackness beneath us. The bricks are slimy, and occasionally I see small shrimp ambling on them.</p> <figure><img src="https://media.worldnomads.com/explore/china/panjiakou-reservoir-hebei-province-great-wall-photo-by-giulia-marchi.jpg" alt="Jamie Fullerton stands in the water at Panjiakou Reservoir in Hebei Province, China" /> <figcaption>Jamie Fullerton stands in the water at Panjiakou Reservoir in Hebei Province, China. Photo credit: Giulia Marchi</figcaption></figure> <h2 id="underwater">Underwater Section of the Great Wall of China</h2> <p>Having walked on the Great Wall many times, it is surreal to now be floating next to it.</p> <p>We reach an archway and I follow Schwankert as he propels himself through the shadowy gap between the bricks. Archways such as these are rare on the wall – they were considered points of weakness when defending against marauders so were rarely built. The luck of them being here creates a doubly unique experience, among the fridge-cold chill of the reservoir water.</p> <p>I surface feeling exhilarated, unsure if I’ll be able to enjoy a conventional day trip to the Great Wall again. I ask if we can return to repeat the dive soon. Schwankert explains that even further down there is a submerged village and train bridge, that he is yet to visit.</p> <p>The village is, he explains, found at “yikes” diving depth. “I’ve never seen it but I’ve seen photos and it seems to be in a state of preservation,” he adds. “You could technically do it on air but you’d be pretty loopy by the time you got down there.” Maybe next time.</p> <h2 id="trip-notes">Trip Notes</h2> <p>To book a Great Wall dive trip contact Steven Schwankert at <a href="http://www.sinoscuba.com/">SinoScuba</a>. Trips cost from 1,999 yuan.</p>Giulia Marchi 0