China: Field trip focuses on both nature's destructiveness & beauty

About 30 participants from the 100 or so at the Debris Flow Workshop in Chengdu went on the 4-day field trip following the workshop.  We went took one large tourist bus (complete with aggressive, white-knuckle driver) accompanied by an SUV.  I imagine that more of the Chinese who participated in the workshop didn’t go because of the cost.  For me, the $300 field trip fee was a bargain considering it included meals and lodging. 

Debris flow field trip participants

Our primary objective was to look at debris flows resulting from 2008 earthquake in Szechuan Province (especially along National Highway 213 north of Chengdu) and mitigation measures to protect against future events.

Aaron Guo from Institute was our technical field guide but we also had a bi-lingual Chinese tour guide who doubled as a stand-up comic.  He told us to call him “James”.  As we left Chengdu (population 13 million) on the morning of 12 August, haze and pollution were blocking the sun as usual.  James said if the sun comes out in Chengdu, it’s so unusual that dogs bark at it.  However, he saw a bright side to the lack of sunshine:  the girls have beautiful skin because they are not exposed to the sun.

With Aaron Guo, a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment

and our energetic trip leader.

We headed north from Chengdu on an excellent 4-lane toll road which was built to US or European superhighway standards.  We followed a plain (elevation about 500 meters) east of the mountains in area of small farms with rice and corn crops.  James explained that the collective farms were broken up about 30 years ago and the farmers were given individual plots.

A modern superhighway near Chengdu which I saw

when my plane from Hong Kong was landing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I noted that highway embankments have concrete cribs planted
with shrubs, grasses, or flowers for permanent erosion control.

We drove into mountains to the small city of Qiangping which was rebuilt after a 2010 debris flow covered it to a depth of 2 meters. In the valleys above Qiangping, we saw newly-installed debris flow control works in Wenjia and Zoumaling gullies. In addition to the structures, there are now sensors in the upper parts of the gullies which will set off an alarm if a debris flow event occurs.

New houses and apartments were built for people
who lost their homes in the 2010 debris flow in Quangping.

 

 

New debris flow structures near the bottom of Wenjia Gully.  These structures would provide lines of defense against a really large debris flow event.  However, much of the flow would be diverted higher up on the mountainside to another stream channel which does not itself have debris flow potential.




In Zoumaling gully, Chinese engineers took a composite approach
to debris flow management including diversion check dams
and this large stormwater detention basin created
next to the river above Qiangping.

After visiting Qiangping, we traveled back to the south and around Chungdu to Dujiangyan (population 2 million) where we spent the night at a hotel.  Half of the city’s homes were destroyed or rendered unlivable by the 2008 earthquake. 

Fortunately, this beautiful pagoda in Dujiangyan
was not affected by the 2008 earthquake.

The next day we travelled back into the mountains visiting the small city of Ying Xiu which was rebuilt after the 2008 earthquake.  The middle school was destroyed by the earthquake killing 43 students and 8 teachers.  The ruins have been turned into a memorial park by the government as a stark reminder of the awesome force of earthquakes.

A collapsed building at the Ying Xiu middle school forms part
of the solemn memorial which is now visited by many Chinese tourists.

As we travelled north up the Mingiang River valley, I got the impression that debris flows in this part of China may be inevitable.  They are not necessarily the result of human activities but result from steep slopes with naturally poor vegetative cover on the dry (southeastern) side of the mountain range.  The slopes above the densely populated valleys are too steep to be developed for human activity.  The debris flows are triggered when intense rainfall saturates the thin mountain soils and rock debris either shortly before or immediately following an earthquake.  So the effects of debris flows in this area can be mitigated but they probably can’t be completely prevented.

The remains of the lower end of the 300,000 cubic meter Gaojia debris flow that blocked

the Minjiang River creating a flash flood when the dam it created was breached.

A new channel has been cut through the flow material on the right.

The Miancu valley debris flow destroyed several chemical plants in 2011.  Fortunately for the workers, the plants were shut down for a holiday when the debris flow occurred.  However, 125 people in the area became sick from the resulting emissions from this and other affected plants.   

The Miancu valley debris flow covered the lower four floors of this factory building.

Travelling further north through Song Pan County, we reached an area inhabited by Tibetan people.  We saw tea houses and fields of barley and potatoes.  In Chuan Zhu Shi (elevation 3000m), we stopped at a store selling yak meat and other yak products.  Later we crossed a 3690 meter (about 11,500ft) mountain pass near the source of Minjiang River.  Now that we were on the wetter side of the divide, we descended through a lush conifer forest to the mountain tourist center of Jiuzhaigou where we spent the night. 




Yakking it up in Szechuan Province:

Yes, I know it was pretty silly but it only cost about a buck

and I figured the yak didn’t have anything better to do.  

The third day of the field trip was taken up by a visit to Jiuzhai Valley National Park where the limestone bedrock forms the setting for a natural fairyland.  The valley and its two upper forks are occupied by a series of waterfalls, travertine terraces, and multicolored lakes.  The park was very crowded with Chinese tourists but I was very impressed by its management.  No private cars were allowed above the lower end of the park.  Instead, low-emission busses provided transport.  The trails, bridges, and boardwalks were aesthetically pleasing and a large crew of trash collectors made sure that no scrap of paper or bottle remained on the ground for more than a few minutes.  Not that they were very busy.  The Chinese people generally seem to be conscientious about not littering their outdoor spaces.



 Nuorilang Waterfall is just one of many gorgeous features
at Jiuzhai Valley National Park.



The trash collection crew at the park even includes a guy in a motorized rubber raft
making sure no errant bottles remain on the bottom of Five-Colored Lake

 

The trip back to Chengdu on the last day of the field trip featured
a many-hair-pinned ride on a narrow highway up to a 4200 meter pass
(about 13,700ft). Fortunately the bus’s brakes worked.

I saw numerous red signs like this on the field trip. They are Communist Party slogans.

UPDATE:  I incorrectly said this sign translates to It is important that the party and the people communicate.  I have since learned that was another sign.  This one correctly translates to:

It is our duty to protect the roads. Anyone who destroys the road should make compensation according to the law.

I’m generally not much for guided tours but given the linguistic and logistical challenges of travelling in China, this tour was the only practical way to see some outstanding examples of Mother Nature’s destructive and creative powers. It also provided some exposure to Chinese culture and infrastructure in places visited by few Western tourists. Furthermore, my colleagues were polite, gracious, and good company. Fortunately, we had none of those chronic-complaining or overly-talkative Americans or Europeans that have spoiled tours for me in the past.

Back in Chengdu at the end of the field trip, we hit atrocious rush hour traffic

which overwhelmed even this wide boulevard.