South Korea under the foliage of Jeju

 IN PICTURES - remains of subtropical forests of Asia, Jeju Island is an ode to the creative power of nature. The wind, the lava and the riches of the sea are also being nicknamed Samda-do, "the land of three abundances."

 The fog has crept into the undergrowth sparse by altitude.Around the corner, the picture freezes. Only the moisture comes and goes on the rough forest as the waterlogged brush of a master of the print on a lumpy paper, discovering here the chopped leaves of maples, also reducing their yellow-orange glow, erasing a trunk, detailing further the plume of dark pine or purple clusters of berries in the fall. A pike wind suddenly stirred decor. Drops leaves and glazed green up in much trembling a work of impressionist. Stowed on the side of slope, a Japanese styrax, esthete, spreads its branches gracefully. His pale foliage seems to float in the deep padded.Undergrowth rises whispering bamboos. We could spend hours contemplating one by one the pictures that made the forest to the rhythm of our ascent. But we must hurry on. The latest checkpoint must for hikers account must be taken quickly, the risk of having to go down the 600 vertical meters already covered on the flanks of the towering volcano Halla, the highest point in South Korea. We continue our ascent in the middle of giant bonsai. These are charms its tortuous trunk and branches stretched horizontally Asian forests give this characteristic port. One through which we crapahutons, which covers the center of Jeju Island, is part of the huge ecosystem said wet subtropical forests that once extended across Asia, from Japan to the east of Himalaya. Eroded over by agriculture, it is no longer confined to Jeju on the slopes of Mount Halla where it meets, and for good reason, in the name of "forest that grows on rocky ground" or Gotjawal. "The forest and thorny undergrowth, where the orchids were hanging like lanterns, were so thick it would have taken a machete to take a step," evoked the travel writer Nicolas Bouvier there forty year old.



It's halfway up it is the most dense. Maples sycamores, oaks massive Mongolian, Japanese camellias evergreen rooted among these blocks chaos that characterize viscous lava flows, or "aa" vomited once by the host. Gotjawal draws its water in the streams where rainfall is directly infiltrated. Leafy soon give way to the Korean pine trees, the elegant pyramidal, and meager birch clear trunk.

Finally we reach the bald summit of the volcano Halla.Sur his temples, the wind has carved brush the last shreds of alpine forest, unless it is snow falling heavily at the heart of winter. We are not alone: ​​visitors from Japan, China and the continent, in love with the southern Jeju and its volcano, are accustomed to hiking, singing, dressed in sports clothes bought for the occasion, their cell phone hanging on the bag spilling loud music. Their only goal is photographed in front of the gaping crater lake and the pale waters. The panoramic view of the island, dominated by the mighty shield volcano at an altitude 1950 meters the frieze, is soon forget our five hour walk. Under forests, pretty green fields and orchards, the lava that built the volcano and the entire island stretches, swells, arches, is cast in the sea or plunges into the waves by steep cliffs.The volcanic rock is the first wealth of Jeju-do Samda also called "the island of three abundances." The first basaltic plateaus emerged from the East Sea there 800,000 years. South, Jungmun-dong, the hexagonal columns of black basalt with white foam dripping are the oldest witnesses. The eruption was followed by the emission of lava so viscous that they formed massive caps, such as Mount Sanbangsan southwest, the hunchback shell catches the light, or the top of Halla itself. In the third stage of its construction, the new magma very fluid gushes through multiple orifices on the flanks of the volcano, building 368 adventitious cones bossèlent inside and the shore of the island. On cooling, the lava flows erect huge tunnels in which the igneous material continues to flow before stopping abruptly, leaving empty galleries. That of Manjanggul, where the flow of visitors has replaced the lava, winds over thirteen kilometers long and intact door, its walls decorated with black stalactites, the floods of magma. To the east, the outcome of the volcanic history of Jeju is played Seongsang Ilchubong, the peak of the Rising Sun. Fruit of the explosive contact between lava and ocean in a submarine eruption, this circular at the top with foliage monolith opposed cliffs chisel waves since 5000 years.



Dazzling shades of dawn, the rock called other images, those in black and white film of the last Korean filmmaker O Muel Jiseul, which tells a disturbing episode of the Cold War. It all started one day in April 1948, the police firing on the participants of a simple event gathered at the foot of the monolith returning residents against the security forces. Supported by the American authorities, the Korean army launched Operation Scorched Earth in or Scorched Land and despatch 3,000 men on the island. The repression was brutal and destroyed most of the villages. Eighteen months later, Jeju counts its dead, 60,000, one-tenth of the population. No trace of guilt in Dolhareubang these grandfathers stone planted on the edge of villages full, they say, to watch over the men and ensure fertility. Hands resting on their belly, chubby face eaten a pair of googly eyes, they display a permanent satisfaction crossed with a touch of coldness, which only enhances the mystery that hangs around their origin. Since when do they haunt the landscape of the island? We do not know answer in the absence of any evidence, other than an order ordering, in 1754 a large amount of these protective gnomes. Would they have been transported from the continent, where stand many totems? Unless they are representations of a shamanic cult came from North Asia, having prepared the Dolhareubang to thwart unwanted spirits. Caressed, kissed by the dozen, these fellows carved from a porous lava are part of the family. Everyone is so attached to them that it sculpts still in the construction of a new bridge.

Jeju volcanic already a World Heritage in 2007, joined in 2010 the global network of Geoparks, a label awarded by Unesco. If the qualification Geopark is to inform and control by local communities or volcanic geological risks such as tsunamis, earthquakes or eruptions, it allows primarily to the small island to showcase the beauty and originality of its sites Natural and increase its educational activities. The lava is everywhere, so as to prevent any culture if farmers had not built, stone by stone, miles of walls to reach a fertile land. They are protecting their plantations onion, barley and millet, while letting in their interstices the wind, the summer turns into typhoon.



Wind, second wealth Jeju ... From the top of our crater, where he bushy vegetation brush, we're not likely to forget. This mobile atmosphere unstable, clean the islands, is reinforced by the mountain that rises up in the middle. Asian cyclones, and typhoons formed further south on the warm seas, do not forget Jeju as they rise to the north during the summer. If the wind loses its force upon the arrival of autumn, it brews orchards inland and ride the heady scent of mandarin. He waves colorful silk ribbons hanging from the branches of old trees become sanctuaries Jeju would house as many gods than people. Wind may carry the roofs of houses, if the villagers had had the wisdom to tie straw with thick ropes. What is then used to tell his life or shout, if half the words fly in the storm? The people have made their own dialect, a chopped phrasing and so direct that Koreans have long believed Jeju continent inhabited by a band of rude. With these words carved by wind and women-frogs being equipped agree with one another for the next dive. A look at the ocean, and the "head" of the group already knows that the day will not be easy. Rough sea, cold water from the open sea, and rain in the distance threat. To hell with rheumatism! Such a respectable age women - the youngest seems to have spent 50 years - the big window adjust their mask on a drysuit often too large.



We do not leave their curved shape of the eyes and swagger on the sharp rocks. In one ritual, they sing their song. He talks about the difficulties of life, their families. In single file, they glide through the water, clinging to one another, the youngest head, just to save as much energy. They then scattered in the green water. The white board that pegged their net still reported their presence when they probe the fund to 5 or 6 meters in search of shells or octopus. Able to hold their breath beyond two minutes down to 20 meters snorkeling, the haenyos Jeju, or sea women, do not dive for fun. Before them, it was the men who went to get the shells. But heavy introduced in the sixteenth century the taxes they had to leave the island. The East Sea is also often responsible for taking their lives. The women were then forced to jump into the water to feed their families.They became the backbone of the economy of an island they were already healing.Siberian landed there nearly 3,000 years, shamanism - especially women - played by the mudangs, Messengers from mind both spiritual guides and providing care, had indeed easily taken possession of this poor, self-sufficient community survivor away from the continent. Shamans have long been doctors Jeju. Even today, women are strongly united with nature spirits. "There is a god of sky, earth, wind, mountains and the sea, they said. They are part of our daily lives. "Thus was forged marital structure of Jeju against Confucianism.

The divers were 60,000 before the modernization of fishing techniques of the 70s, they are no more than 5000, and their cart is increasingly falling lighter. Some hulls and large whelks later and proudly brandished an octopus, mermaids our wrinkled with water pressure and shivering cold off their masks, giggle jokes of their accomplices. If hard is their job, so cruel sea, haenyos are struggling for some time to take their business to tourists. Then, after dried and changed, grandmas cooking, have them lean on trays loot to sell. Spreading wide, a quick burst carries the aroma of grilled forests Samda up-do, the land of three abundances shells.
Travel Notebook


Helpful

Enquiries: at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea (01.47.53.01.01; fra.mofa.go.kr ), 125, rue de Grenelle, 75007 Paris, and the National Korea Tourism (01.45. 38.71.23;www.visitkorea.or.kr ). On site: Welcome Center, 23 Seondeok-ro (Yeon-dong), Jeju City. Guides: South Korea, guide Lonely Planet, 2012-2013 Korea Lonely Planet, in French, in June 2013..

Best season: autumn and spring. The temperatures are milder and less winds. Beautiful fall colors from September to December. Blooms from March to June Avoid the summer, its typhoons and increasing tourism.

Getting there

Asiana Airlines (0.800.10.20.99; www.asia.fr ). By doubling the size and capacity of its host Business Lounge at Incheon International Airport in Seoul and by further improving comfort and quality of service, Asiana Airlines, voted Airline of the Year in 2012 , prepares for new aircraft next year. From Paris, the company offers four weekly flights to Seoul A380 and one daily flight between Seoul and Jeju. Roundtrip Paris / Jeju: from 855 €.

Organise your stay

With Voyageurs du Monde (01.42.86.16.00; www.voyageursdumonde.fr ). specialist of tailor-made travel individually suggest a nice roaming around South Korea (Seoul, Danyang, Mont Songni and Mount Gaya, Gyeongju Busan) that ends with a trip of 3 days / 2 nights in Jeju. "In the Land of the Morning Calm", individual circuit 15 days / 13 nights: from € 6,300 per person in double room with breakfast from Paris. Transfers, domestic flights, car rental and guided tours (in English) are included in this price.

The hotel

A Seogwipo (South): The Seaes Hotel and Resort(00.82.647.353.000; www.seaes.co.kr ). The pavilions of the complex, traditional stone houses and thatched pavilions embedded in opulent gardens, are facing the turquoise waters of the East Sea on the southern coast of Jeju. The rooms, the purest Korean style, clean and spacious, all white and wood open onto large terraces of wood. From 840 € per night with breakfast.

Good table

Seafood Shangri-la, 3349-1, Saekdal-dong, Seogwipo-si. This generous glass hotel in the marina is a huge self-service. The products of the very fresh and of excellent quality sea are cooked in front of you. While it is difficult to decide in such abundance and such a variety of dishes, the best choice (regardless of the restaurant) is the black pig, a specialty of Jeju, served with a sauce of anchovies.

What to do

Strolling the aisles of the market for grandmothers! Older than 100 years is the busiest in the city of Jeju. Amid herbs, fish, fruits, poultry and vegetables, a large space is reserved for women over 65, who can conduct business on a free space and maintain a strong social life. Plump-1 dong, Jeju City. Every 5 days, from the 2nd of each month from 9 am to 18 pm.

Hiking around the island. Jeju Olle is a network of 19 thematic paths ten kilometers each, located on the perimeter of the island, marked and equipped, to discover a cinder cone, a mythological place, a traditional village, a salt lake or a pine forest ... Interconnected, they make possible a coastal walk 216 kilometers. A booklet is available free explanations to Jeju airport.

The heart stroke

Go through the formation of Jeju through its Geoparks. In 2007, UNESCO inscribed World Heritage sites 3 volcanic Jeju Halla the volcano, huge lava and explosion crater emerged from the waves, Seongsan Ilchubong. In 2010, Koreans get for six volcanic sites geopark label. These nine sites are remarkable tools for reading the volcanic history of Jeju. The visit Geoparks can start with the Halla continue on its flanks by tunnels and lava caves Manjang, then descend on the south coast, including Seongsan Ilchubong, strata tuff Suwol Peak, the dome lava of Mount Sanbang where a Buddhist temple, the head of the dragon, a tuff ring and ash plunging into waves, basalt Daepo Jungmun-dong and eventually falls Cheonjiyeon and Seogwipo.

The magic moment

A deer came out quietly forest growing on the slopes of the volcano Halla to come and drink amid dwarf bamboo.

The flat

Natural sites of Jeju are accessible only certain times, which prevents to see them when the light is the most beautiful!

Read & see

The Paths of Halla San, of Nicolas Bouvier, ed. Zoe al. "Mini" 1998 Roadmap to travel writer writing long after a trip made ​​at the beginning of the economic miracle of the island. Jiseul, South Korean film written and directed by O Muel in 2012, deals with the repression of civilians by the army during the uprising of Jeju in 1948 and is particularly interested in a group of 120 villagers fled to a cave. Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Festival in 2013.

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In the cathedral forests of California

IN PICTURES - giant sequoia and bristlecone pines deer California is home to both the largest and the oldest living beings in the world. Meet the champs.
The redwoods are monuments. A bit like at home, Notre-Dame de Paris.Americans still like to think that their country is young go there as a pilgrimage to see the giants who lived there for so long. Motionless and silent in their forests, they belong to the long time of history, all these ancient civilizations whose offspring have landed in California since the mid-nineteenth century.

To admire, we must move away from the Pacific coast. Take due east to the Sierra Nevada. It is in this mountain that the giant sequoias live. The largest of them is the biggest tree in the world: 1487 cubic meters of wood! Further east, in the White Mountains, which rise to 4,342 meters above sea level, bristlecone pines push, which are the oldest trees in the world. The oldest of all is more than 5,000 years: he already had five centuries of existence when was built the pyramid of Cheops.

To engage in this little exercise time would be lost quickly head, for a generation of redwoods, it is 3000 years. No one can say how many thousands of stretches of time old bristlecone pine trees, as these trees seem to have discovered the secret of immortality. But while the old pine trees survive in suffering, the redwoods remain firm, solid, straight, insensitive to the breeze, indifferent to the attacks of fire and lightning.Faced with decades of drought and floods, they hold out. They operate in a different scale, somewhere between the time stones and men. Is it necessary to specify that it does not feel much beside them? Besides, what to say without taking the risk of sounding as hollow as an old trunk while empty? "! That is cool," says a boy came with his dad admire the Colossi Park Calaveras: that's cool. It's true, it's still a bit more than that, and should read John Muir to approach the truth of the old trees. "Trees and men: we travel together through the Milky Way," wrote the American naturalist after a tremendous storm that passed in a kind of ecstasy, clinging to the top of a tall pine in the Sierra Nevada .

"Before the storm day, it had never occurred to me that trees are travelers, in the true sense. It's true they do not go very far, but our little trips for us, here and there, are ultimately not much more than a tree swaying in the wind. "Over of their existence, the redwoods perform a great time travel is the great mystery of these forests. In 1894, John Muir published The Mountains of California, the fruit of his life as a hermit in the mountains. The book was a huge success. Muir said that there majesty of giant sequoias was equaled that of the Yosemite Valley. Under his pen, we could not find finer tribute because, more than any other place, John Muir celebrated this beautiful valley.



This is largely because of him that she has become a top tourist attraction in the United States. Today, they built roads and installed there parking: during the day, traffic is such that there are plugs. But with the end of the day, the car flows dried up.Sometimes a straggler bus stops along the Merced River. Tourists descend, take some pictures and chat then leave for the next point. What have they seen in such a short time? They should have these tourists in a hurry, take the example of the American writer. Sit on the tree trunk rests in balance over the waves, hold eyes and ears, breathing, full nose scents of the forest. Observed that the sun rising from the other side of the mountains, a light breath of air began to ascend the river. They would have admired a giant redwood young waving gracefully in the wind, while at his feet poplars happily waving their branches. Shaking in every way their light leaves, they fill the air smelling sap, slightly acid, which is necessary in the saturated with the scents of the forest atmosphere.

After the valley, another necessary step to Yosemite's Mariposa Grove. This is one of the most famous mountains of giant sequoias, because its protection is guaranteed by the American government for 150 years. June 30, 1864, in full Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed into effect the first act of the story safeguard the data of a natural heritage, Yosemite Grant Act, which definitively classified the valley and large redwoods. The tree already needed to be protected.



Because, unlike its cousin the redwood (Sequoia sempervirens), which grows by the millions along the Pacific Ocean, the giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), is relatively rare. Difficult indeed to estimate the number: Wayne Harrison, a scientist specializing in fire ecology, ensured for almost thirty years in the mountains of Park Calaveras. According to him, the number of giant sequoias, the trunk of which measures more than 30 centimeters at breast height, is approximately 100 000 Smaller trees would be a few hundred thousand. Redwood, which needs forest fires to breed, suffered from the fight against fires conducted successfully for a century and a half. It's only been forty years since the Rangers and scientists working in the parks again light fires to promote the regeneration of undergrowth: not enough to allow the emergence of a new cohort of young shoots.

Sequoia does not breed easily ... It fits pretty easily though: in the nineteenth century it was fashionable to plant in the properties of France or England. So today, the largest trees in Europe are often giant sequoias of California. But, naturally, this tree grows only on the western slopes of the mountains of the Sierra Nevada, at an altitude between 800 and 2700 meters. There, 400 kilometers long, there are between 67 and 75 beds. In the far north, near Lake Tahoe, the smallest has only 6 of these giants. It is in the south lie the largest concentrations: in the Sequoia National Park, they are impressive.



American textbooks explain that giant redwood can reach 310 feet, exceeding the height of the flame of the Statue of Liberty. Translated into French, it gives more than 94 meters high, causing the top of the large tree about twenty meters from the second floor of our Eiffel Tower. Not bad for a plant! Yet this is not strictly speaking its height is the giant redwood its international reputation. In this field, he was defeated by his cousin, redwood evergreen coast. Old redwoods are also often scalped, surmounted by a dry stump which was their peak. But underneath, it's a crown of solid, thick and green branches. Despite the injuries that occur over centuries, these trees remain surprisingly robust: it's simple, they never stop growing. And when it's not in height, it is wide.

Stephen Sillett, a famous American botanist for its comprehensive measures of large redwoods, said the President, one of the largest trees in the world, annually produces about one cubic meter of wood, the equivalent of a good-sized tree in our countries: a significant achievement on the part of an elderly individual to 3240 years. "In fact, it seems that there is no particular limit to the life of a redwood," says Wayne Harrison. In nature, what kills these big trees, so these are external causes. Over the centuries, wildfires wear their natural defenses: thus sees some very old trees within the burned trunk, empty like a chimney, but still arriving, somehow, maintain a vital link between their roots and their ultimate branch.

Others were so well dug by the flames that fifty people can fit in the trunk. They still cling to life. Soil erosion is another fierce opponent of redwoods, because their roots grow only 90 inches from the soil surface. When one of them finally fell, its massive trunk breaks like a china plate and then home. No one insect feeds on the wood, rot does not seem to affect him. The barrels dotting the redwood groves lie there for centuries. Over time, they end up looking like stones.



Besides the fire, wind and rain, the man was another external factor destruction of the giant redwoods. It started in 1852 It was four years after the discovery of the first gold nugget. The world rushed to California. Originally from Connecticut, Augustus Dowd had arrived in San Francisco from 1848 In the spring of 1852, he had settled in the mining town of Murphys, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada. He worked on behalf of Captain WH Hanford, Union Water Company, which built canals to supply piped water golden hills researchers. Hunter, he provided fresh meat to the workers. The story goes that one day while chasing a wounded grizzly, he fell off in front of a gigantic tree. He managed to persuade his companions to accompany him to the mountain to see the thing. We measured the trunk more than 30 feet in diameter! Then let the tree to look for gold.But the respite was short-lived. For gold miners, ready to fire on all cylinders as long as it generates large profits already had big plans for the redwoods ... A year later, Captain WH Hanford climbed back into the mountains at the head a small group of miners.Following the path taken by the hunter, they came out on the big tree. And then, using drills, they began to shoot.

These vandals intended to exhibit in all capitals. They made an oven. But greed and stupidity did other victims among the giant redwoods. To entertain the pioneers of ecotourism, tunnels were dug into the trunks of trees could drive through the horse, as it was fun !, it killed them. The trunk of the Tree Discovery is turned, the Augustus Dowd tree, bowling alley. Not far away we tore the bark of another giant, was given a grandiose nickname and was exhibited at the Crystal Palace in London, the end of an avenue of sphinxes. The bark is gone, Crystal Palace went up in flames, the trunk of the tree is still standing upright, although death in the forest of Calaveras. He kept pummeled saw and spade of his executioners and we want to cry in front of the victim of human stupidity.



Logging companies were concerned with the formidable wooden stock accumulated by these giants. But loggers soon perceived that the redwoods were not profitable, it saved them. Meanwhile, Gearloose tourism were hindered in their delusional creativity by authentic love of forests: John Muir, always him, and others, who were indignant in the columns of the international press, the fate of the large trees. Yet they continued to turn forests into parks. In Sequoia National Park, was installed in the middle of a massive ample parking with petrol station and supermarket. For twenty years, park managers do backtracked. The supermarket Sequoia Park became a museum, the gas station is gone, the car is more discreet. Large trees found some peace, but already another threat looms on the horizon. It is called climate change. Scientists multiply the measurements and calculations to try to understand its impact on large trees.Meanwhile, the giant sequoias grow quietly in the background of their valleys. Nothing can wish them the best.
TRAVEL LOG


Before you go

Beautifully illustrated and comprehensive, the site of the Tourist Board of California(0.810.322.400; www.visitcalifornia.fr ) is a valuable tool.
Getting there

Air France (36.54; www.airfrance.fr ). In Los Angeles, 17 flights per week from 975 €. In San Francisco, 12 flights per week from € 982. The company now offers on its website a travelogue interactive: Travel by Air France. Addresses key witnesses, beautiful images ... a fresh look at the top destinations of Air France.
Organiserson trip

Travelers in the United States (01.84.17.57.96; www.voyageursdumonde.fr ) offers a journey of eight days / 6 nights to explore California and the giant sequoias. On the agenda: the Yosemite National Park and San Francisco. From € 2,400 per person from Paris.
Where to see the trees?

To see the bristlecone pines (Bristlecone Pines) towards the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, itself located in the Inyo National Forest ( www.fs.fed.us ).

To see giant sequoias: Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park ( www.nps.gov ) is one of the most famous mountain ranges, with those of Calaveras Big Trees State Park (www.parks.ca.gov ). But it is in the mountains of Sequoia National Park (www.nps.gov ) found some of the largest trees in the world, as President. The best season is undoubtedly the spring.


Our selection of hotels

   To see the bristlecone pine Bristlecone Pine Forest, Town of Mammoth is relatively well located, about 3 hours drive from the White Mountains and old pines.The skiing busy winter is quieter in the summer. There is the Sierra Nevada Resort and Spa(001.760.934.25.15; thesierranevadaresort.com ), a sort of upscale motel. Night from 150 €. One can also choose to stay in Lone Pine, a town which had its heyday in the 50s, when Hollywood studios used the surrounding landscape as a backdrop. Some motels including the Dow Villa (001.800.824.93.17; www.dowvillamotel.com ), which housed the great stars of the 50s: John Wayne, Errol Flynn or Robert Mitchum ... From 85 €.

To see the giant sequoias of Yosemite. The best address to Yosemite is Ahwanee. Built in the 20s, it offers a magnificent view of the Yosemite Valley. From 355 € during the summer. Another historic hotel in Yosemite's Wawona. The colonial-style buildings are lovely but the rooms deserve some of the costs. The hotel is located twenty minutes from Mariposa Grove, the finest massive redwoods of Yosemite. From 115 €. A single contact for both hotels (001.801.559.48.84; www.yosemitepark.com ).

To see the redwoods Calaveras. The charming town of Murphys is the destination not to be missed. Born during the gold rush, it is fast becoming a mecca of vines in California.The Victoria Inn (001.209.728.83.33; www.victoriainn-murphys.com ) is a great place, charming and very well located close to the main street. From 98 €.

Our favorite restaurants

A Mammoth. Rafter (www.raftersmammoth.com ) friendly atmosphere and solid American food. Around 35 €.

In Yosemite: disappointing restoration, especially in large hotels to the park. A Murphys this small town filled with good places. Among those that should not be missed: the Murphys Hotel ( www.murphyshotel.com ) is the oldest building in town. The bar comes alive at night: ambiance 100% USA!

At Grounds ( www.groundsrestaurant.com ), we find an American quality food, around 40 €. The V ( vrestaurantandbar-murphys. com ). Inventive cuisine and delicious cocktails. It is 50 €. Finally, in Roquefort ( www.roquefortmurphys.com ),salads are delicious and lovely terrace. Around € 30. For delicious cupcakes to go to Lila and Sage ( www.lilaandsage.com ) whose pastries resemble small pop sculptures.
Recommended Reading

John Muir. The language of this writer that mixes like no other scientific accuracy and poetic verve, is superb. If possible, read it in English. The Wild Muir. Twenty-Two of John Muir's Greatest Adventures, Yosemite Conservancy, 210 p. 9 €.

The Mountains of California, The Modern Library, 280 p., € 10.50. Otherwise, in French:A Summer in the Sierra, Hoëbeke 340 pages, 17 €..



Backpacker's Guide California, 14,95 €. Backpacker Guide National Parks of the American West, € 14.95. For a comprehensive guide massive giant sequoias of the Sierra Nevada in English: A Guide to the Sequoia Groves of California by Dwight Willard, Yosemite Association, 125 pp, 12€

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Chinese forest that inspired James Cameron for Avatar

IN PICTURES - Little known in the West, Hunan Province contains a single forest in more ways than one. Hall of standing stones, the heavenly garden gave ideas to American director dreamlike scenery of the planet Pandora. From dream to reality, wide angle on the Zhangjiajie National Park.

 A fabulous stone forest, as if suspended between heaven and earth, the heart of Hunan Province (which literally means "south of the lake"). The Chinese themselves were unaware of the presence of such a natural treasure to the 70s It took perseverance painter Wu Guanzhong Chinese for a disclosure of the magnificence of these places only by the grace of his clever line to make authenticity as grandiose landscapes. At about 1,200 miles west of Beijing, and a little less than Shanghai, Zhangjiajie Natural Forest Park begins to welcome the first Western travelers attracted by the images of 3D blockbuster Avatar . Indeed, the breathtaking landscapes of this sci-fi by James Cameron has fired the imagination of millions of viewers. To find the original of this unusual setting, so you have to get to the center-west of the Middle Kingdom, Wulingyuan District, Hunan Province.



 For 300 million years, erosion carved this prodigious mass that spans nearly 220 square kilometers, where over 3,000 karst peaks soar skyward like sentinels eying the world below ... Exactly , flowing down a river in a canyon 400 meters wide. His name, River Whip Now comes into its own when the peak that dominates, standing like a sword, glows at sunset. The warm soil of a tropical day runs into the cold air of a night that looks cool. The weather phenomenon causes a thick mist like a mattress.

 Since that canyon begins the discovery of the site by public transport ...! For if Westerners are rare in frequent places, the Chinese, themselves, flock there in droves.A big surprise in such a blank space, wild and unique. From a parking lot - to the extent of this huge country - a cable car (the longest in the world), lift (the highest in the world) and a bus service (the most painful ...) pour a steady stream of local tourists that only go in tight and noisy groups behind a guide with megaphone. Parapets, waiting, turnstiles, corridors arrowings ground ... Everything is designed to harness this human tide.

 Failing to ease remains the option of climbing to the top on foot. Or the obligation to swallow 3,878 steps. For lazy, palanquins climb up there. Holders, a long pipe in his mouth, waiting for the barge crouched under a makeshift shelter. In the darkness, only the dry sound of mahjong tiles laid with fever shows their presence. Under a stormy sky before the cloud was bursting, it was decided to share the cable (the longest ...) which, as the elevator (the highest ...) is registered auGuinness records. For the record, the Bailong Lift descends 330 meters at a speed of 3 meters per second. It can carry 1,380 people per hour in a back-and-forth incessant. A piece of technology that the Chinese are crazy, which express by "Oh" and "Ah!" Perched high. On arrival at the top, some hostels run by farmers provide food and shelter to amateur photographers as lovers of wilderness that may, the next day, at dawn contemplate, and away from the crowds, panoramas wonderful that the park.

  At 4 am, Chen Hu Yke awaits a lucky few at the end of a flat rutted path. After several kilometers in 4 x 4, the old hunter cuts the engine and invites passengers to follow on steep paths directly above the gorge. Here, over railing to sign or crowd. Its not one puts in his order not to damage the edges of rice fields. Then we need to get off and on again with the help of hands when tilting the path defies balance. In a very old Chinese book on aesthetics, it is written: "To the extent the talent of each depends on whether riding with the wind and the clouds" ... We're there. Providential flat stone invites to rest, exhausted and sweating, before the show begins. The rays of the rising sun ablaze gradually immensity.



  Firs, yews, rhododendrons, wild roses, trees with handkerchiefs, spruce, hemlock, ferns, mosses and mushrooms protean: 3,000 plant species in total - including 600 species of trees - thrive in this labyrinthine ecosystem. In particular the iconic ginkgo biloba, nicknamed "Tree of Forty Crowns". Orientals revered for its exceptional properties, this archaic survivor of the dinosaurs originated in China. True botanical curiosity, it is able to survive high doses of radioactivity. For example, one year after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, he was the only tree to have leaves again. Excellent firewall, ginkgo also has the power to protect fire. The species is very present in the park of Zhangjiajie, has contributed to the classification of places in the national park. A label that Unesco institutionalized by placing it on the list of World Heritage Site in 1992.

  The park is also a providential sanctuary for many animal species, including rhesus monkeys, the cry hilarious, and representatives of a more confidential bestiary like civet, tragopan red plumage, Chinese water deer, Bear Tibet or the clouded leopard.The latter, hunted by poachers for their fur and bones for traditional medicine, is facing extinction. However, it continues to terrify the few people who live on the plateaus of Wulingyuan, Miao mostly.



This is on top of the peaks that young people from the ethnic group of mountain courtship during an exchange of poems sung. In a clear voice, the intonations contender use the nightingale to proclaim its languorous messages. Miao songs that breed for tourists amazed. To satisfy its many visitors, the community seems to have sold his soul a bit. And confused tradition and folklore. As soon as a bus driver opens the floodgates to the flood of curious women strike a pose. For a few yuan, they offer clothing or adornments junk and their admirers griment the day which, in turn, pose for a photo posted in the wake of social networks.

After discussion with the guide, a step can easily improvise in a village off the beaten track. That of Ludongshan admires first from the top of the road. With the aplomb of a mountain range with peaks sharp amid the rice fields, the curves of a river draw in pen symbol of yin and yang. Always located near a water source, Miao communities organize themselves in accordance with their environment, according to the precepts of feng shui. Reconcile the visible flow - like water - and invisible - like wind - is a promise of good health, welfare or prosperity for the occupants. Well that feng shui was banned under Mao Zedong, Miao never ceased to scrupulously respect the rules of discipline, despite the persecutions of the communist government. The traditional wooden houses are secured to the slopes, served by a beam paths and steep steps that villagers use it every day. A paved road climbs sharply. On the terrace of a large house, three old women converse. They are neighbors and their day's work finished, share a moment of respite. It is surprising how many women in this ethnic group are all ... small. The opportunity for them as for us, the great West, to share a laugh.



  Back to Zhangjiajie for other bells and whistles ... Since Pagoda Tianzi, the sixth floor, where a handful of burning incense before a Buddha chubby, the 360 ​​degrees is an endless horizon of rocky peaks emerging from caves. An advancing army, ready to fight. The sky is the game. Huge clouds moutonnants wander in the garden of stones.They burst and tear on the sharp peaks before disintegrating into long milky scarves.Sixty streams, rivers and streams flow in abundance and fall from dizzying heights. We understand that they have inspired director James Cameron. Imagining the natural setting of the planet Pandora, where the Na'vi people would evolve, the American director instructed the photographer Eric Hanson to travel the world in search of landscapes of exception. He unearthed here, deep in China. Zhangjiajie has since dissociated from Avatar. Nod to the worldwide success of the film, the Chinese government has even renamed the heavenly Column spectacular peak rising to 1,074 meters, Mount "Hallelujah" from the name of this floating mountain from which the avatar Jake Sully, the hero blockbuster, rushed into the void, astride his winged dragon.Three million tourists flock there annually ever since, just to dream of riding his Na'vi Toruk ...



TRAVEL BOOK

Helpful

Formalities necessary visa (approximately € 105). Information from the Chinese Embassy (01.79.97.03.39; www.visaforchina.org ). Time difference: + 6 hours in summer, winter + 7 h. Change: providing euros and yuan because once out of the big cities, ATMs are scarce. 1 € = 8.40 CNY.

Getting there

Air France (3654; www.airfrance.fr ) present in China since 1966 and associated with KLM. Both companies operate 88 weekly flights from Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol to 9 destinations: Shanghai, Hong Kong (served by A380), but also Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Xiamen, Taipei and finally Wuhan, the One of the gateways to the Hunan, served three times a week live from Paris.Depending on the type of aircraft, Air France offers 4 cabins including the new First and Business headquarters, which becomes a fully flat bed. The round trip economy class is offered to Wuhan from 990 €.

Organize your trip

With The House of China (01.40.51.95.00; www.maisondelachine.fr ) and its route"Hunan bells and whistles" to live in small groups. Besides finding the park Zhangjiajie and landscapes unique mountain in the world, the circuit goes through Shaoshan, the birthplace of Mao Zedong, and the ancient cities of Fenghuang and Hongjiang. 13 days / 10 nights full board (except 2 meals) from Paris: from € 2,890 per person. Includes all transportation, tours and entertainment, services unaccompagnateur sinologist from Paris and speaking local guides.

In the park of Zhangjiajie

In the spring, in the rainy season, to be discovered this park. It is located 30 km north of the prefecture-level city of Zhangjiajie, where a shuttle bus provides access to the entrance to the site in a little over an hour. These buses are often crowded, it is best to hire a taxi for just 10 € per person. The entrance ticket to the park costs 30 € and is valid for 3 days. Once up, get remettreau bus service that connects the different loop panoramas. To enjoy the scenery without the crowds, sleep on mountaintops in hostels run by local farmers.In the park of Zhangjiajie
Listed in the Huan

Shaoshan, the house where the Great Helmsman was born in 1893 in the estate office and showroom covered with yellowed family portraits on the walls, we learn here the first rural cell Communist Party of China was founded in June 1925.

Fenghuang, Little Venice of ancient China. The city, whose name means "city of phoenix" is primarily the home of the Miao ethnic group. Its architecture, remarkable mess of stilt houses, bridges and gateways, clinging to the steep banks of the Tuo Jiang River, dates back to the Ming and Qing dynasties. At night, light strings redesign the facades and streets resound crowded and noisy karaoke.

In the park. Hostel Mengpa Kezhan: 

basic comfort but friendly welcome. Ideal to watch the sunrise over the stone forest shrouded in mist (in the village for a few yuan, Chen Hu Yke guide you to totally isolated spots).Staying there

In the District of Zhangjiajie, Zhangjiajie. Xi Jie Bu(53, rue Xi Bu), a small boutique hotel with a spa and mountain views. About 58 € a night.

International standard for the Pullman Zhangjiajie ( www.pullmanhotels.com ) which has the double advantage to meet adorable French hostess and enjoy European dishes (and coffee!). From 100 € per night.

A Fenghuang. The Phoenix Grand Hotel

 (www.chinahotelsreservation.com ). A little madness in the decor both baroque and quirky, all in sizes XXL! This hotel fits perfectly to the tastes of Chinese who flock there. € 200 a night; sometimes discounted to € 50.

Eating

In the park, the eateries that abound are very expensive. It helps to plan a picnic. The curious who want to learn the spicy Hunan Xiang Xi will test the Yin Xiang, renowned restaurant situated at the exit of the cave of the Dragon, Gao Wun street in the district of Wulingyuan.

In the city of the same name, the impressive Fenghuang bet on ethnic Miao and waitresses are dressed like queens serving customers 100% Chinese. Very folk, this restaurant is in the old town at the foot of Nan Hua bridge. € 55 for 6 people.
The flat


Mass tourism Chinese version has something daunting one Westerner. Even in a province as rich in natural gems.

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