http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspxBy Adrienne Mong, NBC News producer   Near Lijiang, China -- It’s no surprise that in a country as vast as China there are all kinds of drivers.  But it has been a pleasant discovery how many are actually quite skilled in this rapidly modernizingen-USCommunityServer 2.0 (Build: 60608.1)http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#198867Mon, 21 May 2007 19:57:54 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:198867Rene Kreisel"...where 18 years ago the few drivers that existed would turn off their engines whenever they stopped at a traffic light" You say this as if it were a sign of backwardness, yet many cities in Switzerland require drivers to turn off car engines at traffic lights, to cut down on emissions. Maybe Chinese drivers were ahead of their time 18 years ago and have regressed...http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#198879Mon, 21 May 2007 20:04:36 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:198879Kim Bush, Spokane, WashingtonMy son is attending school in China this year and recently spent a month traveling through China. Tiger Leaping Gorge was one of the places he visited. Sure glad I hadn't read this blog or watched the video--I would have worried myself sick! He said it we beautiful, but never mentioned the dangers of the ride up to the top!!http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#198993Mon, 21 May 2007 21:47:30 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:198993mary RoyanWow. The scenery was beautiful. It looked at one point as if you were going to walk back down! I didn't hear any crying, which was what I did on a similar trip in Dargeeling, India when we drove up to Tiget Top (there's that tiger again) to get a glimpse of the sun rising on Everest. I was scared out of my wits!!!http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#199011Mon, 21 May 2007 22:18:40 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:199011Lisa McNeil,Alpharetta,GeorgiaDear Adrienne, I watched the video and that was really scary at times. A little too close to the edge for me. But the scenery was gorgeous with the snow capped mountains and trees. I love to paint scenes just like that and it makes me want to get out the brushes and canvas. My grandmother went to China back in 1972 and she loved it. She would have really liked that scenery, although maybe not the ride. I will say he is a very good driver. Thank you for sharing this experience.http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#199040Mon, 21 May 2007 22:59:51 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:199040AmericanMuslimahConvertYikes! It's certainly beautiful but I think that i might die of a heart attack before reaching the top, even if a rock slide didn't topple the vehicle! It's odd, I've done mountainous treks all my life up throug the Rockies, but never did develop the stomch for sheer drop-offs, switch-backs, and hairpin turns. I hate heights, but love mountains. There's definitely something wrong with that!http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#199331Tue, 22 May 2007 11:42:23 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:199331hamilton mehlmanPoint of clarification: The Tsangpo Gorge in Tibet is the deepest and perhaps longest gorge in the world. Formed by the Yarlung Tsangpo river running between two tall himalayan peaks, Namcha Barwa (25,446 ft.) and Gyala Pelri (23,462 ft.), the Tsango gorge is up to 18,000 ft deep and 150 miles long. The tiger gorge is beutiful and impressive but does not compare in depth to the Tsangpohttp://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#199355Tue, 22 May 2007 12:44:21 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:199355Juan Siblesz, Yichang, Hubei, ChinaReminds me of the road trip me and my aunt took to some distant pagoda in Jing Hong, Yunnan province, two years ago. We were too cheap to hire a private choffeur, so we went with the public bus, instead. It was the wrong decision. We travelled through a dirt road, or rather, a trail for five hours. The temperatures were Saharic. The bus was packed full with people, so full in fact that even old ladies were left standing. I endured this trip with the most determined of spirits, and being afraid of my impending death every time we went through cliffs that dangled high above the deep abyss. The passengers around us were quite non-challate, as if it were just another day. When we finally arrived, I was drenched in sweat, and then continued to climp a hill to reach the pagoda that was quite high. Very adventurous of us to go through all of that misery when the pagoda was nothing but a dimpy little structure that lacked much aesthetic value. But it was worth it. After going through that horrific venture, I could survive everything. It just puts all in perspective... For us, it was hell, but for the locals in the bus, it's part of every day life.http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#199582Tue, 22 May 2007 16:11:39 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:199582Faycal FerHere is a video from last summer's Bridge of the Gods Kiteboarding Festival in Stevenson. www.youkiteboard.comhttp://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#199591Tue, 22 May 2007 16:15:51 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:199591Faycal FerHere is a video from last summer's Bridge of the Gods Kiteboarding Festival in Stevenson. http://www.youkiteboard.com/view_video.php?viewkey=f202f26c1a174c735758http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#200757Wed, 23 May 2007 14:54:40 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:200757China Law BlogThe last time I was in China, I got in two car accidents in the same day, in different cities. One in Yantai and one in Qingdao. Driving is still definitely an adventure there. http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/05/21/198513.aspx#213616Tue, 05 Jun 2007 09:39:02 GMT8a5d2dbc-a0e4-4c7a-979f-3188051f228e:213616Jenn, TorontoI was at the exact same place around the same time that the author was there this May, except I took a different, must less adventurous route down at the middle reach of the gorge. They blasted out a path some 40m above the water and tourists were able to just stroll along the path and get the whole view of the gorge without going on any car rides. It was quite tamed. The path that the author took was the hiking route for more adventurous people, I would have hiked that except there was a landslide (it rained for a whole week before that in Lijiang) when I was there, and they closed up that section of the hiking path, I don't know how the author managed to get up there, perhaps they took another path. I don't recommend the route I took for anyone under 50, the whole point of seeing this gorge is to experience a combination of the sound of water thrusting and slicing, the vertical steepness and the ride to get there.