The view from the Black Dragon Pool

After renting the world's shittiest bike, the left pedal of which fell off after three minutes of riding, we headed to the Black Dragon Pool. On the way we bumped into a statue of Mao, the first of many reminders of the Chairman.

That's Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the background...

Upon returning the bike to the hostel we rented it from, John pointed out the problem with the bike pedal, which we had repaired along the way. The proprietor smiled, not interested in this news and said, "next time you choose different bike." Now that's a man interested in good customer service!