Blogs from Yubeng, Mei Li Snow Mountain, Yunnan, China, Asia
New Years in Yubeng
Published: February 16th 2011Asia » China » Yunnan » Mei Li Snow Mountain » Yubeng
February 3rd 2011
The next morning we lazed about and watched the New Years TV specials on both the regular Han Chinese CCTV and the Sichuan Tibetan channel. One act that stands out was an outer-space-themed acrobatic dance performed by men in pink spandex Tron costumes who tok themselves very seriously. I also enjoyed seeing traditional Tibetan dancing, costumes and music, which I had not seen before. Besides Si Tu and me, everyone from our original group left. The two of us stuck around for the New Years celebration. That afternoon, the men sat across from each other in a clearing (um we were all basically sitting in Yak poop) and drank, aate snacks, told jokes, and sang song. I guess as the weird foreigner I was allowed to go to these guys-only things. They provided Si Tu and ... read more
Ice Lake/冰湖/Bing Hu and Holy Waterfall/神瀑/Shen Pu
Published: February 16th 2011Asia » China » Yunnan » Mei Li Snow Mountain » Yubeng
February 1st 2011
The next morning we woke up at 7:30 to prepare for the 8 am sunrise hitting the mountain peaks. Most of my companions had some pretty serious cameras. One guy had even lugged his tripod into town. They also had foreign expensive brand-name outerwear that I think were not fakes. These upper-middle class adults from big cities were really used to foreigners, so they were totally normal with me, which was a huge relief. (I have an instinctive desire to not make eye contact and run away when approaching groups of Chinese people I don't know!) There were fewer clouds than the day before, and the sun on the peaks started red and turned to fire orange. I enjoyed my coffee on the deck as I watched the show. We then headed inside for a hearty ... read more
Hiking into Yubeng/雨崩
Published: February 16th 2011Asia » China » Yunnan » Mei Li Snow Mountain » Yubeng
January 31st 2011
We got up early the next morning to watch the rising sun fall on Meilixueshan's various peaks, but we were clouded out. The three of us joined to other hikers in Feilaisi, an accountant from Hangzhou and a graphic designer from Beijing (with a wicked Beijing accent), and together we took a minivan to the hot springs near Xidang to start our hike. The van was 200 kuai total or 40/person. On our way in, we had to buy 80 kuai (40 student) entrance tickets. To get to the village of Yubeng, we started at 9,000 feet, hiked to a mountain pass (yakou) at 12,000 feet, and then descended to the village valley at 11,000 feet. From the beginning, I was breathing quite heavily and I was always grateful when we took a break to let ... read more
Four or Five Migrating Birds
Published: December 27th 2009Asia » China » Yunnan » Mei Li Snow Mountain » Yubeng
November 1st 2009
The journey from Zhongdian to Deqin was a cramped six hours. It's a popular route but the roads are so narrow, steep, dangerous and completely unlit that no buses can actually leave after midday. We caught the earliest one at 8:20 to give us as much time as possible to sort ourselves out once we got to the very last town before Tibet proper. Becky who was undecided as to what her plans were text Izzy saying she caught another bus and would see us there that afternoon. Again the views from the bus were indescribable. Deqin is in Diqing county, which is definitely Tibetan territory. Lots of ethnic groups live in the area, but Han Chinese only make up about 15% of the population, similar to the Nakhi and Lisu ethnic groups, while Tibetans are ... read more
September 3rd 2008
Le réveil à Feilai Si est splendide : le soleil se lève et éclaire les montagnes en face de nous. D'ailleurs, tous les minibus et taxis en route vers les lieux touristiques s'arrêtent dans le hameau pour prendre des photos. Nous n'avons pas le temps de prendre un petit déj, le minibus qui doit nous emmener nous attend déjà avec la coréenne et le couple d'étudiants chinois qui partagent les frais avec nous. Le trajet en minibus est super long (2h) comparé à la distance à vol d'oiseau qui nous sépare de l'arrivée, car il faut descendre les flancs de la vallée du Mekong pour aller chercher un pont loin au nord, passer ce pont (ne pas oublier de payer le guichet bien sûr) et remonter la vallée vers le sud pour revenir à peu près ... read more
