3xuok
3xuok Joined: August 23rd 2007
Logged in: February 13th 2012
Logged in: February 13th 2012
Travel Blog Posts
Lingyun town
80km north of Baise is Lingyun, where the region surrounded by karst landform. the town is nicely set in within all those pop up hilltops. I quite like it in Lingyun, small enough and with many trails I could hike up for a good view in different karst hills. The nice little town build along the Sishui river with couple of bridges linking up both sides, the oldest should be the Taipingqiao bridge right outside the rebuild Confucious Temple said could date back 300 years ago. At night the river would lited up colourfully almost created the Lijiang sensation only without the tourists! The main economic is mineral especailly gold mine, but the unique Baihao tea became more known to outside about Lingyun. It is one of the rare kind that can produced into 6 different ... read more
Teng welcoming you
The first festival each year for the Chinese is Yuanxiaojie on the 15th day of Lunar January. The first full moon after newyear. I spend it in Baise where the temperature was warm and no rain. In fact...everywhere in China there should be celebration like parade and dragon dance. Here in Baise they held they gathered all the 12 county in the region with their own ethnic favour, marched out a parade through the town, so...the Zhuang, the Miao, the Yi, the Buyi, the Yao...all came out with colourful monkey's costume, why not...all they need was a clip to show on tv for the Prefecture's image promotion, after all...it was just a show! I find Baise a rather relaxing place to hangout, the town build along the Youjiang river, many leisure walk along both side of ... read more
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A long journey cut cross Honghe and Wenshan, changing bus and changing bus, finally get to Xilin in Guangxi. Xilin situation at the corner of Yunnan and Guizhou, together with its neighbour Longlin County, they are one of the not many places in Guangxi where you could still see costume dressed hilltribe in normal day. I came for the Miao Tiaopo Festival, one of the less known Miao subgroup...the Pian Miao. They wear big wide headdress, plain and simple long sleeve loose shirt with no button but tied by a single string knot. long skirt like the Han Miao in Yunnan that with plaited on the back side. 10 years ago only kid wear shiny clothes, but nowaday even young women put on those metallic material shirt with multi-colours. well....as long as they feel pretty, guess ... read more
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Eshan is one of the less known county in Yuxi region where live mostly Yi people, and they have a tradition to celebrate the first market after Chinese Newyear. Kaixinjie is popular in Dalongtan, Fuliangpeng and Tadian. People would not start business until the date of Kaixinjie in the old day, also there would be many activities like,dragon dance, lion dance, lantern show etc. I came to Fuliangpeng this year this year for Kaixinjie, a very business market, after those standard reception and official lunch, the celebration began with a chanting by an Yi shaman, asking for a best year for business. There are about 10 dragons came participated this year, together with loaded of pretty Yi girls making dance, it was quyite a preformance. Then they all marching out to the market, made the already ... read more
the pole climbing
Maguan is one of the dense area of the Miao in Wenshan area, and inb here the Caihuashan is the most popular festival for the people. I came for the pole climbing competition...oh sorry...just to watch, not participate! one need to climb with the body up-side-down, very interesting! an 10 feet pole had been erected in the middle of the square. when it begin...surprised to see all the participants stripped to the very short. "Why?" I asked, one local told me it would be impossible to climb with the cloth on as it will be too slippery, with bare skin the body might able to stick more with the pole, before climbing, they also need to rubbed honey on their body. "Why?" again I asked. they said it is for anti-infection as skin should be scratched...special ... read more
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Spend the first few days of Chinese New Year in Mengzi area, as Mengzi is close to many of the Miao Caihuashan festival's ground. Beside...Newyear day in Mengzi was busy, many shops kept open for business, and the area around Nanhu lake had turned into s free dancing ground for the Yi people, vendors market their space on the street by the lake couple days before Newyear eve. it was crowded of people on the 1st and 2nd day of Newyear. standard fraternization of different ethnics show, and evening fire-work, no surprise at all! still...better than quiet and all shops closed without any restaurant serving! The 3rd day marked the beginning of the Miao Caihuashan festival, but the weather also made a 179 degree changing....turned cloudy and windy, the sudden switched in climate caused teeth quaking! ... read more
Taoism Deities painting
In order to be accepted into the Yao community, especially to be able join the ancestor after dead. Every Yao man should go through Dujie ceremony, if not, one wasn't a complete Yao. And every year in Yao village there should be young boy participated in the event, kind of like a bar mitzvah as some said after the ceremony the boy will be treat as adult. Dujie symbolic a new born. 10 years ago I attend a Landian Yao Dujie which last for 7 days, once it start mean the participant was no longer human, he live in between the universe, that was why the family had to hired many priests to help and teach the participant, to guide him through the trail out from the under-world, the first 6 days the participant live in ... read more
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Another hit and run festival. Although I didn't except anything from this, came to Jiangcheng just because I wanted to spend some time away from Yuanyang, escaped from the mist and cold. I couldn't find any background info about this Hani festival, only mentioned that the Linianjie Festival is a traditional feast of the Hani in Qushui area, and its main event was prepare a long banquet in the street, even the local couldn't tell much, only said it is different as Hani Newyear is normally on the Lunar October. but then later I heard people mentioned there will be a series of this festival in Mengla and Banna area within the next 10 days, perhaps it really a traditional event. Usually there would be Hani from Laos and Vietnam attending as well. But people said ... read more
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It was like a magic spell. Kind of instant recovery...although my wrist wasn't actually recover but my mind already forgot about that. You know what...the next thing I tried was travel, I went to checked on my festival list, the first one came across is a border festival in Jiangcheng but time was a bit tight, no way I could make it there in a day. but I could hit on another one a week later also in Jiangcheng area. Anyways...an Mongolian festival caught my eye, it happen every 3 year in Tonghai, and the next one fall on Dec 13th 2011, why not...I need to do something after sit on my ass for the last 2 months. But recently there wasn't anymore golden flare strike out from my bank book whenever I open it to ... read more
worry
"Things always happened for a reason"...I always trying to play thing out this way. like this broken wrist incident...perhaps something just want to stop me from being too aggressively visit everything in Yunnan, its wanted me to slow down, its didn't want me to leave Yunnan too quick I guess, as you can see in what pace I roaming through this part of China in the last 2 years, if I kept on like this, pretty soon there will be nothing left for me to cover. so....I felt better and just wait out for my wrist to recover, but it was slow due to my age...not a young fellow anymore! Then again I developed a kind of routine to help me get pass each day....wake up.... breakfast... morning 30 minutes walking exercise.... a round in local ... read more
