Ni Hao from Lijiang. Have had a couple of days hard cycling to get here from Dali. Scenery is beautiful, with high, wooded mountains and cultivated terraces, mainly of rice and corn, but some tobacco. Chilli pepper plants are slipped into every available space (and chilli peppers into every dish). Passed a Bai (local people) market place on the way - several acres of sheer pandemonium. Passed brick yards on the way, where oxen were used to squish up a pit full of wet clay. Nearby were smoking kilns. On the second day riding from Eryuan to Lijiang we bit off more than we could chew: At 4 pm, having already covered about 100Km and with dusk nearing, we were 45 km from Lijiang and the wrong side of a very steep 15 km climb. Undeterred,
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