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Published: September 26th 2006
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8/25 - 8/28
A quick flight from Chengdu, and we found ourselves in the North East part of the Yunnan province. We have been told the south of China was full of awesome scenery and unique landscapes, and the area lived up to our expectations.
We stayed in the Old Town, which is now a world heritage site. A few square kilometers of winding pedestrian only cobble stone paved streets. Historic architecture from the 1800s attracted us, as well as many other Chinese tourists from the big cities further east. The town is loaded with shopping for travelers and we both enjoyed finding a few more restaurants and business owners capable of communicating in English. We were able to find an incredible hotel room at a very reasonable $10 per night, and I think there was something historically significant about our hotel, because Chinese tour groups kept stopping in front of it and taking pictures, but we were unable to find any English speaking people in our hotel to explain.
We met a Tibetan woman who offered to take us on a day trip to see some of the local minority villages, and take in some of the countryside
which was really unique. Li, our guide, was a kind motherly type, and she went out of her way to really show us a nice day. The local countryside was filled with farm country, with local crops dominated by sunflowers and potatoes. We managed to stop in a couple of fields and meet entire family's harvesting their crops together.
Apparently the Yunnan province is known for having a large number of minority Chinese people, with (my memory is a little fuzzy) 26 of the 50ish registered Chinese minority groups residing in Yunnan province. Our first stop was in a Yi village (Yi being the ethnicity of the residents). We walked around a town of maybe 10 cabins, with most of the residents out in the fields harvesting. We luckily ran into a grandmother, and she invited us into her home. The Yi people sport traditional blue and white garments, and it was a trip to be welcomed into her home. The Estate consisted of a simple 10' x 15' living space, with one basic room which had a small open fire where the cooking was done, which people slept near during colder evenings. Li was able to interpret a
few questions about our new age waterproof sandals, and our host got a kick our of our digital camera, able to see her face on its screen instantly. She offered us tea and and some warm potatoes, which we hesitantly accepted (nothing in the place looked like it had been washed, to anything vaguely representing western standards, ever).
Our next stop was another hour or so drive further into the country to see a Bai Village. The Bai people wore a unique, Red, White, and Blue ensemble, with a very interesting head dress. Li explained that she had not been out this far into the country in over 6 months, and the villagers certainly reacted as such. Some of the Yi farmers and schoolchildren we saw on the roads earlier all proved to be quite camera shy, and a little hesitant to interact with us, even with our guide to translate. The Bai people were totally different, and the whole village seemed to give us their full attention. I might have guessed there had not been a Caucasian tourist in their midst in a long long time (if ever?).
The Bai town had a little more sturdy accommodations,
Kitchen Area inside the home
Cleaner than some NYC restaurants, I'm sure built with bricks as opposed to the wooden cabins we saw in the Yi village. We got to sit with a couple of elders, one of them a doctor, who were studying Tao handwritten scriptures, and who then invited us into their town monastery. It was quite a memorable to see these people so welcoming, the whole town gathered around us as one of the elders fetched the key to the monastery, all excited by our presence, and to show us their religious dwelling. The monastery was quite nice, with several recently painted religious figures forming a display at the front of the temple. We were receiving a fair amount of attention, and didn't want to be disrespectful and snap any shots inside the religious area so you will just have to use your imagination.
Our visit in the Bai village included several dinner invitations, and we got to sit and have tea at a couple of homes while there. When we asked a question of one of the elder women about their garb, she got real excited and ran inside. A few minutes later she brought out her daughters traditional clothing, and insisted Jaime try it on. Jaime
was a sport and got dressed in the traditional wear, and I think the photos speak for themselves.
Back in Lijiang we made several traveler friends, and enjoyed some great food at a variety of canal-side restaurants. Our favorite was Mama Fu's, which anyone who makes it here has got to try. We also made arrangements to take an overland tour to Tibet beginning in Lijiang, and while it would take 5 days for the permits and driver to prepare, we decided to go to Tiger Leaping Gorge for a few day trek to spend the time before we headed into the Himalayas to see Tibet.
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