Yunnan #4 - From Laos to Vietnam via China: Episode 4

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This is the 4th ‘episode’ of another of 'our' travels.

All the ‘episodes’ describe our journey from our arrival in Vientiane (capital of Laos) in mid March 2010, through to our intention to 'arrive' in Hanoi (capital of Vietnam) at end April. This ‘episode’ describes our journey south from LiJiang, through DaLi, across to KunMing, then further south to TongHai and Jianshui (all in Yunnan, China).


As always, if you want to 'see' more detail in an accompanying picture, click it to enlarge.


Please note that we've tried to 'attach' or 'anchor' photo's applicable to the text. At the end of the text, we've added a heap of other photos that help depict our journey; Cheers

South from LiJiang - an overview

Episode 1 described our travels from Vientiane through Laos to China, and into the provincial capital of the Xishuangbanna region of Yunnan - Jing Hong. We also described how we departed JingHong the same day and ventured into the backblocks of southern Yunnan - to Meng Hun, Meng Hai and Meng Lian (where we ended episode 1).

Episode 2 dealt with our arrival by air from JingHong to LiJiang (capital of the LiJiang region of Yunnan) and our exploits in and around LiJiang.

Episode 3 described our journey from LiJiang northwards through Tiger Leaping Gorge (of the Yangtze River), onto HaBa, and through magnificent scenery to Gyeltang (also known as Shangri La).

Heading South

Having returned from the bitter cold of Gyeltang (it was snowing when we left), we really enjoyed the Spring weather of LiJiang.

We decided to head slowly south towards the China-VietNam border for our eventual return to Australia (about 3 weeks). We'd planned to head for DaLi via Shaxi, but when we went to get bus tickets, we found there was no direct bus; we were told to go to a city nearby and chase transport from there - few bus stations have any knowledge of timetables other than from their own; despite the whole country being on one computer system!). We'd heard it was nice, but we also didn't want to spend all our time meandering around the countryside waiting on local buses. We'd rather be 'doing' something other than sitting on bus seats! So, we plumped for DaLi.

Along the way to DaLi, the bus travelled very near Shaxi. We then lamented our decision as the scenery around the area was stunning. Oh, well, sobeit!

DaLi is a walled city that was a seat of power some eons ago. Over recent decades it has been a focus for the western 'hippy' tourist. Accordingly, there are many shops catering for the 'hippy' type. Notwithstanding this, the 'old' dirty buildings have been replaced with (new) mock 'look-alikes', and the whole city is now high on the list for domestic tourism. Like the 'old' section of LiJiang, DaLi is crowded with domestic tourists (especially in the evenings after they have returned from their organised tours).

We didn't arrive too early, so stayed the first night in a Lonely Planet recommendation (a cramped 'hippy' style place). Next day we moved to a lovely clean, large GH run by a Dai family. Part of the deal was that they would do the laundry (in the price). Wow, did we make use of that.

The first 'day', we took a chairlift up the nearby mountain (up some 2000m), and spent most of the day 'bushwalking' through the forest, and eventually made our back down to DaLi (via a cemetary set in the hillside). We really enjoyed the quietude of being on our own in a forested area ablaze with Rhododendron's and Azalea's.

Judy had heard there was a German bakery, so after looking for it, Judy enjoyed Muesli, Yoghurt and coffee each morning. A fresh (European style) bread roll and a banana for lunch 'made' her day.

After a few days 'relaxing' in/around DaLi, we headed for the Yunnan 'capital' of KunMing. We'd tried to go by sleeper train, but in the 'outlying' areas of China this (apparently) wasn't provided. So, bus it was. We'd been given a recommendation for an hotel in KunMing; a street and a name. A kind Chinese lady directed us from the long distance bus terminal to the local commuter bus (the alternative was an expensive taxi). We found the street, and went searching. After a long walk, we gave up and just tried getting a bed at each hotel we passed. This was an extremely interesting exercise. We were advised that the Chinese Gov't 'licences' hotels as either Chinese citizen only, or Chinese & foreigners. Putting aside the 4+ star hotel 'guest, apparently the Chinese citizens don't like sharing 'their' hotel with foreigners. And, here we were seeking accommodation in an area full of only Chinese citizen hotels. We eventually came across a kindly 'manager' who first tried finding a hotel for us (much walking), then agreed to let a room to us (but only if we'd be secretive about it). The hotel was 3+ star, and very well priced. We'd have had to pay more than triple in a 'tourist' hotel. Big lesson for us about how entrenched xenophobia is in China!!!

Unlike many of the Yunnan cities we'd visited to date, the CBD of KunMing is a people friendly pedestrianised area (and, don't the people use the CBD after dusk). With our hotel being in the CBD, we used shanks pony to visit all the 'sights'. With underpasses, overbridges, and wide footpaths, we found the area a pedestrians' delight. We also 'discovered' a long established eatery of high quality (with a French name) serving Yunnan food. For us, we really appreciated eating Yunnan food that had been prepared with a high respect for quality. It was so good, we visited it twice.

We visited a park that was an eye-opener. In our travels we'd noticed elderly congregating in parks (or public buildings) during the day, playing cards or MahJong, or dancing or doing exercises. Other than noting it, we'd not paid much attention to the practices. In this park, it was FULL ON Grannie & Grandpa going for it. We now noticed that there were younger people leading each 'event', and the older folk just joined in at will.

At one section, there were a few musicians with a singer and a loudspeaker presenting traditional Maoist type songs. There were songbooks for all who wanted. So large was the crowd that many were reading over shoulders. And, the voracity of singing was amazing. It was if it were the national elderly choir in full bloom.

Elsewhere there were ladies in traditional (minorities) clothes leading minority type dances, with those with an interest (and probably belonging to that minority) engaging in the dance.

Putting this into perspective, in China grandparents look after the grandchildren (while mum & dad work). But, what to do with spare time when there are no grandchildren? Go to the park for active entertainment. And, some went to the park with grandchildren - one would partake while the other supervised the little one/s (in Yunnan, minorities are allowed 2 children).

Leaving KunMing was a nightmare. We thought we'd got the local public bus bit right - but how wrong we were. We got right that we'd leave the hotel and take the bus #5 to the depot. We got right that we had to take bus #170 from the depot. But....!!!! We'd been told to get off bus #170 at the South bus station. We'd been in many bus stations, so we thought we'd know when we got there. Wrong!!!! We travelled to the end of the line (another story in that, below) and the bus driver asked us where we were going. We told him, but we doubt he understood. Younger people (students) got on and he appeared to ask them to 'sort' us out. Eventually one with a smattering of English established our situation and told us to 'stay with me'. As it turned out, she was chatting to her friends when we went past the bus station, and when we got back to the depot, she wrote a note (in Chinese) for us to use to ask directions, and also wised up the bus driver. The driver told us where to get off (half way along bus #170 route), and we were eventually on our way (over the 16 lane freeway to the south bus station). We discovered that bus #170 is an express, and so used by locals as it is quick. But, there are heaps of other (slower) buses that actually terminate at the south bus station. So much for communication in a (very) non-English speaking country.

The lengthy bus #170 trip was not without our 'education'. The bus #170 has been designed to service a satellite city constructed for 3 seperate universities; a Science & Technology Uni, a Medical Uni, and a Humanities Uni. There are loads of high rise being constructed to 'service' the uni's. What got us that each of the 3 Uni's was extremely huge. We'd estimate that each might service around 100,000+ students. While this may be a delayed investment in the local youth, given some of the signs we read we got the feeling it was also to service 'scholarship' students from SE Asian countries (we may be wrong). Given that Yunnan is the poorest province in China, such investment in tomorrow's leadership will certainly put the province in good stead for the future.

On to TongHai

We'd read that the city of TongHai still held many Ming (1368-1640) & Qing (1644-1911) period buildings, and that it was a quaint village. So, we headed there (after finally getting on a bus at KunMing).

Sadly, with the exception of one building in a temple, all the Ming period buildings had long been replaced (in the Qing period). And, most of the Qing period buildings within the town had also been replaced with modern 'look alikes'. That said, we encountered a beautiful Confucious Temple and a Taoist Temple built in the mid to latter part of the Qing period. They were delightful. In one side building of the Taoist Temple, we 'discovered' a tri-level series of buildings housing an enormous number of Bonsai plants (mainly Camellia's, but Spruces, etc. as well). We were the only ones there and the peace & tranquility with the late afternoon sun filtering through overhanging trees was immensely enjoyable.

To one side of the centre of the town (like so many 'old' places we'd encountered) has been refurbished with Qing look-alike buildings. The area has been pedestrianised, and for us, still an enjoyable experience. We doubted that many TongHai residents had seen many westerners as here we were really being stared at. We did our 'party' trick by loudly saying Nee How (hello) to each and every one. It really breaks the ice. Most burst into a wide smile. The local school must also be teaching English, because at school end, as the numbers of schoolchildren milled into the town centre area we got so many Hello! How are you? etc. We responded appropriately, but few could go on. Interestingly, one youngster did, and when her repoitoire ended, she shook our hands with a GoodBye.

There are a lot of Muslims in and around the TongHai area. One 'enclave' of Muslims (about 4000) at XingMeng have remained since Kublai Khan wandered through some 700 years ago. Their current economic 'specialty' is in swords and knives, and so there are countless sword shops (and many Tibetan & Muslim males still wear a sword or knife). The Chinese officials seem to turn a blind eye to the 'custom' - Australian cops just wouldn't cope.

All over China, one can encounter 'roasted' duck hanging in cafe's and restaurants ready for use. We'd not thought much about it till we encountered a 'cooking' shop. In large clay 'ovens' with a bottom opening for firewood and a top opening for 'goods', a fire would be lit in the base, and when the embers were sufficiently 'hot', the cook would placed a tray of water and oil onto the embers. After a little while (to let the steam permeate the clay (we presumed) the cook would place a couple of dozen ducks (with wire through the necks) into the oven. We don't know why, but the cook would take the ducks out after a few minutes (say 5) and repeat the water/oil process. We assumed that there was some 'magic' to the way the ducks were exposed to the steam/heat (so as not to dry out too much). Rudimentary, yes! Time honoured, we think so! But, clearly very traditional.

TongHai is renowned for hot-n-peppery stews served in a copper pot. We 'had a go', and while it was mainly vegetarian, the heavy copper base of the pot kept the contents hot, and the spices gave it an extra special OOOOMPH! Sadly, the beer was at room temperature - Oh, well - at least the meal was great.

The next day we walked to the bus station and travelled to JianShui through extremely steep countryside. One thing that must be 'handed' to the Chinese is their capacity to build freeways through incredibly challenging terrain. This 'drive' was no exception. Along the way, we noticed that the Chinese were building a railway line (actually from KunMing to Vietnam) and noted the way the Chinese 'relate' their engineering ventures to the local population. Here, read, that those affected get compensated (albeit minimally) and the engineers get on with the task without needing to deal with local politics (or influences).

On to Jianshui

Although we'd read that JianShui is a pleasant town (40,000 people) and has some good historical 'attractions', we were unprepared for how nice the place is. We hired a tuk-tuk driver to take us from the bus station to a 'nominated' inner-city hotel (listed in Lonely Planet, but we just wanted to be dropped off in the CBD area). The tuk-tuk driver stopped at a pedestrianised 'mall' type street and indicated she couldn't travel down there. OK by us. We wandered down the 'mall' street and were enamoured by the ambience; relatively cleanliness (for China), and the absence of the typical cacophony of noise. Passing one hotel, the 'owners' came out and invited us in. We thought clearly, trade must be poor, but later learnt we were wrong. The Lin'An Inn Hotel was based on the traditional building style used by wealthy Chinese (pre Maoist takeover). For us, the room offered was luxurious, and (based on the above assumption) we negotiated a good price - all smiles, all round!

While JianShui is the name given by the Maoist gov't (it renamed many, many cities to reflect the ideological sentiments of its rise to power), the town had till then been known as Lin 'An; a name becoming more frequently used.

On our first morning in Lin'An, we 'found' a great noodle shop for breakfast. The size of the bowl was 'ginormous', the flavour really great, much meat and with a great range of the herbs available. For us, the use of MSG in the evening food meant we were often 'dry' in the am. For that reason (but not alone) we found the 'soup' component helped 'set us up' for the day. This also helped make Lin'An 'special' for us.

As Lin 'An, there was a large Confucious community (with a large and regionally very important Temple and education centre for administrative officers). While the Temple complex had fallen into ruin during the latter Qing period, it became a mess during the Maoist administration. In recent decades, the Gov't has had the Temple complex resurrected. Set in many acres, we found it a delightful sojourn for a morning. That said, sadly, there was two important components missing; (1) Confucian monks/priests going about their business, and (2) a complete absence of artistic details on the walls of the temple buildings. Of the latter, internally the buildings had just plain white painted walls. Until the Maoist administration, walls of the wealthy and religious buildings had considerable expressions of Chinese artistry. A huge proportion of these expressions were removed/defaced/painted over during the China's recent lowest point - the infamous 'Cultural Revolution'. An incredible body of artistic and cultural history was obliterated during that 1970's decade of pointless stupidity (and some 30 million citizens slaughtered as well). Given this, we had assumed that because the Gov't had 'invested' in restoration of the Temple complex (and charged plenty for tourist entry) they would have also 'invested' in trying to recreate the artistry on (some) walls. But, then, given that the paintings on the eaves etc., are of Han images - not the Yunnanese images that would have existed - maybe the white internal walls were preferable.

The above was really brought home to us when we visited a nearby village of TuanShan the next day. We learned that during the Ming dynasty, a family named Zhang moved to this area. During the Qing dynasty, the now enlarged extended family became astute traders and very wealthy. They invested in their homes in this village. Since the Maoist administration, the families have remained and so the (then large) beautiful houses remain as they were (except for the ravages of time). The artistry on the buildings - both inside and outside - is awe inspiring. Sadly, the current family members have little respect for the historic antiquity of their dwellings and many have treated them very poorly. We found examples of chickens being kept in what would have originally been formal reception rooms (often the most decorated), etc.

While wandering around, we came across a Taoist / Buddhist Temple. In the rear was a wonderful Taoist temple building, with the figures covered in dust, and firewood being stored in the room. In the front of the complex, in another building, was a Budhist Temple, with a largish Buddha, and other Buddhist deities, all screened by flywire so as to prevent birds roosting. For us, a little judicious care and rejuvination could again bring this wonderful complex alive. Perhaps the most compelling feature about the complex is that it had hardly been touched by the 'Cultural Revolution' idiots; just a few painting in one porchway had been painted over, and some stele's ripped out of a wall (although the latter might have been the result of regional museums looking to refill after the period of 'idiocacy').

In a reminder of the past 'inglories' of Chinese life, we noted most of the very old residents still had the tiny (read - bound, broken and distorted) feet once considered fashionable. After leaving the TuanShan village, we again 'bumped' into them. The French were entering, and they'd left some very expensive machinery for all to view. Unlike Australia, only a few locals expressed interest. After a 'squiz', we returned to Jianshui by tuk-tuk along a road lined with Eucalypts!

When departing KunMing, we noticed a 'cavalcade' of veteran open top cars being driven by some vintage French people. by the signage, it appeared that they were on a self-drive 'tour' of Yunnan.

On our third day in JianShui, we went further afield and visited a large limestone cave complex. The cave complex has a river running through it, and is also home to many thousands of swiftlets. We learnt the complex had long fed the local people with 'bird nest soup', had been 'home' to various religious communities over centuries, and increasingly become a local tourist attraction over the past two centuries. While these activities have certainly changed the entrance area (decidedly for the worse), the inner stalactite/mite area remains wonderfully intact.

We couldn't help feel the Chinese tour groups with the 'leaders' and megaphones spoiled the naturalness of the cave environment. Maybe it has something to do with our Australian psyche. Anyway, we hung back and went walking through the cave (on well laid out paths) on our own. We missed some of the colourful 'fairy' lights, but we preferred our own company. Delightfully, the entry price included a return (ie out) voyage on a real Chinese 'dragon boat' (with motor!).

We'd gone to the cave area on a local bus and anticipated returning to JianShui the same way. As we were waiting for the bus, we were approached by a mini-van driver to go with him for the same cost (as the public bus). We were first in, and while we waited for him to fill the van (usual), we couldn't help chuckle at the antics of some as they saw us inside. There were 2 rows of seats, and we were in the front row - meaning those wanting to enter the rear row had to pass by us. The women would, but the men wouldn't. One man was emphatic he wanted to sit in the front, but that was occupied by a very old woman; no worries, I am a party official and I'm exercising rank! The old woman was unceremoniously 'removed' to make way, and a male who had entered the back seat from the rear upwards opening door and climbing over the seat (so as not to touch by us) now had to also depart to make way for the old lady. As the back row was now filled, this other man refused to sit next to us, so endured the whole half hour journey stuck between the back seats and the back door!!! With one seat still to fill, we waited. A women suddenly appeared, but was reluctant to sit next to Judy. Because the party official had made a fuss, his wife who was in the back decided to make a point and volunteered to sit next to Judy. Now packed to the gills (so to speak) off we went. Within minutes, the party official's wife began 'conversation' with Judy. The two enjoyed a chat via sign language and our trusty little dictionary. Boy, was she out to make a point - and Judy had a great time as well.

Off to the mountains, again

We've decided to head further south (to Vietnam) by wandering back into the mountainous region. This time to the YuanYang region close to the Laos & vietnam border. We've heard that it's great scenery, and worth the effort.

So, till next 'episode'...

Cheers


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ps...


This journey is presented as a 5 part series (saga?).

You can move to the next 'episode' by scrolling back to the top and 'clicking' on NEXT.



Alternatively, link to ...

http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/blog-492775.html

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Photos

DaLi cops 'at work'
Throughout Yunnan, we noticed the local 'beat' police drove around in these electric (golf) cars. They even had sirens to chase crims!

TuanShan - example of Han 'reproduction'
Note the colours used, the motifs, etc. all in Han style. These buildings would have originally been 'presented' in southern Yunnanese style.

TuanShan - original example of Qing architectural style
Compare the (now faded) colours of this 'original' TuanShan building to the Han 'reproduction (above).

TuanShan - a lack of care (and maintenance)
Note the posters stuck over Qing dynasty door paintings (etc.).

TuanShan - example of wood carved doors
All the houses have folding doors (opening the room to the exterior) and many have intricate wood carvings or elaborate painting.

TuanShan - example of ceiling decoration
Many interior ceilings of the Qing (wealthy) houses had elaborate ceiling decorations as well as wall paintings and decorations. Here the 'example' is of the veranda ceiling (and beam decorations). Some room (interior) ceilings are even more elaborate.

TuanShan - Taoist Temple
Note the wall paintings. Han reproductions fail to address this important attribute of Qing culture.