Luoping

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News about flooded could still be hear everyday from tv, it became an yearly event in China, and seem like the affected area and duration persisted bigger and longer this year. Luckily it didn't got into my route, the closest area was a village in Guanleng township, where a landslide had kill and injured 100 of people. Most of the rain I had caught was in the afternoon while I had finished my market trip, lucky I guess.
Since the world-cup had been completed. So I could boarded the Yuanyangbound express and forgot about tv again. But still I checked out couple of market on my homeward journey. Huashan and Ahlu market in Luoping county. Huashan was small with only Han, but again...they kept to their costume, dressed similar to any Zhuang or Buyi, front apron with embroidered figure on chest area, baggy trousers with stitching pattern on leg area and wrapped tight by legging, most women still kept small-feet and wore embroidery cotton shoe. Ahlu market was bigger and busier, you could see the same Han there, but there I saw some Yi women, although most only kept a headband for their costume, it was heavily embroidered and laced over with a shell buttons chain. But some women still wore their jacket, same...heavily embroidered from front to back and on both arms.
Luoping hadn't change much, although the town had been expanded but still easy to navigated by foot. I liked the most was the family guesthouse right opposite the bus station inside the small lane, a place boarded only market goer, they heading to different market each day, a in-house kitchen where they cooked and ate together by the end of the day, kind of a family feel. For me...a best place to got information about market places. Plenty of markets, but...not many got dressed minority was what I'd been told.
Looking back the month long journey. for dressed minority hunting was a failure. "you can only see they wear costume during festival time" was the answer all along the trip. I wondered why they border the costume if they didn't really care to put it on in normal day! was it because of the shameness? then why on festival day? who gonna watch them? yeah...yeah...no wondered festival nowaday was just a showcase business, festival not for themselves anymore, it was for outsiders, for tourists, for the officals...for the party!!! so they put on the so call costume on festival time, even added more plastic and fake gold or silver on them, traditional costume or not...just for one day!!!
although I only tour a small part of Guizhou this time, but I could feel the beauty of the land, it wasn't as poor and as undeveloped as it was many years ago. roads was good, surrounding was well covered by green and crops. people were innocenly naive, totally adorable!
I was once praised the "honarable guest" to had stay in their guesthouse just because I was come from Hongkong, and it was right at thr reception sitting area where many other Chinese guests waiting, quite embarrasing indeed. and one I was looking for coke ina small shop, when the woman find out there was none in the fridge, "I am terrible sorry to let you down" she said and she really mean it, again...embarrasing indeed! there were many other occasions like those which I couldn't recall just right now. Guizhou....will find time to see more later.

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