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Published: December 15th 2011
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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 check the balance! well...throw it back to the "thing happen for a reason" theory, perhaps that was the real reason why the sabotaging of my travel! I think I need to find a way to make my traveling life sustainable, beside some casual guiding job and I want to experimental a new form of tour, since I travel mostly for market and festival, perhaps people
would like to tag-along and join me for a small fee, will see how it work out.
Since my left hand still couldn't handle my camera, so I borrowed a small compact digital from a friend then I am good to make my trip. I knew it gonna be a slow bus ride so I departed yesterday, 9:30 bus to Jianshui through the old road from Nansha, it'd been awhile that I travel on this road, now that the dam had been completed and most of the road had been repaved, the journey was a bit comfortable. the river-lake that had been created after the dam has become a area for mass production of fish and shrimp, no wondered you could see fish for sell everyday in the local market. Changed bus in Jianshui and carry on to Tonghai with many more stop and wait stop and wait and finally arrived there by 6pm. luckily I was in no hurry, otherwise I was sure of heart attack!
The village of Xingmeng is about 11km from Tonghai town, frequency public bus run on that road. Xingmeng is the only township that lived the Mongolian in Yunnan, there are about 5000 Mongolian
in the area. they were the descendant of the troop came down here with Kublai Khan in the year 1253. Their ancestor stay behind by the Jiluhu lake near Tonghai, First they transformed themselve from Nomad into fishermen, then until today they became farmer, an interesting evolution! Nadamo is a traditional festival in Mongolia, happen mostly in June during summer season. and most of the images you could vision are grassland and racing horses, but here in Xingmeng you are surrounded by green vegetable paddy. but Nadamo mean game or funfair, so...as long as its making fun, it could be in any form they want it I guess. The 3 days event offered music and dance show with Mongolian favour, some of the performers actually came from Mongolia. A singing contest dedicated to Mongolian song, completion game like wrestling, tug-of-war and yes...yes knew it...basketball! A trade fair and street market, there also bon-fire gathering each night, the best was....free meal everyday!!!!! The whole festival started with a ceremony by offereing to their 3 main ancestors(the 3 Mongolian hero, Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan and Möngke Khan ) in the temple on the first day, It wasn't anything near great about this
Nadamo in Xingmeng, just like a Chinese man I met there said,"whenever a festival took part by government, then it lost the favour"! he was here 3 year ago and said it was better as they kept some local activities that happened more on the street inside the village and more local could participated, and they canceled it this year. Anyways... for me...a day out and see another costume that I hadn't noticed before. I was totally satisfied. Although they didn't speak the Mongol language here, but they do keep the costume(hope it is really original), a long sleeve shirt with colour zebra stripes on sleeve, an inch up-turn collar where the only area with embroidery work on, a sleeveless vest open in the middle with decorated knots on one side, and row of silver plaque on the other side. young women wear their hair with 2 pigtail cross over on forehead, married women wrapped with turban, and old women wore a tower like headdress(in the old day).
note
bus Yuanyang to Jianshui 40 yuan
bus Jianshui to Tonghai 21 yuan
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