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Published: October 7th 2012
Nu Jiang
The famous "first bend of the Nu Jiang River"Day 1
Like any great trip, day 1 is always a day of preparation. This was to be a hiking only trip, so it made it slightly easier to prepare for. This time my inventory included: gas stove, pot and pan, tent, sleeping bag, pad, Gortex boots, clothing for all weather (hot, cold, sun, rain, snow), essential trekking gear (compass, headlamp, firestarter, etc.), Nook, iPod, and a lot of food items. I had instant noodles, canned tuna, peanuts, raisens, dried bananas, peanut butter, snickers bars, energy bars, tea and instant coffee, and moon cakes (for the Mid-Autumn Festival, people traditionally eat moon cake; delicious).
SO, after stuffing everything in my backpack I headed off to the train station. I had an 8-hour sleeper train to Dali that night and slept pretty well. I got a bed and it wasn't too crowded for a Chinese holiday because I left on a Thursday night and beat the traffic out of town. The next morning I arrived in Dali and bought my return ticket back home 8 days later from Lijiang to Kunming. Already, the tickets were sold out so I got stuck with a seat on a sloooow 11 hour train
Fugong
The village in the middle of the Nu Jiang that departed at 7:45am. Mi Bun and I took the same one about 3 months ago, too. Bleh...
Day 2
I took a taxi from the train station to the bus terminal, ate breakfast, and headed west to Liuku about 4 or 5 hours away. I was blessed with the privilige of watching Broken Arrow in Chinese on the bus ride there. For those unfamiliar with the movie, it stars John Travolta and Howie Long (of all damn people) as the villain and lead henchman. Neither sounds too good in Chinese. After arrival in the bigger-than-expected city of Liuku (another one of China's recurring travel themes: all cities are bigger than expected) I met a Chinese journalist from Beijing. We took the next leg of the journey together up north along the Nu Jiang (Nu River) to the town of Fugong. This town (it really is a town this time and NOT a city) is about 80km north of Liuku and about 120km south of Bingzhongluo, my destination. Upon arrival, we got a hotel together in Fugong, ate a really delicious dinner at a restaurant that overlooked the river, and went exploring around.
The Nu Jiang Valley
Mid Autumn Festival
Celebrations by the Nu and Lisu people is home to a mix of minorities including: Nu, Lisu, Drung, and Tibetans. You get a few Burmese wandering around as well. Not too long ago, these people crossed the Nu Jiang via zip line. I've seen videos of it and it looks like quite a thrill! Even the good old botanist Joseph Rock had to use these zip lines to get his equipment and mules across the river about 100 years ago. And, no, not all of the mules made it across. These days, the zip lines have all but disappeared having been replaced by new, safer bridges. This is an unfortunate turn of events for the adventurous traveller, but probably a huge benefit for those that live in the valley.
While in Fugong, we were lucky enough to be there for the Mid Autumn Festival Celebrations. There was quite a show put on by the Lisu people in town. They would dance around, sing, and have a race to climb up these 5 meter high poles supported by team memebers to catch a flag at the top. It was pretty cool stuff! Lots of brilliant colors flashed by on traditional dresses worn by beautiful, dark skinned Lisu
Fugong
The drizzly city and one of its many suspension bridges gals. The guys also had very colorful and interesting attire and played guitars and danced with the girls.
Day 3
More travel on the third day and we shared a minibus with some other Chinese tourists and finally arrived in Bingzhongluo about 5 hours after departure that morning. Bingzhongluo is quite a site. It sits in the middle of the Nu Jiang valley on a shelf above the river. There are 4000 meter peaks above it, the river about 500 meters below as it winds its way down the western edge of Yunnan. There are several sharp bends and curves in the river around the town and it is filled with clouds and fog and criss crossed by narrow suspension bridges that are barely safer than the zip lines that preceeded them.
One of the strangest things about the valley is that, although home to some of the smallest and most secluded minority groups in the country, is dominated religiously by Christianity. About 130 years ago, a bunch of French missionaries made their way up and down the valley spreading the word. Today, churches are in every town and village and the residents are devout Christians. NOT
what THIS traveler was expecting to see on the edge of Yunnan. Still, some of the churches are really beautiful and very well preserved and, of course, very interesting.
Today, I announced to the owner of an outdoor equipment store/tour office/restaurant/guest house that I was planning to do the Bingzhongluo -> Deqin trek on my own. He informed me that this was "crazy" and "stupid" and that two people had died on the trek just this year. I've heard that old song and dance before and its been perfectly safe each time. Regardless, I decided to heed the warnings as this really is a pretty rare trek for foreigners and there is not very much information on it online. I found four Chinese hikers (two men and two women) that were planning to do the hike in a couple of days with a guide and a team of pack mules and that I could join them. Not a bad deal, so we joined forces and made some plans.
Day 4
After a night at a crummy guesthouse just outside of town, I met up with the two guys that were to be my hiking partners for the
trek the following morning. We decided to do a day hike today up north along the river. This included a stop at "White Fog Village", more suspension footbridges, steep cliffs, and beautiful scenery. The Nu Jiang, or "Raging River", definitely lives up to its moniker. It is one of the wildest, if not THE wildest river I've ever seen. Calm waters quickly turn to rapids, rocks, and waterfalls without warning. They are hidden in the many bends in the river and can happen unexpectedly should one be foolish enough to attempt the river in a boat. I did not see a single boat still in use on that river. The ones I did see were wrecks or rusted beyond use.
We walked and walked and missed our turnoff to the town where a driver was to pick us up and drive us back to Bingzhongluo that afternoon. We were on the wrong road: the road to Tibet. Had we continued, we would end up in the high kingdom. Mayyybe next time....
Finally we got to the town where we needed to be and, it being Sunday, arrived just in time for church. The whole village was there: a
congregation of about 100 people, a few dogs, and a goose that happened to wander in. It was interesting to see such a church service. The "priest" was a girl about 25 years old wearing jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. The congregation followed her sermon and she read selected passeges from the Chinese bible. There were hymns and prayers sung in the local language while the farm animals lay on the chapel floor.
After watching the service we drove back together to Bingzhongluo, picked up our gear, the two women, and headed to the next valley to the village of Dimaluo and the head of the trail. We stayed at a simple guest house owned and operated by the guide and made our final plans and preparations. A team of 3 pack mules to carry their gear, one horse to carry one of the women, and one guide were all arranged. I was to carry my gear on my own for I am above pack mules and can carry my own stuff. We went over the trail: about 50km in 3 full 10 hour days (depending on weather), two passes over 4,000 meters, and two camping locations.
We
Day Trek
Part of the steep valleys of the Nu Jiang ate dinner and slept well. Tomorrow was to be a big day.
Day 5
We ate a light breakfast, loaded up the bags, and loaded up the mules, and headed off at 9am (we were already about an hour behind). The trek finally begins! We hiked along the river and after about 3km we turned right and starting heading up... up and up and up. The weather was pretty agreeable for the first day. It was cloudy all day and every day of the trip, but definitely tolerable. We hiked through small, picturesque villages nestled in the sides of the valley. There were pig farmers, cattle herders, horse breeders, but the crop that seemed to produce the highest yield was corn. They had tons of that good, yellow stuff. I wondered where their rice came from... I wondered where everything else came from... The ONLY way to get to these villages was on foot or by horse. I feel no matter where I go, no matter how remote, there will always be satellite television. If the Chinese government does an excellent job of one thing: it is providing electrical power to its citizens. I have yet to see
Pleasant Morning
My hiking companions a house without power (and those damn power LINES that ruin every picture). One of the women on the trip was a amature photographer and told me that power lines were her worst enemy.
Today I met some hilarious goat herders that I had mistaken to be my hiking companions. I saw them from far away and I had to remove my glasses because the clouds, fog, high altitude, and my hot face were fogging them up too much. Instead of experienced hikers I found a group of 5 alcoholics singing and dancing to music that was blasting from a loudspeaker. Although the scenery is absolutely stunning, watching a bunch of goats all day probably isn't the most exciting job in the world. Gotta pass the time somehow. I did a shot or two with these guys and had a nice chat and they set me off in the right direction. Turned out that I had hiked a lot faster than my group and had gotten too far ahead. They caught up and we were back on track. Up and up and up we go. Started the day at about 2,000 meters and finally arrived at the pass at
Catholic Church
Missionaries brought Christianity to this valley over 100 years ago and it stuck. 4,200 meters. For those who haven't done it, 2,200 meters is a lot...
After more hiking we finally arrived in this gorgeous valley where we camped out for the night in a cabin known only to the guide and whoever built it (assuming the guide himself hadn't.) And it rained... All night... And it leaked... And there were worms... They stick on you and suck your blood... eewwwww...
Day 6
Unlike my travel partners, I escaped the night dry and worm free with my blood still inside my veins and not in the belly of some other creature. Yuck! Anyway, I ate a good breakfast of banana chips and peanut butter, raisens, nuts, and an energy bar. Believe me its plenty to get your motor going. I also had a cup of coffee and prepared another one for the road. A good thermos is pretty handy on the trail. Today we were going to our highest, and therefore coldest, part of the trail yet. A hot cup of coffee at the top feels pretty darn good. Thankfully, the rain had ceased before we woke up so it wouldn't be THAT cold; only really really muddy.
Off
Long hair!
One of the minority girls and her long hair that goes past her knees. we go, up we go. Up and up and up. The mountains and valleys played a beautiful game of hide and seek with each other all day as the clouds and fog came and went. It provided some more gorgeous scenery and wonderful photo opportunities. I, once again, got ahead of my group and made it to the 4,500 meter pass first. It was almost an hour before the last member of the group finally arrived. I don't know why I hike so fast; I'm carrying the heaviest pack, too! Slow-pokes! It gave me a good chance to soak up the view as the mountains and rivers continued their disappearing act with me. Visibility ranged from about 1km to less than 2 meters. The clouds REALLY got thick at some points during today's hike.
After the pass we hiked into the third valley which I will call "The Valley of Waterfalls". There were SO many waterfalls in this one. It was fantastic. Literally like walking into a fantasy world where dreams are created and the place where the authors of fairy tales go to get inspiration for their stories.
I slept in my tent tonight instead of the
Aluo's Guest House
Got our bags out and ready to go cabin. My choices were: share a leaky cabin with 7 Chinese people or sleep peacefully and dry in my tent. No brainer. No bloodsuckers either.
It rained all night...
Day 7
The rain again stopped before we woke up. We packed up the gear and did the final leg of our hiking trip. Upon finishing breakfast, the rain started again. It rained all day... You know what happens to the trail when it rains? It gets muddy. Damn muddy. Rivers rise, things don't dry, and it is muuuuuudDY!
On the plus side, our fantasy-like surroundings continued. The rain dripped down from the leaves and pine needles. The wind blew in cold, crisp, super clean air. Moss hung lazily from the tree branches. Fog whisped between the tree trunks and the sound of rain drops, bird calls, and waterfalls filled the air. We hiked on. Down and down and down this time. This is the land of wolves, bears, red pandas, and snub-nosed monkeys. The forest is totally unspoiled and basically untouched by humans. Unfortunately, aside from a few toads and cows, I didn't see much wildlife. With a quieter group I think I will have a
Dimaluo in the Morning
The view from our guesthouse's courtyard better chance next time.
After another long hiking day, we arrived in the gorgeous village of Cizhong along the Lancang River. This river is a big one and changes its name to the more familiar "Mekong" once it leaves China. The village of Cizhong is really pleasant and is home to one of the largest Catholic churches in the province. It really is an unusual place to see a Catholic church I must say. It adds an interesting spin to the already interesting culture of Yunnan province.
We ate dinner and slept in a quiet guest house. Quiet except for a family of excited rats that lived in the ceiling... Yeah... This trek was not for everyone, but I would definitely do it again. The food was great and the old couple that owned the place were friendly and talkative and heavy drinkers. If I may say one OTHER thing about the people in this region; they are heavy drinkers. Maybe the French brought that in along with their missionaries. They make honey wine in this village that is quite tasty. I had the option of buying about 5 liters of it for 50kuai. I debated it, but
Fog...
It comes and goes... passed on the opportunity. I really didn't want to drag 5 liters of wine in a plastic jug around with me back to Kunming.
Day 8
We got up super early, packed our bags and got on the bus to Deqin. Mark and I had been there before on our trip in the spring. It is where the most gorgeous scenery in all of Yunnan province is located: Mei Li Xue Shan, Yu Beng Village, and Mingyong Glacier. I had to pass (I think the weather was too crummy to see anything anyway). A 2 hour bus from Cizhong to Deqin, 6 hours from Deqin to Shangri-La, 3 hours from Shangri-La to Tiger Leaping Gorge. I slept at one of my favorite guest houses that night and chatted with the owners and yet another Israeli special forces guy. They get around...
Day 9
Hiked Tiger Leaping Gorge for the third time, spent the night in Lijiang, and took the train home the next morning. END!
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Fran Solomon
non-member comment
What a hike!
Hi Michael, I was very excited to see you had a blog entry. And I wasn't disappointed in the least. The scenic views are amazing. Your tales, as always, are amusing, interesting and eye opening. I love your positive attitude. I hope you are enjoying school and living in Kunming. Stay well. Love, Miss Fran