Yunnan - a Very Small Part of China
Yunnan is a province in the south west of China bordering Burma, Tibet and Vietnam
We arrived in Kunming roughly 24 hours after leaving Toulouse. We were tired and hot and it was lunch time and we were taken to the first Chinese banquette of our trip. At the time we didn’t realise this was to be the norm twice a day for the next 12 days. Then off to see a temple the architecture was fascinating – it was to be the first of many!
The next day we flew north to Dali (1 night) the home of the minority group called the Bai people. We visited villages and
saw their way of life; it was a real eye opener – the women worked in the fields using nothing more elaborate than a trowel and their bare hands. We saw the famous 3 Pagodas and crossed lake Erhai. Marble working is a local speciality, therefore a shopping opportunity not to be missed – ‘what was the baggage allowance?’
Then it was by coach north to Lijiang (2 nights) the home of the Naxi people. This was a very pretty town, if a bit commercialised, but good for shopping. We visited another temple, several jade shops and attended a concert of traditional Naxi music, performed on traditional instruments.
Then we moved further north again, all the time we were getting higher. By the time we reached Zhongdian (2 nights) our most northerly point, we were 11,000 feet above sea level and it made everything hard work. Here we visited a working Tibetan Monastery and saw the men and boys having their breakfast between morning chants. We also visited a local lake and saw Yaks grazing. Later that night we went to a traditional evening of song and dance and tasted yak meat and ’YUMMY’ yak butter tea!!
Half way through our holiday and it’s time to head south, so all aboard a plane again and head back for Kunming and then on by coach south to Kaiyuan and Jianshui (1 night). – Here the scenery changed dramatically and the Paddy fields started; what an amazing sight. We had time to stop at a Chinese vineyard (end result not as good as the French). After a long day the night was spent in an old family style dwelling (of the Zhu family), with court yards and rooms (bit of a maze) but the rooms all had four poster beds – very romantic!
Next day off we go again, first visiting a Confucius Temple and local villages on the way to Yuanyang (2 nights) where the journey ended with a visit to a village. The villagers were picking bananas. The next day we walked down between the paddy fields to reach a secluded village, a beautiful walk but tiring climb back up. With an hour or so left we visited a tea plantation and factory. The saddest sight we saw was a lady with bound feet, one of very few left, a tradition that no longer is practiced – thank goodness as she could hardly walk.
The next day we visited a market where we saw another very unpleasant sight – that of a dead dog for sale on a market stall. Then it was back on the coach for another long day watching the countryside roll by as we headed back again north to Kunming (1 night) back to the hotel we had spent our first night in.
The next morning was spent seeing some of the sights around Kunming – Collines de l’Ouest; the views were great. Then it was off to the airport again but this time to Hong Kong (1 night) the final leg of the journey. We arrived and the humidity hit us, but we enjoyed the evening looking at the lights on Hong Kong Island and just wandering around.
The last day had arrived and off we went for a sight seeing tour of the island with it’s high rises and empty coves. After lunch we were free to shop, shop, shop, visiting Stanley market and electronic stores, we made it back, riding on the metro and Star ferry and of course spending too much money. Tired and hot we headed back to the hotel for the last time as now it was time to make the long journey home. It was an experience I won’t forget especially the hard working people, their happy faces and costumes, but no matter how good the holiday had been I was ready to come home and hear all about the adventure my kids had been having with their grandparents in the UK.
§§§