The first thing we did was set out to explore and eat lunch. I ate at small food vendors as I walked through the streets. Because people are vacationing for New Year’s vacation, Kunming was very busy with markets and vendors everywhere. I walked around the Muslim district where there were many mosques and small eating places with interesting food. Yunnan is very interesting because it has many Chinese minorities residing within its borders. Every city that we are visiting is specific to a certain minority group, so we will be learning a lot about each group at their customs. For instance, in Lijiang we will get to see a traditional Naxi music concert. The Naxi minority is one of the most well known ethnic groups in China. In Kunming, they also have a specific bird and flower market, which was full of animals and plants as well as other wares. We decided to head back a little before dinner to nap and get ready. At dinner we got to meet the 9 students from Beijing that are studying through the same program in Beijing. We will all be traveling together for the duration of the trip, and both of our resident directors have planned full days for us the entire time. We had a Chinese meal in a restaurant that looked like it was straight out of a Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon scene. The architecture was designed in older Chinese fashion, and I could picture a sword scene happening in the midst of our meal. We would have had front row seats. After dinner, we went to the supermarket to buy snacks for the bus rides we would have the next two days, and then had orientation to go over our itinerary. Our itinerary is very extensive, and most of our days are fully booked, and even our free time is usually scheduled until dinnertime. After the orientation, I went out and explored more of Kunming at night. It is a very small city, and it combines traditional Chinese aspects with very westernized buildings such as huge supermarkets (Carrefour) and malls. Earlier that day I had purchased DVDs of movies that are theaters now, and before I went to bed I watched part of the new Confucius movie.
Day 2: We woke up at 8 and left Kunming for Dali. The bus ride took around 5 hours, and most of us caught up on sleep and then learned a little about Dali history, and the Bai Minority group that is prominent there. When we arrived we went to a little village restaurant to have Chinese food, which in this region is a lot less sweet and oily, and has more dairy in it. Directly after lunch, we went to Lake Erhai and boated to a peninsula on the other side. There we saw Buddhist temples and took part in a traditional Bai tea ceremony. During the ceremony, we tried three types of tea: bitter, sweet, and spicy, and then heard a short singing performance. We learned about the headdresses the Bai women wear, and how different characteristics display a woman’s marital status. Single women have whiter coloring on their headpieces, which is call “snow.” Later that day, we saw many women wearing these, and joked that our guy friends could only flirt with the women wearing “snow.” We had to head back fairly quickly, because the wind was picking up and our boat ride over was already less than pleasant. Our hotel was a beautiful building done in older Chinese architecture overlooking a central garden, and it was peacefully tucked away behind a long market street. A large part of Dali is walled off so that no cars can drive through the market streets. We walked through the South gate to see all of the vendors and temples throughout the city. There was a street called ‘Foreigner’s Street” with many western restaurants and bars. We ate dinner at a restaurant with every food imaginable, and later I was looking through my China travel book and found that it was one of the two recommended restaurants in Dali, so we did a good job of happening upon that restaurant. We walked around a little more at night, but then it started raining, so we went back to the hotel to get a good night’s sleep before our bus ride to Lijiang the next day.
Day 3: We woke up early in Dali to leave for a four-hour bus ride to Lijiang. The night before ten students had become seriously ill, so we all thought it had been food poisoning from lunch the day before, because it was the only common meal we shared. We made more stops along the way to Lijiang to accommodate the sick students, so we arrived later, which was fine because we did not have much planned to do that day. When we arrived, most of us rested, and then explored the part of town we were staying in. We stayed in “Old Town,” which reminded me of Venice, because there were no roads, tiny walking streets, and canals, although the canals were too small for boats. I went to a small café that looked out over the streets and read there awhile. Later, our group went to a traditional Naxi music concert. Having previewed this type of music prior to the concert, I knew I was not going to particularly enjoy it, but it was more impressive live. The orchestra including around 10 men over the age of 80 and each was recognized during the performance. In between each music piece there were long explanations of the history of Naxi music said in both Mandarin and English. The video below is a short sample of what the performance was like. I went back to the hotel afterwards, because the next day we had to wake up at 6am to go to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, where we would ascend to the 14,000ft viewing point.
Day 4: Today we woke up at 5:45am to go to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. We got to the mountain around 7 and rented extra coats, because it was very cold. All of us looked extremely cute in our huge red parkas, but we were grateful when we got to the top of the mountain. To get to the top, we rode cable cars for 20 minutes. These were not ideal for those afraid of heights, because they went very vertically at many points, and obviously you could see all 14,000ft below you. Once we got to the top, it was pretty difficult to breath. Most of the Chinese tourists bought personal cans of oxygen, and our group had some if we needed to use it. There was a ton of snow that had freshly fallen from the day before, and it was a beautiful clear day, so we could see everything below us. We walked around a little before heading back down the cable car to the lodge. The day was so sunny, and the temperature was a lot warmer, so we ate lunch outside and took naps. At 2 we went to the Lijiang Impression Show. This show is a cultural demonstration of the traditions and lifestyles of the Naxi, Yi, and Bai minorities of Yunnan. It uses the snow mountain as a backdrop and has a cast of over 500 people and many horses. Zhang Yimou, who also directed the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, directed it and I found it very interesting. After the show, we all went back to the hotel, and I rested for a little before going to a exploring a little and going to a café. Henry and I met up with Sophie and her friends from Beijing for dinner that night and we went to a Swiss restaurant that was recommended in my travel book that had traditional food as well as western food. We had a good meal, however, the power went out in the middle and so it became a little more romantic with candles as our only lighting. We went and got dessert and talked a little longer before we parted ways.
Day 5: Unfortunately this morning I woke up at 4:30am feeling very ill and got sick multiple times. Our director told me other people had been sick as well even after the original few, so we began to think it was a flu or virus going around. I was pretty much out of commission today, and luckily we only had a short bus ride to the next town, so I slept the rest of the day. We had to fly out of Lijiang at 10pm, so we got to the airport, and even though I was feeling better, I hadn’t eaten anything that day, so I was taking it very easy. However, as we were boarding I made one last bathroom trip, and before I knew it, I had fainted! Luckily I told my director my plans to use the restroom before boarding, so she came to look for me, but when I woke up, I was very disoriented and sure I had missed the plane. The flight was short and I slept through it, and as soon as I got to the hotel I fell asleep.
Day 6: This morning I felt 95% better, but decided to stick around the city instead of doing the day’s activity in the extremely warm weather. We had arrived in Xishuangbanna, which is known as China’s mini-Thailand because it is one of the southern most cities in China, so even in February the temperature was in the 80’s. I walked around and saw some of the parks and enjoyed the sunshine. I sat down at a café that was recommended in my China travel book and had some of the best food I had eaten on my vacation. They had western, Chinese, and Dai minority food, and it seemed that the crowd was mixed enough to represent all of those cuisines. I sat and read my book for a bit, and decided I would come back later to use wireless internet. I returned to my room and took a nap while I waited for everyone to return from the village they had gone to. I really wanted to go with them today, because they were hiking and boating to a village, and then eating with a host family, and playing basketball against the local villagers, but taking it easy turned out to hasten my recovery, so I can be thankful for that! I brought friends back to the café I found for a pre-dinner snack, and then later we went for Thai food. When they say that Xishuangbanna is mini-Thailand they weren’t lying. The food was spicier and more authentic than any Thai food I have had in the states. Because my stomach was still recovering, I could only stand so much of the spicy food, but it was very tasty. I went to bed early, so I could get up and be part of the group’s adventures the next day.
Day 7: Today I woke up feeling amazing. My director was worried that I still shouldn’t participate, but I had been looking forward to hiking and biking in the rainforest the whole day prior. We started early and bused to the trailhead after breakfast. The first part of the hike was about two hours long throughout the tropical mountain, and then we stopped at an Aini Minority Village for a tea break. In this village they have a tea plantation that makes tea from an 800-year-old tree, and they served us in bamboo shoot glasses that they then gifted to us. The next part of our hike was for another hour until we reached a spot for lunch. Here our tour staff, who brought us lunch, met us and we sat in the mountain and ate while we rested. Throughout the hike we saw so many rice paddies and beautiful forests, and after lunch we finished the last part of the hike to the other side of the mountain. Once we reached the road, we had the option of taking the bus back to the hotel or biking down the mountain to another bus waiting at the bottom. Most of us opted for the biking option, and everyone who did was very pleased. It was one of my favorite things I have done since I’ve been in China. We biked 8 miles mostly downhill admiring the rainforest, waterfalls, and rice paddies along the way. The weather was warm, and it was the perfect way to end our day. We got back to the hotel and everyone had to shower before dinner. Dinner was at a traditional Dai restaurant complete with Dai traditional dances and dishes. In true Chinese fashion the performance was so loud that we couldn’t even talk amongst ourselves at dinner. After dinner we went back to our favorite Meimei café to get dessert and enjoy sitting outside in the warm night air. Tomorrow we will go back to Kunming for two last days before heading back to Shanghai.
Day 8: We woke up early today and checked out of our hotel in Xishuangbanna. Our flight for Kunming left at 10:30am and we had a very turbulent 40-minute flight. Once we arrived, we went straight to lunch, which included another performance, however, they haven’t been particularly entertaining. After lunch, we went to a teahouse, where we tried 5 different types of teas and learned about their medicinal values. A lot of people bought tea as gifts, and then we left to check into our hotel. We stayed in the same hotel as our first night in Kunming, so we new what we could find in the surrounding area. We decided to explore the Green Lake area around Yunnan University. It’s a beautiful lake in the middle of the city where people fly kites, ride boats, and picnic in the park. I’ve never seen the Chinese art of kite flying. Some flyers can get the kite so high into the sky that you can barely see it floating in the far distance. I found a café that was recommended in my book and enjoyed some tasty western food and coffee. There are a lot of American students in Kunming, and I met a few at the Salvador Café I was at. I caught up with friends from home, and researched for my spring break trip to Beijing. Later that night I watched Sherlock Holmes thanks to the China DVD black market!
Day 9: Today is our last day. We got to sleep in, but I woke up early to explore more around Yunnan University. We visited many little shops and cafes, and finally sat down for brunch. I met a fellow Southern California resident, and we talked a bit about our intentions in China, and it was nice to meet other Americans in such a random place as Kunming. The University really draws a lot of nationalities to the smaller town of Kunming. Our group met up for one last dinner before the Beijing group and Shanghai group parted ways at the airport. We had a great meal and celebrated two birthdays with Chinese birthday cake. We headed to the airport and hopped on our two and a half hour flight back to Shanghai, and now I’m home and happy to see my pillow and teddy bear right where I left them. I will miss the weather in Yunnan province, as it is currently raining and thundering in Shanghai! I had a wonderful vacation, and a very authentic experience in every city. It was great to have the addition of the Beijing group, and the trip was so well organized that we got to see so much in a short period of time. Now back to a busy fun-filled weekend in Shanghai to celebrate the end of a great Spring break!
Chinese Word of the Day: 云南 (Yunnan, literally means 'South of the Clouds')
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