Dali

Dali sits on the plains between the large lake Erhai and the Cangshan Mountains. It is home to the Bai people and was a Kingdom under that name until the 13th century, historically serving as a tea trading route linking China, Burma and Eastern Tibet. Today, the inviting surroundings and reputed comfortable weather, make it a popular backpacker stop in the Yunnan providence.

We spent 5 days here, visiting the Bai village markets, appreciating the westernized comforts of the old town, and saying good-bye our friends made on the intrepid tour. The 3+ weeks with this group was an unanticipated bonus to our time in China. All the shared meals, tour excursions and train/bus rides made for interesting conversations and foray to make new friends all over the world; from Australia to Liverpool to London to Wales to Dublin to Cornwall and even "nearby Toronto".

We intended to spend our additional time in Dali hiking the numerous mountain trails so we headed up to a trekkers' inn overlooking the lake and colorful plots of farmland. After a long, wet chairlift ride up the mountain, we however were greeted by an Inn sunk in clouds & 48 hours of rain. We passed the time reading, watching a few movies, learning & losing games of Chinese Chess (Dion), and with sun breaks the last morning, seeing a few waterfalls and the finally, the view.

Christy walking through town (in her new warm shawl)

Dinner with some of our Intrepid folk
At a bar later that night

Roosters for sale
Or... you could buy them bulk

At the local markets. We followed this woman around all morning trying to get the right picture. She, like so many of the older women, carry all the weight of their groceries on their forehead...amazing.
Man and woman walking home from market

Fields surrounding Dali of green, yellow and soy beans, rice, corn, tobacco, garlic and cabbage.

Not so fun in the rain

The view was even sweeter, after waiting for 2 straight days.

The rain added to the mountain's lushness on our morning hike the last day

Much more pleasant chair lift ride down...

Zhongdian

Zhongdian, recently renamed Shangri-la to boost tourism, is where we spent October 13th. Although the classic literary reference to Shangri-la is of a mountain utopia nestled in the Himalayas, in reality this town lays in the high plains, with rolling hills in the distance...a literal translation of Zhongdian: "Middle of the Grasslands".

With a mere population of 300,000, the majority of whom are Tibetan, Zhongdian's culture is unique in China. The land was once considered part of Tibet, and although the Chinese government has redesignated regions, in many ways it retains that heritage.

We spent an afternoon, with our tour, on a yak farm with a five generation Tibetan family. They proudly served us lunch outside their temporary home of butter tea (butter and yak milk), dense thick "bread" made of barley, then pork fat, noodle soup with greens, and rich, roasted potatoes. Though tough to swallow, the meal illustrated how this family, like all farming families, live off their land- and welcome fat (unlike our culture) to put weight on for the winter.

Neighboring this farm, was a modern multi-story school, called the ETTI: Eastern Tibetan Training Institute. Through Intrepid (our tour company), we visited the school and spent time with the kids. The institute runs 4 month programs for children 15-22 of the region to educate them in tourism and ultimately help them move out of rural poverty. These children were chosen for the school because their parents couldn't afford secondary education, and now are given the opportunity to excel and capitalize from the growing tourism boom in the area. In the 4 months, as their English improves, they learn bookkeeping, tourism and interviewing skills. Half of the small fee we paid ($4 each) on this excursion goes to giving the kids suits for their interviews when they graduate. It was thrilling to meet the wide-eyed kids and feel their optimism for their future.

The streets of Zhongdian

An example of the intricate woodcarvings
Every evening in the main plaza, locals (and visitors who learn fast) dance to jubilant Tibetan music. It was refreshing to see young teenagers alongside their elders, dancing with the same pride.

On the yak farm, where we ate lunch. This is the families' temporary home during this season. We were surprised to see that their formal house, a short walk in the village, was large, ornate and full of elaborate Buddhist wall paintings.

The women of the yak farming family we visited. Interestingly enough, they fit 5 generations in what most American families fit in maybe three generations. Here, the 54 year woman is the mother to a 34 year old, grandmother to an 18 year old and great grandmother to a 10 month old. (Her 80 year old mom was out in the village with friends that afternoon!).

Dion feeding a yak their meal of salt. Christy jumped so high when she felt the yak's sandpaper tongue. It's a feeling not often replicated!

The morning before leaving Dion was able to take a short trip out of town to one of the larger Buddhist monasteries in China outside of Tibet. The monastery, rebuilt in recent years, was destroyed during the brainwashed tirades of Mao's Red Army during the "Cultural Revolution of the 60's early 70's. It is now home to a few hundred practicing monks and provides a momentary glimpse at that dedicated lifestyle.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Located a two hour bus ride North from Lijang is one of the deepest gorges in the world, Tiger Leaping Gorge. The gorge is carved by the Yangtze river between 5000m foothills of the Himalayas. It's sheer shale walls and dramatic scenery pegged it as "one of the 1000 natural places in the world you must visit" in a book we consulted before creating the itinerary for this trip.

We spent two days in the gorge, hiking 1000 meters up & then along a trail that wound through villages and fields along the west hillside above the river. At night we stayed in guesthouses, enjoying some of our favorite fresh Chinese meals and the serenity that comes with arriving in a place that is reached by foot.

Christy and her bamboo walking stick which kept her sure-footed 2500 feet above the river.

Guesthouse our first night
Freshly farmed meal at the guesthouse.

View from a tea stop

A guesthouse that claims the best view from the toilets.

Our group ahead on the trail crossing a waterfall.

Christy's turn across the waterfall.

In the clouds at the highest point, over 8000 feet, of the hike.

Little Christy Big mountains

One of the many farmhouses with a view along the trail

Lijang

Old Lijang is right out of a storybook for a village in ornamental ancient China. A maze of smooth bluestone streets, lined with sturdy timber frame homes & shops that have intricately carved facades of dragons, flowers, and wildlife. At night, the entire Old Town is illuminated with red paper lanterns hanging from store fronts and orange lights strung beneath the overhangs. Clear streams full of orange and white goldfish flow under arched stone bridges and wood planks that serve as the entry to many restaurants. The town looks too picture perfect and in a sense, it is.

Old Lijang, a small section of a city of 3 million, has developed rapidly in the past few years as a result of tourism, and is likely unrecognizable from its former self. UNESCO identified this section of the city as a Heritage site following an earth quake in 1996. While, a large section of the "new" city crumbled during that quake, the majority of "old" Lijang remained unscathed. The old town's structures and intricate water system were originally built by the ethnic minority in the area, the Naxi, and the construction's resilience provided the people and town with deserved recognition . Since that time the old town's significant expansion has been almost entirely dedicated to tourism.

However authentic the "old town" may be, today's version has an unquestionable allure and character that is all its own.

Restaurants & waterways of Old Lijang

Day bike trip along farmlands outside of town

Baisha, a lunchstop Naxi village visited during bike excursion.

Overlooking the old town

The local Lijang Market, several blocks of vegatable, spice, clothing and raw meat...carved dog vendors.

Christy the Giant

Bargaining for Oranges

Old Lijang at night

Chengdu

With a population of 6 million, Chengdu is yet another Chinese metropolis larger then all but a few US cities (NY,LA,Chicago). In China, Chengdu is known for its tea houses, an accompanying lazy atmosphere, spicy Sichuan cuisine, hotpots that boil assorted dishes of meats and vegetables at the table, and as our local guide proudly explained, "independently minded women who aren't the submissive sort quite like the traditional women in the north"
The favored Chengdu tea houses are outdoors, in the parks. We spent an afternoon surrounded by families in paddle boats, local Majhong players and kids fishing for goldfish as we drank green & chrysanthemum tea and played cards. When you picture travel destinations the expectations often, for better and worse, romanticize reality. On this occasion the scene was spot on.

About 15 kilometers outside of the city is one of the most preeminent Panda Breeding Centers in the world. Since the majority of the endangered Giant panda population lives within the forested mountain regions around Chengdu, it is also home to several panda research centers and reserves. The entire wild Giant Panda population is estimated at around 1200, rebounding slightly in recent years. There are around 180 Pandas in captivity, approx. 70 of which, including one of the five Beijing Olympic game mascots, live in the Breeding center we visited near Chengdu.

As herbivores, the cuddly colored Giant Pandas' demeanor is a contrast to that of the black bear, our campsite visitors in Yosemite, and especially to the grizzly which we are more familiar with back home. The keepers move throughout the pens and the pandas sit on paying visitors' laps (fur makes the appear bigger then they actually are) while munching on bamboo. You might actually get away with trying to hug one of these.

Panda are finicky breeders, with the females having a few fertile days each year and the males rarely caring to expend energy on anything other then eating more of an inefficient food source. Interestingly enough, we learned that advancement in the center's artificial insemination methods has been crucial to expanding captive Panda populations.

Walking through a Tibetan Monastery in Chengdu, where we had a delicious multi-course Vegetarian lunch.

The sedentary older Pandas eating bamboo

The 1-2 year old pandas playing king of the ladder

"Cupping": the heating of bowls placed on your back, which is supposed to remove toxins. Follows up a 20 Yuan (3 dollar) hour long massage

The aftermath- round hickeys that lasted about 5 days.

Tea & Cards at the Park

Dion enjoying beers with Andy and Ed, our new Brit and Irish friends from the tour.