Monday
As we flew
back to Kunming, which wasn’t a very long flight, the scenery was spectacular.
We flew over the Snow Dragon Mountains and the Haba Mountain, both felt so
close; it made you feel like you were on top of the world – again! There was a
blue haze, one that we had experienced several times over the last few days –
that was Shangri La’s mystery for me. I loved it.
I felt quite content; life is so much about the journey and the experiences on that journey and the people you meet on that journey. It was an unforgettable flight. We had left Shangri La at about 6 degrees and when we landed back in Kunming it was a lovely warm 26!
Kunming is the capital of The Yunnan province and is known as “The City of Eternal Spring” because of its pleasant year round climate where flowers bloom all year long. It is the gateway to the celebrated Silk Road, where trade has passed through to Tibet, Sichuan, Myanmar and India for many centuries. Today it is the most popular tourist destination in southwest China.
After lunch, overlooking the Grand View Park, I couldn’t wait to get out exploring. There were so many different lakes, bridges, pavilions and gardens. People were relaxing with their lunch, playing cards, playing with their children, having dancing classes, playing musical instruments and just enjoying the area.
There were so many colourful flowerbeds, so many trees full of blossom and willows trailing into the water – the only thing that spoilt the park was the amount of stalls selling clothes, food and souvenirs. But it was a lovely sunny, warm afternoon – there were just too many people about (which we weren’t used to after the quietness of the last few days!).
When we got back to the hotel, we had some free time and to get ready for our night out! After dinner we went to the theatre to see the “Dynamic Yunnan Show”, which was a musical story of the native people, expressed through dance and song. All of the performers were from local farms, and the show has travelled around the world; one of our group had even seen it in Sydney.
The choreographer Yang Liping performed the Peacock dance, which was truly captivating; you could see every muscle ripple in her body, her arms and her fingers – she really did look like a bird. There was a little girl in the show who took several parts, as well as dressing up as a peacock, and she really stole the show – she was adorable.
Tuesday.
We got up to a beautiful sunny day, heading south for the next part of
our adventure. The scenery was now heavily forested with eucalyptus trees; the
valleys were all full of poly tunnels growing of fruit and there was far more
industry than we had seen - this really was a different China. Late morning we
stopped at a Mongolian village. Though far from Mongolia, Yunnan is a place
where you can still find communities of Mongolians. Some 750 years ago, Kublai
Khan’s army conquered the Dali Kingdom and continued north, fighting against
the Song Dynasty, but some soldiers settled down here. Xingmeng is one of these
Mongolian villages and 95 percent of Yunnan’s Mongolians are living there. They
make their living by farming; they still wear traditional Mongolian costumes,
have their own temples and celebrate the same traditional festivals.
We saw
locals hurrying about doing their work dressed in beautifully coloured clothing
– but they were averse to having their photographs taking. There was a market
selling fruits, meat, clothes, shoes and umbrellas and next to this, we had
lunch at a local hotel. I found it interesting just to sit and watch the world
go by; there were some strange characters. Men smoking pipes that were three
feet long, wizened old people trying to cross the busy roads, and women
hurrying about doing all the hard work – as usual. As we continued our journey
past miles of neat fields, we were getting closer to Vietnam, and occasionally
had to stop at police checkpoints to make sure there weren’t any drug smugglers
on board! 
We arrived at our hotel at Jianshui mid afternoon, we were in the
tropics now and the temperature was really hot and sticky. We went a walk
through the old town to The Confucius Temple, which is one of the grandest in
China. It was built in almost 700 years ago and it has many great halls,
temples, pavilions and decorative archways. It was in a beautiful parkland
setting, with a lake completely covered in water lilies, an arched bridge and huge
ornate gates that were in the shape of temples. It was so serene, there weren’t
too many people there and it was interesting to explore. I just wish I could
have remembered at least one of Confucius’s sayings!
After a while it started thundering in the distance, and is wasn’t long before the heavens opened – we were going to get soaked again! Next we went to the old town, and were given some free time for shopping. That was the last thing I wanted to do; it had stopped raining and I saw a sign for “Mr Zhu’s garden”.
After exploring the gardens, I sat on some comfy seats overlooking the lake with a pot of tea, and it was heaven. Just to be able sit and relax in such a tranquil place was so nice after all the hectic days we had had. I headed back to the restaurant where everyone was meeting up for dinner, and the storm returned. As we walked back to the hotel, the umbrellas had to come back out again. This was the area that was classed as “basic”. It wasn’t bad, the food was fine, the hotels rooms weren’t bad (except for the cat’s chorus outside) – I could cope with this.
Wednesday
The forecast for today was not
good – it was thunder and rain. Breakfast was very basic – melon, bananas,
cake, dry toast, orange cordial and black tea. It was a good job that I still
had a good supply of cereal bars left. The first stop of the day was the old
city well, where people were washing clothes and as well as getting water for
cooking! When you looked over the wall into the water, you could see lots of
koi carp too! How unhygienic!
The water was also used in the local Tofu factory. Then we were back on the bus and were taken to the wonderful 800-year-old Double Dragon Bridge. What a magnificent site it was, an ornate arch spanning a huge expense of water; it had a traditional multi-story watchtower in the centre and gatehouses at both sides. It cast a marvellous reflection on the water below, but depending which side of the bridge you stood– the water looked a different colour. The banks of the river were so colourful, with canna lilies, bougainvilleas, salvias, roses, primulas and many others.
We continued on our journey stopping at Mr Zhang’s garden, which was more of an ethnic village than a garden. It was over two hundred years old and you could easily have got lost in the maze of alleyways. There wasn’t much of a garden – I was glad that I had found Mr Zhu’s garden the previous evening. It wasn’t very touristy; there were hardly any people about at all, just the local people going about their daily life. Women were sitting making embroidered items to sell; others were carrying baskets balancing on their shoulders or on their backs. What a hard life these women have. It was really hot now; we needed the umbrellas as a sunshade! After our lunch stop, George announced that the weather tomorrow was going to be awful, so we should try to get to see the Tiger Mouth Terraces today. The countryside began to change; there were many terraces now, with houses dotted on the hillsides, the forests became wholly bamboo and pampas grass grew everywhere. It was so very dense that it made you think that anything could be living in those forests. The last hour before we reached the Tiger Mouth Terraces was so colourful, I couldn’t believe that there could be so many different shades of green, and the sun made parts look yellow and golden.
The Hani people came
to this area 2500 hundred years ago and began cultivating the terraced rice
paddies. In the Ming Dynasty the Emperor granted them the title of “The
Skillful Sculpture”. The Terraces cover an area of 1000 square kilometres and
they are very steep on the mountainsides. I couldn’t wait to get off the bus,
but when we reached our destination the weather changed. It became dark and
dull and the view below was nothing like what we had seen from the coach the
last hour. But apparently the weather changes really quickly here, you can have
four seasons in one day! 
So I decided to walk down to the lower viewing platform – quite a way down the mountain. I hadn’t done my thousand steps today, so it would do me good!!! But as I reached the bottom, the thunder started and so did the torrential rain. It was like a monsoon, a waterfall coming down the path and I got absolutely drenched. Apparently the authorities had closed the path down after me because they knew a storm was coming. By the time I got back on the bus I was the wettest I have ever been. Luckily I had some spare clothes in my bag, so I got changed at the back of the bus; then just as we were all settled back on the bus – THE SUN CAME OUT.
George said this is
what we had come to see, so we all headed back to the viewpoint to see the
terraces which did look a million times better now that they were full of water
and the sun was glistening off them. The mountains in the distance were a hazy
blue colour, and steam was rising from the water below. George said that this
place was “his Shangri La” – he loved it here. When I first saw Wild China on
TV eight years ago, I was in awe of this place, but now there was building work
everywhere. The farmers were now protected and subsidised by the government,
they were all having new houses built and it made me glad that I had come now –
because this part of China isn’t going to be wild for much longer. By the time
we reached our hotel in Yuanyang it was still raining and thick in fog. We quickly
got changed and went down for dinner, and then had to try and dry our clothes
and shoes; hoping that they would be dry enough to wear by morning. It never
stopped raining all night; fingers crossed that tomorrow would be better.
Thursday
I opened the curtain to thick fog
– not a good start. We went a short walk around the Hani town of Yuanyan. Despite the
overwhelming beauty of its landscape and colourful local minorities, mass
tourism has not developed in this region yet, mainly due to its remote location,
lack of a nearby airport, and until fairly recent, relative inaccessibility due
to bad road conditions. The town was bustling with people going to and from the
local food market; as well as fruit and vegetables, there were chickens,
carcases of meat, fish and even snakes being sold. We headed back to the coach
and were off to see more of the rice terraces – hoping the weather would clear.
We drove through thick rain forest, with ladies that were herding yaks along
the road as well as doing more heavy labouring on all of the new houses being
built. It felt like every minority group made their women work so hard. The new
houses were made of wood and earth,
mushroom shaped and had a sort of thatched roof; if the roof was flat it was a
farmer’s house because he used that area to dry his crops, but if the roof was
pitched, that person had given up farming and was probably involved with local
government or tourism. By the time we reached the first viewpoint, the rain had
stopped and the mist was clearing. Last night’s rain had certainly added
something special to the terraces below – they shone! There were people
planting rice, one man used a boat to carry the new plants – another was using
a water buffalo. It was wonderful to see these fields still being used and not
just for show. This did feel like the real China, the old China, the Wild
China.
After lunch in a local Hani village, we stopped at another viewpoint called Bada, where we had to walk through the jungle listening to the cicadas to reach the best view. The area was surrounded by palm trees and banana plants, hundreds of lovely flowers and birds were singing all around. The sun was out and it was a delightful stop. The last stop of the afternoon was a wander through Qingkou, another Hani village; but this one was far nicer than all of the others we had seen. The people there are given money from the government to encourage them to accept tourism and it means a better quality of life for them. Their houses were simple enough, but they had televisions and other modern appliances too. The houses were kept in the same style that they had been for hundreds of years and the women wore traditional navy blue clothes and head dresses. We saw very few other toursists today at all and I think that made the day even more special – I could see why George said this was his Shangri la. We had a few hours free before dinner, so I wandered about and found a supermarket where I managed to stock up with a few goodies for tomorrows long journey.
Friday
We
didn’t have to leave too early and no one was too enthusiastic – it was
torrential rain outside. George kept us all well occupied for hours with
history lessons about the different Dynasties, and lessons in how to cook
certain Chinese foods. Dark brown water was flowing in torrents down the
mountainsides, you could see how landslides could easily happen, sweeping the
feeble houses away. We stopped at a huge Mosque (many Persians came over with
Genghis Khan years ago) and had lunch at a Muslim restaurant. As we continued
on, the land began to flatten out, the mountains faded into the distance and
the rain eventually stopped; there were so many lovely flowers out – this
really had been the best time to visit. It wasn’t long before the landscape
changed again, it started to get stoney and rocky. These weren’t boulders, they
were tall standing, dark grey granite type rocks – we were getting close to our
last adventure. When we arrived at the hotel close to the Stone Forest, I had
to get some fresh air – it had been a long day sitting down on the coach. There
wasn’t much to see nearby, but it was nice to see ladies sitting at their
sewing machines making all of the bags and cushion covers that we had been
seeing - everything was beautifully made and very reasonably priced.
Saturday
We
didn’t have a particularly early start as the hotel was very close to the Stone
Forest, so I had a shower, repacked for what seemed like the hundredth time,
and had time to reflect on the trip. I had seen some incredible places, even
more than I was expecting. I had survived the altitude, coped with the
thousands of steps, the communal toilets and everything that was “basic”. The
food hadn’t been too bad, every mealtime there was always at least one or two
dishes that you could eat; I had got quite used to green tea, as well as black
tea with no milk. The beds were always very hard, at every hotel, but I didn’t
mind that at all – my back had been brilliant all holiday. The bed linen was
always beautifully clean, unlike the carpets - I don’t think people in China
use vacuum cleaners. The itinerary had said that you should only book this trip
if you were the sort of person who has a sense of humour, a sense of adventure
and patience in every respect. I had nothing to complain about, it had been a
real adventure right from the start and as I embarked on my last day – I did
feel rather sad. It was such a friendly group – I counted myself so very lucky
to have been travelling with such wonderful people. We headed off to the Stone
Forest in the rain, but someone must have been shining down on us, because
within five minutes it had stopped.
The Stone Forest has been known as the First
Wonder of The World since 1368; and is one of the most important attractions in
Yunnan. Approximately 270 million years ago the region was a vast expanse of
sea and when the waters retreated, it left this limestone landscape. Due to
constant erosion, this area has developed into what we see today – “sculptures
engraved by nature”. There are stones in various formations, animals, plants
and even life-like figures. We walked
through the first park that was full of spring flowers, trickling streams,
lakes with koi and immaculately cut grass and trees.
The first “Important”
place we stopped at was a Chinese symbol carved on a rock, and it was highly
significant to the Chinese people. Hundreds of people dressed up in red
costumes to have their photograph taken in front of it – this area was far too
busy for me. I was glad when we moved on to a quieter area. We walked up to a
pavilion where were could get a good view, and continued walking through
different areas of the forest, and we even had a buggy ride through some of it
– to save our legs! There was a very picturesque lake, with the bridge, a
pavilion and reflections of the immense stones. We saw such strange holes in
rocks, caves, and bamboo and yuccas actually growing out of some rocks. I had
never expected to take so many photographs of this place, but once there, you
were really captured by the unusualness of it all. On the way out, I saw one
rock that could have been an elephant – it was even the right colour. On the
way back to Kunming, George gave us a resume of the trip - we had done so much.
Without looking at my notes, I wouldn’t have had a clue what day it was, where,
or what I had been doing. It had certainly been an incredible adventure, and
for me, one of the most important things about this journey was the people I
had met and who had become my friends. We arrived back at the same hotel in
Kunming, and had a few free hours before dinner, so I went off exploring –
seeing as I hadn’t been out on the two previous occasions. I found a massive
shopping complex, and couldn’t resist a bargain or six! We had our final dinner
in a posh Chinese restaurant and had all the normal dishes plus “Over the
Bridge Noodles” that are a speciality to Kunming - and a few bottles of wine.
After dinner we sat in the bar having a laugh for a few hours, George joined us
for a while, he was so emotional when it was time to say goodbye. We were all
in tears when he left. It had been a long trip; we were all worn out, but sad
to be leaving everyone.
From getting up
that next morning, it was almost 50 hours before I got back in my own bed. But
it was worth it, nothing is easy in this life; and if you want to experience
the incredible, the fabulous, the amazing – you have to challenge yourself. The
reward will be worth it in the end.
My reward this time was seeing Wild China before it is tamed!
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