Sunday September 5, 2004

We departed home this morning at about 8:30 AM using a rental car that we had obtained from Hertz in Stockton the previous day.  Getting ready this morning had been simple and the drive to SFO took only about 1-1/2 hours.  We arrived at SFO about 10:30 AM and were at the Air China check-in counter shortly thereafter. Already, there were about 20 people lined up ahead of us. Check-in started at 11:15 AM and it proceeded quite quickly. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the usual double seats in back of the Boeing 747. This model didn't have them so we were stuck in three abreast seats with Jacquie at the window and me in the middle.  

We went through Security and then found a restaurant where we ordered a draft beer and had a sandwich from home. The flight left on time about 2:30 PM with arrival in Beijing scheduled for about 5:20 PM, about 2:20 AM San Francisco time.  Our seatmate turned out to be a woman from Santa Cruz who had traveled and lived in China. She was on her way to visit friends in Shanghai.  Other that us, there were few Caucasians on the flight with most of the passengers being Chinese-American citizens or Chinese returning from visits in the USA.

Lunch was served shortly following take off. It was Chinese-style and not very good.  This was followed by two "average" movies that didn't different greatly in subject.  Next was dinner that again, was only marginally appetizing.  Chinese wine was available but was not very good and portions were only about 2 ounces in volume. No other alcoholic beverages were served throughout the flight but there were plenty of soft drinks, juice and water throughout the flight.  I tried to nap following dinner but had little success. As usual, Jacquie "zonked out" and had a good nap.  The plane made good progress and we stayed on schedule throughout the flight.

Monday, September 6, 2004

We crossed the International Date Line sometime around 10:00 PM San Francisco time. This jumped us ahead by one calendar day so our arrival in China would be in the late afternoon on Monday, September 6. About 45 min. from Beijing, the plane suddenly banked and changed from its southerly direction toward the east.  We soon landed right on time but in Dalien and not in Beijing!  After setting there for several minutes, the Captain announced that there were severe thunderstorms in the Beijing area and we would be held on the ground in Dalien until it was safe to proceed to Beijing.  We sat there for about two hours before the plane could depart and it then was a 1-hour flight to Beijing. Clearing Immigration and Customs in Beijing was a perfunctory matter, a far cry from our previous trips in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  Our bags came off among the first from our flight.

By now, our flight to Shanghai had long departed so we hurried to the Air China passenger service counter to arrange an alternative connection.  Because our bags were off the plane early, we got there before the rush of passengers from our flight.  We were re-ticketed on a flight to Shanghai the following morning and then were directed to see a supervisor who approved an overnight hotel accommodation and directed us to a waiting bus that would take us into town. We sat on the bus for over an hour while more passengers slowly drifted on board. The longer we sat there, the more agitated several passengers became and a big argument broke out between them and the bus "starter." Finally, the passengers prevailed and the bus departed for downtown Beijing. In all of the confusion over retrieving our luggage and getting re-ticketed, I lost my hat that I had brought from home as sun protection for the trip. Fortunately, I had a back-up cap in my luggage.

The drive to the hotel in Beijing took about 25 minutes. It was dark so we couldn't see much but the lights around the airport and new construction along the way told us that things were very different from our last visit in 1986.  We arrived at the Yang Hotel about 10:45 PM. Check-in was simple since the hotel had been forewarned about our arrival and had rooms already assigned.  We had to trade our airline tickets for our room key with assurances the tickets would be returned at checkout.

There was a bit of confusion about what time we would be departing for the airport. We eventually received a call from the airline telling us to be in the lobby ready to depart at 6:00 AM. A wake-up call would come at 5:15 AM. So, it would be a short night. We found the hotel business center and called Yvette to let her know when we are scheduled into Shanghai. Our flight departs Beijing at 7:45 AM and should arrive in Shanghai about 2 hours later. Yvette confirmed that Mr. Gu, her driver, would be there to meet us and drive us to our hotel.   We next went downstairs and shared a club sandwich and a couple of Tsingtao beers in the coffee shop. Then, there were showers to take. By the time we went to bed it was after 1:00 AM in Beijing so it would be a short night. By then, it was 10:15 AM in California and we had been up for about 27+ hours!

Tuesday, September 7, 2004

The alarm went off promptly at 5:00 AM.  However, I had been up for about ten minutes and was doing my exercises.  We quickly dressed and Jacquie ate a trail mix bar that we carried for emergencies when no breakfast would be available. While getting dressed, we had opportunity to view the city from our hotel window.  It was very different from the Beijing of 1978 & 1981.  There are now many tall modern-looking buildings; some of them 30 to 50 stories high.  We unfortunately could not see the Forbidden City Area and Tiananmen Square but were able to recognize the park like area that is the location of the former Dao Yutai (check spelling) Guesthouse where we stayed in 1986.  In general, it appeared as if many small parks and greenbelts had been developed and trees grew along many of the streets. Although we would have liked to spend more time surveying the scene, we quickly packed our things and made it to the lobby by 5:50 AM. We checked out, retrieved our airline tickets and boarded the bus by 6:00AM.

The bus departed at 6:15 AM driving through streets where people were just beginning to stir and set out on their daily activities.  One point of contrast for us was the many automobiles that were out on the streets even at this early hour. On our last visits, there were almost no personal autos and the Russian-vintage taxis and a few small trucks were about the only motor transport seen.  A few people were out and about on their bicycles this morning, although not in the hordes one formerly saw.   Only a few people were out on the sidewalk exercising.  People appeared to generally be better dressed although many of the old sights were still there.  At a construction site, a crew of workers gathered around a small fire fixing their breakfast after having spent the night in small tents on the site. They were equipped only with the usual wheelbarrows and shovels. No motorized equipment was visible.  There also were people out sweeping the sidewalks and streets with the long brooms made of reeds or fine branches.  One thing we did notice was that the small parks and plantings along the street were nicely tended. This was in sharp contrast to 20 plus years earlier when such areas were by and large neglected and overgrown with weeds.

Once at the airport, we checked in and went to the posted departure gate.  We were hustled by a man shortly after we entered the terminal. He took command of our luggage and persisted with us until we had completed check-in. I must admit that he was helpful. But at the end, he asked for a 100 Yuan.  I declined since we had no up front agreement and his request corresponded to about $12.00. I finally ended up giving his about 20 ¥, about $2.50, and walked away with him now asking for dollars.  People of this type hang around the airports in Beijing and Shanghai looking for whatever income opportunities they can generate. It's a reflection of the fact that many people in China are either under employed or unemployed and are hustling a living as best they can.  They are especially prevalent in Beijing were young people offer their services to assist you through the crowds and to cope with the uncertainty of getting to the correct check-in line.  You have a certain degree of empathy to their plight but soon realize that you cannot help all of them and have to refuse most.  You quickly learn to turn a deaf ear to their offers in order to avoid being mobbed. During our China travel, we usually had a local guide or other pick-up service waiting and/or to assist us with check-in.

Once we were checked in for our flight, we went to the boarding gate. It only was a bit after 6:30 AM and we had a long wait for our flight. To our dismay, there was little in the area that amounted to food service.  So, we settled down to wait. I contented myself with a few bites of reindeer jerky that we had bought on our June trip to Alaska and which still was lurking in my backpack. Jacquie  "coasted" on the sustenance provided by the trail mix bar she had taken earlier.   On our way into the airport, we had looked for the old terminal where we arrived in 1986. It was almost impossible to identify since the present-day terminal and all of the associated construction now dwarf it.  The present terminal is very modern spacious and provided a comfortable venue for watching the coming and going of passengers as their flights were called.

Our flight departed on time at about 7:47 AM.  Once we were airborne, we were served a Chinese breakfast.  It consisted of a small dish of chicken or turkey topped with pickled vegetables, a sesame-flavored bun and an entrée of taro and red beans that was almost devoid of seasonings and virtually tasteless.  I topped this latter dish with some pickled vegetable from a small foil packet.  A small chocolate cake rounded out the meal.  The whole meal was flat and relatively tasteless.   From now on, I vowed to eat Western breakfasts when available. I later learned that this noble objective usually could not be accomplished.

We arrived in Shanghai after a flight of about 1 hour, 40 minutes.  We had a long walk to the baggage claim area. Baggage from our flight was just starting to appear by the time we arrived.  Our baggage came off quickly and we were out of the restricted area within about 20-30 minutes.   There were many people in the terminal lobby. Most were "greeters" were looking for arriving passengers. There also were people soliciting arriving passengers to assist with luggage and transport to hotels and other destinations. Yvette had promised that her driver, Mr. Gu, would be there to meet us. But when we looked for someone holding a sign with our name, there was no one around.  We waited for about 15 minutes and then Jacquie went to a local tourism counter where someone helped her phone Yvette.  Yvette got Mr. Gu on the cell phone and determined that he was indeed at the airport but in the adjacent terminal building.  He would join us in just a few minutes.

In about 5 minutes Mr. Gu arrived.  He was a young looking man with a big smile and he greeted us warmly even though he spoke no English.  Using a series of hand signals he escorted us to the parking lot where a 4-door Audi was waiting.  He then headed out of the airport and onto a modern elevated freeway for the 30-40 minute drive to the Rendezvous Hotel, our "home" while in Shanghai.  We found the weather to be sunny with smog and very warm and humid. The temperature was about 95˚ F.

Out first impression of Shanghai was one of astonishment. When we had last visited in 1981, there were no buildings over 5 or 6 stories in height. There were few automobiles on the streets and most people rode bicycles and most still wore the blue or gray denim "Mao" suits.  Shanghai now was a very busy modern city with dozens of newly constructed high-rise office buildings, apartment complexes and hotels in the 30 to 50-story category. Many of these "skyscrapers" were architecturally striking in appearance.  A very busy elevated multi-lane freeway system had been constructed to move traffic through the city. It was now crowded with personal automobiles, taxis and commercial vehicles to the point of almost reaching gridlock. Yet it was only 11:00 AM in the morning. Most of these automobiles were new and included many high-end models such as Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Lexus, Volvo, etc.  Once we left the freeway, we found the surface streets to be similarly crowded with autos and lined with modern shops.  People were dressed in the contemporary fashions that one would see anywhere in the world.  In short, there were only a few remnants of the "developing nation" Shanghai that we remembered from previous visits.

The Rendezvous Hotel was situated on a narrow driveway and set back from the street and an elevated freeway.  It is operated by an Australian company that seemed to have done a good job of training the staff in operating a Western-style hotel. The lobby was very attractive and the air-conditioning was a welcome relief from the heat outside.  A young Australian woman on duty as maitre' d helped us with check in even though the desk staff spoke capable English.  The first thing we learned was that we would not be charged for last night's room rental as a "no show".  Patrick had talked with the business manager had gotten that waived on the basis that we would be staying for several days between our trips in and out of Shanghai.  We did have to pay in advance for our September 24 and 25 stay and the rate for these nights was more than double the usual $75.00 price. This results from the fact that the F-1 races would be going on and hotels throughout the city were booked solid.  We were pleased at the news that we had rooms booked for all of our stays in Shanghai since that was not yet firmed up before we left home.

Our room on the 14th floor was very nicely furnished and quite comfortable. The window looked out on the surrounding neighborhood and on freeway below. Jacquie first called Xu Jia Yu and arranged for us to visit he and Lubing. Mr. Gu would call for us at 3:00 PM to drive us there.  The plan was to talk for a while and then take a short driving tour of some of the nearby districts in Shanghai. After that, we would go directly to dinner where Yvette would join us.  It now was about 1:10 PM so we went to the hotel's dining room where we shared a steak sandwich and each had a glass of Australian red wine.  There was a 20% discount offered on the lunch because the restaurant was newly opened. So we got the whole lunch including drinks for 75 Yuan, about $9.00 US.  We napped for about 45 minutes following lunch and then went down to the lobby to meet Mr. Gu for the 15-minute ride through crowded streets to the Xu home. 

Jia Yu and Lubing live in a complex of several apartment buildings in the 20-30-story category. The surrounding area is well off a busy street and is nicely landscaped. Their apartment is on the 6th floor. Gu escorted us up to the Xu apartment where we were warmly welcomed by Jia Yu and Lubing.  We sat and talked about old times and mutual acquaintances for about an hour.  We were pleased to find our two friends in seemingly good health and spirit.  While we talked, Lubing served tea and fruit. She also brought out a dish of delicious spring rolls made a filling wrapped with bean curd skin and then deep-fried to a crispy golden brown.  Had we not missed our airplane connection yesterday, Lubing would have had us for a complete lunch today but of course, all plans had to change. We had a short tour of the apartment and then took some photos in memory of our visit. We next went for a drive through several neighborhoods of Shanghai with Mr. Gu driving. We could not stop and leave the car at this time of day because of the heavy traffic. Nonetheless, it was very entertaining to see the sights and sounds of the contemporary Shanghai. Following are some of our observations:

•    We drove along East and West branches of Nanjing Road, one of the most famous shopping streets in Shanghai. It was lined with elegant shops displaying the latest fashions in their windows. Shoppers on the street were well dressed in the latest attire. •    New construction abounds wherever you go but a few old neighborhoods still remain. Many of these are being or will soon be torn down to make way for new construction. The City Government pays the residents for their property and relocates them to better facilities out of the city center where the quality of life supposedly is better.  Not all residents are pleased with this effort, especially those who own small businesses in the downtown area who now must live as much a several miles distant. •    We visited one renovated area near the Yu Garden where a block of old buildings had been renovated on the inside to provide space for modern shops and offices. Their external façade had been preserved in its original state creating an attractive development that fit in well with the character of the surrounding neighborhood. The shops here were busy and filled with shoppers attesting to the effectiveness of the renovation project. •    Our drive took us to the Bund along the banks of the river.  The river side of the broad boulevard is now fronted with a narrow park with shops, docks and moorages on the riverbank itself. One cannot actually see the river because of the high levee and various buildings. We passed one of the very few Mao statues we observed on this visit to China. But, it was not in the traditional style that we remembered from the past.  Banks and offices still line the opposite side of the boulevard.  They appear as the huge gray stone monoliths just as they did years ago except most have been remodeled and modernized on the inside. •    We passed a group of middle school children on their way home. All wore blue and white uniforms. A few were wearing the red kerchiefs of the Red Pioneers branch of the Communist Party. •    We passed many newly constructed office buildings, hotels and other commercial establishments. Jia Yu told me that the pace of development in Shanghai was so rapid that our drive today had taken him into areas of the city where even he was not aware of the degree to which things had changed.

We arrived at the restaurant about 6:30 PM. It was located approximately across the street from the Xu apartment. Jia Yu told us that it is quite new with good food that is reasonably priced.  Our experience this evening confirmed his opinion.  Lubing and Jacquie ordered the food while Gu went to get Yvette at the clinic nearby.  Jia Yu and I spent the time talking and sampling the various appetizers that were brought to the table.  Yvette soon arrived, as did the dinner. This included shrimp, braised bean curd, chicken, beef, pork, green vegetables, a hot pot and much more.  There was actually too much food served for the five of us. As we soon would find out, being served an overabundance of food seemed to be customary everywhere we visited on our journey in China. Jia Yu and Lubing ended up with a "doggie bag" full of some of the tastier of the leftover dishes.   It was good to see Yvette after about a two-year period and the evening was devoted to enjoyable conversation catching up events since on her move back to China last year.  We  ended the evening with a photo of the five of us.

Mr. Gu drove us back to the hotel after dinner. We did some laundry and took showers still managing to be in bed by about 10:30 PM. The alarm was set for 6:00 AM. One of the hotel staff had advised that we set aside 3 hours to get to the airport and check in for our flight to Kunming.  Yvette suggested that two hours would be sufficient. We decided to try to err on the safe side and to be on our way by 8:00 AM.  This should give us a safety margin for catching our 11:00 AM flight.

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Wednesday, September 8, 2004

I was up and doing exercises about 5:45 AM well before the alarm sounded at 6:00 AM.  I had a fitful night's sleep but felt well rested. My back bothered me only a little bit and I had no muscle spasm of note, a significant departure from conditions before we left home.  All of this occurred without my having taken any pain medication last evening.  Our laundry was dry and ready to be worn. 

We went down to the dining room for breakfast at about 6:45 AM. Only a few other guests had arrived so there were no crowds to deal with. Breakfast was included in our room rate so all we had to do was turn in a voucher when we arrived. There was an extensive buffet set up that included a variety of Western, Chinese and Japanese food.  A chef was available to cook eggs and Jacquie and I both opted for an omelet that turned out to be very tasty.  We then returned to our room and finished packing up our gear.

It was interesting to watch the traffic build up down on the freeway.  It was very sparse at 6:00 AM, busy by 7:00 AM and near saturation by 7:30 AM. Fortunately, the heaviest traffic was headed in the direction opposite from that we would have to follow going to the airport.  We went to the lobby at 7:45 AM and checked out, Jacquie got the maitre 'd to write down in Chinese where we wanted to go and the name of our airline. This we could give to the taxi driver.  He also gave Jacquie a card suitable to communicate to a taxi driver when we returned to Shanghai that we wanted to go to the Rendezvous Hotel. By the time we finished this, the bellman had a taxi at the door waiting for us and we soon were on our way to the airport.  It now was 8:00 AM.

The ride to the airport took only about 20 minutes through mostly surface streets and the fare was only 36 ¥, about $4.40.  The driver seemed surprised when I gave him a 5¥ tip and at first thought that I had misunderstood the fare and was paying too much! I was told yesterday at the hotel that the ride could take an hour and the fare would be 150¥. I believe that the person who gave me this information thought that I was going to the international terminal in Pudon and not the domestic terminal where our Kunming flight departed.  In any event, we were now at the airport with about 2-1/2 hours to spare before our flight time. At least we didn't have to be worried about being rushed with check-in and finding our departure gate!

We initially found the check-in area to be confusing and a hubbub of activity with people checking in for dozens of domestic flights. But, after reviewing a few signs and observing the activity we identified the check-in counter for China Eastern Airways Flight # 4852 to Kunming. Once we got this far, checking in for the flight and depositing our baggage was relatively simple although we had to deal, with success, with one of the ever-present line-crashers.  Clearing security was relatively perfunctory and not quite as rigorous as at home.  However, my wallet did set off the alarm.

We wandered through several shops on our way to Gate 14 but found nothing of interest that would justify a purchase. We arrived at the gate about 9:00 AM where only a few passengers were awaiting the flight.  A flight was scheduled to leave from this gate shortly before ours and passengers soon began to arrive. Several of them started a noisy card game that appeared to be all in good fun. The flight was called about 9:40 and the boarding lounge nearly emptied out. But, it soon began to fill with passengers awaiting our flight.   Our flight was called about 10:30 AM. I didn't realize that the earlier flight had left yet and this caused some confusion in my mind. But, it eventually became clear that the earlier flight had departed and a new plane had been wheeled in without my notice.  In any event, everyone queued up and swiftly boarded out flight, a Boeing 767. All were on board by 10:45 AM and after the safety instructions were given, the plane backed away from the gate right on time at 11:00 AM. The flight to Kunming was scheduled to take 2-1/2 hours.

Once we were airborne, we were served a tasty lunch following which we whiled away our time browsing through a couple of airline magazines.  One issue had dual Chinese and English articles that included some features on the areas we would visit.  The plane began its approach to the Kunming airport shortly after 1:00 PM and soon was engulfed in the cloud layer that blanketed the region.  Once under the clouds, we could see a very hilly, forested terrain.  Below was a large lake that we crossed. We could see many rectangular pens in the lake that probably were fish farms. On the hills were occasional fields of a red-color crop of some kind. (We later learned this probably was a type of red rose that is grown for purpose of making tea from the flower buds.)   Landing was uneventful and once on the ground, we found that it was about 70˚ F, overcast and with occasional light mist falling. 

Our local guide who informed us her name was "May" met us outside the baggage claim area. May spoke reasonably good English and seemed to be well organized.  She walked us to a waiting van and we soon were on our way into the city driving on a broad boulevard lined with flowerbeds and trees. Many of the flowers were in bloom and quite colorful.  The walls of an underpass were lined with very nice murals that depicted stories about the minority tribes of the area.  May told us that the population of Kunming is about four million and the elevation about 5,000 ft.  She pointed out that there are not as many cars in Kunming as in Shanghai and told us the government is trying to discourage the use of private automobiles as means of avoiding the consequent air pollution. They are trying to preserve the natural environment as part of an effort to encourage tourism. Still, one in seven persons in Kunming owns a car!  The consequences of such ownership could be seen in streets that were highly congested with motorized vehicles.  Still, there are a lot of bicycles on the streets indicating that the government's effort is having some effect.

To the visitor, the Kunming traffic seemed to be involved in one massive game of "Chicken." Both autos and bicycles are involved and lane markers and traffic signs seem to mean little to the drivers. It is common to see an auto driving on the wrong side of the street, left-hand turns are frequently made into oncoming traffic and vehicles wanting to change lanes force their way in as if oblivious to the potential for collisions.  It probably represented the worst example of driving behavior that I have ever witnessed.  Still, one seldom sees accidents and there are very few damaged cars driving on the streets.   Compared to Shanghai, Kunming was worse. But, Shanghai traffic of itself is enough to give one nightmares! Driving there is not for the faint of heart!

We first went to our hotel, the New Era, which is located down a narrow lane in the center of in a district in the southwest part of Kunming.  It probably was constructed in the 1980s and was a bit antiquated in design. But the room was fine and quite comfortable.  We had to put down a 200-¥ deposit refundable at checkout dependent on absence of damage or items missing from the room.  May warned us that to avoid a charge at checkout, we should inspect our room carefully and immediately report any damage or equipment that didn't work She also warned us that almost all "convenience" items available in the room for guest use would be charged to us. It turned out that there was a plethora of these convenience items available and getting them cleared out of our way was a challenge!

Once we were settled in, we returned to the lobby and met May who was waiting to take us on our afternoon's program of activities.  Our first destination was the Grand View Park and Pavilion (Dagun in Chinese).  The park is situated on the shores of Dianchi Lake. It was the large lake we had seen just before landing at the airport.  To get there, we drove through an older part of the city that was quite picturesque and was built along the Dagun River.  The park itself was quite typical of Chinese parks we have visited elsewhere.  There were many trees and large, nicely maintained beds of flowers that were in full bloom.  Flowers grow very well in Kunming because of the year-round mild climate and ample rainfall.  Bougainvillea grew profusely in the park and was in bloom as well.  The pagoda was started in the 1600s and was added to over the next 300 years.  It is not very large, only 2 or 3 stories in height, and is well maintained. It stands on the shore of the lake facing reflecting ponds and a graceful arched bridge. Two plaques on either side of the main door of the pagoda describe four eras in the history of Kunming, including wars with the Vietnamese who contested the surrounding territory.  A famous monk developed the narrative for the plaques several hundred years ago. We spent a few minutes in front of the pagoda attempting to drop 10 fen coins through a hole in a rock submerged at the bottom of a pool of water about 3 ft. deep. If one can get the coin to fall through the hole, it brings good luck.  After about three tries, May showed us the trick to getting the coins to fall just right and from that point, Jacquie and I both succeeded in dropping several coins through the hole. I spent my  "good luck" on a wish that our trip in China would turn out to be successful!

We next walked back toward the park entry taking time to walk through a small amusement park that was on the grounds and to also visit a bonsai garden near the front gate.  The amusement park was mostly shut down today. Walking by a carousel, I noticed a sigh in English that read "Horse Ahead."  This must have been someone's translation of a dictionary description of carousel!  The bonsai garden was quite interesting in that a wide variety of plants were included.  We noted that bougainvillea was quite popular as a bonsai plant and there were a number of them that were quite obviously very old.

Once on the bus, May gave us some facts and figures about Kunming. A few of these plus some things we observed follow:

•    Kunming is not a wealthy area compared to Shanghai or Beijing. The income of most residents is in the range of 800 - 1000 ¥ (ca $100 - $125) per month. •    You do not see a lot of well-dressed people on the streets in the areas we traversed.  Most people dress casually and in fairly traditional styles.  We did pass several blocks of boutiques on a street that May called the "Fashion Street" and here we passed a few stylishly dressed women. •    Housing is considered to be reasonably affordable. Downtown property in Kunming sells for about 4,000 ¥/ sq. m.  Elsewhere in the city a square meter costs about 2,000 ¥.  Based on this information, an 1800 sq. ft. house or apartment would sell for about  $50,000 - $100,000 depending on location. •    We passed two areas where deep holes had been dug in the center of the street. May told us that a subway is being constructed to link downtown Kunming with the suburbs. The mess in the street was related to that activity.

Our next stop was at the Yunnan Provincial Museum. It is housed in a building about 35 years old that may once have been some type of municipal building.  May had arranged for a young man to guide us through the exhibits.  I do not know whether he was a museum employee or a student who hung out there. But, he did a very capable job of explaining things in reasonably good English.  Exhibits were arranged in several rooms on three floors of the building. One of the most interesting was a room that housed bronze drums unique to some of the ethnic tribes of Yunnan.  There were both originals and copies in the exhibits and signs and well as photos showed how they were used.  A special exhibit was a table in the form of a bronze ox and calf being attacked by a tiger. The piece was perhaps 48 inches high and 6 to 8 ft long. The table is very famous and has been adopted as a symbol of Kunming and Yunnan Province. Reproductions and photos abound. A large replica stands in a small square in front of the museum.  The museum also housed a nice collection of porcelains arranged to show how they had evolved over the centuries.  Other rooms housed exhibits featuring a wide variety of artifacts and one was devoted entirely to calligraphy. A television crew was shooting a documentary concerning the calligraphy when we walked through.  Our tour ended in one wing on the ground floor of the museum that was devoted entirely of objects that were for sale.  Just about everything imaginable was available there. It was interesting to browse through but we resisted the temptation to buy. We tired to remember our prior agreement that our storage space at home is already maxed out.

It was about 6:00 PM when we finally returned to the hotel. After a short stop at our room, we went directly to the dining room where May ordered our dinner.  We apparently were a bit early and we were the only ones in the restaurant when we arrived. But people gradually began to filter in and the place was reasonably busy by the time we were finished with our meal.  The dining room was situated on the 28th floor of the hotel overlooking the part of the city.  We had a window table that afforded us a good view of the surrounding neighborhood. This area is the location of a small Moslem community in Kunming and just below was a mosque with a green dome and a single minaret.  A street market was also visible, as were many apartments. None of these building was over 4 or 5 stories in height although we could se some taller buildings in the distance. About a half-block from the hotel was a "walking street" that was like a mall without a top and was the location of numerous small shops.  Our meal was very tasty, especially one dish of sautéed mushrooms. There were also dishes of pork, beef, eggs, chicken, veggies, soup and on and on. There was so much that we couldn't eat half of what was placed before us.

We returned to our room and immediately got ready for bed. We turned in by about 9:30 PM with the alarm set for 4:30 AM. May was scheduled to meet us at 5:30 AM in the lobby to transport us to the airport to catch our 7:00 AM flight to Dali.  The hotel will provide a boxed breakfast when we check out.

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Thursday, September 9, 2004

I was up before the alarm went off at 4:30 AM and had partially completed my morning exercises. I had a reasonably good night's sleep in spite of the bed being quite hard. I finished my exercises and then got ready to depart the hotel while Jacquie worked on similar activities.  We were down in the lobby by 5:20 AM and were checked out and ready to go when May arrived at 5:30 AM.  The drive to the airport took only about 10 minutes through deserted streets.  It still was overcast and a bit cool but it was not raining. I wore a polartec vest for warmth and hoped this would be sufficient in Dali.  There was nobody ahead of us at the check-in counter in the airport so getting boarding passes went quickly. May then guided us to Security where she bid us goodbye. She will greet us when we return from our Yunnan travels in a few days.  It was a bit before 6:00 AM when we reached our assigned boarding lounge.  We pulled out our boxed breakfasts that we had picked up at the hotel.  Each contained two boiled eggs, an apple, a slice of bread, two slices of a sweet quick-bread and a tube of sausage.  I ate all but the sausage being somewhat leery of it and fearing that it would taste somewhat like a cold hotdog.  Jacquie felt similarly and so left the sausages in the boarding lounge when we left and hoped than someone would find them and enjoy their find.  Each box also contained an 8-0z bottle of spring water that I stuffed in my pack. I am already starting to accumulate bottled water in Gunga-Din fashion!

Eastern China Airways Flight 4447 started to board at 6:30 AM. The plane, a small Boeing 737 with 6x seating, was fully booked with no vacant seats. As a result, as soon as everyone was on board and seated, we left even though it was a few minutes before the time scheduled for departure. We were served a small can of tamarind juice once airborne. Because the flight was scheduled for only 45 minutes, there was no meal service. We whiled away our time reading an article in the airline magazine about PLA doctors who volunteered to treat sick tigers several years ago. Their efforts led to the development of a tiger treatment team that now spends provides full time treatment to tigers boarded at game preserves and zoos. 

Skies were overcast for the duration of the flight so we could see nothing of the ground below.  As we neared Dali, I could identify at least three layers of clouds but there were breaks here and there and I once caught a glimpse of a high mountain. Otherwise, there was nothing to see until the plane dropped below the clouds as it made its approach to the airport.  At that point,  a lush, very green countryside appeared with numerous hills and the lower slopes of high mountains in the distance.  The airport is located on the top of a substantial hill overlooking Dali and this produced the usual anxious moments just before touchdown because all there was below was a ravine and steep hillsides. But, the landing was uneventful and the plane soon arrived at the small terminal building.  We disembarked the plane via metal stairs and walked across the tarmac to the baggage claim area. After a short wait, we claimed our bags and went to the lobby to look for our local guide. Sure enough, he was there holding a sign with out names.

The guide was a young man who introduced himself as Zhou Wanyin and advised that we merely call him Yin.  Yin's English left a bit to be desired but he more than made up for that with his enthusiasm and once we had worked with him for a while, we had little problem understanding him.  He was good natured and didn't seem to be bothered when we asked him to repeat something or corrected his English. On the latter point, we emphasized that any time we corrected him that it was for his own benefit so that he could become an even better guide. We did this with all the local guides during this trip in China and it was almost uniformly well received.

Yin walked us out to a waiting car where he introduced us to the driver, Mr. Dua (pronounced Dwa).  Dua will be our driver through the whole Yunnan excursion until we depart Shangri-La via airplane on September 16.  He seemed to be a cheery man who spoke almost no English but we learned through subsequent days that he understood quite a bit of it so we didn't actually have too much problem communicating with him. It's just that one could not carry on a meaningful conversation.  But, at each city we visit, there will be a local English-speaking guide so there should be no problem.  (Someplace along the way, we learned that Dua is age 50. He looks younger than that.) Dua's car was a black Volkswagen sedan about 4 or 5 years old and in good condition. As the days progressed, we learned that Dua took very good care of the car and was constantly cleaning it and making sure everything was in good working condition.  From our standpoint, the car was roomy and quite comfortable with plenty of space for storage of our baggage and day-use items.

We went first to the Man Wan Hotel located in the new area called  New Dali.  It turned out to have a four star rating and was very nice. It was too early to check in so we left our baggage with the bellman and set out on the day's itinerary.  Our first destination was Three Pagoda Park located a few miles down the road from the city.  Yin filled us in with facts, figures and anecdotes as we drove along. There also were interesting things to see along the highway.  Following are my notes from this part of the day.

•    There were no tourists coming to Dali before 1984 and there were no tourist facilities because the area was closed.  Now, six million tourists visit the area each year. The current population of the Dali area is three million and Yin pointed out that each resident serves two guests. The local people are very cognizant of this and of the importance of tourism to the local economy.  The influx of visitors has created many jobs and has stimulated construction of hotels and other tourist-related facilities.  About 2.5 million of the visitors are Chinese and the rest are foreigners. •    Dali is divided into two parts. New Dali is the location of much construction and many modern buildings and is the commercial hub of the area. Most of the development of New Dali has occurred since the 1980s.  Old Dali is located about 14 Km distant and is mostly composed of older buildings and is the Dali of historical interest. It is the focus of much of the tourism. •    Dali lies toward the southern end of a broad valley.   Cangshan Mountain borders the valley on the west for approximately 45 Km. The mountain averages about 3,500 meters in height with the main peak being 4,122 meters above sea level.  Filling the valley stretching northward from Dali is Erhai Lake, a large fresh-water lake a mile or more in width.  Some eighteen streams carry rain and snowmelt from the mountains down to the lake and cut across the 5 or 6 miles wide "shelf" between the foot of the mountain and the lake.  This area is fertile and the site of many farms and villages.  Yin claims that one of these villages is among the largest in all of Southeast Asia. •    The configuration of the landscape results in it being quite windy in Dali much of the time. •    Yin pointed out a complex of buildings that is a newly constructed university campus. He commented that beginning in the 1990s, China has constructed many new universities to give young people more educational opportunities.  Before expansion of the system, only 10% of high school graduates could enroll and all were subsidized by the government. Now, 60% enroll but receive little if any subsidy.  Young people in China regard a university education as a "bridge" to the future and to good employment opportunities.  Yin said that he was unable to attend a university and was probably now past the point where he could enroll. •    The most common local minority are the Bai People.  The women wear white slacks with a colored sash that has short tails hanging down in the back.  They usually have a colored over-blouse and wear a characteristic turban-like head covering.  You see this costume most commonly being worn by young women working as sales clerks around the tourist attractions and as tour guides.  I suspect that few dress this way under other circumstances.  We did see a considerable number of older women dressed in the traditional costume during our travels around the Dali area however.   Several other minority groups live in the mountains around Dali as well. •    Tobacco is a major local crop and is processed by factories in Dali.  Yunnan tobacco is regarded as being the best in China. Other crops common to the area are rice, vegetables and sweet corn.  The farm plots are quite small and as many as 20 people may be farming one hectare. Like elsewhere in China, the rice is planted and cut by hand.  You see no machinery to speak of in the fields although an occasional tractor is encountered on the highway pulling a loaded wagon. •    The government encourages recreational travel inside the country by Chinese citizens.   The government will not award visas for leisure travel to countries that are more expensive than China in order to preserve currency and maintain a favorable trade balance.  Chinese citizens can travel freely to countries like Laos and Myanmar that are very inexpensive. •    Yin told us that Chinese tourists are a frustration to him as a tour guide. As a group, they are fixated on taking pictures and on shopping. Hence, they are not very interested in listening to the guide tell about the history or describe what they are seeing. They are always in a hurry to get to the next photo opportunity or an opportunity to shop for souvenirs.  When they take photos, it's usually of each other rather than the scenery or historic artifact.  Besides that, Yin groused that they are noisy and always talking rather than listening to the guide.  While Yin may have over-dramatized his remarks a bit, I must admit that we saw examples of some of this behavior during our subsequent days of traveling in China.

It was raining lightly when we reached Three Pagoda Park but this soon stopped and the morning remained gray and threatening more rain.  The Park lies uphill from the parking lot and the first sight is of the three pagodas. The tallest one, Quianxun Pagoda, was built in the 9th century, A.D. during the Tang Dynasty.  It includes 16 tiers capped by a canopy and it once had a stairway to the top that visitors could climb.  It is flanked on either side by two smaller pagodas that sit further back up the hill. They are about 600 years old and lean respectively 6˚ and 8˚ out of perpendicular as result of an earthquake many years ago. This amount o  lean is quite noticeable.  All of the grounds within the park are nicely landscaped and we admired the many flowers and shrubs as we continued up the hill to a Buddhist temple where there is a large standing Buddha about 30 ft tall. This golden Buddha is flanked on either side by two assistants and is unique in that it is holding a large jug in one hand.  After taking some pictures, we continued up the hill to a large pavilion built in 1997-98 to house the huge bell from the original temple on this site.  The British had returned the bell at the time Hong Kong again came under Chinese rule.  The view from the upper floors of the pavilion was excellent and worth a picture or two.

We started back down the hill on our way to the car but made an intermediate stop at a pool where the three pagodas were reflected when the wind was still. There was a slight riffle on the water today but we still got a couple of good pictures.  There was a large Chinese tour group here taking photos and I couldn't help but think if Yin's earlier comment about photo taking as I watched the dynamics in this group.  Between the reflecting pool and the car, we saw several interesting birds. One was a hoopoe that was sitting in a tree with its crest erect. It took a minute to recognize what it was but once I thought hoopoe, it was unmistakable. We also saw a large gray bird that flashed white under the wings as it flew, a small black bird with white on its wings that acted somewhat like a pipit and two kinds of swallows, one of which had a black head.  Mr. Dua was waiting with a big smile when we reached the car and hurried to open the doors for us. Soon we were on our way to the next stop at a batik factory.

The batik factory turned out to be located in what probably was once a home in a village a few miles down the road. A small stream rushed downhill across the street from the factory. It was all contained by rock walls, as are most of the streams in the area. This probably is the result of several hundred years of farming in the area that has developed an elaborate irrigation and flood control system on these streams coming down from Cangshan Mountain. There were the usual vats of indigo-colored dye in an inner courtyard that were filled with cloth soaking. A few tie-dyed fabrics were hung out on a line to dry.  Arranged around two sides of the courtyard were stalls, probably rooms at one time, where a variety of goods were on display. Some probably were made on the premises but most appeared to be too sophisticated and complex to have been made on site. Yet, the things were all nice. Unfortunately, Jacquie and I were not in the buying mode and after about 20 minutes looking at the display, we returned to the car and continued on our way.

Next was a stop at Butterfly Spring Park.  The parking lot was nearly filled with tour buses although it did not seem crowded once we got into the park.  The walkway to the park entrance was lined with vendors' stalls where a wide array of goods was offered for sale.  These vendors once had been allowed inside the park and had set up shop along the major walkways. But, they gradually became such pests that they were kicked out of the park.  So, they continue as pests but at least they do not detract from things to be seen inside the park gates.  We walked on into the park and followed a trail uphill for about 1/2 - 3/4 mile to the butterfly spring.  We enjoyed the gardens and the quiet places along the way.   The spring was located in a small pond that was rocked up on all sides so that it was somewhat like a large well.  Overhanging trees surrounded the pond. The water gushed up from the bottom of the pond and flowed out through a drain on one side. From there it flowed downhill to refresh two more small ponds. It then flowed into a larger lake and ultimately on out of the park.  There were no butterflies to be seen today since it still was raining off and on.  We took a couple of photos and then headed back downhill via another route. We considered, but elected not to enter, a butterfly house where there were free ranging butterflies loose in a natural habitat.  We've been in two or three similar places during our travels elsewhere and decided the fuss of going in was not worth the effort.  By the time we reached the parking lot, it was time for lunch and we headed for a restaurant in a nearby village where Yin had made reservations.

The restaurant was like many establishments and private homes of the area in that it was arranged around a central courtyard. This one had a kitchen and several dining rooms on the ground floor plus several private rooms upstairs. Jacquie and I were ushered to one of these upstairs rooms. It was pretty Spartan and not very clean except for the table.  There were no decorations on the walls, no carpet, no curtains, no anything except a few flyspecks! The result was a bare-bones environment full of echoes and a bit chilly on this rainy day. By request, we were served a large bottle of local beer that we shared. The dishes soon followed.  Most were quite tasty but overall, there was simply too much food on too many dishes. Best among the lot was a dish of pork flavored much like the star-anise beef we prepare at home except that this was made with fat pork that required you to chew-off the meat and discard the waste.  There also were tiny shrimp from Erhai Lake that had been steamed for a few minutes. It was not possible to peel them so you merely took a mouthful and chewed to extract the short rush of flavor and then spit out the shell and other waste.  One bite of this was enough for both of us. There also was a whole tilapia in a large bowl of broth.  Neither the fish nor the broth had much flavor and we ate little more than a bite.  We ended up picking and choosing among the many dishes we were served taking the things we liked and leaving the rest. In this way, we had a sufficient and quite satisfying meal.  We discussed the matter of being served too much food with Yin and suggested that in the future he not order so much.  We later realized as our trip continued that serving an excessive amount of food was something that happened in nearly every location that we visited in both Yunnan and Xinjiang!

The next stop was at the Dali Museum. This two-story building houses a collection of artifacts from the ancient Dali Kingdoms including many porcelain and ceramic objects.  One exhibit room in the museum houses terra cotta figurines of soldiers dressed in a variety of combat and ceremonial gear.  These were recovered from a nearby tomb of one of the Dali kings. They reveal much about military customs of the time by depicting how soldiers dressed and the weapons they used.  Also very interesting were pottery and ceramic figurines of animals recovered from graves.  A tortoise buried in the grave meant that the dead person was at least older that 60 years. The tortoise signifies long-life. Other animals recovered from graves were the mouse, dragon, dog, cat, etc. There were about 8 or 9 animal figurines and the museum displayed several sets of them.   Another hall in the museum displayed many photographs of historical interest concerning the Dali area and gave us a good overview of many things that we wouldn't have time to see during our short stay.  We could have devoted more time to this museum but all too soon, it was time to move on to other visitations on our itinerary. 

Next was a stop at Xizhou, a Bai village a short distance down the road from the museum. It was quite large and appeared to be mostly enclosed by walls that joined contiguous private dwellings. We left the car and walked with Yin through the narrow streets of the village while observing the daily activities of the residents. Following are some of the things that we saw.

•    The streets were quite narrow and most would not permit auto traffic so everyone was walking or riding a bicycle. The streets were lined with small shops selling everything imaginable. The shops probably were owned and operated by the residents of the homes behind them.  Many of the shops were open to the street and it wasn't obvious how they were closed at night and in cold weather. •    At one shop, a man and his wife were making women's shoes from scratch.  The man was stitching the leather pieces together to form the shoe. The wife was cutting leather and assisting her husband as needed. Several pairs of finished shoes were on a shelf and they looked to be well made and were quite attractive. •    A woman was tending a motor-driven mill that was expressing oil from some type of seed. The seed was fed into a hopper and then dropped by gravity into a chamber where it was ground by a gear mechanism to express the oil. The oil was slowly dripping into a large dishpan set underneath the mill. The pulp from the seed oozed out of another orifice and was collected in a large cloth sack and weighed. Several sacks of this pulp were stacked along one wall of the room and I surmised that it would be fed to cattle or pigs. My guess was that it was rapeseed that was being ground for its oil content. •    Most of the shopkeepers were women. I suspect that the men were busy working the surrounding farm plots.  Almost all of the women were knitting items of clothing as they waited for customers.  I do not know whether they were knitting items for sale or for personal use of their families. •    A man sat at a treadle sewing machine stitching together some item of clothing. He probably was the village tailor.

We stopped at an old mansion that formerly had belonged to a rich Bai family and now must be some type of multipurpose facility.  Immediately inside the gate and to our right  several former rooms had been converted into a small auditorium. For 100¥ each we were able to attend a Bai three-tea ceremony that was accompanied by a village dance troupe wearing Bai costumes and performing several traditional dances. There also was a male and a female singer performing traditional Bai songs.  The dancers' costumes were elaborate and very colorful and their dances were entertaining.  The three tea ceremony dates back to the days of the Dali Kingdom and starts with a small cup of "bitter tea".  We sipped this while watching the performance. At an interlude between dances, the second cup of tea was served. It was "sweet tea" and included walnut shell and cheese among other ingredients. It was quite tasty.  The third cup contained tea with an "aftertaste" that included cinnamon and other spices and left you with a very pleasant taste that lasted for an hour or so. This program lasted about 40 minutes and was quite enjoyable.

The mansion was built around two courtyards and was two stories in height. You entered the house through a gate directly into the first courtyard.  There were rooms on both floors along three sides of the courtyard plus a door that led to the second courtyard.  The fourth side of the courtyard was a high wall about one story high.  The courtyard side of this wall was elaborately decorated and featured in the center a marble stone picture against a white rectangular background like a screen. This rectangle was flanked on the left and right by brightly colored ceramic pictures in relief that emulated the scroll-type Chinese paintings. Smaller ceramic tiles completed the border around the rectangular screen. A collection of bonsai and potted azaleas sat of the floor in front of the wall.  The whole effect was very striking and apparently is typical of Bai houses in this region.  According to Yin, this wall customarily faces the east so that the rooms acr../chinapictures2004/yunnanphotos/dalioldtown.htmloss from it catch the morning sun and are warmed.  The second courtyard was flanked on all four sides by rooms where members of the family lived.  Rooms along the front courtyard were used for receiving guests, as office space, for a religious shrine, etc.  Yin walked us through

The walk through the village had been very informative and gave us a chance to observe what village life is like. We had seen many Bai houses from the outside while driving around so to see one from the inside was a treat. From the outside they all look pretty much like a rectangular white box with a sloping gray-tiled roof. However, many have painted murals resembling traditional Chinese scenes painted high up on the walls. Many of these murals are very attractive.

Our last stop for the day was a visit to Old Dali.  Old Dali is the original town and was the capital of the Dali Kingdom and even before that, it was an important city in Southwest China. It is easily more than 1,000 years old.   Old Dali is surrounded by a massive stone wall that had fallen into ruin until 1997 when it was completely restored. Only the South Gate is left of the original wall and one can tell just by looking at placement of the stones that it is much older than the adjacent structure.  We walked around the neighborhood outside the gate for a few minutes before going into the old city per se.  This again afforded us an opportunity to see how local people live and work.  This area mostly was residential but, there were many small stores and workshops fronting the street.  One small area we visited was almost exclusively occupied by wood workers and furniture makers.  Three or four people per shop would be working on making tables, chairs, cabinets, etc. The pieces were cut and shaped on site as needed and assembled into the finished product.  Most apparently was sold elsewhere or made to order because none of these shops seemed to have sales or display space.

We wandered into a small shop that was crammed with antiques and memorabilia.  There were books, coins, paper money, posters, photographs, dozens of copies of Chairman Mao's "Little Red Book" and much more. The proprietor spoke some English and seemed happy to spend time showing us his collection. In fact, I wondered whether all of this was actually more of a hobby with him rather than a business.  Most of his wares were related to the early days of the Communist movement and there wasn't much after the time of Mao.  But, it was like going back into history to look at some of the old photos. One of his posters from the 1950s showed photos of US military aircraft and how the peasants could shoot them down with a rifle!  We probably spent almost an hour looking around and browsing through his collection but went on our way without purchasing anything.

We entered Old Dali through the South Gate and it was like stepping back into time. The streets were narrow and paved with gray flagstones set close together. Brooks of clear water flow at the edges or down the center of some of the streets. The houses are old and constructed of wood and usually are two stories in height. The shops that line the streets are mostly devoted to the tourist trade but a few sell items of necessity for the local residents.  Shortly before we entered the old town, it began to drizzle and I was in danger of getting quite wet since I had on only my windbreaker. I found a small shop where I was able to buy an umbrella for 14 ¥, about $1.72, that performed quite nicely for the rest of our trip in China.

Among the tourist shops were many that were selling tea, a considerable amount of which is produced in Yunnan. Yin steered us into one "just to taste some of the local varieties with no obligation to buy."  Of course, he was on a first name basis with the proprietor and he probably gets some "dash" from bringing in his customers. But, it's all part of the experience and we didn't mind going in. The walls of the little shop were lined with shelves holding literally dozens of different kinds of tea. Some was packaged for immediate sale but much was in bulk form to be weighed out per the customer's request.  Near the back of the room was the tea table that was about the size of a desk.  The guests sat in front of the table opposite the salesman.  He had a big thermos of very hot water, a teapot and several small cups.  He would put the tea in a cartridge at the top of the pot and quickly flush some water through it.  This water was poured into the cups to warm them. He then added more water to the tea and allowed it to drain through more slowly to extract the flavors of the tea.  He dumped the water out of the cup into a grated area in the tabletop; a drain carried the water to a bucket below the desk.  He then poured samples of the tea and placed a cup in front of each guest to taste. This all was done at a leisurely pace while the merits of the tea were discussed.  If the guest liked the tea, he would make more using the same tea and just percolating through more water.  During the course of the next 45 minutes, we sampled several varieties of tea and discussed their relative merits.  We learned that many different varieties of tea grow in Yunnan and that the taste of tea improves with age.  We sampled some tea that was 8 years and some that was 24 years old. One really could taste a difference.  Most of this aged tea is sold in hard bricks or in ovals that are wrapped in cloth or paper.  One has to use a strong knife to cut off the amount needed to make a pot of tea.  Of course, the older the tea, the more expensive it becomes.  We finally were hooked and bought 250 Gm of Yunnan Chitsu Pingcha for 180 ¥.  This is a full bodied, dark red tea that is considered by the local people to be the best.  At $22 US, it is expensive but having had some from an earlier trip to China, I know that only a pinch is sufficient to make tea the way Jacquie and I like it and we'll get many a pot from the 250 Gm that we purchased. Besides, we needed to contribute a bit to the local economy since we hadn't been big spenders to date.

It was now about 6:00 PM and near dinnertime. Yin led us to "Foreigner Street” where our restaurant was located.  This street got its name in the 1980s when the area first was opened up to foreign travelers. It's pretty much like the other streets in Old Dali except that it is almost entirely devoted to souvenir shops and restaurants, some of which feature Western cuisine. Yin took us to a restaurant set back from the street along a sidewalk that led back into a residential area.  To get to the restaurant from the sidewalk, we had to cross a small footbridge over a brook that ran along the foundation. We dined outside on a veranda and were able to order off the menu of Chinese-style dishes. Yin helped us order. We selected only four dishes which he assured us would be about the correct amount for two people. It still was much too much food. One dish was vegetarian fried rice. It was tasty but quite different from what we are served in the USA. It was more like some vegetables being stirred into a pot of rice with little added seasonings and was very bland.  We ate the least of that. Our other dishes were very tasty.

It was dark by the time we finished dinner. Mr. Dua was waiting with the car just outside the wall of the old city and we reached the hotel after a short ride.  We checked in and went to our room for a shower and to get organized for tomorrow. We were in bed by 9:30 PM with the alarm, set for 7:00 AM.  The itinerary calls for us to drive to Lijiang tomorrow morning with Mr. Dua.  Departure time is scheduled for 9:00 AM.

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Friday, September 10, 2004

This morning it still was overcast and a bit gloomy but it was not raining. However, I would not have bet on chances for a dry day.  I heard a rooster crowing somewhere near the hotel even though it was located in the midst of the downtown area of New Dali.  Once we were dressed, we went down to the dining room to have breakfast.  Only Chinese-style breakfast was available and it was served buffet style.  I somehow cannot bring myself to eat bring myself to eat vegetables, soup, noodles, rice and the like for breakfast like the Chinese do. But, I was able to make do with a couple of boiled eggs, some sausages, a couple of pieces of bread and a sweet cake. I finished these off with a couple of mugs of tea.  We returned to our room and finished getting ready for today's travel.

We met Mr. Dua in the lobby and assisted him in packing our bags into the trunk of his car.  We settled into the back seat and arranged out day-use items so they would be handy. With that, Mr. Dua turned to us with a big grin and said "On to Lijiang" and then off we went.  Lijiang lies to the north of Dali about 200 KM on the highway to Tibet.  Following are my notes made during the trip.

•    For most of the first hour, the highway paralleled Lake Erhai on the right and Cangshan Mountain on the left.  This was rich farming country and we passed many small villages as well as individual farm dwellings. The land sloped from the mountains down to the lake and was well watered by streams cascading down from the higher elevations. In many places, irrigation systems have been devised to bring water directly into the fields as needed. •    Rice was just now beginning to turn color so harvest time is not far off.  Yin told us yesterday that farmers get a crop of rice in the summer and after harvest, plant a crop of soybeans that grow and mature through the winter season. •    Houses in this region usually have a white stucco front wall or a panel above the gate that is decorated with a round or rectangular painting in black that depicts mountains and or trees in the traditional-style one finds on Chinese calligraphy and scrolls.  Most of these are well done as if created by a professional painter. There probably are itinerant painters who are hired for the purpose. The paintings are always in good condition as if they are frequently touched up and refreshed. •    After driving an hour or so, we stopped at a large roadside store that primarily sold ornamental marble objects. The marble comes from the local mountains and most of it is white with black or red-brown veins.  Some of it is patterned such that when cut into round or rectangular thin slabs a design is produced that looks like a Chinese painting with clouds, mountains and trees or other landscape scenes.  Some of them are very realistic and quite beautiful.  They range from postcard size up to pieces that may be as large as four feet at their largest dimension.  You see them hanging as wall decorations throughout the regions we traveled in Yunnan and are exported to other parts of China as well.  The marble is also crafted into other items such as vases, plates, boxes, Chinese ceremonial watchdogs and many other shapes.  •    The principal reason for our stop at the marble factory was to use the public toilet facility.  During subsequent days of travel, we would encounter these roadside "factories" many times. Some sold stone like this one, many sold jade and other jewelry, some offer herbs and traditional medicines and some a mixture of merchandise.  They usually had very large rooms with many counters displaying merchandise and numerous young women sales-clerks who stand around looking bored. The toilet is always at the back of this large hall so you have to walk through the sales area to get there. Typical of Chinese toilets, you never have to ask where they are located. You just follow your nose. Chinese toilets have to be the most odorous in the world! •    Once we reached the end of Erhai Lake we began to climb to higher elevations and crossed over a range of mountains and down into a valley beyond.  We passed through several small villages in the mountains inhabited by Bai and another ethnic group. Most of the houses were relatively large and were constructed of red adobe that was not plastered.  The soil in the area undoubtedly was the source of the adobe since it was of identical color.  •    Later this morning, we passed through an area where tobacco was the major crop. Most of the farms had a tall, rectangular building that was a drying barn for the tobacco. These buildings were roofed-over but have meshwork in their walls that allowed circulation of the air to facilitate drying. •    We passed many herds of goats. The herders wore ponchos that appeared to be mats made of bamboo or a similar fibrous material.  The mats had a hole in the center for the herder's head and draped down fore and aft. They appeared to give little protection to the sides other than that afforded by their width. They hung out several inches beyond the wearer's shoulders and gave some protection in this respect. •    We had to stop to pay toll four times during the drive to Lijiang.  I believe Dua paid 10 ¥ each time.  The road itself was two lane and in reasonably good condition and Dua was able to drive 80 - 100 Km/hr much of the time.

We arrived at Lijiang about 12:30 PM and quickly found the Adange Hotel. It would be our home for the next few days.  We carried our bags into the lobby where our local guide met us. She introduced herself as "Judy" and later told us that she was a member of the Naxi minority tribe.  From our standpoint, she appeared to be like most other young Chinese women working in the tourist industry except for perhaps being a bit more mature. Subsequent days confirmed that she was an experienced and very capable tour guide.   We checked in with Judy's help and dropped our gear in the room. Next was a very welcome lunch in the hotel dining room. It was almost deserted but Judy had ordered the usual too-large meal for us. The food was very good and we realized how long it had been since our rather sparse breakfast.   Two dishes that were served stand out in my memory. One was a dish of scrambled eggs with green onions and tomatoes. The other was a dish of fine white threads that obviously had been quick-fried but still were somewhat crunchy with a taste that I didn't immediately recognize. There also were slivers of quick fried red pepper in the dish.  To my surprise, Judy told us this was stir-fried potato, a favorite of the region.  Jacquie and I agreed that we would have to recreate both dishes when we return home.

We rested in our room following lunch until time about 4:00 PM when we would meet Judy in the hotel lobby for a walking tour of Old Lijiang, also known as Dayan Town.  It's on the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List and as we soon would find out, it is a unique and exceedingly interesting place.   The Old Lijiang is about 800 years old and is now inhabited primarily by the Naxi minority population.  It gained worldwide attention when it was heavily damaged in a 1969 earthquake.  Following the earthquake, the city was restored to its original style and condition and now is a "must see" for visitors to Yunnan Province.  Its present population is about 20,000 persons. It is surrounded by modern Lijiang which has a population of about one million.   Mr. Dua drove us from the hotel to one of the main entrances to the old city where he dropped us off.  Streets within the old city are narrow and neither autos nor bicycles are allowed to enter.  We spent the next 2-1/2 hours walking through the area seeing the sights and stopping to look at various places of interest. Following are some notes of the things we observed.

•    The entrance is flanked on one side by a high wall with raised images depicting the history and activities of the minority people of the region.  A rushing stream, the Jade River, about 8 ft wide emerges in front of the wall and turns a large water wheel that is without function now but it once was of major importance to the community.  Large flagstones pave a plaza from which streets radiate out into the town itself.  All streets and walkways are paved with the same type of stone, which appears to be a conglomerate that's a bit rough but gives one firm footing.  Two story wooden buildings flank this plaza and these continue throughout the old town. They have slightly sloping tile roofs and they but up against each other with little or no separation between them. •    The "streets" are very narrow and are really just wide sidewalks for pedestrians.  Most are flanked by stone-lined culverts of varying size that carry a stream of swiftly running water.   These culverts divide and subdivide and then merge back together throughout the old town in such a manner that running water is conveniently available to nearly every house.  This creates a very pleasant ambience since the sound of rushing water is nearly always present as you stroll about.  The source of the water is Black Dragon Spring located some distance away.  This system of water supply was originally intended to meet the needs of the residents.  How the residents could use the water varied with the time of day. In the morning, the stream could only be used as a source of drinking water and residents drew their supply for the day at that time.  The afternoon use was devoted only to washing vegetables and preparing food for the table. Clothes washing could be done in the evening. Some parts of the stream would be completely blocked off during the night in order to flood the main square and some streets, thereby washing away the day's accumulation of dirt and debris.  These practices are no longer followed and there are alternative sources of water for the community. But, the streams remain an important part of the charm of Old Lijiang. •    There are many small fish, mostly goldfish and carp, in the stream constantly working to maintain their place against the rapid current.  Residents of Old Lijiang do not attempt to catch these fish since they believe that to so do would make the Black Dragon mad and cause him to stop the stream flow! •    The ambience of Old Lijiang is very nice.  Its old-time wooden houses, having been restored, have a fresh clean look about them. Broad walkways with no bicycles or autos create a pedestrian-friendly environment. Shops are full of interesting things that cater both to residents and tourists. The wider streets have trees planted down the center to provide shade.  The ever-present sound of running water in the many culverts that bring water throughout the area reinforce a feeling of relaxation and quietude.   Patios for resting and/or dining along the small river add to the generally relaxed atmosphere.  Local residents are out and about doing their usual things and this tends to keep Old Lijiang from being just a tourist destination area. Finally, everything is clean and there is almost no trash or litter to be seen.  •    A wide variety of shops occupy the ground floor areas of most houses that front on the streets.  Judy told us that few of the residents of Old Lijiang operate these shops. Instead, the residents lease the space to merchants from Kunming and other cities who want to do business in Lijiang.  The presence of many tourists is the magnet that is drawing such investments by outsiders. •    Most of the people living in Old Lijiang are members of the Naxi ethnic minority.  Their ancestors created the Dongba Religion. According to the legend, the founder of the Dongba Religion, with his supernatural abilities learned from the deities, killed a monster and ghosts thus bringing peace to the local people. Dongba believers practice witchcraft and are skilled in traditional medicine.  The Dongba Civilization developed a unique language and a pictographic form of writing that includes in excess of 1000 characters.  It is the only surviving pictographic writing in the world. But, only a few people today can read and write this pictographic language and it is in danger of becoming extinct. Judy, speaks the Naxi language but is unable to read more than a few of the pictograph characters.  •    The Dongba religion includes the uses of totems that are somewhat like those of the Northwest American Indians. Their totems can be either painted on flat boards or carved into round poles.  We were able to view some of these totems and have pictures of them on file. •    According to Judy, Naxi people derive happiness from a unity with nature and their chief pursuit lies in music and painting.  The women do most of the day-to-day work while the men spend their time painting, singing and engaging in other "intellectual" pursuits!  However, women also enjoy singing and dancing and we watched a dozen or more older women who gathered in a town square about 5:00 PM singing and dancing to the sound of Naxi music coming from a "boom box" that they had brought along for the purpose.  Judy assured us this was not a performance for the tourists but just something that these elderly ladies enjoy doing on an almost daily basis. •    Our walking tour included a visit to the Mu Mansion.  This large complex of buildings once was home to the Mu clan which produced chieftains of the Naxi people in bygone days.  The complex includes several ornate buildings, a temple and gardens that are surrounded by a high wall that may once have served a defense function.  The present facility is only about 1/3 of its original area and is a reconstruction of the original mansion. Still, it is quite impressive. Visitors enter the complex through a gate that fronts on a small square along a street in Old Lijiang. Inside is a large paved plaza and facing this is an ornate building constructed in traditional Chinese style. This building is brightly painted with multi-colored designs along its eaves.  It was where the Chieftain Mu received guests and petitioners. The overall appearance reminds one of their first impression upon entering the Forbidden City in Beijing. However, the Mu Mansion is considerably less grand in size and scope. Still, many visitors dating back over several hundred years have likened it to the Beijing facility. It is indeed an impressive structure, as we would learn as we continued on into the areas of the Mansion behind this reception hall.     Behind the reception hall we encountered another large open courtyard surrounded by a wall.  At the rear stood another beautiful building brightly painted with ornate designs. This served the Mu family primarily as an office and a school for their children.  It was flanked by ornate gardens that extended on behind where one encounters yet another small patio filled with gardens and potted plants. The patio is flanked on all sides with buildings that were the residence of the Mu family. One-story buildings on the right and the left contained rooms used by the family. Another large building formed the rear boundary of the patio.  This was mostly devoted to sleeping rooms for the family and chief servants.  Behind this complex was the Chieftain Mu's personal garden. It was relatively modest in size and was accessed via a covered bridge that spanned an important street that allowed the residents access to the daily market from residence areas on the opposite side of town.  The garden was peaceful and provided a place for the Chieftain Mu to meditate and ponder difficult decisions he faced.  Lion Hill rises immediately behind this garden. A set of stairs leads upward to a shrine that was the private worship place of the Mu family.  The whole facility now serves as a museum and contains many interesting relics from earlier times. •    Our walking tour continued on into the early evening hours. Although very interesting, my back was beginning to bother big time from being on my feet for so long without a chance to sit down for even a minute or two. Thus, I felt a sense of relief when Judy led us to a small restaurant where we could have dinner.  The food was very tasty and included some fried goat cheese that I found to be delicious.  We were in a small dining area by the entryway so there was a lot of coming and going. But, overall, we had a very nice dinner hour. Judy waited out in the kitchen area kibitzing with the cooks and waiters while we dined. It was obvious by now that Judy was well acquainted in Old Lijiang and may have grown up thee as a child. Following this, we walked back through still-busy streets to the entry to Old Lijiang.  Judy had already phoned Mr. Dua to let him know where to meet us so he was waiting when we arrived at the designated spot.

We returned to the hotel and went directly to our room. We organized up our baggage since we were scheduled to depart for Lugu Lake in the morning.  After that, we took showers and turned in for the night. We were scheduled to meet Mr. Dua and Judy in the lobby at 8:30 AM for the drive to Lugu Lake. The sun tried to peek out late this afternoon and we had a few looks at Jade Dragon (Yulong) Mountain. By sunset, the weather was giving promise of a better day tomorrow.  We went to bed with that expectation in mind.  Because we are not traveling with a group, we don't have to put our baggage in the hall for pick up in the morning. We'll just take it down to the lobby at departure time for Dua to load in the car.  We were in bed by 10:30 PM with the alarm set for 6:30 AM.

Judy commented today that most elderly Chinese people tend to act their age and feel that they are old even by age 65-70. They almost automatically assume that they cannot travel and are not adventurous.  Thus, they stay at home and one seldom sees them participating in tourist activities. She contrasted this with Westerners she has known.  She has encountered older Westerners who are out and about traveling even into their 80s and 90s and their age doesn't seem to matter to them.  (My personal observation after reflecting on this remark is that we seldom encountered older Chinese during our travels through the entirety of this trip.  Judy very well may be correct!)

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Saturday, September 11, 2004

We were up at 6:30 AM. The weather outside was overcast with rain. Clearly, the promise of last evening was not fulfilled.  After getting dressed and mostly ready to depart, we went down to the dining room for breakfast. It was crowded with tour groups and there was no place available for us to sit.  So, we found ourselves a place to perch and to eat our breakfast at a couch in the dining room lobby.  There was only a buffet with oriental-style breakfast available.  I fortunately found some corn flakes and rice krispies with plenty of warm milk.  I rounded this out with a boiled egg, Chinese sausages, some beans and a steam bun filled with jam.  Jacquie fared well with boiled eggs and other "treasures" that she found at the buffet.

We returned to the room and after finishing with the usual toilet activities, we took our gear and went to the lobby. I tried to check out from out room at the front desk. A tour group was just ahead of me and a long queue had formed at the cashier's desk.  For each departing guest, the clerk had to call a floor monitor to check the room, the minibar and all.  This took several minutes per room and the longer the wait accrued, the more irritated people became. I found all of this somewhat amusing but was also mindful that we needed to depart soon.  Judy finally arrived and took charge. After exchanging words with a manager, she signaled us to leave and join Mr. Dua. Judy later told us that she informed the manager that we couldn't wait and that if anything in the room was missing we could settle that when we returned the next day. She apparently didn't wait for an answer but just turned and walked of before anyone could refuse.  It definitely helps to have someone representing you who speaks the language and knows the local culture!  We all were bundled into the car and headed to Lugu Lake by 8:40 AM. The trip was listed in our itinerary as requiring 6-7 hours.  Following are comments about sights and experiences that occurred during this drive.

•    The first few miles of our route took us through farmland. Judy told us that farmers cannot grow rice at Lijiang because it is too high and cold.  The favored crops are wheat, corn and vegetables.  We noticed yesterday that corn seems to be very popular with the residents of Lijiang. There are many sidewalk vendors selling ears of corn that have either been steamed in water or broiled over charcoal. This seems to be a very popular snack food with the local residents. •    We soon were driving up a narrow river valley into the mountains. The area was heavily wooded with an occasional small village and contained a variety of pine trees with twisted trunks that made them look almost like large bonsai.  These trees don't seem to get very large, maybe 20 ft - 30 ft maximum. •    We soon crossed a divide and headed downward into a narrow canyon. Its steep walls and wisps of fog hanging here and there made it look like something out of one of the traditional Chinese paintings.  The road was paved with cobbles and seemed to cling to the side of the steep canyon wall.  We could see a rushing river and occasional cultivated fields at the bottom of the canyon. Terraced fields extended up the lower sides of the canyon wall. Several small streams and waterfalls tumbled down from above. Some of these streams on the highway's side of the canyon were paved with rocks to create a ladder effect that slowed the rush of water and minimized erosion. A flock of goats on the far canyon wall looked like small white specks.  Clouds and mist created a somewhat ethereal look. Overall, the scenery was spectacular. •    Judy explained that the stream at the bottom of the canyon is called the Golden Sands River.  It is a tributary of the Yangtze River that lies not far downstream. Right now the river is at flood stage and it is a surging, swirling mass of muddy brown water.  In the summer, it apparently flows more sedately and is crystal clear. It derives its name from the fact that small bits of gold can be found in the sands along its banks. To look for gold now would be exceedingly dangerous. •    We drove through a village located at the bottom of the canyon where the highway crossed a bridge to the opposite side of the river.  The village was strung out along the highway and included a few homes, some business buildings, a couple of restaurants and a place or two to buy petrol.  Farm plots were located every place there was any almost-level ground. These plots included corn, sunflowers, tobacco and vegetables.  There even were occasional banana trees that took advantage of the warmer temperatures that exist at the bottom of the canyon. We also could see farm places on the far side of the river. I wondered how the farmers brought their produce across the river to go to market.  Water buffaloes and cattle appeared now and then in some of these farm fields. •    After we had crossed the river and left the village, the highway turned into a deep side canyon and climbed upward along a steep hillside.  The road was paved, usually with cobblestones, but there were stretches where slides either had buried the road with mud and debris or had carried part of it downhill.  In such places the road was muddy, filled with rocks and just barely passable to passengers cars like ours. A couple of times we had to wait for a few minutes either because of one-lane traffic or to allow time for road crews to do their work. All the while, fog swirled about and occasional rain added to the difficulty.   Through it all, Dua kept up a steady pace without taking risks that made us uncomfortable.  •    Our route took us through several roadside villages, most of them quite small.  This provided opportunity to see many interesting things about life in such a remote area. Following are some of them. •    Many women wore long white skirts encircled with a green band from the waist down about 18 inches. Most of them wore a sweater or vest over a long-sleeve blouse.  A few wore the characteristic head covering of the Black Yi minority.  •    Judy said that the Yi minority people inhabited many of these villages. Most of the people were dressed in contemporary clothes except as noted in the previous paragraph.  Judy said that there are both Black Yi and White Yi minority groups. While there are other differences in status, beliefs and practices, they can be distinguished by the color of a woman's head covering.  Before Liberation, the Black Yi were the landlords and the White Yi were farmers.  Marriage between the two groups was not allowed. Even now, the Yi will only marry other Yi people and not persons from other minority tribes.  Judy, a Naxi, claimed that the Yi people are very lazy and stay at home if it's rainy or cold outside.  They fix breakfast by putting a potato in the fire the night before so they don't have to get up and cook in the morning.   I suspect that someone from the Yi tribe might dispute her remarks! •    We passed a mother sitting alongside the road picking through her son's hair. I wondered if she was removing lice and their nits! •    We passed several places in one town where pool tables sat out under an awning in front of a shop.  Small crowds of men stood around watching the players and probably waiting their turn. •    Most farm places had a courtyard enclosed by the house, service sheds and when necessary, a wall. Most of the houses had two stories, one of them for living and one for storage and indoor work.  A variety of materials were used in construction of these buildings. Some were made of adobe bricks and others kiln-fired bricks.  Logs were also commonly used for building homes and service buildings.  Some buildings made of adobe bricks were plastered or covered with tiles. Others were left with the bricks exposed.  Roofs were made of wood or galvanized metal or, occasionally, thatch. •    We passed a number of brick kilns where bricks were made from the local clay. We also passed a few small kilns that made lime and cement from limestone quarried nearby.  These were small operations and employed traditional methods.  The product was used locally for construction purposes.  •    We stopped for lunch in one of the larger towns. I didn't catch the Chinese name but translated to English, it was Peaceful Wave! •    Burros and small horses were used to pull small carts.  Occasionally, they carried packs of farm produce or other baggage.  People themselves sometimes wear a pack basket on their back.  These baskets are woven from split bamboo or thin strips of other wood that frequently are painted in bright colors. •    For most of the distance we traveled through forests composed mostly of conifers and a few deciduous trees.  The only exceptions were where farmers had cleared the land for cultivation.  While liberal use is made of timber in construction of buildings and for fuel, the forests did not seem to be depleted and apparently were not being consumed in large amounts for the commercial production of lumber.  This may have been partly due to the fact that most of the conifers were of a species that grew with twisted trunks that would not produce lumber of any significant quality.  At higher elevations, however, a different conifer species grows tall and straight and look somewhat like our ponderosa pines. Many azaleas grow in the forest in the region of Lugu Lake and provide beautiful color when they bloom in the spring.

We topped a ridge about 2:30 PM and could see Lugu Lake in a deep valley about 5 miles distant.  From here, the steep road wound through pine forests as it dropped down to lake level.  Eventually we emerged from the forest about a mile from the lake. Small villages were scattered along its shores including Luo Shui, which was our destination. By now the weather had moderated and although it still was mostly cloudy, the sun was peeking out here and there and it was pleasantly warm. We reached Luo Shui about 3:00 PM and went directly to the waterfront where we found a considerable number of local people dressed in colorful costumes as well as several horses equipped with saddles.  The latter were for rent for photo opportunities and for tourist rides around the area. Along the shore were several the pigtrough boats that are unique to Lugu Lake. These were for hire to take passengers out to an island in the lake (Wubili Island?) where there is a Lamist shrine and fine views of the lake and surrounding territory.

The pigtrough boats come in varying lengths but all are quite narrow; most don't accommodate two abreast seating. The hull appears to be made from a hollowed-out log that tapers to a point on the bow end.  Fitted to the top of this hull are planks that run the length of it and extend out over either end about 12-18 inches.  These provide extra freeboard and are somewhat wider at the ends than in the middle, which gives the craft the appearance of being higher at both bow and stern.  These sideboards are joined together at both the bow and the stern by a plank of sufficient length that the craft has an almost rectangular appearance when viewed from the top.   Short planks that span the width of the hull about every 18 to 24 inches serve as the seats and their number depends on the length of the boat.  A small deck at the stern provides place for a steersman to sit.  The oarsman uses a similarly raised seat near the bow.  The craft is propelled by one or two oarsmen who each have only a single long oar. Oars are hand made out of a tree branch with a board attached to serve as the blade.  A knotted rope serves as an oarlock.  Steering is done from the stern using a smaller oar or paddle as a tiller.  While the craft looks a bit ungainly, they move reasonably fast even when only one person is rowing.

Judy hired one of these boats and we boarded for the ride out to Wubili Island.  By now, the sun was peeking through the overcast and the threat of rain was greatly diminished. Several other boats were ahead of us but relatively speaking, there wasn't much boat traffic on the lake since it now was getting to be late afternoon.  Our boat was crewed by a young man and woman dressed in the costume of the local ethnic people.  The man pulled mightily at the oar while the woman steered using a short oar. She wore slacks with a white skirt over that and a colored blouse. On her head she wore a hat that in our society would pass for a man's fedora and was very similar in appearance to those worn by some women in the highlands of the Andes. The man, possibly her brother, wore trousers and a brightly colored shirt. It took only about 15 minutes to cover the 1/2-mile or so out to the island.  We followed a steep walkway up a hill to the Lamist shrine.  It turned out to be a modest-size building that maybe was 25 ft on a side.  We could not go inside the shrine but could walk around its perimeter. All the way around the building were the typical prayer wheels that one sees in Tibet.  I walked around in a clockwise direction spinning the wheels and slowly reciting "Omne Padme Om" which I remembered (or something close) to be the correct Lamist prayer.  There were gardens around the shrine filled with blooming flowers and we took a few minutes to enjoy these.   Since the shrine was high up on a hill, we had a magnificent view of the lake.  From this vantage point, boats out on the lake looked like giant water bugs as they plied back and forth carrying tourists.  High hills or mountains surrounded the lake in all directions. The lake straddles the boundary between Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces,  so to the east was Sichuan and to the west was Yunnan.  An even larger island lies just south of Wubili Island and to the northeast is a very small island that I believe is called Headman's Island.  The forest comes down to within about 1/2-3/4 mile of the lake in most directions. Below that is a band of cleared land that mostly is devoted to farming and/or pasture. We could see several villages perched along the shores of the lake in these areas. After a relatively short time, we re-boarded out pigtrough boat for the trip back to Luo Shui.  On the way back, the steerswoman sang for us in a beautiful soprano voice. I have no idea what her song was about but it was enjoyable none-the-less and I gave her  a small tip when we reached the shore.

We next drove the equivalent of three or four of blocks along the lakefront and then got out of the car. Judy led us down a narrow alleyway for the equivalent of another couple of blocks to a two story wooden building. This facility was the Muosuo Cultural Center and Museum. The building had four wings at right angles two each other forming a rectangle that enclosed a large brick-paved courtyard.  Access to the courtyard was through a gate at one corner. Each of buildings had porches along the upper level that had access via outside stairways.  The buildings contained a variety of exhibits that depicted the life and customs of the local people.  All sorts of items used in daily life were on display as well as informative descriptions of the history of the people and the area.  We stayed about 45 minutes browsing through the exhibits and could have spent more time if it had been available.   I unfortunately did not keep notes of what I observed while we visited the museum and walked through the town but the following points come to mind as I write.

•    Most of the residents of the village belong to the Muosuo ethnic minority which is an offshoot of the Naxi Tribe.  People of this area were once heavily engaged in trade with Tibet and so there is a strong Tibetan influence in their appearance, ways of dress and culture.  They practice the Tibetan or Lamist form of Buddhism.  Judy pointed out that they are physically larger than most Naxi people which probably is a result of intermarriage with Tibetans.  At one point when we were walking in the village, we passed a line of several middle aged women walking along spinning their prayer wheels and fingering their beads much like one sees when strolling the streets of Lhasa or Xigaze in Tibet. •    The Musuo are unique with respect to their marriage customs and a social structure that is basically a matriarchy.  Their customs lead to what is generally termed a "walkabout marriage."  When a man and woman decide to become husband and wife, each continues to live in the home of their female parent or grandparent.  (There is actually no official marriage ceremony and marriage usually becomes "official" with the first pregnancy.) The husband and wife do not spend time with each other during the day but do sleep together at night.  The oldest woman in the family, mother or grandmother, is head of the household and it is she who owns the property.  Living with her are her married and unmarried sons, all of her daughters and any of their children.  Her husband lives with his mother and is not present in the home of his wife.  The older sons usually function like a father to the children living in the home even though they are actually their uncles.  They do not have much contact with their biological sons who live with their mother in another location.  Lines of descent among the Muosuo are traced through the mother's line and not the male.  The customs of the Muosuo were introduced to the world by an anthropologist named Joseph Rock via a book he published in 1949.  Rock lived among the Muosuo for many years. A house where he could live and work was erected for him on a small island in the lake (Headman's Island) by one of the local chieftains. •    In bygone days residents of the area went on trading journeys into Tibet.  They carried tea on yaks or horses via Lijiang to Lhasa and then on to western and central regions of Tibet.  They usually wintered over in Tibet and then returned the following spring carrying salt and other items they had traded for their tea. •    I have already written about the marriage customs of the Musuo people. The museum contained a display of a "flower room."  This is basically a special bedroom maintained in Muosuo homes.  Contrary to the name, the room contains little or no special decorations. When a girl reaches puberty, about age 13, she is assigned to live in the flower room. It is on the second floor of the home and access is controlled so that it is difficult to have a visitor without the family knowing about it.  When the girl meets a boy that she finds attractive, she will furtively tickle the palm of his hand as a sign of interest.  (A boy may also make the same initial overture.)  If the interest develops, he will attempt to visit her at night in the flower room. But, he must be very clever to do this without the mother finding out.  This means that he must somehow climb up to her second floor window and enter the room via that route. To complicate things, there is usually a large dog guarding the yard below and he has to figure how to get past the dog without it barking or chasing him. If he is successful, he spends the evening/night with the girl and then slips out before morning and returns to his parents' home.  The philosophy is that if a boy is sufficiently clever and persistent that he can gain access to the flower room, he is worthy of becoming her husband.  I assume this activity continues either until the girl becomes pregnant or she decides that she does not want to live with that boy. In the latter case, she looks for another boyfriend. •    One area of the museum was a working replica of a Muosuo home. At the time, it was not active since a movie was being filmed and it was strewn with equipment. One thing I did notice was the method of preserving meat.  A pig is butchered but not skinned. The body cavity is filled with salt that dehydrates the carcass completely so that it becomes essentially a mummy.  When meat is needed it is cut off the dehydrated carcass, soaked in water to remove the salt and then cooked.  A carcass of a pig so prepared was laid out is a storeroom next to the model living quarters. •    Judy told us that the Muosuo are avid hunters and supplement their diet with game from the forest.  The museum held a number of firearms used for hunting. •    There is a legend about how pigtrough boats got their name.  Many years ago, there was a large flood. A woman was trapped and was facing death by drowning. Suddenly, she got the idea to jump into the pig trough, a hollowed out log, as a means of saving herself. Of course, it floated on the rising water and she was saved.  That gave the Muosuo people the idea to use their pigtroughs as boats.  Over the years they have been somewhat modified but they retain the name.  As usual with legends, there is no way of verifying their accuracy. •    Residents of the villages around the lake catch small silver-colored fish with nets. These fish are a staple in their diet.  Judy thought that the residents did not catch other species of fish. She believed that there were large trout or salmon resident in the lake.  Judy also told us that it is too cold at Lugu Lake to raise many varieties of vegetables and that the residents primarily eat meat, fish, corn, potatoes and wheat or barley.  I suspect that they also grow some types of vegetables that can tolerate cool temperatures.

Following the visit to the museum, Dua drove to the edge of the village where several tourist hotels were located.  We stopped at one hotel where Judy went inside to register us and obtain room assignments. While we waited outside, a local resident approached us carrying an open-mesh bag that contained a dozen or so small green frogs.  He was looking for a buyer who would like to eat them for dinner. Fortunately for the frogs, we weren't interested.  Judy returned shortly and we drove across the road and through a gate into the courtyard of a new looking building that was the Yunnan Lu Yu Hotel.  Our room was a bit Spartan but it was new and freshly painted with a view of the Lake. It probably was a typical Chinese tourist hotel or guesthouse for that area.  There was no heat in the room but it had all the other amenities including a Western toilet, plenty of hot water and a shower.  We arrived at the hotel about 5:30 PM. Dinner would be served at 7:00 PM and at 8:00; we were scheduled to attend a "bonfire" at the Muosuo Cultural Center.

The dining room was located across the courtyard near the entry gate and was a small room with four tables. We and one other guest were the only diners this evening.  Judy and Dua ate in another area of the hotel. A small kitchen was located adjacent to the dining room. I asked Judy to ask if I could go in and watch the cook, a young woman in her 20s.  No problem, I was welcome to watch if I wanted.  All of the cooking was done in one huge wok about 24 inches in diameter that was recessed into the kitchen counter.  A wood fire burning in a firebox below the counter heated the wok.  The fire was fueled by the ends of long logs that were fed into the firebox from outdoors via holes in its wall. As the fire consumed the wood, the logs could be pushed further into the firebox thus replenishing the fuel.  We had seen a similar principle employed in Zimbabwe to heat water tanks at national park campgrounds.  The cook had all of her ingredients chopped and sliced and stored in bowls till needed.  She would prepare one dish at a time, 6 or 8 for our dinner alone, and then bring each to the table as it was finished.  She was cooking for three groups of diners but individually prepared separate dishes for each one.   The food was very tasty and was hot as it arrived at the table.  There were plenty of vegetables and especially good was a dish of sautéed cabbage that included a small amount of bell pepper and was dressed with a bit of vinegar.  We also had the scrambled egg with tomato dish and it was very tasty. This dish appears to be in vogue at the present time. Not only did we have it in Lijiang yesterday, it was served at lunch today as well.  (We would have it several times more during the remainder of our China tour!)

We left for the bonfire shortly after dinner was finished. It still was light outside and Judy advised that if we were willing, we could walk to the Cultural Center.  We agreed since we needed the exercise after sitting in the car all day.  The walk turned out to be 1/2-3/4 mile in distance. After walking a block or so, we crossed a rushing stream using a narrow wooden footbridge without rails or sides.  The stream was walled up with rock and seemed more like an irrigation canal than a natural stream. We then walked through the village until we reached the cultural center. The shops along the lakefront were open and ready for tourists but there were few shoppers. We soon learned that all  the tourists were at the Cultural Center.  When we arrived at the Cultural Center, we found that the evening's festivities were already well under way and that a large crowd of Chinese tourists had already assembled.  A large fire burned in an elevated fire pit in the center of the patio and loud music already was playing.  I cannot recall whether the source of the music was a live band or a recording played through loudspeakers. In any event it was loud and could be heard above the noisy crowd.  There were at least two dozen performers who were young men and women from the local Musuo Community, They were  dressed in brightly colored costumes that mimicked to some extent their every-day dress.   The women wore white skirts with brightly colored blouses, a rainbow-colored waist sash and a brimmed hat festooned with flowers or ribbons. They wore slacks underneath and a variety of contemporary shoes including tennies.  The men wore slacks with brightly colored blouses, a waist sash, high-top black leather shoes and Stetson hats like the old-time US cowboys.  These dancers initially performed some folk dances. But, things then went into an audience participation mode and from then on, it mostly was a glorified snake dance with both visitors and residents participating. Jacquie and I elected to sit out that activity.  As the evening progressed, those people who were sufficiently brave were invited to sing Chinese songs, seemingly at the top of their lungs into a P.A. system. The noise was almost deafening.   Jacquie did manage to take a few photos of the dancers who were most willing to pose for photos. But, I didn't much enjoy the evening on an overall basis. Perhaps my expectations for a program of folk dancing and performance by Musuo dancers were unrealistic!

The festivities began to end about 9:00 PM or a little thereafter and people started leaving in droves. We joined a group that supposedly was taking a shortcut back to the hotel area.  The path led between buildings and then seemed to dead-end. The "leader" who supposedly knew the shortcut was quite obviously lost and then seemed to disappear altogether.  I suddenly found myself at the head of the line and holding one of the few available flashlights.  (Yes, we had planned ahead and brought one along for such reasons.)  So, I just started following a path through a cornfield and paralleling some buildings not having any idea whether I was going in the right direction. But, I wasn't too worried because the whole area was bounded by roads and we would cross one of these eventually.   After about 15 minutes, we reached a road and, miracle of miracles, it was exactly at the small bridge where we had crossed the creek earlier in the evening. Another 10 minutes and we were back in our room at the hotel.  It was about 9:30 PM.

It was quite chilly outside and our room was quite cool.  We decided to forego showers and not do any laundry under the circumstances. These activities could wait till tomorrow evening when we were back in the hotel at Lijiang.  We took extra comforters out of a closet and piled them on our beds and then dived under the covers.  Breakfast was scheduled for the decent hour of 8:00 AM with departure for Lijiang set for 9:00 AM.  Judy told us this evening that the reason we had gone directly to the waterfront and taken the lake excursion late this afternoon was to avoid the inevitable horde of people that would arrive tomorrow morning to do this activity. These people all came in late this afternoon on tour buses that had made slower time on the road from Lijiang.  By our going out this afternoon, we had avoided the long lines and waits that would occur tomorrow.  Mr. Dua is very experienced with this itinerary and he did his best to make our time productive. For that we were grateful.

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Sunday, September 12, 2004

We both slept well last night in spite of it being cold. The comforters that we added to our blankets made the difference. We were up at about 7:00 AM.  It was overcast outside but not raining and there was some bright sun poking through here and there.  Our room was decidedly chilly and this made us quickly work through the morning routines of washing, shaving and getting dressed.  We took a short walk down to the lake but found nothing much was going on. So, we returned and went to the dining room for breakfast.  We learned last evening that our proprietress/cook is named Bermi and that she is of the Punu ethnic minority.  Breakfast included a boiled potato with hot bean sauce condiment, Sichuan pickle, rice porridge, delicious fried eggs and steam buns.  The eggs had been fried in deep fat, sunny side up and were a bit crispy but done just right.  Eating them with chopsticks was a bit of a challenge but we managed with the assistance of a steam bun!  The steam buns were very good when dipped in a bit of granular sugar. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the breakfast.  Somehow, it was more attuned to our palates than the Chinese breakfasts we had been getting in the hotels.

At the appointed hour of 9:00 AM, we loaded into the car after bidding goodbye to hotel staff that happened to be around. Since we had taken the boat ride and participated in other available activities yesterday afternoon, we headed directly back to Lijiang.  We could see a virtual horde of tour buses parked at the boat landing and we were glad that we had rushed a bit to arrive early yesterday.  The drive back was long and retraced the route we had traveled yesterday. But, heading the opposite direction gave us a different perspective and we were seeing things at a different time of the day. Following are some notes that I made from this part of the trip.

•    We passed a boy herding several pigs as we headed out of the settled area and started up the slope to the mountain pass.  Pigs here seem to mostly free range but they usually are tended by a herder. •    We stopped at an overlook near the top of the grade leaving Lugu Lake.  This gave us a chance to take a few panoramic shots of the Lake.  The overlook was a nice facility for taking pictures but trees were beginning to grow to the height that they were starting to obscure the view. It began to mist lightly while we were there. •    There was a large conical-shaped mound about 8 ft. high at the edge of the overlook parking lot.  It was covered with small stones.  Judy told us that Buddhists have a custom that when they leave home or a place of long residence, they walk clockwise around such a monument and toss on a stone, while saying a prayer that they will someday return. When they return, they repeat the process. •    By the time we reached the top of the first pass from Lugu Lake we were up in the low-lying clouds and were driving in thick fog with maybe 100 ft of visibility.  I suspect that the altitude was about 10,000 ft. at this point. •    Judy told us that she is buying an apartment in Lijiang.  It costs about 100,000 Yuan, about $12,000. She has a bank loan that requires her to pay 1,000 Yuan, about $120 per month.  I wasn't able to determine what is the interest rate on this loan and how many payments she will have to make before she has paid off both principal and interest. •    We passed several places along the highway where retaining walls have been erected to minimize slumping and sliding on steep grades.  The walls were made of logs assembled in interlocking manner.  These walls were held in place with other logs that were sunk perpendicularly into the bank to act as anchors.  I wondered how long these anchors would stand up to the onslaught of decay and termites. •    We passed a small coal mine. Its shaft extended horizontally into the mountainside. Judged by the apparent size of the mine, it probably only produced coal for local consumption. It was difficult to tell from the highway whether it was still in operation. •    We saw many small horses during the drive to and from Lugu Lake. It's hard to tell whether they are used for general farm work such as plowing since those we have seen in use were pulling carts.  What tilling we have seen in progress is done by humans using hoes with a large heart-shaped blade.  We have seen planting going on at several locations. What is being planted this late in the season? Potatoes? •    We passed a woman walking along the road playing a small horn that looked like a recorder. •    Jacquie and I have been interested in all of the cell phones that are in use. We continually see people carrying them even in the small villages along the road. Judy and Dua both have cell phones and have been using them as we drive along even in this relatively remote area. We do see cell phone towers here and there beside the road.  In any event, people here are able to communicate with the "outside" in an expeditious and convenient manner because of this technology. In some of these areas it would be difficult and very expensive to string phone wire to provide traditional communication access.  We have also noted that 10%-20% of the houses have satellite dishes on the roofline to bring in television signals. •    The hats that the Yi women wear are meant to simulate an eagle. They flare out at the sides to look like an eagle in flight. •    At the risk of sounding a bit racist, I have to remark that the Chinese language to our ears seems inherently to be loud and noisy, especially when several people get together.  Then the noise level really rises.  People also seem to be quite excitable and not very tolerant of the shortcomings of others.  We saw an example of this in Beijing when we were waiting to a bus to drive us to the hotel. One or two passengers started yelling at the bus "starter" and pretty soon, the whole bus was involved. The poor man had little control over what actually was happening but the passengers were cutting him no slack. •    We stopped for lunch at a restaurant alongside the Golden Sands River.  The water level was even higher than when we passed this way the day before and was boiling and churning. The water was the color of cafe au lait.  The setting was beautiful. The walls of the gorge were almost vertical and were covered with intensely green vegetation. Wisps of fog clung to the ravines and along the tops of the high hills. Fields along the river were cultivated with neat rows of crops.  •    The restaurant was busy and it was raining lightly but an awning covered the outdoor tables. We again had the egg and tomatoes as well as the same cabbage dish that was served last evening.  Other dishes were OK but not memorable.   While we were eating, we watched bus drivers adding water to holding tanks that were used to cool brakes on the steep grades. •    Dua's mountain driving is something to behold. He passes on curves and other places with limited visibility, drives on the wrong side of the road when necessary and speeds at times.  Yet, there were no close calls and overall, he is cautious. You comee away with the impression that he is a very skilled driver who knows exactly what he is doing and in fact, is taking few chances considering the traffic of the region.  We formed this impression early in the trip and had no negative experiences that caused us to change our opinion over the duration of our Yunnan travels.

We reached Lijiang by mid-afternoon and checked in at the Adange Hotel about 3:30 PM.  We had the rest of the afternoon at leisure with dinner scheduled for 6:20 PM. The room was cold and we tried to turn on the heat at the thermostat. We could hear the switch click on but no heat came.  Judy told me earlier that most hotels in Lijiang turn off the heat to conserve electricity.  Even in the winter, the heat goes off from 11PM to 6:00 AM.   Needless to say, it gets quite cold by morning and most rooms are slow to warm up.  But even today, with the temperature in the low 60s, it was unpleasantly cool in the room.  We finally hit upon the idea of using the hair dryer to warm the bathroom. That worked quite well and allowed us to comfortably take showers later in the day.

We had dinner tonight at the GuanFeng Hotel at an "all you can eat" buffet.  Some items of Western food such as Russian chicken cubes, batter-fried veal, etc were available.  There were also many tasty Chinese dishes including a pickled eggplant dish that was delicious. Jacquie and I stuck mostly to the Western dishes feeling that we wanted a change in our diet. But, we also had some of the more tasty Chinese offerings. Field ripened melon topped off the meal.  The meal was very tasty. We noticed on exiting the dining room that the price was 40 Yuan, about $4.80!

Sometime this evening, we mentioned to Judy that our room was cold. She immediately called the hotel on her cell phone and requested that they put a heater in our room.  Housekeeping was just getting an electric water heater set up when we returned to our room about 10:00 PM.  It soon had a very positive effect on the temperature in our room. But, the staff person who installed it plugged it into a socket that was controlled by the light switch. Thus, it went off when we went to bed and we woke up to a cold room to following morning. Needless to say, I changed sockets once I figured out what had happened!

We traveled into Old Lijiang after dinner to attend a cultural show at the "Dongba Palace" which I have referred to as the Cultural Center.  The performance featured music and dancing to traditional Naxi music and folk tales.  The costumes, music and the sets were magnificent.  Initially, the Dongba, the high priest, "guru" or wise man, performed by reading a Naxi tale and chanting passages from folk tales. Then a variety of both younger and older perfomers sang and went through elaborate dances.  Several performers were quite elderly. This is consistent with the love of the Naxi people for their music and dance.  Many continue to enjoy participating well into their old age.  The  folk dancers and singers wore magnificent costumes and I wondered whether they were authentic or were styled just for the performance. Judy who was waiting for us at the end of the program and introduced us to her grandmother who was one of the performers in the cultural program we have just seen!

We returned to the hotel and took a shower in the bathroom warmed by hot air from the hair dryer. The heater that was installed this evening was helpful to take the chill off the room. It was also useful in drying items of clothing that needed the damp taken out.  We finally went to bed about 10:30 PM hoping for a better weather day tomorrow.


Monday, 13 September 2004

It was gray and gloomy this morning and although not raining, it was threatening to do so.  The room was quite chilly as a result of the heater being off. I immediately got that running again by plugging it in to a different outlet.  It was cold enough outdoors that the windows of our room were steamed over.

We had breakfast in the dining room. It was not as crowded as yesterday since it was late enough that the tour groups were already loaded up and departed. I found some dry cereal on a side table and enjoyed that. This, I supplemented with some rice porridge, sausages, a roll and a piece of boiled corn on the cob.  The corn was mature, yellow and sweet and very good. The Chinese eat a lot of corn on the cob. It's sold by street vendors and in restaurants everywhere. Sometimes it's just steamed or boiled.  There are also many street vendors selling ears of corn broiled over a charcoal fire. We met a Chinese couple from Australia in the dining room. They spoke good English and were traveling with a daughter and son-in-law who live in China. Their room is on the opposite side of the hotel and they told us they could see the Jade Dragon Mountain for a short while this morning when it peeked out of the clouds.  Maybe there's hope for today after all.

We joined Judy and Dua at 9:00 AM and headed off for a day of sightseeing around Lijiang. Our first destination was the Beisha Village. It is located about 2 miles outside of Lijiang proper. Beisha means "white sand." Much of the surrounding area is so sandy that it doesn't hold rainwater and hence crops cannot grow in some locations.  The village itself has trees and there are farming areas nearby for the residents. The clouds had lifted to the extent that we were able to stop the car a mile or so before reaching the village and take a couple of good photos of Jade Dragon Mountain looming across the valley. 

We parked the car on the edge of town and walked a short distance to what passes for a local culture center.  The cultural center was on the site of what once was a small Buddhist temple, shrine or monastery. There was an admission charge that Judy paid. We entered a small building where an orchestra of about 15 local residents sat waiting to play for visitors.  The ages of the musicians ranged from the early teens to elderly reflecting the Naxi peoples' life-long love and involvement with music. Judy told us that they would play for us but that we should give them a small tip of 10-20 Yuan for their troubles. We did this and listened to about 10 minutes of music. It was interesting in that native musical instruments were played. Also, it was interesting to see the very young residents were being coached by the older players during the course of the performance.

Just across a small courtyard was a building that holds several of the frescoes for which Beisha is famous.  The frescoes were painted during the Ming Dynasty and are considered to be major cultural relics. They now are under state protection.   They were nearly destroyed by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. However, a fast thinking general of the PLA was able to divert the Guards'  interest until soldiers arrived to protect the relics from damage.  The frescoes we viewed were in a dimly lit building and they were difficult to see. Photos were not allowed so we bought s small packet of postcards that had the images on them.  Many of the frescoes are now somewhat deteriorated but it still is possible to see the intricate drawings and to appreciate their original beauty.  The frescoes took about 100 years to make and are in the range of 500 years old. They're unique in that they blend Tibetan, Han and Naxi styles of Buddhist expression.  One panel is said to depict the Naxi belief that if nature and the environment are kept in their original state, all will live in harmony.

We stayed for about 20 minutes looking at the frescoes. We next walked into the village following a road that led to what passed for the main square. The square was a beehive of activity. Some people were selling produce. Many shops fronted on the plaza and streets associated with it and these were open for business. Taxis and other wheeled transport were parked awaiting fares and the beginning of the day's business. There were few tourists around so most of the activity was due to local people tending to their shopping needs.  This was a Naxi village and Judy seemed at home and was acquainted with many of the residents. We strolled through the village enjoying the sights and sounds.  A few comments follow.

•    This basically is a farming village and most dwellings actually are farmhouses with associated sheds and work areas.  These buildings all face an internal courtyard and present their blank rear walls to the streets. Narrow walkways lead between the dwelling units and provide access to gates that open into the interior courtyards.  Thus, from the street, there is little to be seen other than to watch what people are doing as they are out and about. Judy led us through narrow entry passages into the courtyards of two different farm homes.  In both cases, there was a central courtyard that was at least partially paved. The homes, two stories in both cases faced into the courtyard. A shed or barn for animals usually sat on one side of the courtyard. The other two sides were flanked with sheds and covered work areas. In one home, the residents were rebuilding an animal shed and the courtyard was littered with notched poles intended for use as beams in the construction.  Few people seemed to be around. A man was working half-heartedly on the barn. In the other home, an ancient grandma was puttering around and taking care of a small puppy.  The exterior of the houses were not painted and presented the original color of the adobe plaster that covered the bricks used in their construction. •    Judy pointed out to us that many of the houses had a fish emblem attached to the roofline. This is typical of Naxi houses and brings good luck and health.  Other houses had the silhouette of a "roof cat" anchored to the roofline facing outward.  Judy explained that the cat faces this way so that its "poops" will fall back into the home. It symbolizes the accumulation of material things and wealth, which keeps the family prosperous. •    We passed a man wearing a white turban.  This signifies that a close relative has recently died. When such happens, the Naxi do not cut their hair for 3 years. They wear the white turban for one year to signal that they are in mourning.  After that, they wear a blue or a yellow turban, presumably until the end of the three-year period when their hair can again be cut. •    Each village has a Captain who serves as its administrative leader.  If I understood correctly, the general hierarchy of governmental organization is Province, County, Prefecture, City, Town and Village. Lijiang has just been designated city status by the Government.  This significantly increases its status and will lead to significant new construction of city government offices and the appointment of bureaucrats to staff the new city administration.

After touring the residential locations, we walked the length of the main street of the village to an area of souvenir stands and shops.  There was little unique on sale, just the usual tourist stuff such as jewelry, polished stones, woodcarvings, clothing items, etc.  One item that caught my attention was a small wind-up alarm clock that had a Chairman Mao character on its face that went through a number of activities such as when the alarm went off. I first thought that it was a true relic from the 1960s. But, I later saw this item in souvenir stands all along our route in China. It's something that's being made for the modern tourist trade!

Next, we made a brief stop at the Yufeng Monastery a few miles distant. This 500 year-old Lamist monastery sits on the side of a hill that overlooks the valley and Lijiang. It is a working monastery. The principal attraction other than photos is a 500 year-old magnolia tree and a 500 year-old camellia called the "camellia of 10,000 blooms. The latter is actually two plants grown together and supported by a trellis to support the weight of its spreading branches.  We took a few photos and then continued on our way to Jade Spring that is the ultimate source of the water that flows through Lijiang.

We first had lunch in a restaurant located at Jade Spring and then went to view the spring itself.  It turned out to be a very large spring with water upwelling out of the ground in several places and then forming a stream that flowed on down hill.  There were several fish in a pool there that are referred locally as being salmon. They are gold in color with a trout-shaped body.  A reddish-purple stripe runs down the sides of the body and the fins and tail are of the same purple color. The ones we saw appeared to be 14 to 18 inches in length.

Judy told us that the term Shangri-La means (in Naxi?) "a very beautiful place." So, Shangri-La really can be any place that you personally feel is beautiful and peaceful. In Tibetan, Shangri-La means, "welcome my friends."  "Shangri" is included in the names of several villages near Lijiang.  So, it is difficult to say exactly where the Shangri-La of literary fame was located.  However, the Governor of Yunnan Province, supposedly after much research, recently designated a location as being the "real" Shangri-La. It is an area in the vicinity of a town formerly named Zhongdian that lies northwest from Lijiang on the far side of Jade Dragon Mountain. That is where we will go as the next stop on our itinerary.  Residents of Lijiang believe their city is more likely the original Shangri-La!

Next on our agenda was a trip to Jade Dragon Mountain.  This required a drive of about 1/2 hour or more. The mountain had been peeking out from the clouds off and on all morning.  That was enough to give us some good looks at the mountain and get a feeling for its huge size. It has a very jagged appearance with 13 individual peaks and is approximately 40 Km in length.  Snow comes about 1/3 of the way down on its flanks.  As we got close to the mountain we could see that green forest covers the lower flanks of the mountain.  This gives way to a gently sloping plain that seems to be composed of coarse gravel that supports only grasses and sparse bushes.  One now dry area along the access road was once was a lake but it now is called the "dry ocean" by the local residents.  It lies in the alluvial plane that extends outward from the base of the mountain peak. Much of the upper reaches of the plain were covered with wild flowers in colors of yellow, pink, white and blue.  The only species recognizable was blue lupine, which seems to grow worldwide.

We eventually reached a spot where a large river flowed down from the mountain over a series of small dams. A larger dam under construction was nearly complete but had not yet begun to fill with water. Some travelers were taking photos and getting rides on several yaks that had been brought there by local entrepreneurs for such purposes. The yaks were wading around in the frigid water enjoying its cooling effect. Just beyond the dams, the road ended at a parking area surrounded by restaurants, and shops.  Here is the entry to a chair lift that carries passengers up to a facility on the side of the mountain that is the starting point for a hike to Yunshan Meadow and good views of the Jade Dragon Mountain.   We boarded the chair lift and were on out way. It had two abreast seating so Jacquie and I could ride together. Judy followed in the next chair.  The ride took about 10-15 minutes and gave us time to look at the magnificent scenery.  To our left was the gray bulk of the mountain topped by snowfields. We were too close to see the most of the peaks.  To our right was a panoramic view of forested hills stretching off into the distance. The dams and river were in the foreground.  We disembarked the chair at the top where there was a restaurant and souvenir shop.  From here, it was about a mile on a boardwalk over slightly uphill level terrain to the meadow where we would find the best views. We walked along in the midst of large trees with a relatively open understory.  Several large trees that had succumbed to storms were lying where they had fallen and now were being consumed by moss and lichens in the moist temperate climate. Indeed, the accumulation of moss and the decaying trees made one think they were in a rain forest and that probably was nearly the case. We arrived at a typical alpine meadow after about a 1/2-mile walk through the forest.  The meadow was about 1/4 mile wide by nearly 1/2 mile long and was surrounded by the forest on all sides.  The mountain loomed above the trees as a huge mass of gray crumbling limestone rising a couple of thousand feet over the meadow floor.  It was capped with snow and there were glaciers filling hanging valleys high up on the slopes. Many small streams cascaded down the steep slopes. It was quite an impressive sight.  The meadow is also known as the Third Kingdom of the Jade Dragon of the Mountain.

There were many vendors here, mostly members of local minorities, waiting to sell us souvenirs, horseback rides and photo opportunities. Most were dressed in their ethnic costumes as a means of promoting sales.  Several vendors were selling replicas of traditional Naxi ceremonial dress. Especially popular were headdresses that looked like a large furry cap festooned by long pheasant feathers. The net result was something similar to an American Indian war bonnet. To go with the headdresses were long orange robes. Jacquie tried on one of these costumes so that I could take her picture. But, we weren't in the mood to buy. We did pass several Chinese people on the trail who had bought complete outfits!  We followed a boardwalk that circled around the meadow. This gave us views of the mountain from several perspectives.  Unfortunately, much of the mountain was lost in the clouds but we still were able to enjoy some of its magnificence. We certainly were not alone as visitors to the meadow and there must have been several hundred Chinese tourists also enjoying the scenery.  There was a lot of open space so it didn't feel crowded.  After spending about 1/2 hour, we headed back down the mountain on the chair lift.  Just before we reached the bottom, it started to sprinkle and we had to breakout the umbrellas.

We returned to Lijiang and drove the Black Dragon Pool Park. There actually are several springs here that make a lake that is several acres in size. A small river flows out of one end and this is the primary source of the water that flows through Old Lijiang. You can see the water bubbling up out of the bottom at several points around the lake.  The area around the lake is nicely landscaped with flowers and shrubs and there is a walkway that extends around its entire perimeter.  Benches along the walkway provide a place to sit and contemplate the beauty of the setting. There are two 500-year-old pagodas in the park, one of them stands out in the lake and is accessed by a graceful bridge. The lake is full of carp that by local legend are the children of the black dragon.  Overall, the park offers a very peaceful ambience.

While walking around the lake, we stopped at a pagoda set back from the shore that was surrounded by a wall and courtyard.  A statue of a warrior stood in the middle of the courtyard. Several young girls were playing badminton and were batting the shuttlecock back and forth like pros. Judy led us to a small building off the courtyard where we found a tea shop stocked with many varieties of tea.  A tea salesperson appeared from the back and proceeded to make tea for us to taste. The procedure was much the same as we had encountered in Dali. We sat in chairs in front of a small table. This one was made from the highly polished stump of an old tree. The vendor made small cups of tea for us to try, all the time assuring us that there was no obligation to buy.  But, we eventually weakened and ended up with a 250-gm. canister of rose bud tea and an equal sized one of green pura tea for which we paid a total of 260  ¥ ($31.30).  While the cost might seem high, in actuality, 250 gm makes many, many servings of the beverage.

We returned to the hotel just in time to go to the dining room for dinner.  The food was good and it pretty much followed the line of what we had been served already. There were no new dishes of note. Judy joined us during the latter part of the meal and we had a good conversation about the structure of English vs. Chinese language.  The inflections put on pronouncing Chinese words can greatly alter their meaning.

We returned to our room after dinner and did some preliminary packing for tomorrow's departure.  Jacquie also took time out to wash her hair while I worked on stowing our purchases of tea into our baggage where the containers wouldn't get damaged.  We were finished and in bed by about 10:30 PM.

The highway leading back from Jade Dragon Mountain to Lijiang travels down a sloping valley. The broad valley has all the appearance of once having been the bed of a meandering glacial river that carried the out-wash from glaciers on the mountain. The soil is composed of small rocks and limestone gravel that won't support farming but is sufficient to allow growth of grass, small pines and many wild flowers.  I suspect that some of the snowmelt from the mountain still flows down this valley below he surface of the porous gravel.  At about the point of Black Dragon Spring and Jade Spring, as well as others in the area, some underground geological feature must block the flow of water and force it to come to the surface as springs bubbling from the ground. In the Naxi culture, it is the elderly who take the lead roles in singing and dancing activities.  For example, the Dongba who led the performance at the "Dongba Palace" is in his 80s. He also serves as the High Priest of the Dongba Religion.  One man performing in the small orchestra at Beisha Village today is age 92 and several other performers were quite elderly.  The elderly are the ones who have assimilated the knowledge of the songs and dances.  The younger people perform along with them in order to learn the music and the dance routines. But it will take them years, if ever, to learn all that the elders know. Housing in Lijiang is relatively inexpensive, partly due to its relatively remote location.  One can buy a newly constructed 2-floor town house with 2 bedrooms in a gated community for 300,000 ¥, about $36,000. Some foreigners from Australia and elsewhere are now moving into Lijiang to take advantage of this situation.

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Tuesday, September 14, 2004

We were up today at 6:45 AM and were pleased to find that it was not raining. In fact, some sun began to shine on the hotel as the sun peeped over the horizon.  We had to pack up this morning since we were scheduled to depart with Mr. Dua for Shangri-La at 9:00 AM.  The drive was would be about 2-1/2 hours. Our Shangri-La guide was scheduled to meet us at the Tiger Leaping Gorge Restaurant at lunchtime. This person would travel the rest of the distance with us and would guide us during our stay in Shangri-La.

The room was chilly this morning but the space heater that Judy had ordered night before last made a significant difference. We used it this morning to finish drying out last night's laundry before packing. And, I used it to warm my tee shirt which then was sheer ecstasy to put on!  We again ran the gauntlet of getting breakfast in the dining room. Quite fortunately, most of the tour groups had already finished and we found a spot in a quiet corner of the dining room.  We checked out of our room and met Judy and Mr. Dua in the lobby. Judy gave Jacquie a large bag of Sichuan pepper as a departure gift. Jacquie had been asking for the past couple of days about where she could buy some. It has totally disappeared from markets that we frequent at home. So, Judy's gift was much appreciated. (We later learned that the USA Agricultural Inspection had banned it because of some type of plant disease. But, unknown to us,  it had recently been cleared a for importation again.)  Judy also gave us some postcards and a small CD regarding Old Lijiang.  We would miss Judy's positive attitude, cheerful demeanor and her helpful and caring services. She truly made our visit to Lijiang one of the highlights of our trip in China.  I passed her a nice tip as we departed hoping that she could put it to good use as a token of our appreciation.  We also exchanged "thank you" expressions in Naxi   (phonetically sounding to me like "Chubesi" or "SBC").

We got settled in Dua's car arranging our gear for a long ride that would take until sometime after lunch.  We pulled out of the parking lot of the hotel and were on our way by about 9:00 AM.  Following are transcriptions from my notes, added to as best I can remember, about the things we saw during the drive to Shangri-La.

•    We headed out of Lijiang in a generally westerly direction following a muddy road that was full of chuckholes.   The road was lined with construction-related shops and work yards. This was where one comes to buy such things as cement, rebar, sand, concrete blocks and pipe, plastic pipe, etc.  Jade Dragon Mountain was plainly visible off to our right since the rain and fog had lifted leaving only a high overcast.  •    We past over a quite heavily wooded ridge that extended out into the valley. There were many large trucks going in both directions. The ones going our way were empty and the ones headed in the opposite direction were filled with large rocks.  We assumed that there was a quarry up ahead. We soon passed the quarry where the trucks were coming and going with their loads.  •    Within about a half-hour from departure, we again were back down in a broad valley, probably the same one where Lijiang is sited. There was a broad lake off to our right in the center of the valley that was at least a couple of miles long.  The highway was lined with trees and wound through cultivated fields of corn, vegetables, tall and short sunflowers and apple trees.  A roadside sign pointed to "Lashi Sea Wetlands Park."  This probably relates to the name of the lake.  The houses in this area all had the image of a fish attached to their roofline suggesting that the residents were Naxi.  By now, Jade Dragon Mountain was again socked in with clouds and was no longer visible. •    We passed a large brick factory. Many houses in the immediate vicinity were made of brick construction. However, other houses in the general area were made of a variety of materials such as bricks, concrete block, logs and combinations of these.  Roofs were usually made of tiles.  •    We left the broad valley and headed up into the hills. The Mountain was directly to our right and we seemed to now be due west of it. There were a few farmhouses in this area but it mostly was wooded and sparsely settled.  Very soon, we headed down into the Yangtse River Gorge. We could see a town in the valley that was surrounded by green fields. The sun now was peeking through the fog and clouds giving us some filtered sunlight.  On the way down into the valley, we passed a small stucco covered building with a sign in English that read "Disco." After descending a series of switchbacks, we finally reached the bottom of the valley and off to our immediate left, we could see the wide, muddy Yangtse River flowing swiftly along at near flood stage.  To our left (upstream) the canyon widened out into a relatively broad valley with several small villages in the distance. To our right (downstream) the canyon was relatively more narrow with only a half-mile or so of sloping ground before the hillsides became too steep for farming and the forest takes over.  In the far distance was the Tiger Leaping Gorge •    We stopped for a toilet break about 10:00 AM at a roadside shop that sold things for tourists. We have seen several of these facilities and they all are about the same.  They are large facilities that hold counters and counters of jewelry of all sorts but mostly jade and gold plus tables of dried herbs, mushrooms and traditional medicines. Many also have marble and other stone carvings, metal work, paintings and some sell clothing. Of course, there also are postcards and similar memorabilia of the area.  They typically employ many young women to staff the counters and there also are a few roaming clerks to make sure that your attention is called to the shop's wares.  The toilets are always in the rear of the store so that you have to run the gauntlet of the display counters to reach them. But, you seldom have problems finding them since the aroma of the toilets pervades the back part of the room.  These facilities seem to be popular with Chinese tourists and they frequently are quite crowded. •    The highway led downstream in the general direction of the Tiger Leaping Gorge approximately following a contour line about 100 ft above the river to our left. The river was 200-300 yd. wide and was flowing swiftly. Fields of corn and other crops lay between the river and us.  The river's banks were quite steep so that these fields were in little danger from the high water.   We drove for about 3 miles through an area where peppers seemed to be the predominant crop. Several roadside stands had long strings of bright red peppers hung out for sale.  Squash seemed also to be a popular crop and they were planted along the roadside right up to the pavement's edge. •    The highway eventually crossed over the river but continued down the gorge headed in a generally northerly direction.  The hillsides were steeper here and were extensively terraced to allow farming.  There was lots of new construction along the highway and in one location we passed what looked like a whole new town being built. There were apartments, business establishments and office buildings all in various stages of completion. It did not look like any of these structures were occupied yet. •    We finally came to the entrance to Tiger Leaping Gorge about 11:00 AM.  We had been scheduled to stop at an overlook but this had been closed to tourists as being too dangerous at the present time. One or more tourists have recently fallen to their death at this location.  The gorge is a favorite place for trekking when the river is low.   Jade Dragon Mountain loomed above the gorge to our right. The morning's drive had skirted around its end and then come up on the side opposite from Lijiang. •    At this point, the highway left the Yangtse River and bent away to the northwest following a tributary river. This river, the name sounded something like  "Tonjiang," was almost a continuous series of rapids and it flows down a narrow canyon with high mountains on either side.  The milky color of its water suggests that it is being fed by glacier melt water.  After a mile or two, we came to Tiger Leaping Gorge Town, population about 10,000.  The town appeared to be undergoing rapid growth as judged by the amount of new construction in the area.  We stopped here for lunch at a local restaurant where we were met by "Moon," the young woman who would serve as our local guide during our stay in Shangri La.  Moon ordered our lunch and then, as is typical of the guides everywhere, she left us alone to enjoy our lunch. She periodically reappeared to check that everything was alright and that we didn't need anything.   By now, the sun had come out of the clouds and it was pleasant and warm.  It was a bit breezy however and this caused a bit of a problem since we were eating in an outdoor area at the restaurant. •    When we had finished our lunch, we departed on the 96-Km drive to Shangri-La.  Moon initially spouted a veritable flood of facts and figures. Her English pronunciation could have been better so I didn't get everything that she was saying.  Here are a few facts that I did capture and record in my notes.       •    Zhongdian lies at an elevation of 3,300 meters while Tiger Leaping Gorge Town is at 2,000 m. Thus the road would be climbing through much of this afternoon's drive.        •    Shangri La County has a population of about 1,200,000. The population of Tibet is about 3,300,000.  Tibetans are the predominant minority in Shangri-La although there are 4 other minority groups living in the county including Bei, Naxi, Yi and Lisu.      •    Shangri-La is divided into an old town and a new town.      •    Tibetan houses are two stories high with the lower level being for the animals and the upper for people.  The upper level always includes a room for religious ceremonies.     •    The Tibetan people enjoy singing and dancing.  The children start learning the dances and songs as soon as they can walk. •    The highway was undergoing reconstruction for the first several miles, The paving was torn up in many places and we had to divert onto severely rutted dirt bypasses.   The going was slow and very bumpy.  We drove by at least two dams in this area that were harnessing the river to produce electrical power.  The drop of the river was so steep that in both cases, there was only a small lake behind the dam.  I was glad when the road to Shangri-La left the main river canyon and followed a small tributary northward up into the mountains.  We could see that the road construction continued along the wall of the main river canyon. I do not know its destination.   We drove through the mountains for close to an hour through a mixed forest of deciduous trees and conifers. Some of the trees were turning color in advance of the coming fall weather and this made the drive visually quite enjoyable.  The general trend of the highway was upward as we ascended to the higher elevation at Shangri-La. •    We finally dropped into a broad valley between low, forested mountains.  The valley was a lush green color and farms and small villages were scattered here and there.  Most of the land appeared to be devoted to raising grain and to pasture.  Mixed herds of cattle, yaks, sheep and an occasional horse grazed here and there. The whole outlook was very idyllic and my immediate thought was that this is what a place named Shangri-La should look like.  The highway followed this valley the rest of the distance to Shangri-La with this part of the drive taking about 30-40 minutes. •    Also scattered across the valley in considerable numbers were drying racks for hay and/or fresh-cut barley.  These are made of wooden poles and are about 15 ft. wide and up to 15 to 18 ft. high.  Each has several upright poles sharpened at the upper end.  These poles slope slightly out of the vertical in order to present a better angle to the sun.  A series of lighter weight poles about 4 to 6 ft off the ground extend horizontally out from these uprights. They  form a shelf to hold the hay off the ground and allow for air circulation.  A pole fastened near the top of the uprights at either end of the rack runs at about a 45 degree angle to the meet ground below the front edge of the shelf to provide support to keep the loaded rack from tipping forward and dumping its load.  Every farm appeared to have several of these structures and they are literally everywhere that one travels in the Shangri-La area. •    Most of the homes we passed in the valley were Tibetan and their design was consistent with what Moon had told us earlier.  They are all two stories high and rooms open onto one side that usually is oriented toward the morning or mid-day sunlight.  The other three sides are covered with white stucco.  The walls lean inward slightly to create a slightly trapezoidal form. This is to protect the structure against earthquakes.  We have seen a similar technique employed elsewhere in the world during our travels over the past few years.  The roof of these houses has a ridge that runs parallel to the long axis of the building. The roof is usually covered with wood shingles. Highly carved and colorfully-painted panels run along the edge of the roof all the way around the perimeter of the house.  There usually is a window at the second floor level in each end of the building. This usually is framed with a brightly painted border. On the open wall, there is a balcony at the second floor level. An outdoor stairway leads up to this level.  Wood on this side of the house is not painted but usually is oiled or finished with shellac or other preservative so that the natural wood grain shows through.  Massive wooden beams support the house and serve as the anchor points for all beams used in its construction.   These houses are very attractive and appear to be quite functional as far as the needs of their residents are concerned. •    Once we were down in the valley and following the highway, we had time to notice the various roadside activities. We passed many pigs that seemed to be wandering free-range. They usually were found wandering close to a farm or village however.  We also passed sheep standing on the road and had to slow for them.  People apparently don't worry too much about their animals being up on the road.  We passed several small stupas and prayer flags standing along the highway. These attested to Tibetan form of Buddhism as being the predominant religion of the area. •    Just before reaching Shangri-La proper, we passed what it the "largest Stupa in Shangri-La."  It stands at the crossroads of the highway into town with one that goes to the airport and then on to the west side of the valley.  The stupa was about 30 ft. high and maybe 20 ft.  On a side at its pedestal base.

We reached out hotel on the outskirts of Shangri-La about 1:45 PM and took a few minutes to check in and deposit our gear in our room.  I didn't write down the name of the hotel but in English, it's called the Good Luck and Happiness Hotel!  Our room was cold even at this time of the day and a quick check revealed that the room heating system did not work.  We returned to the lobby and asked Moon to arrange for an electric heater to be set up in the room. She assured us that this would happen.  Our room was located at the end of the hall on the third floor. There was no elevator and we had to climb the stairs to reach our room.  One could really feel the altitude, about 10, 800 ft., climbing the stairs.

We met Moon in the lobby about 2:30 PM and caught a taxi into the downtown area with the goal of visiting the Old Shangri-La District.  This gave us a chance to get our first look at the city.  Following are some of our observations and experiences.

•    We found that "New Shangri-La" has many new buildings and the usual congestion and clutter.  We passed the local government administration building which is a very modern-looking structure.   But, there were two calves tethered out on the lawn munching grass and mowing the lawn in the process. It was a low-tech solution to a problem that in other parts of the world would have demanded a riding lawnmower! We subsequently passed several modern-looking hotels. But, none of the buildings in Shangri-La appeared to be more that five stories in height. •    The taxi stopped and dropped us off when we reached the edge of Old Shangri-La.  Autos and other motorized vehicles are not allowed in this district because of the narrow streets.   Many of the buildings in the Old Town are in various stages of reconstruction and renovation.  This gave us a chance to see how the traditional Tibetan buildings in this area are constructed.   A building begins with tree trunks as much as 18 in diameter set upright on stone footings. These serve to bear the weight of the structure.   A frame of 4x4 timbers is anchored to these uprights to provide underpinning for the walls and floors.  Wood planks attached to these timbers form the walls.  The front of the house is open with rooms facing a balcony at the upper level.  The floor stringers usually are exposed on the street front and frequently are carved with the head of a dragon.   Facings along the upper level are usually elaborately carved and are then painted with bright colors.   The few old "legacy" houses that remain mostly follow this general construction technique.  The streets of the Old Town are mostly paved with large cobbles. But, this pavement was torn up in many paces due to the construction and the litter resulting from the reconstruction scattered all around. •    We visited two working monasteries in Old Shangri-La. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get their names and they weren't on our itinerary. These visits were something that Moon added to our schedule this afternoon to enrich our experience.  Both included Lamist as well as Chinese, Buddhist and Taoist shrines for worship by believers of all faiths. It was easy to see here on this one site that the religions have significantly different deities. An elder monk was reciting his prayers in one of the temples while he occasionally rang a small bell. I continue to be confused about the fine points of these religions and what the various figurines in the temples represent. •    Associated with one of the monasteries we visited today is "the largest prayer wheel in the world."   It is installed at the top of Turret Hill in Old Shangri-La. It is 39 m. high and weighs 16 T.  Its diameter is not posted but it must be at least 12 feet across.  A ring anchored near its bottom provides a place for worshipers to grasp as they turn it around while reciting their prayers.  At the top is a dragon.  Just below the dragon is a ring of Buddha symbols in relief.  Also inscribed on the bell are the 8 lucky symbols of Buddhism and below that is a ring of figures depicting China's 57 minority tribes.  From the top of the hill, we could see a nearby residential area that was complete with hay drying racks in an open space. •    One of the interesting points of our visit to the monastery was to see our first Tibetan dog. This actually is a local breed that is common to the area. These dogs are very chunky in body build and when adult, stand about 2 ft at the shoulder. They are colored light brown and black with a curled tail and modestly long hair. We saw a half-grown puppy at the monastery and judged by the size of his feet, he was going to be a good size dog.  We saw several other members of this breed during our time in Shangri-La. •    We continued our walk through Old Shangri-La after touring the monasteries.   The streets were narrow and paved with cobbles. We walked through a district of small shops and restaurants where a considerable number of young Caucasians were hanging out.  This apparently is a favorite place with the backpack crowd.  We also briefly visited one of the older homes in Old Shangri-La and now the site of a historic landmark plaque. It still houses an original family that has lived there many generations.  The Red Guards burned many of the old homes in the area during the Cultural Revolution but this one was spared.  It was built around an interior courtyard that was lined with flowers. Outbuildings at the rear provided work areas as did the lower floor of the house. Jacquie took several pictures of the interior living space.  We reached the edge of Old Shangri-La shortly thereafter and caught a taxi back to the hotel. Moon paid the driver only about 10 ¥, about $1.20 to carry the three of us several miles to the hotel.  But the taxi was hardly luxurious. It was a beat-up old Nissan that seemed to be near the end of its useful life.

The room still had no heat when we returned about 4:30 PM. We decided that we probably would have to make the best of it but decided to lean of Moon to again request a heater when we see her at 6:00 PM to go out to dinner.  At this point, the thermostat said that the temperature in the room was 14.5 ˚ C, about 58˚ F but the room was getting quite chilly now that the sun was setting.   We did remind Moon when we saw her at 6:00 PM and she assured us that she talked again with the desk clerk about the heater. By then, we also had her lodge a complaint about the hair dryer in our room which we found was burned out. It had nearly started a fire when we had turned it on in the hope that we could use it to take some chill off the bathroom.  When we returned about 9:45 PM, the room still was cold. There was no auxiliary heater and the broken hair dryer was still lying on the counter where we had left it.  Our fate was sealed for this night at least!

We had dinner at a downtown hotel in Shangri-La, supposedly one of the nicer ones. But the food was quite pedestrian.  The only good thing about dinner was that there were not too many dishes and we were able to eat most of everything served except for the usual too-big bowl of rice.   We ate in an alcove off the lobby that was on the way to the restrooms. The foot traffic through the area made for a less than relaxing atmosphere for our dinner.

 Following dinner, we drove to a renovated Tibetan-style house that was located about a mile from our hotel where we were to view a folk dance performance and partake of Tibetan food.  We climbed stairs to the upper level and entered through a door near one end of the building.  Following are notes I took concernin g this activity.

•    There was a small anteroom with toilets. A "greeter" draped a white scarf around our shoulders as a sign of welcome and good luck. •     From there a door provided access to a large hall that ran the length of the upper floor. A dance floor in the center was surrounded by rows of long tables about 30 inches high and 18 inches wide. Guests sat on long benches behind each row of tables. It was almost like sitting on the floor but in actuality, the seats were a few inches higher.  For each three places, the table held a small plate of roasted barley grain, a canister of barley powder, a small saucer of sugar, a plate of yak cheese, a plate of pretzel-like bread, three cups of yak-butter tea and three small glasses of moutai. The latter is a liquor distilled from a barley mash and very popular throughout China.  One ate the barley powder by placing a spoonful in the palm of your hand and then adding a bit of sugar.  You then licked up the sweetened powder from your palm. I found this to be surprisingly tasty as were the toasted barley grains.  The yak cheese was tasty but quite sharp with a hint of sour taste. I wouldn't want to eat very much of it.  The pretzels were OK but considering the other "goodies" available, I only took a bite or two. Finally, the moutai initially tastes like very bad tequila but it grows on you and eventually, you find it to be quite tasty!  The waiters kept filling the moutai glass every time it reached a half-empty level and I eventually lost count of the amount I consumed.  The glasses were small, about the size of a liqueur glass, so I never did consume enough to really feel the alcohol. •    The feature for the evening was a program of authentic (?) Tibetan dancing and singing.  The dancers and the vocalists turned out to be the servers who were bringing food and drinks.  The costumes were beautiful and probably stylized versions of traditional Tibetan dress. The songs undoubtedly were Tibetan.  But, all was slick and choreographed and I doubt that it was authentic in all detail. Still it was entertaining.  The show began about 8:00 PM but by about 8:45, it had degenerated into a mostly audience participation activity.  Most of the audience was Chinese tourists and all seemed to be having a good time.  I believe that this audience participation thing is something that's quite popular since this is at least the second time that we have encountered it. Everyone but Jacquie and me seemed to be having a good time.  I was very glad when Moon suggested about 9:15 that we leave; I could have departed at least 15 minutes earlier.  By then, the low seats were "killing" my back and it was wonderful to stand up and depart.   As we left the establishment, one of the staff draped a traditional white scarf around our shoulders as a symbol of friendship and a wish for good luck. Mr. Dua was waiting and drove us directly back to the hotel.

As noted above, there still was no heat in the room when we returned. In fact, we found that the doors to the hotel were left open, as were windows at the ends of the halls on the three floors. So, there undoubtedly was no concern about the chill in the building!  A chambermaid did show up shortly after we returned bearing two more blankets for our use. I had to make up our beds before we could go to bed.  There was just a mattress and a bottom sheet under the spread.  The mattresses merely lay on the floor of a raised area at one end of our room.  I piled on comforters and pillows that I found in the closet plus the recently delivered blankets and hoped that this would keep us warm through the night.  I had to stack the bolsters from the bed along one wall of the room. In the daytime the bed with bolsters became the only place to sit in the room. Our baggage was also piled up along the wall, as was much of our gear. Clothes could be hung in a small closet.  There were no chairs on which to sit!  My impression based on the first day was that even though this hotel appears to be newly constructed and appears to be quite modern, it rates about 1/2 star and maybe not even that much!  We finally dived below the covers at 10:45 PM with the alarm set for 7:00 AM. We were wondering how we could ever get out of bed in the morning and brave the cold.  Needless to say, we hadn't taken showers this evening!

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