Sunrise over Lugu Hu from our hotel window
A map of Yunnan. The green line is our route (although with the windy mountain roads, it was not nearly this direct).
NOTE: The entry below is a (quite detailed) diary of our trip through Yunnan Province:
Our Trip Begins
January 2, 2009: After a frantic 3+ weeks of planning, we set off for a 35 day journey across southwest China, Thailand, and Cambodia. Really, the trip could have easily taken 2-3 months to plan, but we were forced to cram all the planning into a short period of time due to the fact that our school (as usual) gave us such little warning of when our holiday would be. Needless to say, packing was a real chore, due to the vastly different climates of the places we were to visit; snowy in the mountains of southwestern China and tropical at the beaches of Thailand. We also needed to buy additional pieces of luggage since we only had the 2 HUGE suitcases that we’d moved our belongings to China in. After several trips to the local Zhuzhou wholesale market, we’d settled on purchasing 2 large “backpackers” backpacks and a rolling suitcase. Even packing light, this was the only way to hold our stuff comfortably. We could leave the big suitcase (with our winter clothes packed) at our hotel in Bangkok and bring only the backpacks with our lighter, summer clothing during our trip across Thailand and Cambodia, where the weather was warmer.
After many late nights of planning, packing, copying of visas, itineraries, plane tickets, grading nearly 600 final exams each, etc. (including 2 consecutive nights of staying up until 4am just before the trip), we finally headed off on our journey. The first leg of our trip was to Yunnan, a province in the southwest of China, with its rugged terrain and huge minority population (25 of China’s 55 ethnic minorities live in Yunnan). The itinerary through Yunnan was to fly from Changsha (about an hour away from Zhuzhou by bus) to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. After an overnight stay in Kunming, we’d hop on a short flight to Lijiang, a small town in the northwestern corner of the province where an ancient town built centuries ago was still well preserved. After a night in Lijiang, we’d take a 7+ hour bus ride over questionable, mountainous roads to Lugu Hu, a spectacular Lake in Northern Yunnan known both for its beautiful scenery as well as its unique culture. Lugu Hu is home to the Mosuo minority, one of the last practicing matriarchal societies in the world. After Lugu Hu, we’d retrace our steps and head back to Lijiang for 4 nights before ending our jaunt through Yunnan with an 8 hour bus ride back to Kunming, with the goal of arriving there in plenty of time to catch our flight to Thailand the following afternoon.
Chinese Air Travel Nice . . . But “Chinese Airlines Always Cancel”
The journey to Yunnan was relatively smooth. After our somewhat painful experiences travelling within China by train, our first intra-country flight felt like pure luxury! The Changsha airport definitely catered tothe upper class (or western businessmen judging by the large quantity of stuffed pandas for sale in the airport shop - pandas don’t even live in these parts!) with high-end shops and pricey restaurants. It was also clean, organized, and modern (amazing!). Upon stepping into the airport, I felt like I’d entered a different country than I’d been living in for the past 6 months!
Once on the plane, we were impressed by the comfy seats, abundance of space (only 75-80% of the seats were full), and delicious meal. We decided that air travel in China in 2009 must be similar to what it was like in the States 20 years ago. It is still very much a luxury to fly here, so the planes are often not as full, in contrast to America where every flight seems to be jam-packed nowadays. The service level was a bit higher as well. Our economy-class tickets bought us a full meal, including complimentary wine, on our 2 hour flight. However, I will say that the one problem with the Chinese air system today is the unpredictability of scheduling changes. Our original flight to Kunming was cancelled about a week before our trip, and (for reasons I’m still not sure of) the timing of our flight to Lijiang was moved 2 hours later about 3 days before our flight. A Chinese man we met later on our trip told us that this was common, and joked that the acronym CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) really stood for “China Airlines Always Cancel.”
Anyway, our re-scheduled flight to Kunming arrived on time and once we’d retrieved our bags from the baggage claim, we hopped in a taxi for our hostel. After taking advantage of the hostel’s cheap internet access (which was great because we hadn’t been able to Skype or email our families before we’d left on our trip due to a power outage that day in Zhuzhou), we went for a stroll in downtown Kunming. The city was really neat, but very “New China.” There were many old, charming buildings lining the cobbled streets near our hostel. However, many of these buildings have now been occupied by western bars and KTV(karaoke) clubs. This area of Kunming definitely caters to Western travelers and the young, moneyed, Chinese crowd. We went to bed a little early (and without a shower due to the fact that our hostel did not provide towels for our shared bathroom . . . first time backpackers' mistake!). We were looking forward to sleeping in and relaxing before our 1:25pm flight to Lijiang the next day.
Lijiang for A Day
January 3, 2009: After enjoying another pleasant, clean, easy, and fast flight, we arrived in Lijiang. Lijiang is a town of around 1.1 million people nestled in a valley and surrounded by the mountains of northwestern Yunnan Province. It is notable for several reasons: First, the city’s 800 year-old, Song Dynasty era “Old Town” is well preserved and gives visitors a taste of what life was like during the “old days” in China. The architectural style of many of the buildings in Lijiang is of the Naxi minority. It all looked new and clean, mostly because it is new. An earthquake destroyed much of the city in 1996. Interestingly enough, the newer buildings fell while the older style Naxi buildings withstood the quake. As a result, many of the new buildings were, and are, being built in the old style in the hopes of withstanding another disaster. Second, the town is primarily inhabited by people of the Naxi ethnic minority. The Naxi’s are a matrilineal society in which the inheritances are passed to the youngest daughter and females make up the bulk of the work force. The men raise the children while the women do all of the manual labor. The Naxi are also known for their unique costume and tapestry work. You could see women weaving scarves and other pieces on nearly every corner in the old town. The guide books emphasize Matriarchy more when referring to the Mosuo’s in Lugu Hu, but it was also evident to us immediately upon disembarking the bus in Lijiang. We needed a taxi to take us to our hotel from the new town. There were taxis aplenty lined up outside the bus stop, but as David expressed “There are taxis everywhere, but where are the taxi drivers?! Oh wait, it’s the group of women with purses hanging over their shoulders chatting." In my 5 months in China we have not had but 1 female taxi driver. But here, it was exactly the opposite. The matriarchal aspects of Naxi society were also evident at our hotel: A "well-worn" woman owned and ran the place. Everyone there doing all the real work of booking, cleaning, etc. was female. And in the background, we heard our owner’s husband singing and playing with their baby. It was so different!
On Our Way to Lugu Hu
January 2, 2009: After a frantic 3+ weeks of planning, we set off for a 35 day journey across southwest China, Thailand, and Cambodia. Really, the trip could have easily taken 2-3 months to plan, but we were forced to cram all the planning into a short period of time due to the fact that our school (as usual) gave us such little warning of when our holiday would be. Needless to say, packing was a real chore, due to the vastly different climates of the places we were to visit; snowy in the mountains of southwestern China and tropical at the beaches of Thailand. We also needed to buy additional pieces of luggage since we only had the 2 HUGE suitcases that we’d moved our belongings to China in. After several trips to the local Zhuzhou wholesale market, we’d settled on purchasing 2 large “backpackers” backpacks and a rolling suitcase. Even packing light, this was the only way to hold our stuff comfortably. We could leave the big suitcase (with our winter clothes packed) at our hotel in Bangkok and bring only the backpacks with our lighter, summer clothing during our trip across Thailand and Cambodia, where the weather was warmer.
After many late nights of planning, packing, copying of visas, itineraries, plane tickets, grading nearly 600 final exams each, etc. (including 2 consecutive nights of staying up until 4am just before the trip), we finally headed off on our journey. The first leg of our trip was to Yunnan, a province in the southwest of China, with its rugged terrain and huge minority population (25 of China’s 55 ethnic minorities live in Yunnan). The itinerary through Yunnan was to fly from Changsha (about an hour away from Zhuzhou by bus) to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. After an overnight stay in Kunming, we’d hop on a short flight to Lijiang, a small town in the northwestern corner of the province where an ancient town built centuries ago was still well preserved. After a night in Lijiang, we’d take a 7+ hour bus ride over questionable, mountainous roads to Lugu Hu, a spectacular Lake in Northern Yunnan known both for its beautiful scenery as well as its unique culture. Lugu Hu is home to the Mosuo minority, one of the last practicing matriarchal societies in the world. After Lugu Hu, we’d retrace our steps and head back to Lijiang for 4 nights before ending our jaunt through Yunnan with an 8 hour bus ride back to Kunming, with the goal of arriving there in plenty of time to catch our flight to Thailand the following afternoon.
Chinese Air Travel Nice . . . But “Chinese Airlines Always Cancel”
The journey to Yunnan was relatively smooth. After our somewhat painful experiences travelling within China by train, our first intra-country flight felt like pure luxury! The Changsha airport definitely catered tothe upper class (or western businessmen judging by the large quantity of stuffed pandas for sale in the airport shop - pandas don’t even live in these parts!) with high-end shops and pricey restaurants. It was also clean, organized, and modern (amazing!). Upon stepping into the airport, I felt like I’d entered a different country than I’d been living in for the past 6 months!
Once on the plane, we were impressed by the comfy seats, abundance of space (only 75-80% of the seats were full), and delicious meal. We decided that air travel in China in 2009 must be similar to what it was like in the States 20 years ago. It is still very much a luxury to fly here, so the planes are often not as full, in contrast to America where every flight seems to be jam-packed nowadays. The service level was a bit higher as well. Our economy-class tickets bought us a full meal, including complimentary wine, on our 2 hour flight. However, I will say that the one problem with the Chinese air system today is the unpredictability of scheduling changes. Our original flight to Kunming was cancelled about a week before our trip, and (for reasons I’m still not sure of) the timing of our flight to Lijiang was moved 2 hours later about 3 days before our flight. A Chinese man we met later on our trip told us that this was common, and joked that the acronym CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China) really stood for “China Airlines Always Cancel.”
Anyway, our re-scheduled flight to Kunming arrived on time and once we’d retrieved our bags from the baggage claim, we hopped in a taxi for our hostel. After taking advantage of the hostel’s cheap internet access (which was great because we hadn’t been able to Skype or email our families before we’d left on our trip due to a power outage that day in Zhuzhou), we went for a stroll in downtown Kunming. The city was really neat, but very “New China.” There were many old, charming buildings lining the cobbled streets near our hostel. However, many of these buildings have now been occupied by western bars and KTV(karaoke) clubs. This area of Kunming definitely caters to Western travelers and the young, moneyed, Chinese crowd. We went to bed a little early (and without a shower due to the fact that our hostel did not provide towels for our shared bathroom . . . first time backpackers' mistake!). We were looking forward to sleeping in and relaxing before our 1:25pm flight to Lijiang the next day.
Lijiang for A Day
January 3, 2009: After enjoying another pleasant, clean, easy, and fast flight, we arrived in Lijiang. Lijiang is a town of around 1.1 million people nestled in a valley and surrounded by the mountains of northwestern Yunnan Province. It is notable for several reasons: First, the city’s 800 year-old, Song Dynasty era “Old Town” is well preserved and gives visitors a taste of what life was like during the “old days” in China. The architectural style of many of the buildings in Lijiang is of the Naxi minority. It all looked new and clean, mostly because it is new. An earthquake destroyed much of the city in 1996. Interestingly enough, the newer buildings fell while the older style Naxi buildings withstood the quake. As a result, many of the new buildings were, and are, being built in the old style in the hopes of withstanding another disaster. Second, the town is primarily inhabited by people of the Naxi ethnic minority. The Naxi’s are a matrilineal society in which the inheritances are passed to the youngest daughter and females make up the bulk of the work force. The men raise the children while the women do all of the manual labor. The Naxi are also known for their unique costume and tapestry work. You could see women weaving scarves and other pieces on nearly every corner in the old town. The guide books emphasize Matriarchy more when referring to the Mosuo’s in Lugu Hu, but it was also evident to us immediately upon disembarking the bus in Lijiang. We needed a taxi to take us to our hotel from the new town. There were taxis aplenty lined up outside the bus stop, but as David expressed “There are taxis everywhere, but where are the taxi drivers?! Oh wait, it’s the group of women with purses hanging over their shoulders chatting." In my 5 months in China we have not had but 1 female taxi driver. But here, it was exactly the opposite. The matriarchal aspects of Naxi society were also evident at our hotel: A "well-worn" woman owned and ran the place. Everyone there doing all the real work of booking, cleaning, etc. was female. And in the background, we heard our owner’s husband singing and playing with their baby. It was so different!
On Our Way to Lugu Hu
January 4, 2009: After a less-than ideal first night in Lijiang as a result of becoming COMPLETELY lost in the maze-like cobblestone streets of the Old Town and eating some utterly disgusting local “Naxi” minority food (who thought of frying yak cheese and putting sugar on top, anyway?), we headed out to Lugu Hu, home to the matriarchal society of the Mosuo minority. As opposed to Lijiang' Naxi culture, which is matrilineal, the Mosuo culture of Lugu Hu is matriarchal. Family alliance is to the mother and sisters, and there is no significance placed on a child's paternity. Children live with their mother's "clan" their whole lives and a woman's brother raises her children, not the actual father. The Mosuo do not marry in the traditional sense and instead practice what is called a "Walking Marriage," where a man and woman come together for one night in hopes of producing a child. As such, Mosuo people have many mates during their lifetime. This system is so drastically different from much of the rest of the world! We decided that the Mosuos' isolation in these remote Chinese mountains (a) made such a family structure practical (Large families were needed to maintain their farms, so it made sense for all of a mother's offspring to stick together. Also, one had to travel a great distance to find an "unrelated" mate.) and (b) helped keep this unique system alive for so long.
As we drove out of town in our minibus (a van that looked very unofficial with cracked windows and a sliding passenger door that occasionally slid open as we took sharp turns around incredibly scary mountain cliff roads), we passed by crude, single story stores and houses. It was early morning rush hour; bikes (some with attached carts), students on foot, and motorized 3-wheeled work carts criss-crossed a 2-way country road. All the people looked cold, bundled in hand-made scarves and hats. The men were wearing over-sized long military coats, styled after Mao’s winter suit. They each pushed forward with thoughtless determination to reach their destination. Women were at work on the side of the streets, too, sweeping leaves and building fires (for warmth or to get rid of trash). Baozi (steamed meat-stuffed buns) were being prepared in stacks of bamboo steamersm, 2 ft in diameter and 3 ft. tall. Also for sale at the edge of town were fried sticks of dough resembling churros (but not sweet), boiled eggs in a dark liquid, and spicy noodle soup. One large peak stood behind us and a lower range lay ahead of us providing the perfect backdrop for the sunrise. The mountains reminded me of the Colorado Rockies, red dirt, rocky and of varying shapes, but more approachable than the karst peaks we had seen previously in China. The lone mountain peak behind us on our drive out, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, is the Crown Jewel of this area and marks the beginning of the mountain range that becomes the Himalayas. (We would see this up close another day). Onward we went Northeast out of town towards Lugu Hu and the matriarchal minority community of the Mosuo.
As we drove out of town in our minibus (a van that looked very unofficial with cracked windows and a sliding passenger door that occasionally slid open as we took sharp turns around incredibly scary mountain cliff roads), we passed by crude, single story stores and houses. It was early morning rush hour; bikes (some with attached carts), students on foot, and motorized 3-wheeled work carts criss-crossed a 2-way country road. All the people looked cold, bundled in hand-made scarves and hats. The men were wearing over-sized long military coats, styled after Mao’s winter suit. They each pushed forward with thoughtless determination to reach their destination. Women were at work on the side of the streets, too, sweeping leaves and building fires (for warmth or to get rid of trash). Baozi (steamed meat-stuffed buns) were being prepared in stacks of bamboo steamersm, 2 ft in diameter and 3 ft. tall. Also for sale at the edge of town were fried sticks of dough resembling churros (but not sweet), boiled eggs in a dark liquid, and spicy noodle soup. One large peak stood behind us and a lower range lay ahead of us providing the perfect backdrop for the sunrise. The mountains reminded me of the Colorado Rockies, red dirt, rocky and of varying shapes, but more approachable than the karst peaks we had seen previously in China. The lone mountain peak behind us on our drive out, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, is the Crown Jewel of this area and marks the beginning of the mountain range that becomes the Himalayas. (We would see this up close another day). Onward we went Northeast out of town towards Lugu Hu and the matriarchal minority community of the Mosuo.
The Road to Lugu Hu: We like to take the road less traveled....
The 7-hour drive to Lugu Hu was pretty amazing, not just for its beautiful mountain scenery but also for the cultural observations it offered. As our minibus worked its way further into the mountains and away from "civilization," we began to notice changes in the people we saw on the side of the road: Changes in their appearance, dress, and, in the few moments we saw each person, we even sensed a stark change in their way of life. Since pictures out the minibus window were not always feasible, we jotted down a few of the following "mental pictures" to help remember the scenery:
A man gently led his cow up the mountain road with a rope tied to a ring through its nose (Where was he going?). Three young boys "sat" in the standard Chinese squat position by a pond, throwing homemade fishing poles (with thick rope for a line) into the water. Teenage boys walked down the road with pick axes flung over their shoulders, and the younger boys (no older than 9 years old) pushed “skateboards” made of 2 x 4's loaded down with firewood down the mountain road and back into their village.
The homes in the villages were log cabins, with thin wooden planks for roofs secured with heavy rocks or tree branches. In front of one of these houses was an old grandmother wearing traditional minority dress, squatting on the porch blowing kisses at her young grandson.
At the same time, it was interesting to see how modern times had invaded their "old world" culture: In one village, we saw two women in town wearing colorful long dresses and traditional hats (a large flat black hat) walking alongside the road eating ice cream cones. Another old woman in similar traditional dress sat on the steps of her home on her cell phone. .
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Below: On the drive to Lugu Hu, women at work in traditional minority dress
Arrival in Lugu Hu
After 7 hours in the van, we arrived at Lugu Hu. The lake was stunning; huge, clear, and surrounded by mountain peaks. Our friendly driver stopped at a lookout point high above the lake to let us have a look before descending into Lige, the lakeside town where our hotel was located. After checking into our hotel, we took a longtail boat (paddled by 2 women of 60+…how bad did we feel allowing them to paddle us for 2 hours!) to an island in the middle of the lake. There was a nice temple on the island belonging to the Mosuo religion (which is a mix of Tibetan Buddhism and belief in Shamans). The temple was decorated with simple reliefs of various animal figures on the outside and brightly painted frescoes on the inside depicting religious characters. The temple was adorned with colorful “Tibetan” prayer flags. A man carefully watched us as we toured the temple, as if we were the only visitors he had had all day. The temple provided a magnificent look-out over the massive lake. We made it just in time to watch the sunset on our return journey by longtail boat. Because of the high altitude, this area was significantly colder than Lijiang had been. As the sun fell, we added more layers to stay warm into the night. Back on land, we decided to head down the one road we knew of. While this is a “famous” place in China, it is not heavily frequented by tourists. Perhaps the 8 hour drive through dangerous roads deters people. Nevertheless, China seems to think people will eventually come and therefore a few guesthouses and restaurants have opened alongside the lake. The combination of Chinese-tourist town and ancient matriarchal-society village left you feeling like this place was stuck somewhere between the past and the future.
After 7 hours in the van, we arrived at Lugu Hu. The lake was stunning; huge, clear, and surrounded by mountain peaks. Our friendly driver stopped at a lookout point high above the lake to let us have a look before descending into Lige, the lakeside town where our hotel was located. After checking into our hotel, we took a longtail boat (paddled by 2 women of 60+…how bad did we feel allowing them to paddle us for 2 hours!) to an island in the middle of the lake. There was a nice temple on the island belonging to the Mosuo religion (which is a mix of Tibetan Buddhism and belief in Shamans). The temple was decorated with simple reliefs of various animal figures on the outside and brightly painted frescoes on the inside depicting religious characters. The temple was adorned with colorful “Tibetan” prayer flags. A man carefully watched us as we toured the temple, as if we were the only visitors he had had all day. The temple provided a magnificent look-out over the massive lake. We made it just in time to watch the sunset on our return journey by longtail boat. Because of the high altitude, this area was significantly colder than Lijiang had been. As the sun fell, we added more layers to stay warm into the night. Back on land, we decided to head down the one road we knew of. While this is a “famous” place in China, it is not heavily frequented by tourists. Perhaps the 8 hour drive through dangerous roads deters people. Nevertheless, China seems to think people will eventually come and therefore a few guesthouses and restaurants have opened alongside the lake. The combination of Chinese-tourist town and ancient matriarchal-society village left you feeling like this place was stuck somewhere between the past and the future.
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Above: Beautiful Lugu Hu from the lookout point
Above: One of the ladies who paddled us on Lugu Hu
Above: An island in the middle of Lugu Hu
Above: Tibetan prayer flags at the Mosuo temple, Lugu Hu
Above: The town of Lige, Lugu Hu
Hungry for dinner, we walked down the one road, lined with near-empty guesthouses, until we came upon a small, outdoor restaurant offering grill-your-own food. We were sold! The grill sat in the middle of the small table for two, meaning you were huddled up around a warm fire while you cooked your food. This was perfect for a cold evening! We chose some vegetables off of the table. Our host washed and cut them, and left the rest of the work to us. Despite the tempting offer of roasted whole pig rotating over an open fire next to our table, we enjoyed an all-vegetarian meal sans rice or fried dishes. It was perfect! We weren’t lonely at our table-for-two either because we were accompanied by at least 15 stray dogs hoping for a handout. There was an incredibly dirty Mosuo toddler playing around us as well. We never could actually determine who she belonged to, but she needed a bath desperately!
Above: Dinner for 2!
Above: A Mosuo toddler joined us for dinner
Definitely Not a Western Toilet!
If our romantic evening for two by the fire next to a serene lake sounds too good to be true (and like we’re not in China anymore), then that's because there is a bit of the evening I’ve left out. I asked the restaurant owner for the bathroom, and she looked a bit confused. She asked me where my hotel was, and I told her, “far away” (it really wasn’t that far, but no need to leave the restaurant, right?). So, she agreed and walked me around and behind her restaurant, into farmland. We kept walking and I assumed we were heading for an outhouse. Still we walked, into the dark. Finally, she stopped and stared at me. I then realized there was no bathroom and she was indicating that I should just go in this grassy area. It took some time before the lady was convinced I in fact did not need her to stand beside me as I squatted in the grass. Finally, she left and I motioned that I could walk back by myself as well. Alone at last, I scanned the ground for any snakes or large bugs I was about to hover over. All looked clear as far as I could see (it was quite dark)! So, I made my way down into the squat pose I have perfected since moving here, only to land my left butt cheek on a stick poking out of the soil. I yelped in pain (it actually bled and I still have a scar!). With my scream, I startled an unbelievably large pig who happened to be grazing about 5 feet behind me. I had no idea he was there, and his sound made me scream again. The pig and I looked at each other, both in a bit of shock. Wow, that was the biggest adrenaline rush I’ve ever had just trying to use the bathroom. I ran back to our table and vowed to look more carefully next time I squat in nature!
Above: Sunset over Lugu Hu
Lunch with a Mosuo Family
January 5, 2009: The next day we headed out for a walk around the lake. The ultimate goal was to make it to the next town over to have lunch with a Mosuo family. The owner of our guesthouse had arranged this for us. We debated whether to take a bike or walk and eventually settled on walking due to the steep grade and poor quality of the roads (and the poor quality of the bikes available for rent). In the end, the next town was quite a hike and we eventually hitch-hiked it from the half-way point. This was yet another village that time had left behind. Several Mosuo families lived here, each with their own land and home (more of a compound, really). The compound was made up of 4 long buildings meeting at the corners to form a square, with an open-air courtyard in the middle. They were made of wood and were not insulated at all. One of the 4 buildings was full of rooms for the family members, one was a barn, one was the “family room” with a hearth and tables for eating at, and the last was the kitchen. We were invited into the room with the hearth. We sat down on stools that were too short to be considered comfortable. The fire was burning in the center of the room. A cast-iron tea pot set atop the fire. It was very dark ( no electric lighting) inside the wooden building. A few simple wooden cabinets lined the walls. A photo of a Shaman was set above the hearth, along with various foods and offerings. In another corner leaned a dusty framed picture of a monk. An odd, laminated photo poster of what looked like a breakfast burrito was taped to the same wall along with a battery-powered analog clock whose face was decorated with tropical fruits. I can’t even begin to guess how this family came to own such strange, foreign “decorative” items. As we scanned the four corners of the room, we came to the last corner, only to be surprised to find a sleeping old woman! Yes, one of the “cabinets” was in fact a carved out bed in which the oldest woman in the family had been sleeping and was now watching us with the same curiosity we had. We tried to say a few phrases in Chinese, but of course, she didn’t speak the Chinese we had been learning. So we waited. A young woman came in to begin serving our lunch. We ate just the two of us while the family sat next to us by the fire. They were waiting for the entire family to come home before they ate lunch. As they trickled in, we observed their daily life and different roles within the family. There was another older woman, very beautiful, who had her head wrapped in a woven cloth. A young woman was holding her infant and feeding her an unknown mush she had heated up in a tin placed near the fire. The young mother looked barely 20 years old and wore very modern clothing and hoop earings, yet her day-to-day life was not modern at all! She handed the baby to the sleeping grandmother in the corner and went about some other tasks. Finally, some of the men came in. One had just driven in on his motorcycle (probably the only vehicle for the entire family). All of the men had long hair while the women tied their hair up and the older women hid their hair under hats or scarves. While the company certainly outshined the meal, the food was as follows: Pig fat, sausage, snowpeas, sliced potatoes, egg and tomato, chicken in broth + 1 “lucky” chicken foot, fish and potato (in broth), tea, and a strange alcohol ( a powder was added) – slightly musky.
Above: Lunch in the Mosuo home
Above: A traditional Mosuo housing compound
After lunch we walked along the lake toward the next village where we were greeted by a pleasant older lady asking “qu na li? (Where are you going?)” As if there was any choice – There was only one option: The next town down! We walked along the dirt road where no more than one car passed per hour until we reached Sichuan province, marked by a sign in Chinese and the start of an asphault raod (apparently Yunnan is too cheap to pave their road)! Too tired to walk back to our hotel, we waved down the next passing car, which happened to be a bus, and rode back. Taking this giant bus made me thankful that we'd taken a minivan to Lugu hu, as unofficial as it may have been. The bigger the scarier! On the short trip back to out hotel, we had to stop for several road construction sites, where men were placing large rocks by hand into the bed of a small truck. When their truck bed was full of rocks, they would drive it out of the way so the other vehicles could pass on this one-lane mountain highway.
A restroom at a Mosuo home: Anybody need to use the toilet?
A Tibetan Monastary
Upon arriving at our guesthouse in the late afternoon we arranged for a car to drive us to yet another town to see a Tibetan monestary. The drive took us away from the lake and into the foothills past small villages, clay and log houses, and unique people. Finally we came to a real town with shops and 6 story buildings. Nearby was the Tibetan monestary, a stunning complex consisting of two main temples, rows of housing for the lamas, and various buildings each with a unique purpose. While this monestary is a permenant home to 20 lamas, it is capable of housing well over three times that many. However, we only saw one lama. Apparently, they were all out for dinner. The one we saw was seated in the lotus position in a grassy patch, gently rocking back and forth as he methodically vocalized chants. He wore a t-shirt and a cap with a Kappa logo (popular brand in China – the logo is a silloute of two naked ladies - not very "monklike, huh?"). What a funny picture: This lone monk in a large monestary, dressed in modern-day clothing styles that couldn’t clash anymore with his surroundings. Just as much as I enjoyed looking at the details of the temple, I also enjoyed seeing the locals walk by with their bundles of firewood heavy on their back. Some men were lucky to have a horse to lay their load on. A woman walked by with a young child strapped in a straw basket, attached to her back. The women’s skirts were long and their hair was covered. I think, depending on their status, they were allowed different types of head pieces. The oldest women seemed to be wearing a large black hat that resembled a graduation cap, only it’s flat top was twice as big. The fabric underneath this hat was folded up to present a bright green color.
Upon arriving at our guesthouse in the late afternoon we arranged for a car to drive us to yet another town to see a Tibetan monestary. The drive took us away from the lake and into the foothills past small villages, clay and log houses, and unique people. Finally we came to a real town with shops and 6 story buildings. Nearby was the Tibetan monestary, a stunning complex consisting of two main temples, rows of housing for the lamas, and various buildings each with a unique purpose. While this monestary is a permenant home to 20 lamas, it is capable of housing well over three times that many. However, we only saw one lama. Apparently, they were all out for dinner. The one we saw was seated in the lotus position in a grassy patch, gently rocking back and forth as he methodically vocalized chants. He wore a t-shirt and a cap with a Kappa logo (popular brand in China – the logo is a silloute of two naked ladies - not very "monklike, huh?"). What a funny picture: This lone monk in a large monestary, dressed in modern-day clothing styles that couldn’t clash anymore with his surroundings. Just as much as I enjoyed looking at the details of the temple, I also enjoyed seeing the locals walk by with their bundles of firewood heavy on their back. Some men were lucky to have a horse to lay their load on. A woman walked by with a young child strapped in a straw basket, attached to her back. The women’s skirts were long and their hair was covered. I think, depending on their status, they were allowed different types of head pieces. The oldest women seemed to be wearing a large black hat that resembled a graduation cap, only it’s flat top was twice as big. The fabric underneath this hat was folded up to present a bright green color.
Above: A Tibetan Monestary
Above: Tibetan prayer wheels (you are supposed to spin them)
Above: Daily life outside the Tibetan Temple
We finished the day with hotpot at a restauraunt near our guesthouse. We befriended a young couple from Shanghai who spoke English perfectly (not even English teachers – they work for an international company!). We enjoyed the conversations about China. They seemed more aware of cultural differences and little nuances of life in China. We joked about the stereotypes of Chinese provinces. For example, the food in Hunan province is spicy because the weather is hot and humid, so the spicy food helps the people sweat. The diet is to blame for causing the character of the people from that province. The women are beautiful, but hot tempered and the men, well they are calm– no fights like in Northern China where fights are common. (I’m not sure why the spicy food causes a temper in one gender and not the other…but I’ll leave the stereotyping to the Chinese). It was truly a great night with new friends!
The Mosuos Next Door
January 6, 2009: Before departing the next morning the owner of our guesthouse, Minnie (Yes, this is her English name she chose in middle school), took us to the Mosuo family home behind the guesthouse to see a traditional dried pig. It is custom to remove the meat and bones of the pig, only leaving the fat and skin intact. Then, the cavity is filled with salt and the whole pig is sewn back together. The result is a stretched out and flattened whole pig who now looks more like a Halloween costume with massive stitches on his belly. This pig can save for 5 years. Instead of refrigeration, they would dry this pig and keep it in case of a bad harvest. Then they would have food to eat even in the worst of times. Nowadays the Mosuo’s can drive to the nearest town for supplies when times are rough. Lucky for them, this once-upon-a-time specialty food item is available any time they want it! Besides the fact that they like this food, the main purpose for continuing the tradition is that a pig is used as an offering at funerals. Everyone who comes to the funeral is to take part of the pig home. So, if a family has an aging relative, they better prepare a pig, just in case! I took a photo with this aging grandmother who was the reason they prepared a pig this year – just in case they have a funeral coming.
Above: Inside a Traditional Mosuo Home with the Leader of the Family
Above: Mmmm . . . Preserved Pig :).
January 6, 2009: Our ride back to Lijiang was tough and long. The driver was a Mosuo man we ran into in town the day before. We happened to ask him how far it was to the next town, and upon seeing us again, he couldn’t stop joking about our bad Chinese. He was a maniac on the road as well.
Above: Despite the Maniac Driver on the ride back to Lijiang, the views were gorgeous!Lijiang
January 7-9: Back in Lijiang, we were thrilled to start exploring this ancient cobblestone city surrounded by mountains. The first day we went up Jade Dragon Snow Mountain by cable car. According to the poorly translated recording playing in our cable car, this was "the longest cable car in Asia and is regarded by many expats to be number 1!!!" Okay, it was really touristy, but the mountain itself was gorgeous, with a glacier at the peak! This trip made us realize that there is only one thing worse than overly-touristy sites: Chinese touristy sites! I guess it's simply that the Chinese like to see and do things differently on vacation than westerners. They like to be entertained at all times. In fact, we ran into many Chinese at Lugu Hu who were beside themselves with bordom at this gorgeous lake full of cultural and outdoor opportunities. There wasn't a theme park or a museum, or some funny sign to pose next to, therefore it was boring. Well, the Chinese LOVED this mountain. The employees at the base "strongly encouraged" everyone to buy an oxygen tank before going up the peak. It was a bit pricey and I thought, "really?! " So we passed up the hard sells. We also passed up the winter coat rentals. Once you got to the top, the view was incredible if you could get past the crowds of Chinese tourists in matching long red coats, over-dramatically sucking on their oxygen tanks every 3 steps . The wind occasionally blew with such force we had to squat down to avoid being blown over, but other than that, it was a simple climb to the top! Somehow, we made it to the top and back down without any medical intervention!
Above:Glacier Atop Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang
Above: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain's peak
Biking Outside of Town
In search of a less-touristy outing, we rented bikes to discover some of the small villages out of town the following day. The highlight of the day was coming into the town of Baisha. It was just as I had hoped. Women walked down the cobblestone alleyways, wearing their traditional costumes of white skirt, blue apron, and small cap, carrying loads in straw baskets fastened to their backs like a backpack. The homes were made of clay with tile or straw roofs. Dogs, pigs, and chickens roamed freely. Children playfully chased each other with sticks. At one end of town was an old temple (built from 1300-1500AD) containing frescoes painted by Naxi, Tibetan, Han, and Bai artists and therefore containing elements of Buddhism, Lamaism, and Daoism. They were really incredible, but sadly, no pictures allowed. Riding our bikes through the countryside was exhausting and exhilerating at the same time. Yes, we ate and slept well that night!
In search of a less-touristy outing, we rented bikes to discover some of the small villages out of town the following day. The highlight of the day was coming into the town of Baisha. It was just as I had hoped. Women walked down the cobblestone alleyways, wearing their traditional costumes of white skirt, blue apron, and small cap, carrying loads in straw baskets fastened to their backs like a backpack. The homes were made of clay with tile or straw roofs. Dogs, pigs, and chickens roamed freely. Children playfully chased each other with sticks. At one end of town was an old temple (built from 1300-1500AD) containing frescoes painted by Naxi, Tibetan, Han, and Bai artists and therefore containing elements of Buddhism, Lamaism, and Daoism. They were really incredible, but sadly, no pictures allowed. Riding our bikes through the countryside was exhausting and exhilerating at the same time. Yes, we ate and slept well that night!
Above: Baisha, Yunnan Province
Above: Black Dragon Pool Park, Lijiang (On the way home from Baisha)
Tiger Leaping Gorge
Tiger Leaping Gorge was a fantastic daytrip outside of Lijiang. A mountainious, but well-paved road led us to China's "Grand Canyon." This Canyon is often explored by 3-day trek (we only had the time and energy for a 1 day trip), therefore a few lodging and dinning options were available. We arrived just in time to eat lunch at an inn that teetered on the edge of the cliff, providing you with a stunning view below. Our hike down, into the canyon was challenging with a steep, narrow dirt path that looked likely to succomb to the perils of a landslide. I couldn't help but think about how difficult the climb back out would be. (If our guide had spoken English, I would have known that we wouldn't be coming out the same way we came in). We clung to the edge of the mountain, littered with greenery, shallow caves, small waterfalls, and rock formations caused by years of errosion. We reached the raging river below and climbed around some oversized boulders to get a good view. There is a story behind one of these boulders that led to the naming of this gorge. The story tells of a boy trying to escape someone on one side of the gorge. He realizes he is stuck when he reaches the edge of the gorge. Luckily, he jumps on a tiger's back and the tiger is able to cross the gorge by leaping to the boulder in the middle of the river and then to the other side. Thus, the Chinese call this Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Above: Tiger Leaping Gorge
Above: The Yangtze River flows through the Gorge
After enjoying the scenery it was time to head back up. Our guide asked us (through a rough translation), if we were afraid of heights, and if not, we would continue our trek up the cliff. I thought, it's a bit too late to ask if we are afraid of heights, considering we have to go up. As it turned out, the way up was a series of ladders. The first one we came to, I felt a bit nervous about, but I could see the top and knew it would be short enough to tolerate. Notice, I said "first." Yes, there were 3 sets of ladders each climbing straight out of the gorge, the first having the least amount of rungs. The ladders were basically the steel bars stuck into the vertical rock face. When I felt brave enough to take a peak over my shoulder, the view was jaw-dropping. The sun had just fallen behind the peaks so the afternoon rays were scattered about the canyon. We made it back to the top, where I used the most unique bathroom I've ever seen. Yes, it was an eastern toilet, but the back wall was only about waist high, leaving you with an open-air view out into the canyon from your very own bathroom stall.
Above: Climbing out of the Gorge (scary!)
Back to Kunming by Bus
January 10: It was finally time to say goodbye to LiJiang. We borded a bus for Kunming, where we spent the next 8 delightful hours with locals, Chinese tourists, crying babies, and bags containing deer legs and other various animal parts. The ride was rough, with a few passengers vomiting in the provided plastic bags. There was a memorable meal provided with the purchase of our bus ticket at a road-side stop. It was like a combination truck-stop and school cafeteria. There was a less-than-sterile lunch line outside behind the gas station where disgruntled "lunch ladies" served up small portions of Chinese food in exchange for your ticket. You could not choose the 4 foods you would receive. It seemed random. And we had 15 minutes to eat, use the restroom, and be back on the bus. I wouldn't have put it past the bus driver to leave us stranded at this creepy stop, so we hustled! Eating fast is nothing for the Chinese. Some of these people eat like it's an olympic sport. They get really close to the dish and shovel food the short distance to their mouth. While our chopstick use has vastly improved, we aren't that fast. So we ate what we could and endurred the next few hours back into a real city. After our dirty bus ride and another night in a Chinese hostel, we were really ready to leave China! Lucky for us, we would be in Thailand the very next day!!
Goodbye, China (for a month)!
January 11: This afternoon we boarded our flight to Bangkok and said goodbye to China for 4 weeks!
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