Yunnan – HurricaneMaine

Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province

This was a trip I have wanted to do for some time but it either did not fit into my schedule or there were problems with travel due to COVID-19. Even though this trip is 12 hours after landing back in China after almost a month traveling, i felt it was the right time to go. I wasn’t ready to be back in my apartment and still have a bit over two weeks before school starts.

After arriving I went to the Gaozhuang night market. I but too crowded for me so I bought some food on the streets of the village and then wandered back to the hotel. This area is close to the Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand border with China.

We visited the Botanical garden which included jungle trails.

This is a very poisonous plant, the poison being in the spines on the leaves.

This is one fig tree that makes up most of this part of the forest. It grows downwards to make me roots.

Royal lotus.
These are so large that children can float on them.

We visited a Dai village. This is one of the ethnic minorities here in China. They follow the Buddhist tradition and their housing styles are similar to Thai.

Naga is the highest transformation of awareness and holds the Earth’s wisdom and power.

Sticky rice that is pressed and dried then cooked over coals to puff up. Delicious.

Wild elephant valley is a preserve where the wild Asian elephants still roam. They actually travel between here and Laos and if lucky you can see one. I was glad we did. Here is a link to video as well: https://youtu.be/a2xod6R_N2E

Of course they do have elephants for shows and feeding which I hate to see but it is random whether you see a wild elephant in the park.

Dragon fruit plant which is a type of cactus.

We traveled to Manzhang village which is another Dai village.

Trail walking through a rubber tree forest. The marks at the top start the latex sap flowing.

This gentleman is a doctor of old Chinese medicine and he was collecting his medicines.

Manting Park is the oldest styles of architecture and also history of the local royal family which ended rein in 1950’s. The oldest temple is here.

Washing your hands and face is said to take away your sins and bring goodness.

Stupa for holding religious artifacts after death.

Spotted this kitty at the base of one of the statues.

Delicious lunch. Omelet with a local fern like vegetable and fried little fish that were yummy.

Afterwards, our last stop was a hike through the Nannuo tea mountain forest and to try some tea. This village is the Hani people, another ethnic minority.

Two leaves and a tip are picked for tea. They must be young leaves from the top.

Wood is loaded underneath for a fire and the leaves are roasted at specific times after picking to make the different types of teas.

Another morning in China and I think I made the right decision to go elsewhere in the world. There are things I love about China and the people here but many I will not miss. Immigration coming back in was longer with more questions despite having four consecutive years of visas and proof of where I work. It wasn’t this difficult fine years ago. Some people will watch videos while in nature with the volume set to high, they are unaware of where they are in relation to others and unconcerned if they block paths, and there is just so many people when traveling. It sounds like I am just complaining but haber heard that from other nationalities when I travel. Of course, I am aware that I most likely do things that people don’t like when I travel, but this discussion is most likely best suited for a future post.

Shuhe old town, Yunnan

When we left Dali, we took a train to Lijiang and then a car was waiting for us to bring us to Shuhe Old Town. Our host Shirley was great. When they changed the rules and foreigners had to register at the local police, she went with us to make sure everything was okay. She arranged us transports and walked us to a bus pick up.

Her place is beautiful.

And she has dogs. One night she went to get us apples for breakfast the next day as we could not find the market. Her poor dog howled because she left. I kept him company.

We explored areas of Shuhe old town. The Naxi indigenous people live here. They are known for their embroidery and flower cakes. They keep their town very traditional and it is lovely.

A bridge over a pond. Lots of blessings hanging from the ceiling.

There are lots of photographers and people in costume or traditional dress.

The Naxi indigenous people believe water is sacred. They have three pools at various levels. The first pool has water coming in from the spring and is used for drinking and it flows into the second pool which is for washing. That flows into the third pool which is for scouring. That water drains to the ground which filters the water as it returns to the groundwater.

And I chuckle at some of the signage…

On the last morning I walked to an ancient hotel that is the oldest in the area. It now has a market with handmade embroidery objects. I walked through many smaller villages along the way.

The hotel. It really is much older than the other buildings.

I bought a beautiful handmade jacket. It is all pieced and stitched by hand, not machine. It is also hand embroidered.

A few other places I tired before I was for to fly out. We went to get a coffee drink and have a flower cake with it. The flower cake is a flaky pastry with red bean inside and infused with rose. It is totally yummy.

This cat food everything to get attention.

Shirley was so fun. I had a great time hiking and getting to know Morgana! She teaches at a Canadian school in Guangzhou.

The dog would run into my room every morning when I had the door open.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

We did not plan this part of the vacation appropriately so did not realize the amount of time needed to see the things we wanted.

I read about this mountain known as 玉龙雪山 Yùlóng Xuěshān. The mountain is always covered in snow and fog and it resembles a silver white dragon laying in the clouds from the distance.

From travelchinaguide:.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is a sanctuary for rare animals and wild plants. In fact, one fourth of all plant species in China can be found here and 20 primeval forest communities shelter a big family of 400 types of trees and 30 kinds of animals which are protected by the state. These species live in different temperature levels and create different kinds of views. The 13 peaks, which have the altitudes of at least 4,000 meters, are covered by snow all year round.

This is the second tallest peak in subtropical China that has a glacier and a really nice alpine lake. It is also the most southerly snowcapped mountain in the northern hemisphere. It is a small mountain chain with elevation of 5596 meters or 18360 feet. It seemed like a great place to visit. Highly commercial but something I haven’t done yet.

You can hike the mountain or take the cable car up most of the way. Since it is difficult to get around right now we chose to join a tour and take the cable car. The cable car takes you to 4506 meters and then you walk the stairs to 4680 meters. It’s tougher than it seems. After yesterday’s long hike, I don’t know how climbing the actual mountain would be.

We took a bus to the Yulong Naxi Autonomous county. There were many checkpoints and in the age of covid-19 and being the only foreigners, created extra scrutiny. We were asked to use other health codes that Chinese were not asked to do. Everyone’s ID was taken and photographed. We were on a bus with several students from London who are from China and we commiserated about discrimination that happens. For them in London and for us here. Unfortunately they were dismayed at what people around were saying about us and I’m glad I don’t know what it was.

As there are greater amounts of people in closer proximity, we wore our masks on this trip. Even at the top where you are in the open, the mask also helped keep my face warm. The temperature was right around zero celsius. It was also one less thing that could blow away with the blustery winds.

You don’t need a tour but they pick you up, get all the tickets in advance so no waiting, and give you essential materials. You get off the tour bus and then on a big bus to travel up the mountain to the start of the cable way at 3356 meters. Then you take the cable car to the first platform at 4506 meters.

From here you can walk up sets of stairs and walk ways until you get to the top. Many people don’t make it so be careful of people turning around on the spot in front of you to sit down quickly. You start to sweat and hyperventilate so knowing your body helps.

Besides a waterproof down parka, we were also given a can of oxygen. After climbing the first long set of steps I needed the oxygen. Slow and deep breaths in and out help to lower your heart rate and stopping on platforms to acclimate helps. At the top I needed more oxygen.

After admiring the view I headed back down. You think it is easier so you move faster. But it isn’t. You still need oxygen and take it easy.

A member of our group wanted a picture with me at the bottom platform. She did not know I coach cross country at a high school.

Some coffee seemed in order. Yes I bought a medal that said I went to the furthest elevation.

I then took the cable car back down where we were all to meet and journey back to the base of the mountain. I took a few photos from inside the cable car. This is of course after you descend through the clouds.

Blue Moon Valley is at the bottom and we had time to explore after lunch. The blue color is due to fine rock flour from the mountain that become suspended in the water column.

Though the waterfalls are man made, they do know how to create fantastic scenery. Many couples were having wedding photos taken.

Of course there were animals, especially yaks. Yes, I spent money to get my picture taken on one. It could be selling out my animal friends but if it helps the Naxi people and feed their livestock I am okay with that.

On the bus ride home we stopped at a meadow not far away.

Tiger Leaping Gorge hike

This is one if the most popular hikes in China but generally only foreigners will hike it. Very few nationals will trek and only locals also use the path. It is difficult in the ascent and a few spots where coordination is required.

The Jinsha river flows through Tiger Leaping Gorge and is between two mountains: Yulong Snow Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain. There is a huge stone in the center of the river, and a tiger once leaped from Yulong Snow Mountain to Haba Snow Mountain by jumping on it, which contributes to the name of Tiger Leaping Gorge.

We hired a driver for 500 kuai ($71) to take us there, wait for us, and bring us back to Shuhe old town. We started at the Naxi Family Guesthouse and started along Haba Snow Mountain. The first part of the hike took 2 hours up the steep switchback called 28-bends. There were arrows and signs along the way to help guide in the right direction.

One of these peaks is Jade Dragon Snow mountain.

Looking back to where we started. They are building a new bridge.

A place for a rest in the middle of the 28 bends. This is all uphill.

The views are unbelievable and unforgettable.

We then arrived at the Tea Horse guesthouse to have a Naxi bread sandwich with eggs and vegetables another hour or so later.

We continued until we were at Halfway guest house but stopped at a little place selling cold drinks on the first part of the village instead.

We only saw a handful of people and they were all locals carrying goods or herding their goats and cows.

This gentleman was calling for his cows and then you could hear their bells as they started moving towards him.

Along the way there were great views of Yulong Snow Mountain and the Jinsha (Golden Sands) River Valley below. You could actually break up the hike over many days and stay at these guest houses.

There were lots of spray paint signs just when you thought you were possibly lost.

We hiked down to Tina’s Guesthouse (about another 2 hours) and passed through some pretty waterfalls and canyons on the way. There were a few rockslides to maneuver around.

In total it took us about 7 hours. We carried plenty of water but there are great places to stop along the way. We were grateful for good weather as rain would make this more treacherous. You could spend more than one day meandering and stopping at guest houses. This eventually takes you to Shangri-La.

Of course at the beginning there was some construction to stop traffic so we had a late start. Then there was more construction when we were leaving to view the gorge along the viewing platform. It had just closed when a bunch of people begged the guard to let them in to get a picture. When he did we snuck in too. We could not go down to the bottom but we did get some pictures. There is a place where the tiger statue is on the rock. We did not get to see that.

Not far from the gorge we saw a rainbow. It had rained at the bottom of the mountain.

In this hike there are also caves with cave paintings on them but we should have tried to figure out where those were.

We also saw insects that I could not help taking a picture of.

We also saw wildflowers.

And more grave crypts.

Cangshan mountains, Yunnan

These mountains are the foothills of the Himalayas. The highest peak is Malong at 4122 meters (13,523 ft). You can hike up some very steep paths and do the fitness mountaineering hike up to a glacial lake. But with the rain of the past few days and the rain that had just started that morning, we took the Zhonghe cable car to an elevation of 2600 meters (8530 feet) to start the hike along a paved path. There are 18 peaks in the range. The path cuts across several.

There are many tombs in the side of the mountain. This was popular practice which is no longer allowed to do the large Chinese population.

We took the cloud travellers path across the mountains to the Gantong cable car to go back down. It rained the whole time. This hiking is in paved paths but was still beautiful.

We used a restroom that had a squatty potty over a trough. Water runs every free minutes through the trough. This was a different one for me.

The Zhonghe temple

Some views of the hike were shrouded in low clouds but we took pictures where we could.

The Phoenix eye came was unfortunately closed.

Qilongnv pools

These people are created from a river running through the gorge. There are 6 pools where water is collected in flat areas. There was quite a climb to get above all 6.