Dali, ancient city which was a gateway to the Silk Road and dates back to the Ming Dynasty, is a short flight from Kunming, and early Friday morning we were greeted by our lovely Bai guide, Linda, dressed in traditional costume.Yunnan’s two million Bai are one of the many minority groups in China, mostly living in Yunnan province and most heavily concentrated in the Dali region.
This was Linda, our lovely Bai guide.
The Bai are nominally Buddhist, hence the many pagodas and temples. I have never seen so many Buddha’s in as many different extravagant temples, mostly covered with a lot of dust. They needed some serious swiffer swiping! Their religion is strongly tied with folk beliefs and superstitions.
Dali is very beautiful, and the Bai villages are built around the Er Hai Lake (means Ear lake because it’s shaped like an ear).
It felt as though we were back in another century, especially at the market. The women carry all the produce in large baskets on their backs.
We had the most wonderful baked bread “babba”with pork in it which was baked over an open fire.
We went out on the lake for a ride in a row boat,paddled by a woman who would occasionally burst into song, one of which was recognizable – it was Frere Jacques, but of course in chinese! So we sang together – in different languages! We encountered fishermen on the lake who were fishing with cormorants – they seemed to be fairly successful!
The next day it was on to Lijiang, 150 kilometers north of Dali. We had hired a car, driver, and tour guide who spoke a very good English. The trip took about 3 1/2 hours. It’s the main silk/tea road that continues to Shangri La and then on to Tibet. We did not go to Shangri La – it’s not a good time of year to go there – mostly snow covered. The mountainous scenery was wonderful, Lijiang is a well preserved city of ethnic minorities, situated on a 2400 meter plateau, and embraced by mountains on all sides.Towering above it all is the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which at 6000 meters is snow – capped all year long.
It is well known for its traditional ethnic culture and customs, and is the capitol for
Naxi, a Tibetan people who ruled this area since the 13th century. The town is a a maze of winding cobbled lanes completely pedestrianized, lit by red lanterns and flanked by clean streams, weeping willows, and rustic stone and wood bridges. There are said to be over 300 bridges in the old town. It’s the Chines version of Venice! Lijiang has become a victim of it’s own success, and is often choked with tourists. Despite that, it is a charming place to visit with it’s quaint old houses and spectacular mountain scenery.
About 70 kms north of Lijiang is the 3000 meter deep rift between 2 mountain ranges, where the Yangtze river seems to be at it’s most turbulent. The trail we took to the gorge was 8 kilometers, with stunning scenery along the way. The romantic name Tiger Leaping Gorge comes from a story about where around the mid point the Yangtze is so narrow, that a tiger once escaped hunters by leaping across the gorge – hence the name!
Along the way we had some interesting food! The Yak Stew was quite delicious, and not all that different from beef.
Now some of the food sold by street vendors in Lijiang was much more exotic! At Howard’s urging, we actually tried 2 delicacies – the barbecued silk worms, and the grilled water dragonflies! And yes, we really did eat them! The silk worms were rather bland and mushy, whereas the dragonflies were quite crunchy and not too bad – if you can get past the notion of what you’re eating. Those dragonfly eyes were just too big!! Those were the appetizers, and we went on to have a good “normal” dinner after that!!
This week we also enjoyed a visit from my nephew Ron from Vancouver who is an architect and often has projects working in China. We’re hoping he’ll be able to come again before we leave.
I’m particularly looking forward to Sunday, when we will go and visit one of the minorities – the Miao people, or as we affectionately call them the “cat people”! As some of you may recall, back in 1999 we had some contact with the Miao people when we sang Messiah here.
We’re off to a chamber concert tonight, the Western Hills tomorrow (just outside of Kunming), and then Sunday 2 1/2 hours to the remote Miao village. Always something interesting!
More next time!!
Maggie
Maggie's Musings 
thank you so much for both Howard and your musings – just adore each and every one – what experiences you are having – am salivating, not so much about the food choices! but all the magnificent sights and people etc etc – think it will make a wonderful book – thank you both for sharing – continue to enjoy every delightful moment.