It’s  a sunny Monday morning here in Kunming, and I am sitting at my desk and reflecting on the experiences of the past week, probably one of the more unusual, exhilarating weeks I have ever experienced!

Last Tuesday, Howard and I, along with the players and administrators of the  Kunming Symphony Orchestra, took a one hour flight to Mangshi, a small city in the De Hong Prefecture about 670 kilometers west of Kunming.  This remote part of China is like a finger sticking into Burma (Myanmar), and is  so close to the Burmese border that the Chinese like to say ” a chicken feeds in China but lays its egg in Burma!” This area has a southern subtropical climate with plenty of sunshine and humidity. Exotic tropical scenery is everywhere, and the area is rich in water resources and agriculture. It is the land of peacocks, and real or stylized ones can be seen everywhere. Even the airport is a stylized peacock!

The  provincial government paid for all of us to stay 2 nights in a 5 star hotel with all expenses covered. The orchestra plus a Chinese soprano folk song specialist  under Howard’s direction did a concert in Mangshi on Wednesday night to a sold out house (1200). More on that later.

We stayed in a beautiful 5* hotel, mostly geared to businessmen as there are not a lot of tourists here.We were given the executive suite, and everything about it was grand, except that the bed was very hard, and even with my built-in padding ,by morning my hips were protesting. The so-called mattress was 1/2 inch thick,with nothing but hard wood under that!  We did survive though!

Wednesday was the big day. We went off to a rehearsal in the morning at the concert hall and for the first time met the Dai choir that sang along in some of the numbers.  I should mention that  the whole concert consisted of Chinese music, familiar to everyone except the conductor!  Howard had his work cut out for him!  We were greeted most warmly by members of the

choir in their colourful ethnic costumes – really quite spectacular.They are all members of the Dai minority. This area is particularly rich in minorities, the other larger minority being Jingpo. But there are many Thai, Burmese and Tibetans here as well. Two of the older women in the choir made Howard a hat which is worn by Dai men. Notice the peacock theme?

The concert was interesting to say the least – Howard will have a lot to say about it in his blog I’m sure! The soprano soloist was visually stunning in her costume, but oh the sound! Takes some getting used to for these western ears! I have never in my life encountered as noisy an audience as this one. People chatting on their cell phones, talking loudly to others, or walking around and greeting friends! The music seemed to be secondary at best. Before the concert begins there are always a lot of speeches, and there were many government officials in attendance. The whole event was covered by television, and the place was full of cameras! We counted 5 cameras including, one a large boom which swung menacingly over the performers throughout the concert. At 11 pm  2 buses took us all to a big post-concert party, perhaps not quite the kind we are used to! Lots of exotic food;  among the identifiable and edible items were the ubiquitous black chicken legs. There were kidneys (I’m not sure from what critters!), among other equally inviting delicacies.Various insects are a staple of the local diet,  and I’m quite sure  I unknowingly ingested things I would swat at home! Interestingly a local custom is to marinate either rice or cucumbers in vodka, and then serve the vodka – you don’t eat the rice or cucumbers, which apparently add flavour! Then followed the entertainment,  a group of musicians performed for us, consisting of drums and bagpipes! Remember that Burma, formerly a British colony is just a few kilometers away. Hence the Scottish bagpipe tradition is alive and well to this day.  Then a small group of young men from the Jingpo minority serenaded Howard and me with a special rap type chant they had made up in our honour. Very charming, but who knows what they actually said??

The next day we did some sightseeing in Mangshi. First we visited quite a spectacular Buddhist temple on a hill overlooking Mangshi, then off to see the peacocks in their natural habitat. This was a special day in the De Hong region known as “Water Splashing Day”.  It heralds the New Year in the Dai calendar, and people pour or splash water on each other to rid them of evil spirits and drive bad luck away. However it is more than just good- natured fun. Water is a symbol of religious purity and goodwill among people. Therefore, splashing a fellow villager or even a stranger is an expression of good luck and prosperity for that person. People flock to the streets with bottles, pots, water guns, or whatever is handy. We got totally soaked as well, and for many of the symphony members it turned into an all out water fight!

After a quick visit to a Jade market, we had a final elaborate lunch, again with all kinds of government officials in attendance. There were at least 26 courses, and a gorgeous floral centerpiece!

Then it was off to the airport and back to Kunming.  Howard didn’t have a lot of time off because there was another concert scheduled for Saturday night here in Kunming. The program was more palatable, as there was  music familiar to my ears. Strauss waltzes,  Offenbach, Tchaikovsky etc. with a smattering of Chinese pieces. It’s really quite a good orchestra, and Howard has bonded well with them despite the language barrier! It seemed to us to be a kind of town hall meeting with many government officials in attendance. Needless to say,there were long speeches preceding the concert at the beginning. But the audience was much more attentive than in Mangshi and seemed to enjoy the concert , even clapping along with the concluding Radezsky March in true Viennese fashion.

Yesterday we had a very relaxed Sunday – a welcome respite after a pretty intense week.

Planning ahead is not a priority here it seems, so we never know what’s going to happen next. We do know there will be a concert on the 27th of April, and then who knows! People are very laid back here – difficult for western type A’s!

Talk to you again next week. Have a good one!

Maggie