大理 Dali

The next stop in my Tour de Yunnan was the ancient city of 大理 (Dali). After the 3 1/2 hour bus ride from Lijiang, we arrived where people were waiting to escort you to their hotel. We were a little wary, but after being quoted just 30元 per night, how could we say no? The hotel was, like most Dali buildings, in the style of the Bai people. As I have been learning, Yunnan is famous for housing over 26 different Chinese minorities. The Bai style of architecture is similar to the Naxi, with the open courtyard in the center of the building, but the outside is generally painted white with ornate paintings in different quadrants. The first night, we relaxed by strolling through the ancient town, eating the local cheese, drinking fresh juice and admiring the ethnic diversity. I found Dali very pretty as it is surrounded by the misty 苍山 (Cangshan) mountains and 洱海 (Erhai lake). Dali was very welcome to foreigners, (as they most likely provide a large percentage of the economy) they even made a street named 洋人街 （foreigner street). Consequently, I had to take a picture under the gateway. Upon a quick walk down the street, I was surprised to see very few foreigners and actually more Chinese tourists. I guess they were happy to see me, an ACTUAL foreigner!

The next day in Dali, we had prepared a driver to take us around to the quality destinations. We began the day with a delicious meal of a local noodle dish called 饵丝 (ersi). The driver also acted as our tour guide; as he drove he pointed out different spots explaining the historical relevance. Our first stop after bypassing some tourist traps was a chair lift to some caves in the Cangshan Mountains. The caves were somewhat interesting as Chinese always enjoy naming rock formations after things in their culture. Although, the rainbow colored lighting inside was a little cheesey. After climbing endless stairs, we reached the top of the mountain and exited the cave to a really nice view of the Erhai lake. We enjoyed some local tea, a temple and adjoining gardens after we came down the mountain.

Dali is also famous for their tie-dyed fabrics. Our guide knew a place where they produce these textiles, so we decided to take a look. The place ended up being kind of a sham. It was just this run-down place where they took us upstairs and tried to sell us completely over-priced garmets. I knew they were too expensive because I saw the exact same ones in downtown Dali the night before. Can't win 'em all I guess. We took a rest at Erhai lake ate some local bread then headed to the famous Tang Dynasty Three Pagodas. Because the tickets to get in the pagodas were rather expensive, we opted to take a few pictures outside...for free! Because I needed to do some bank business, we headed cut the tour early and headed back to the hotel.

That night as we were looking for the Ersi restaurant, we heard some nice traditional Chinese music. We weren't sure where it was coming for, so we followed our ears to a building under construction. Check out the video as I documented this pretty cool moment. It turned out that these musicians were Dali natives celebrating the completion of part of the house before the Chinese New Year. The house itself belonged to a teacher at my school! Karen of course knew everyone there and we were both welcomed and invited to dinner on the coincidental encounter. After a night of good food and too much baijiu we retreated to our hotel to rest for the 5 hour bus ride to Kunming the next day.

After spending time in the ancient cities of Lijiang and Dali in the Yunnan province, I definitely liked Lijiang better. Although both places were overrun with tourists and locals, I liked the cleanliness and peacefulness of Lijiang. Next, on to Kunming!

丽江 Lijiang Day Four - 虎跳峡

From the beginning, I wanted to visit 虎跳峡 in the Yunnan Province. Not just because it's famous for being one of the worlds largest river canyon, but it has a pretty cool name: Tiger Leaping Gorge. Day four in Lijiang, I was feeling a lot better; cold pretty much gone and rested from a relaxing day in the city. Let's go on a mountain hike! The TLG (tiger leaping gorge) is a pretty big place where your could easily spend a week exploring. Karen and I only wanted to use a day, so we took a van about a quarter way down the gorge and hiked back to the mouth. That task was definitely easier said than done.

A little background on Tiger Leaping Gorge. The whole gorge is about 15 km long, located between the 5,596m Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山） and 5,396m Haba Xue Mountain (哈巴山). The narrowest point between the two mountains is about 25 meters, and it is said that a tiger was able to leap across this gap (thus the name). Throughout the gorge is abundant farmland, that today in January is still very green and plentiful. According to Wikipedia, the main crops are various grains, but after asking the locals, the main crop is soy beans. In 1993, the area was opened to tourists (mainly for hiking and sight-seeing). Now, there is an endless flow of tour busses, taxis and mostly foreign tourists traveling to the gorge.

After the 5km ride to the start of our hike, the driver pointed us to a gravel winding dangerously up the mountain. For some reason, my idea of the gorge was a leisurely hike along the river at the bottom. I guess that was the OTHER path. Living on the 7th floor of my apartment with no elevator, I felt in shape enough to attempt the climb. The beginning wasn't so beautiful, as we were basically hiking up a gravel driveway with cars passing by every 10 minutes kicking up all kinds of dust. It was interesting to see a goat farm complete with local Naxi farmer. After a few km, we his the first resting point, the Tea-Horse Trade Guest House. According to our crudely drawn map, after this point there would be a little trek to the top of the peak, then 24 switch-backs down the mountain and then we were home free. We ate a snack and drank some local Naxi tea and then we were back on the road. As we began the hike, we started to see more and more hikers coming the opposite direction. We always asked them how long until the top, the answer was usually "oh, about 10 minutes". After about an hour and a half of hiking the treacherously steep rocky path, passing mules packed with little Korean tourists, we reached the top! The was probably my first real moutain climb...and I was pretty exhausted.

Unfortunatly, this was not the end of the trail. We now had to brave the 24 switch-backs, dodge more mules, and battle the blinding 5,000 meter sun. Another two hours and we were on level ground again. This time, traversing actually through farmland. Each farm was set up with a little make-shift store selling, beverages and snacks. This was nice, as we just finished our 2 litre water bottle. We began our hike around 11am, and by the third farm was about 4:30pm. We were warned to hurry as the sun sets around 6pm. According to our map (although already untrustworthy) we only had about an hour hike left to where we began our journey. This time the map was accurate! After cutting through our last piece of farm land, we entered some more civilized land; schools, factories and stores began popping up foreshadowing the end of our day-trek. The last bus to Lijiang passed through the village around 6pm. We arrived at 5:30pm, grabbed some fast noodles and flagged down one of the last busses back to Lijiang.

After about 10kilometers distance, 5,000 meters altitude, and 200rmb poorer, we were very tired and a little sick from the crazy, winding drive home. However, I feel that this experience was not only one of the most beautiful places I had seen in China, but a true glimpse into one of the native cultures. I find it amazing how welcoming these people are as we unwittingly trespass through their 1000+ year old farm. We always tried to give a little back, if it was giving a few yuan for the tea or candy to children we saw along the way. I hope one day I can return to spend more time in this breathtaking place.

丽江Lijiang Days 2,3

Day 2 - Lashi Lake
After checking in at our new hotel (for the bargain rate of 40元/night) we set off to Lashi Lake. This was a cool place because we got to ride horses! A kindly gentleman led Karen and I on a 3-hour adventure which wound it's way through the farmland around the lake. After the horse-riding we hopped in a boat piloted by the same man who led the horses. I was amazed that after climbing a small mountain and trudging through mud and tall grass, this man didn't seem the least bit tired. We caught a car back to Lijiang and I noticed that most of the buildings were decorated with intersting artwork. The driver told us that this art was done by the locals and depicts the Naxi language and charactergrams. Very cool. I was still a bit sick that day, so I came back and crashed early in the hotel that night. My butt was also kind of sore.









Day 3 - Muhu Palace
I was hoping to recover from my cold, so we got started around 11am on day three. Due to my illness we planned a relaxing day enjoying Lijiang and seeing the Ming dynasty palace the town was built around. After a nice long walk trying to ignore the shopkeepers enticing us to buy their goods, we had a nice Naxi-style lunch. Just around the corner was the gate to the Muhu Palace. Besides the Forbidden Palace in Beijing, Muhu was one of the largest I had been to in China. It seemed to go on forever with many different palace buildings, gardens and apartments. We were also lucky to tag along with a Singaporean couple who had paid for a tour guide. It's always nice to get a history once in a while. The tour ended with a tasting of local teas. I found the Pu Er tea very interesting. Supposedly this is one of the more famous teas of the region. Dinner, and a little more shopping rounded out day 3 in Lijiang. Oh, and I got to hold a hawk.

丽江 Lijiang Day One

Day 1
After taking a 50 minute bus from the airport, we arrived in downtown Lijiang around 12pm. On the way to our reserved hotel we were approached by a young lady offering to help us with our luggage and stay at her hotel for a discounted price. The one suitcase we packed was a little heavy and impossible to use the wheel on the ancient cobblestones, so we agreed to let her help us. After checking in and resting a bit, we decided to go explore the town a little bit. It's amazing how much the people of Lijiang (and government probably) have preserved this beautiful little town. It's famous for being home to over 20 Chinese minorities, however the Naxi people are the main inhabitants of the region. The winding streets seem to go on forever with countless shops selling mainly yak products (bone combs, leather goods, preserved meat etc.), jade, woven goods, tea, and all kinds of small trinkets. I didn't want to buy much then, just some cheap sunglasses (the sun is amazingly bright ALL the time!). After wandering for a few hours we were hungry. In a place like this, it's not diffucult to find food, but difficult to decide what type of food. We settled on a Naxi style restaurant which specialized in what else...Yak! The food was delicious and gave us enough energy to head up the mountain to see a temple. The temple was very relaxing, especially after the hike up the mountain. We were met by a monk who asked to read my fortune. I felt in need for some spiritual enlightenment, so I spun the zodiac wheel and landed on the chicken...yum. He then ushered me to the English-speaking head monk inside the temple. After close examination of my face and hands he offered a glimpse to my future and gave me a small gift. 10rmb well spent. By then, night had fallen and the Lijiang seemed to wake up. The bar streets were pumping dance music and the locals were dressed in local garb inviting everyone to dance the night away. Unfortunately, with the mixture of travel weariness and altitude displacement, I wasn't quite ready to jump in to that. Maybe another night!

Chinese New Year Trip

Well, it's that time of the year again: Chinese New Year! (or Spring Festival depending on who you talk to.) This year, according to the lunar cycle, the new year falls on January 26th. Traditionally, the Chinese celebrate the day before to a week after new year's day. This time in Chinese custom is specifically devoted to family togetherness and optimism for the upcoming year. Another interesting aspect of each Chinese year is the zodiac. Each year is characterized by an animal (an interesting story here. This upcoming year is the year of the ox...yum.

As a teacher in China, I am very lucky to have more holiday time. The final exam for all saxophone students fell on January 9th. School will not begin until Febuary 21st, so I have a nice chunk of time for traveling. It just so happens that my girlfriend is from the Yunnan province, so I thought what better place to visit. According to her, the places in Yunnan to visit, are: Lijiang, Dali, Kunming and Ruili. With a little research in my guidebooks and internet sites, I agreed a began making travel arrangements. Our trip will begin January 16th to Lijiang, travel to the aforementioned cities and maybe end up in Hong Kong to do a little shopping.

The flight to Lijiang from Chengdu, was quick and very pretty (check out the above video). Upon arriving to the airport, I really needed to use the bathroom. After a short trot to the nearest facility, I found my heart racing and breath short. I knew that Lijiang was a mountain city, but didn't realize that the thin air would affect me so drastically. Now, after two days here, I have grown more accustomed to the altitude difference (it's about 8,000 feet above sea level!) Although, I have been fighting a cold, it's been a pretty amazing experience. Please stay tuned to many blogs to come. I plan to post pictures, videos and stories as they come up here in Yunnan. Wish me luck!

Also check my Flickr site for more pictures.

Taiwanese Food Fest!

My good buddy and colleague Philip Fernandez called me the other day inviting me to join him to a Taiwan-style food festival. At first I thought this a little strange: 1, because we live in Chengdu where the Sichuan food is viewed as the #1 cuisine in the world. 2, The cold and humid January weather seemed a little uninviting for an outdoor food festival. It just so happens that it's finals week at my school. This means that my lessons are cut down a bit to make room for their exams. Let's go to the Taiwan Food Festival!!!

I wasn't really sure what kind of food to expect to see (due to the fact that I haven't visited Taiwan yet). So, me, Karen (fellow SCCM teacher), Josh (resident Shangri-La Hotel pianist) and Philip grabbed a taxi to Wanda Plaza. Luckily the weather wasn't too bad as it had been raining off and on the past week. We made our way to the plaza and sure enough, a huge, stinky, outdoor food carnival. I say stinky because the smell of squid, fermented tofu and smoked meat was overwhelming as we entered.

Philip was pretty excited about this day because he spent about five years living in Taiwan; he was glad to show us all of the disgusting things he could eat. And there were PLENTY of disgusting foods. Naturally, they had all the typical squid, dried fish and meats. But if you're into really gross foods, you could dine upon all types of insects including centipede, grubs, larvas, katydids etc. etc. etc... Those things I had already seen in Beijing last year, but the shocking one to me were the little fried songbirds that you eat in one bite.

Besides the strange and the weird was a nice variety of Tawainese restaurants, Sichuan restaurants, and food companies showing their new wares. At one point a saleswoman gave me a small cup of tomato juice telling me to 'just take one' pointing at the huge wall of cans. So, I went over, took one and started to walk away. I didn't realize that I was supposed to pay about 10 rmb first. Just another example of miscommunication in China. We spent the next hour trying all kinds of interesting foods from the fragrant stinky tofu to the tasty pinepple sticky rice. There was quite the hodgepodge of people, food, culture and fun. I believe this guy pretty much sums up the my feelings that day:

There were so many fun foods that it was hard for me to choose just one for my fun food column. However, after trying this Asian delicacy at a fancy restaurant, I was surprised to find sold on a stick at the food festival. Today my Chinese Fun Food is: Sea Cucumber on a Stick! There wasn't really very much flavor, but the texture was pretty wild. It's kind of like a mix between jello and squid with some little spikes which add to the fun. YUM!

New Year Concert 12-29-2008

My school, the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, broke some Chinese customs and celebrated the Western New Year's holiday with a classical concert. This year, the Chinese Lunar New Year actually comes on January 26th, but SCCM decided to show some international flare and celebrate 2009 with the rest of the world. The concert featured traditional Chinese instruements in various ensembles including the 大乐队 （orchestra). Between the ensembles were some very talented soloists. I must note that I was particularly impressed with the emcee of the night. She introduced every piece with eloquence and always had a very warm smile.

The concert opened with the 扬琴 （yangqin) ensemble (above video). This instrument is also known as the Chinese dulcimer. It is played with two bamboo bamboo sticks with a leather head. The sound is quite incredible in the large concert. I was amazed at the velocity that the player achieved on some of the more technical passages.
After a very talented erhu (two-stringed instrument) soloist was an ensemble featuring SCCM faculty members. As seen in the above photo, were the aforementioned yangqin and erhu (5 players) plus pipa, guzheng, dizi, zhongruan, harp and bass. I am finding that more and more, the chinese are incorporating Western instruments into the ensembles. I'm not sure if it is due to the fact that they need to fill out the orchestration or to feature gifted individuals, but I'm glad to see it. The only thing missing from this ensemble is the saxophone.

The following soloist was a pipa(ist?) from Beijing. He was spectacular. Many times have I heard this instrument in the halls of the conservatory, but never played with such technical prowess. He played two of his own compositions which not only featured the pentatonic scale, but many interesting Western scales including various minor modes and maybe even a blues. As you can see in the picture to the right, the pipa is a pretty complicated instrument. The two highest or four strings are played mainly as a quickly strummed drone by the ring and pinky fingers while the melodies are pluck by thumb, index and middle fingers. Although, he used multiple techiniques throughout the performance. He was followed by a 古筝 （gu zheng) ensemble featuring 12 guzheng (all women), timpani and multiple percussion. The guzheng is in what we call the zither family and is closly related to the guqin. The only difference is that the guzheng is plucked while the guqin uses bamboo mallets. It was interesting watching the performance as the players actually moved the bridges during the piece to retune the instrument.



The concert finished up with the full Chinese orchestra as featured in my SCCM Chinese Orchestra Blog. Overall, it was a great show. I got a chance to hear more of these ever-interesting Chinese instruments and gain more appreciation for Chinese classical music.

Chinese Food Fun! Ok, this time we've got a food from the Xinjiang province of China. It's: 大盘鸡 （da pan ji) Chicken stewed with root veggies, garlic, peppers, and all kinds of local whole spices. It's called 大 (big) because you can choose either a big or small portion. The big is rather big (as shown in the picture below).