If there was one word to describe Yunnan, likely that word would be “spiritual”. And if there were roads to Heaven, they would look like the tarmac strips that ascend the skies over this gem of southwest China.
This is where the Himalayas begin.
Yunnan is of course a huge tourist draw, particularly during China’s major holiday periods. Not so at Christmas, which is when The Nanjinger chose to go to Lijiang. It’s cold, for sure (a dry, bearable cold; lip balm essential), but the lack of people makes it tranquil.
Lijiang lies in northwestern Yunnan Province from where it is only about 100 kilometres to Myanmar as the crow flies. At an elevation of 2,400 metres, flying into Lijiang is excitement in itself, as the mountains on either side of the plane seem to get nearer and nearer.
Dawn of day 1 was spent waiting for the sun to rise sufficiently to reveal our target; Jade Dragon Snow Mountain that is the most southerly snowcapped mountain in the Northern Hemisphere. At 5,596 metres, it would tower 800 metres above Mont Blanc, the summit of Europe.
As part of the 5A scenic area, Yulong Snow Mountain National Scenic Area and National Geological Park, an ascent of the mountain was our first order of business. However, the increasingly blustery winds that morning forced a closure of the cable car that would have taken us most of the way, before a climb of a few hundred steps to one of the highest observation platforms in the world, elevation 4,680 metres.
The disappointment was only partial, as everywhere we looked were views that were almost biblical.
With all three of us feeling the effects of altitude sickness kicking in, this is where the disposable oxygen bottles came out. And where our driver’s advice and local knowledge became a great enhancement to the holiday. He then turned the car southwards, destination Zhoucheng town on the outskirts of Dali, 2 hours drive away.
This is the home of the irresistible summer accessory that is tie dye.
While the craft itself is thought to date back to the central plains of China 1,000 years ago, in Zhoucheng, tie dye is practiced by the Bai people, just one of the 25 ethnic minorities which comprise some 38 percent of the Yunnan population.
Our tie-dye teacher was an old woman who spoke in the Bai tongue that is one of the Tibeto-Burman languages. Making an uneducated guess at one word in ten, we fumbled our way through the stitching, twisting and tying part of the process, after which our creations were plumped into the vast wooden vat of isatus tinctoria for the dying.
Their proximity to those great, wide skies has given the Bai their favourite colours. The blue and white can be seen everywhere; from their tie dye to their architecture. It is said that the contrast of these two colours reflect the beauty and simplicity of the Bai’s peaceful and tolerant minds.
Back in Lijiang, the World Cultural Heritage Site that is Lijiang Old Town is the most important traditional habitat of the Naxi ethnic minority. Indeed, the majority of the 300,000-strong tribe live in Lijiang. There, the Naxi ancients created the “Dongba” script that dates back to the 7th century. It is now the only living hieroglyph in the world.
Treading the cobblestones of the Old Town is the way to discover hidden delights, such as the museum that tells of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. With Myanmar and Bengal at one end, and Tibet and Sichuan Province at the other, Yunnan was the link along which Tibetan ponies were traded for Chinese tea in a practice dating back at least 1,000 years. Such sturdy horses were vital in China’s fighting of the warring nomads in the north.
As a worthwhile break from the geographical monotony of China’s eastern China, the Trip to Yunnan was also standout for us as an underscoring of the vast diversity of the Chinese people.
If you don’t like the cold, and don’t mind a few crowds, The Nanjinger recommends to visit Yunnan in April, May or October (avoiding holidays).
