LING'S TRAVEL DIARY

May 30, 2010

People of Yunnan

The numerous non-Chinese tribes that the traveler encounters in western China, form perhaps one of the most interesting features of travel in that country. It is safe to assert that in hardly any other part of the world is there such a large variety of languages and dialects, as are to be heard in the country which lies between Assam and the eastern border of Yün-nan and in the Indo-Chinese countries to the south of this region.

The reason of this is not hard to find. It lies in the physical characteristics of the country. It is the high mountain ranges.....

and the deep swift-flowing rivers that have brought about the differences in customs and language, and the innumerable tribal distinctions, which are so perplexing to the enquirer into Indo-Chinese ethnology.

A tribe has entered Yün-nan from their original Himalayan or Tibetan home, and after increasing in numbers have found the land they have settled on not equal to their wants. The natural result has been the emigration of part of the colony. The emigrants, having surmounted pathless mountains and crossed unbridged rivers on extemporized rafts, have found a new place to settle in, and have felt no inclination to undertake such a journey again to revisit their old home.

Being without a written character in which to preserve their traditions, cut off from all civilizing influence of the outside world, and occupied merely in growing crops enough to support themselves, the recollection of their connection with their original ancestors has died out. It is not then surprising that they should now consider themselves a totally distinct race from the parent stock. Inter-tribal wars, and the practice of slave raiding so common among the wilder members of the Indo-Chinese family, have helped to still further widen the breach. In fact it may be considered remarkable that after being separated for hundreds, and perhaps in some case for thousands, of years, the languages of two distant tribes of the same family should bear to each other the marked general resemblance which is still to be found.

The hilly nature of the country and the consequent lack of good means of communication have also naturally militated against the formation of any large kingdoms with effective control over the mountainous districts. Directly we get to a flat country with good roads and navigable rivers, we find the tribal distinctions disappear, and the whole of the inhabitants are welded into a homogeneous people under a settled government, speaking one language.

Burmese as heard throughout the Irrawaddy valley is the same everywhere. A traveler from Rangoon to Bhamo (The Burmese capital to the Yunnan border) will find one language spoken throughout his journey, but an expedition of the same length in the hilly country to the east or to the west of the Irrawaddy valley would bring him into contact with twenty mutually unintelligible tongues.

Kunming

Most travelers don't really check out this city, except perhaps to go to the Stone Forest, but there's plenty more to see.
There is no subway in Kunming, but being small in both population and area the city doesn't need one.  The public transportation system is based on buses, of which there are many.  Cycling is also a great option.
Taxi flagfall is around 6-9元, and will get you halfway across town, after which a reasonable rate is charged per kilometre.  Flagfall goes up slightly in the evenings.
The bus system in Kunming is cheap and well developed.  Most buses are government run, and routes in the middle of town see buses every few minutes.  Areas on the outskirts of town, such as the Western Mountains, may be serviced only by private routes, which vary in price and frequency. Some buses are double-decker.

Da Guan Park / Pagoda (大观楼 / Da Guan Lou)
You must pay an entrance fee (around 15元) to enjoy this lakeside park, where locals come to sit, drink tea, fly kites, and go boating. There's an ancient pagoda here, which you can climb for another toll, offering a great view over the lake to the western hills. There's a famous example of an obscure form of Chinese poetry displayed at the front of the park's namesake pagoda, which I am told is the longest of its kind in China and describes a bygone scholar's view from the top of the structure.

Green Lake (绿湖)
Located in the center of the city, the lake is quite beautiful, especially when its flowers are in bloom.  Entry to the islands inside the lake costs 5元.  You can drink tea at the teahouses inside, or take a ride on a paddleboat for an extra fee.

Kunming City Museum (昆明市博物馆)
Smaller than its provincial counterpart, this museum's best exhibit is about the history of the city. Other features include a dinosaur exhibit and a rotating exhibition space that holds anything from history to art exhibitions. There's also a scale-model of the Kunming area documenting archeological sites relating to the illiterate Dian culture that dominated the area sometime approximately around 400BC-100AD.

Moslem Street
Right in the centre of town, this is the place to go for decent bread, moslem noodles, and the more mundane (non-canine) street-side carcasses. There's a good selection of fried tofu restaurants here, too.

Walmart
Located slightly west of the center of town, Walmart is a good place to find Western or household items.  Foodstuffs can usually be found cheaper elsewhere, however.

Eating, drinking etc
There's plenty of good street food in Kunming, much of which is specific to the region's minority peoples.  Local vegetable markets are also worth checking out.

Yunda District (云南大学地区)
Mainly this refers to a particular street to the near Yunnan University, which is primarily frequented by foreign students who are studying long-term in Kunming.
The French Cafe (兰白红) with free internet is located here, as are other popular bars and restaurants.

Stone Forest (石林)
Whilst this place is famous amongst tourists, it receives fairly tame reports and is fairly expensive . I never made it to the park itself, though did manage to see a good deal of similar formations on a bus ride to Honghe prefecture, and a couple of train-rides through the region.

Jiuxiang (九乡)
The largest set of caves in Yunnan, or so the locals would have you believe! These are east of the city, about as far as the Stone Forest.
Thats about it for Kunming of this visit last week.

May 25, 2010

I  have decided to explore North China and stop off in Inner Mongolia to Baotou, then -----swing all the way up to Changchun in Jilan province for a real diversity in cultural experiences.On the way down stop over for a few days in Dalian , Liaoning province for some fresh sea breeze and real change. I have been to Dalian Before and truly enjoy the weather and openness with the sea on three sides of the city.  So see yah all later and best wishes to the group.

May 24, 2010(LHASA)

Lhasa is very comfortable now and the weather is just right in the fifties and sixties Fahrenheit. or 13-16 degrees centigrade,

Aside from the beautiful snow capped mountains and desert mountain views I find nothing special here. Just another extension of China , since most of the residents here are in fact Chinese with the same kind of aluminum door facing businesses and the same exact set up you will find anywhere in China.
The Tibetans are walking around the streets swinging these prayer wheels on little chains, and holding beads in their hands saying repetitive utterances in a whispering fashion. Many Tibetans wear the old Indian type of clothing with weaving's and colorful designs and the typical Tibetan hats / The children get on and off the school buses and seem to wear traditional western pants and attire.

I did not step foot inside the temples since I am a Christian and my religion strongly commands not to ever enter or endorse through my actions of interest any other God but the God of the Bible, Father , Son and Holy Spirit--- so that was out. The wood and gold covered Idols that some mortal man made can not speak, move or do anything on its own power and is in fact a great deception and injustice to those who are deceived by this , which came from some person imagination who desired to try and make God into some defined object of finite , insignificance.

I am on my way out of here on the next train into other regions to explore and experience.