2022 Yunnan---- Kunming ，云南民族村，翠湖公园 (the minorities village and the green lake park)

 I had visited Yunnan quite a few years ago and I always though that it seemed like an interesting place so a few months ago, it was time to get out the map and see a few more places. I heard that the northwest of the province could be interesting. Many moons ago, a guy told me that Shangrila was very nice but a lot of the town had been burned down in a fire. I had been to the southern part of Sichuan and it would be nice to see the difference between the 2 areas.

A map of the province of Yunnan (云南)

        So, at the start of July Marie and myself took a flight from Yiwu to Kunming and had a look around the city which never gets too hot or too cold before taking a bus to Deqen.

        As regards Kunming, I remember there was a nationalities village there as well as a lake in the centre of the city so the plan was to hit both these areas and see what happens.

       As soon as we landed , it was time to look for food. Street food seems to be the way to go here. I don't know where the influence of potatoes comes from but it seems to be everywhere in Kunming. I remember the 米线 from my last visit here but it was nice to taste some food familiar to home.

Paying by cash seems to be a thing of the past

  One big difference between the last time I was here and this year was the COVID testing.Everyone has to do a test every 2 days here in Yunnan so it is a bit of a trek to find the place where testing takes place but it has to be done or else .....no green code   and no green code means no more travelling!

 

COVID has not gone away.

Test every 2 days.

I always thought the the minorities place was kind of nice as one can see people who look quite different to everybody on the east coast of China.It is nice to see different things as many places on the east coast look very similar.

Dolls from the minorities village.

Over 25 minorities 少数民族 can be seen in this area.

Blast from the past at the entrance to the village

Traditional JingPo (景颇衣服) clothes

Entrance to a JingPo house

Sleeping on the floor is more comfortable when it is hot outside

An AChang (阿昌) woman working on the loom.

An AChang guy passing the time.

Cooking rice inside bamboo 

(Sugar is added)

A Hani (哈尼) woman cooks the rice 

The rice is separated out into pieces using the sugar.

Watching a performance at the minorities village.

These actors must be roasting.

Mosuo people (摩梭族)

Food cooked in the Bai way.

白族喜洲粑粑 - like a fruit tart , tasty

白族炸洋芋 - potatoes [usually called 土豆 but different in Yunnan]

Watching another performance at the minorities village stage.

Here, one can see many minorities dancing.

Marie showing off the bamboo tree at 翠湖公园 (Cuihu park) in Kunming.

Relaxing at the park with a spot of Tai Chi.

There is a lot of vegetation here.

Wonders of the modern toilet facility.

 One can see the empty cubicles BEFORE entering the toilets!

A tortoise relaxing under the water at the lake.

So green. 

Bamboo everywhere

Animals finding the perfect resting place

Plenty of room for more passengers.

Going up the mountains near Dianchi (滇池) in a cable car.

Yep, it is a loooong way down

Time to move on. 

The sign for Shangrila.

Only 131km to DeQen from here.

            It was nice to meet up with Edgar from couch surfing as he gave us a few tips on what to do and see over the following couple of weeks as we travelled through Yunnan. The plan was to see Deqen (Tibetan 藏族 people) and then try to see other minorities as we went through the province. That was dependent on the areas we were allowed to travel to. The first stop after Kunming was Deqen and the bus journey was spectacular. [Let's just say the high altitude tablets came in handy.]

Do people draw paintings in this place, too? Nice 。。。。 桃花坞 and then 肖皇岩

         I actually visited these places a couple of months ago and I completely forgot the names! I was flicking through 抖音 the other day and a guy's videos jumped up and I saw n 肖皇岩. It looked class so I thought that I better go now before the heat of the summer kicks in. I was able to get the address from Baidu maps and then plan the journey from there.

        People seem to love painting pictures on the gable ends of houses. Here are some more examples.

I think the reservoir is nearby

Possible waterfall?

Water amusement park is nearby, too!

Maybe the amusement park is in this building

        I was about 5 km from 桃花坞 when I realised that I had been there before! Cycling is always good, regardless of going over old routes. It is good to get away from the city anyway. At the moment, we have to take the covid test every 3 days so getting away from the city is a must.

Ah, the science guy has a shop here

Nice place to rest between villages

Old school house by the crossroads

A few sheep appeared to be roaming around here.

3 km from the sccenic spot, yyes

       Although 桃花坞 is a nice spot, I think the mosquito's enjoyed me more than I enjoyed the paintings. I guess the rumour that they like type A blood must be true.

Hollywood Motif

Reflections

I have seen enough bugs to last a lifetime here

and then people draw images of them.

Eeeeep

The witch?

Nice colours

An elephant coming out of the walls

Really jazzing up the place

This bridge is as sturdy as it looks

 It was time to go to the end of the highway. (On the way back, we cycled through 5 tunnels!)  The entrance to the area of 肖皇岩 was quite interesting. An old house painted up as well as plenty of farmland. Then the long cycle up the hill before dumping the bikes and continuing on foot.

Things to do here

Nice house greeting people who decide to follow the tourist trail 

of the red yellow and blue lines on the road

Cool entrance to the mountain.

I think my knees need more stabilizing exercises just in case...

May 2022

February 2022 - 3 moths can make some difference

to the colour of the foliage

The scene beside the toilet.

Trust me, this is better than the toilet.

This wood would come in handy on a cold day

     When I was here in February, there was a bit of snow on the ground. The white stuff had disappeared on this visit. So I was able  to get quite the view from the viewpoints.

The hole in the mountain is the way home!

So much greenery here

I will leave the heavenly pond for another day

Nice

   It was time to head back through all the tunnels. I guess this place would have been quite isolated 20 years ago. At the moment, the builders are still working around the clock to get all the construction work finished on the high speed line.

stabilizing each section is a skillful art

     Before the inevitable journey back to base, there was some food to be eaten. 七一村 was located about 1km from  the last tunnel.

These lanterns give the village an authentic feeling.

Well, the lanterns AND the people!

Steam rising on a Saturday evening

I come halfway around the world and I get a very traditional

delicacy which is vary rare back home.

The humble spud (with spicy spice on top)