Yunnan Province 云南省 Archives - Page 5 of 5

We abandoned our driver, his car buried deep in the mud, and mounted a motorbike. Ironically, the previously treacherous mud bath soon became a reasonably smooth, semi-asphalted road. The drive was stunning: we passed Dai villages with their traditional raised wooden houses, thick jungle and vistas of mist-covered hills and valleys flashed by, and just when it seemed that the scenery couldn’t get better, we arrived in Xiding, looking like an island floating above the clouds. Unfortunately, on closer inspection, the town revealed itself as a bit of a dump.

A rough market town

The small, grubby market town of Xiding may seem a strange destination, especially if you have to spend so much time and effort trying to get there, but its Thursday market is one of the most authentic ethnic markets in Xishuangbanna. A hive of activity from dawn to midday, the market attracts nearby Dai, Hani (Aini or Akha), and Bulang minorities. It is said that Lahu also drop in, but we didn’t see or recognize any. The only real sign of Han-Chinese presence are the huge military barracks overlooking the town, a reminder that the Myanmar border is only a few kilometres away.

Curious Locals

The market occupies a large square, just up the road from the bus station, as well as some of the adjacent streets. There is nothing touristy about this market, the only things on sale are local produce, household goods and cheap clothes. A few noodle stalls feed the hungry shoppers. With everybody busily going about their business, nobody tried to sell us anything. The local kids, pipe- smoking old men and colourfully dressed women occasionally glanced at us with a certain amount of bewilderment, probably wondering why we had made it all the way out there. Even if you can speak Chinese, it is quite difficult to explain that you have come to see them.

hani-having-lunch Xiding Market 西定市场 Yunnan

China to Laos by Road

China to Laos (Mengla to Luang Nam Tha)

Transport and Procedures:

China to Laos by Road; This summer we crossed from China into Laos and found that the border crossing is a mere formality. We left the dour Chinese town of Mengla at 7.00 am and by 9.30 we were already in Luang Nam Tha. As it was pouring down with rain when we left the hotel, we simply took a taxi all the way to the border at Mohan, the journey took about 45 minutes on a spanking new highway and cost a very reasonable 150 Yuan. At Mohan we had to wait a bit, as the Chinese border post doesn’t open until 8.30 am, when the flag is raised with much pomp and ceremony.

Many Ways to go

There are, however, many other ways you can go: there are minibuses to Mohan that leave every 20 minutes from the Southern bus station. There is one daily bus from Mengla directly to Luang Nam Tha that leaves from the Northern bus station at 9.30 am. As we hadn’t been able to book tickets or even speak to the bus staff, we didn’t want to wait for this direct bus, in case there was a problem with us not having Lao visas yet and needing to get them at the border.

For those with very little time, there are even daily sleeper buses that go all the way from Kunming to Vientiane and Luang Prabang. New smoother highways, especially on the Chinese side, mean that this option may not be quite as horrific as it once was.*

(*Update; Now there is a high speed train from Kunming to Vientiane that passes through Luang Nam Tha and Luang Prabang).

Once you have been ‘stamped’ out of China, a tuk-tuk will whiz you from the Chinese border post to the Lao one, for 5 Yuan a person.

Procedures on the Lao side are easy and transparent: a list of visa fees for different nationalities is posted on the window and you are asked to fill in a form, hand over one photo and pay the fee (in our case 35 Dollars). Then you are ‘stamped’ in for a duration of 30 days.

There is nowhere to change money at the actual border post, for that you will have to go to the first Lao town, which is Boten. However, Chinese currency is widely accepted.

From the border post, you can take a sawngthaew, the converted pick-up trucks with benches that provide much of Lao transport, to Boten, where you can pick up a bus to Luang Nam Tha. Alternatively, you can hire your own sawngthaew all the way to Luang Nam Tha for around 120 to 150 Yuan, depending on your bargaining skills.

One thing that surprised us here but seemed normal all over Laos is that even when you hire or charter an entire vehicle, the driver will still let local people on for short distances. Given the precarious state of transport in many places we didn’t really mind.

Accommodation:

If you can avoid staying in Mengla you would be doing yourself a favour, as the town is a bit of a dump. We stayed in a cheap and fairly nasty Chinese hotel almost opposite the northern bus station. The price of 60 Yuan a double was its only redeeming factor. Later on we saw several better options, all on or just off the main drag: the Hai La Hotel, a grey stone building with columns close to the Southern bus station with doubles for 120 Yuan, the pleasant-looking Post Hotel, attached to a telecommunications building and with its entrance just off the main street, and even an up-market white multi- story hotel right in the centre.

However, with the recent opening of new highways you shouldn’t really have to stay in Mengla; Xishuangbanna’s pleasant capital, Jinghong, is now within easy reach of the Lao border, as is the much nicer town of Menglun with its fantastic botanical garden.

Lastly, the tiny, one-street border town of Mohan looked brand-new and cheerful when we passed through. We spotted a couple of simple, but clean-looking guesthouses and restaurants, which might make this quite a bearable option, should you arrive too late to enter Laos.

Thailand to China by Boat

The Boat from Thailand to China

our boat in Jinhong — Thailand to china by Boat Our boat after arrival in Jinhong

HolaChina: Your Gateway to China

Thailand to China by Boat: This service has for the moment been discontinued. Our account is historical rather than travel advice.

Thailand to China by Boat is a once in a lifetime trip. Sailing up one of the remotest and most striking stretches of the Mekong River with Laos on the right and Myanmar (Burma) on the left is a great way to enter China. The trip takes about a day and a half and is (was) easy to organise.

The Boat leaves the Northern Thai town of Chiang Saen on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Boats return to Thailand from the Chinese city of Jinghong on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Thailand to China by Boat: Getting Tickets

We got our tickets by ringing Gin’s Guest House ( 0 5365 0847 / 1023) in Chiang Saen in advance and making a reservation. You might be able to get your own tickets at the office of the Xishuangbanna Tianda Tourism and Shipping Company in Chiang Saen.

The office is by the Mekong, a little way South, down Th. Rimkhong, though the telephone number 0 5365 1136, quoted by Lonely Planet, was no longer in use .

Continue reading “Thailand to China by Boat”

Tonghai The Mongol town

TONGHAI

(Versión Español)

Para llegar a Tonghai desde Kunming, se necesitan menos de tres horas en autobús, es todo carretera y hay poco para distraer la vista. Tonghai es una pequeña ciudad agrícola, a pocos kilómetros del lago de Qilu, al lado del cual todavía hay un pueblo de descendientes de soldados del ejercito de los Mongolos. La ciudad, presa de una campaña de embelesamiento, como tantas otras en China, no es nada del otro mundo. Desafortunadamente, muchos edificios antiguos de la dinastía Qing ya han sido demolidos, mientras que otros están sujetos a reformas de dudoso gusto. Más que nada, el encanto de Tonghai reside en la mezcla interesante de su población y, sobre todo, el atmosférico parque de Xiushan.

Xiushan es un parque bastante grande, lleno de templos en el estilo de las famosas montañas sagradas chinas, situado en el monte Xiushan, con vistas sobre la ciudad y el lago Qilu. La falta absoluta de teleféricos, puestos de souvenirs y turistas, fácilmente convierten este parque en uno de los más agradables y relajantes de China….. Leer mas:
HolaChina: Your Gateway to China

TONGHAI

(English Version)

The journey from Kunming to Tonghai takes less than three hours, a straight bus-ride down the motorway with very little in the way of visual distractions. Tonghai itself is a small agricultural town, a few kilometres from the Qilu lake, on whose shores a village inhabited by descendants of soldiers from the Mongol armies survives to this day. The town, which is currently undergoing a beautification campaign, like so many others in China, is nothing to write home about. Unfortunately, many interesting old buildings, mostly dating from the Qing dynasty, have already fallen prey to the sledge hammer, while others are undergoing dubious reforms. However, Tonghai‘s saving grace is its interesting population mix and, most of all, the wonderfully atmospheric Xiushan park.

Xiushan park is a large temple park in the style of China’s famous Holy Mountains, set on Xiushan mountain, overlooking Tonghai city and Qilu lake. Its total lack of cable cars, souvenir stalls and tourists make this park easily one of the most pleasant and laid- back in China…. For more go to:

HolaChina: Your Gateway to China

Wine and Cheese in Paradise

The bar was pretty cool; just a few wooden tables with simple but stylish decoration. We ordered a bottle of dry red wine and savoured the moment as the dark burgundy liquid filled our glasses. We toasted and rejoiced that we had chosen well.

Note: after the fire in the old town of Zhongdian it is very possible that this place doesn’t exist anymore.
Adam

But the best was yet to come. The cheese, beautifully presented and excellently cut, looked as if it had arrived straight from Castilla la Mancha. The fried cheese sticks were scrumptious too.

With a little bit of imagination we could almost feel as if we had been transported to one of those lazy, boozy days kicking back in Spain. But actually we were at 3,200 meters above sea level, not too far from the Tibetan border in the Yunnanese town of Zhongdian. The wine and the cheese where both local products; the latter 100% yak….

About the wine and cheese

The wine was a Tibetan red from the Yunnan Shangeli wine company, while the cheese was the result of an amazing project to produce quality yak cheese in one of China’s remotest areas. The Mei Xiang Cheese Factory http://www.meixiangcheese.com/index.asp

is located in Langdu Village in the Diqin Tibetan Autonomous Region of Yunnan. The area where the yaks graze is a pristine alpine spot 4,500 meters above sea level. So far, the Meixiang Factory has developed two types of cheese: the first, Yage, is a Mediterranean Halloumi type cheese with a soft and mild flavour. The second cheese, which is called Geza Gold, is a creamy full flavoured cheese.

The cheese making project

The cheese making project is a result of the collaboration between local Tibetan herdsmen, families from Langdu village and an assortment of outside help such as CERS (China Exploration & Research Society), a Hong Kong based organisationhttp://www.cers.org.hk/ that claims to be committed to “…helping China’s remote regions and implementing projects to conserve nature and culture, in a sensitive and equitable manner…”,

or Ventures in Development http://www.venturesindev.org/index.asp another organisation which aims to build viable projects in remote areas of China. These organisations have provided technical assistance in the guise of professional American cheese experts from the university of Wisconsin who have gone to Langdu to apply their expertise to the production of yak cheese, especially in the areas of quality control and sanitation. The organisations have also tried to find markets for the cheese products.

When I spoke to the lady running the shop and bar in Zhongdian (Shangrila) she told me that while there was a market for the yak cheese in China’s big cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong, two problems needed to be overcome. Firstly, transportation: Langdu is a remote village and infrastructure still leaves a lot to be desired. Secondly, production: the production capacity at Langdu is still very limited and unable to cope with substantial increases in demand. Until those problems are resolved, Zhongdian’s cheese business is likely to remain small-scale.

Though I wish their seemingly harmless and environmentally-friendly enterprise well, I can see a contradiction here. How do you preserve Langdu’s unspoilt wilderness, while at the same time building the transport infrastructure and production capacity to make the yak cheese business viable? Are the two compatible? A question that those involved in the project will need to work out.

For now though, any visitor to Zhongdian should definitely drop into the Shangri-La wine and cheese shop and sample what’s on offer. Apart from the delicious cheese platter with crackers, there are fried yak cheese sticks, yak cheese burgers, yak cheese club sandwiches and a variety of yak cheese salads. The Address is Zhongdian Old Town, Cang Fang Jie, #22. It is just down the hill from the main square. Wine is by the glass or bottle.

Cizhong and Tibetan Wine

In the next week a new article will be posted on HolaChina.com Your Gateway to China about the remote Tibetan village of Cizhong in Yunnan province and Tibetan wine.

The area has a tradition of wine making ever since French missionaries came to the region more than 100 years ago. The village of Cizhong also has a beautiful Catholic church built in traditonal and local style.

Don’t go to Dali….

Avoid Dali, the once mythical city and haven of back-packers, now not much more than a vulgar theme park. Only 33 kilometres away is the lovely village of Xizhou, with its impressive Bai architecture, which can give you a taste of what Dali once was like. If you wish to explore the beautiful area around Erhai Lake, you could do a lot worse than base yourself in this friendly and laid-back village.

Xizhou has played an important role in the history of this region of Yunnan, as it once served as an important military base and……

For more go to: HolaChina: Your Gateway to China

Yuanyang Rice Terraces

Yuanyang Rice Terraces / 远阳梯田 As they were in 2006

would- be professional photographers descend upon this remote town

During the first two or three months of every year, thousands of professional and would- be professional photographers descend upon this remote town in Yunnan province to take photos of one of nature’s most beautiful phenomena, the changing of winter to spring on some of the most spectacular rice terraces in the world.

At this time, the paddies are full of water, and their beauty is enhanced by the shifting contrasts of light and rolling mists that provide stunning vistas. At sunrise and sunset the water in the paddies can take on a myriad of colours, ranging from an eerie blue, to pink, yellow and bright red, thus providing the perfect hunting ground for those in search of the ultimate shot.

Unfortunately, our work schedule left us with no choice but to visit Yuanyang in summer, when the terraces have taken on a bright emerald hue, but are devoid of water. They are still an awesome sight, especially at dawn, but they are no match for those glossy photos, adorning the multiple coffee-table books and postcards that you can find all over town. The locals, who seem to be fairly obsessed with rice paddy viewing, constantly remind us that this is the wrong time to visit and insist that we should come again in February, to see the real thing!

The most popular terrace viewing points

Longshubao: particularly recommended for

Wine and Cheese in Shangri-la

One of the more pleasant Surprises of last year’s visit to Zhongdian in the South Western province of Yunnan was sitting in a Tibetan run wine bar nipppling delicious cheese and washing it down with a pretty decent red wine. Both products were locally made. The cheese, unlike most Tibetan cheeses, was neither sour or tooth shatteringly rock hard. Actually it would go down well at any French or Spanish table. The cheese was produced in a remote mountanious area by a cooperative with the aid of western expertise.

Category: Yunnan Province 云南省

Yunnan Province 云南省

Xiding Market – Xishuangbanna