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Qiunatong last village before Tibet

Qiunatong 秋那通

Qiunatong last village before Tibet is China at its most spectacular. Magnificent scenery, fierce canines, and laid-back locals await you on your visit to Qiunatong 秋那通, one of the last villages in Yunnan云南 before you enter Tibet西藏.

Barring a few hamlets, Yunnan province virtually ends at Qiunatong. At least all paved roads end here ( this has now changed). If you walk or cycle west of here for a day or so, you’ll find end up in Tibet proper. That is if you don’t stumble upon a Chinese border security post!

The Village

The Nu village 怒族 of Qiunatong is an attractive collection of large wooden farm houses set amongst Continue reading “Qiunatong last village before Tibet”

Dong Feng Tibetan Village

Dong Feng 东风 (Bingzhongluo 丙中洛-Nujiang Valley怒江谷)

Dong Feng Tibetan Village offers one of the easiest day trips from Bingzhongluo 丙中洛. Head north out of town along the main road and you’ll soon find yourself on a wide dirt tract with a river running below it.

Cathoolic Church Dong Feng Tibetan Village

Continue for a few meters and the path veers sharply left; all of a sudden, Bingzhongluo has disappeared and Dong Feng comes into view.

Snow Mountain Dong Feng Tibetan Village — Snow-Mountain

Dong Feng Tibetan Village: A stunning Walk: So Close yet so far

Unfortunately, distances around here are deceptive. The steepness of the mountain slopes makes everything look closer than it actually is, and the path to Dong Feng is no exception.

As you enter the valley, the village looks tantalisingly close, sitting there directly in front of you, a mere stone’s throw away, but alas, on the other side of the river.

Bingzhongluo Gateway to Tibet

Bingzhongluo Gateway to Tibet 丙中洛

Bingzhongluo Gateway to Tibet: Arriving

Bingzhongluo Gateway to Tibet is reached by the beautiful road from Gongshan 贡山 (see previous article). The road ends at the one-street town of Bingzhongluo 丙中洛 (Bingzhongluo has expanded in recent years).

It is difficult to find a town in a more remote place in China that is accessible by road on public transport. More than 350 kilometres separate this outpost from Liuku 六库, the town at the mouth of the Nujiang valley 怒江谷, from where there are connections to the rest of Yunnan Province 云南省.

Bingzhongluo Locals — Hanging out in Bingzhongluo

Arrive on a sunny morning, and you will find Bingzhongluo bustling with ethnic minorities shopping for provisions or chatting with friends.

Bingzhongluo Gateway to Tibet: The Nujiang River

Take in the town’s dramatic location, set below the magnificent slopes of the snow-capped mountains gleaming in their various shades of radiant green, and above the raging waters of the Nujiang River, seemingly in a frenetic rush to reach Myanmar and empty itself in the Bay of Bengal, and you can easily imagine you’ve arrived in the Shangri-La of James Hilton’s Lost Horizon.

On the other hand, should you arrive in Bingzhongluo late on a rainy, damp and misty evening, make your way past the flooded pot holes, dodge the mangy dogs fighting over scraps strewn across the street from the overturned bins, and you might ask yourself why you’d made the effort to get there.

Young Rubbish Collecters in Bingzhongluo — Young Rubbish Collectors

As always, the truth about Bingzhongluo lies somewhere in the middle. It’s a kilometre long stretch of old wooden shacks, hastily built concrete shops, and China’s trademark white- tile administrative buildings. And yet, Continue reading “Bingzhongluo Gateway to Tibet”

The Nujiang Valley 怒江大峡谷

Getting There and away Part 1

In the following weeks (months) we will be putting up information about travelling in the Nujiang Valley. This article will quickly look at Liuku六库, the town at the entrance to the valley and Gongshan贡山, the last town before you arrive at Bingzhongluo 丙中洛, the beautiful one- street village at the end of the valley.

Nujiang River Getting There: The Nujiang River

The Nujiang River, one of China’s last remaining undammed rivers, begins high on the Tibetan plateau before roaring down through the deep valleys and towering mountains of Yunnan province and then swinging into Burma and finally emptying out into the Andaman Sea at Mawlamyine. The Nujiang Valley is a home to a number of ethnic groups.

The villages that dot the slopes of the mountains above the river are populated by Lisu, Nu (a Tibetan sub-group) Drung and Tibetans. There is also a smattering of Hui (Chinese Muslims) and Burmese traders.

Christianity has made deep inroads into this area. In the 19th and early 20th century French missionaries found local ethnic groups more receptive to Biblical teachings than the rather suspicious Han Chinese.