So for the past month, I traveled in Southwest China. Yunnan and Sichuan, and had a lot of fun traveling mostly by myself. My first destination was Luguhu lake at the border of Yunnan and Sichuan, where the Mosuo tribe lives. Although it becomes quite touristy now, it's still one of the most interesting and most beautiful place I've ever been. Here is a bit about the Mosuo on wikipedia in case you have not heard about them:
The Mosuo culture is most frequently described as a matriarchal culture.[1] In fact, the Mosuo themselves frequently use this description, to attract tourism and interest in their culture. Sometimes, the Mosuo will be described instead as "matrilineal", which is probably more accurate, but still doesn't reflect the full truth.
The Mosuo culture defies categorization within traditional Western definitions. They have aspects of a matriarchal culture, in that women are, in many households, the head of the house, property is passed through the female line, and women tend to make the business decisions. But political power tends to be in the hands of males, which disqualifies them as a true matriarchy.
The Mosuo culture defies categorization within traditional Western definitions. They have aspects of a matriarchal culture, in that women are, in many households, the head of the house, property is passed through the female line, and women tend to make the business decisions. But political power tends to be in the hands of males, which disqualifies them as a true matriarchy.
Young Mosuo men now grow a liking in female tourists. It sounds a bit awful, but not that awful if you take it as a romantic but one-off destination for lonely single female tourist. When you met those passionate and friendly faces, it is hard not to feel confident and young. The good thing is, after they treat you a good meal and all that, you can still politely say no, and with your best of luck, you can become friends with them. Plus a good number of Mosuo men have very good looking, dark and muscular! :D Anyway, nothing happened to me, I just politely said no. It was a bizzaar but rejuvenating experience. Apart from that, the lake is also a good place for family and lovers. Peaceful and breath-holding, very close to the sky, you get very nice view of sunrise, sunset, and a starry sky so starry that you can't help but to wonder whether it is a faked one as the ones they put upon casinos like the Venetians.
And then when I left Yunnan for Sichuan, the contradiction between the two places makes me feel really disappointed with Sichuan at one point.
The day I arrived in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, I encountered one of the first severe cold current in southern China. The room I stayed was freezing, and the sky was oppressively grey.
In Yunnan, even the busiest capital city Kunming presents to its guest a crystal clear blue sky, pleasant temperature, and crispy breeze. There is almost no industry in Yunnan. The province's economy heavily depends on tourism and tobacco. By the way, a traveler I befriended with on my way told me that you can easily find marijuana in Luguhu. People just grow them in their courtyard. Most likely, a passerby would not even notice these stuff. Sounds like heaven isn't it, though I don't take weeds, but still, there is a hint of freedom and relaxation there. Even the little pigs eat tobacco leaves in the fields. The pork there taste really nice, I must tell you! Well, they are one hundred percent organic. So people are very friendly and relaxed in Yunnan, no matter what ethnic background they belong.
Sichuan, though right next to Yunnan, is very different. Due to probably its high density of population, people are very competitive in Sichuan. It is hard to get a taxi, hard to get a place in public toilet if you don't learn to jump the queue, hard to communicate with people if you don't learn to look tough and talk very loudly. The most incomprehensible thing is this is the place where the laziest and most relaxed animal Pandas are kept.
But day by day as you gradually get to know Sichuan, it becomes more and more likable. First, there are a great number of beautiful landcape and cultural heritage in Sichuan. It has one of the most prosperous Han culture heritage outside Beijing. And it's got a great diversity of geography. Here you can find almost everything apart from the sea. Snow mountains, waterfalls, endless seas of bamboos, all of which make you want to stay longer no matter what the people around you are like. We went to a place called Hailuogou (Trumpet Shell Gorge?). It was snowy at the time we arrive. We just went straight to the hot springs. On the first night we went to the most bizzaar hot spring I've ever been - it was a big swimming pool where the only two swimmers are my friend and I. We swam in a snowy night, it was nevertheless very pleasant to have the snow buds gently touching our faces. Then when the day broke, we went to another hot spring in the mountain, where we could sit there and watch Mount Gongga and the glacier said to be millions years old. Signs were put up warning people not to play with the monkeys if they also come to the spring. I saw one of these chubby short-tailed animal on our way up to the mountain. They look quite nice and friendly. On a nice and warm day, it is very likely you can play with red pandas in the mountain.
So when we went back to Chengdu, relaxed and startled by the beauty of Sichuan, we felt that people became friendlier. I eventually ended up in a tea house on my last afternoon in Chengdu. For 8 yuan, you can have a good cup of tea with endless top-up. The teahouse owner is a typical goodlooking but a bit over-made-up Sichuan woman. There are a lot of locals in that teahouse, some are having their ears-picked, some are playing Majong, some are just chatting for the length of a whole afternoon. I guess this is where you can really find the spirit of Pandas. How wonderful it survives through such a competitive environment!
I think I'd better end here before it gets too long to read on. Hope I will see you guys again sooner than later!
Love and hugs,
Penguin
PS. You can find the pictures here
Lugu Lake
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44958217@N03/sets/72157622866394906/
and Hailuo Gou
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44478485@N07/sets/72157622741861455/
Life in Chengdu
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44478485@N07/sets/72157622743524379/
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I cannot write comments through my proxy server for some reasons. So I just write it here.
To Kay:
Yunnan should definitely be your first destination in China - only in that order you will want to come to China again. There is almost no bad weather in Yunnan, especially in late October. Make your first stop at Lijiang, it is a bit touristy but there are still a lot to explore :D Yunnan food taste great, though 云南十八怪 tastes truly weird, hahaha!Anyway, I should write you guys your China travel plan - once you decide to come over. Let me know!!
To Ant:
I do need to write more here to catch up with you guys! Thanks for your inspirations here!
