How I Spent My Spring Vacation
China is a land of contrasts. My trip photos aren't. Early on, my fellow travelers Felicity, Clare, and I decided on the division of labor: I would eat everything and Clare and Felicity would take pictures of me eating everything. Though a few food-less shots escaped our mandate, if you want to learn anything about China other than what I ate, I humbly suggest you contact me or go there yourself.
Pictures take up a lot of disk space, so even after I've shrunk them to puny web size, they'll still take a while to load. To break up the burden and add a hint of chronology to the narrative, I divided the pictures into category by place we visited. To wit: April 11 - 21 and May 4 - 5, Beijing; April 22 and May 4, Kunming; April 23 - 24, Dali; April 25 - 27, Zhongdian; April 27 - 28, Lijiang; April 28 - May 3, Jinghong.
The Autonomous Zone of Beijing is the capital of China. It's dense like Manhattan and sprawls like L.A., a city the size of Belgium with two million more people officially and who knows how many more unofficially. Kunming is the modern capital of Yunnan, a south-west province three hours by plane from Beijing bordering Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Tibet. Yunnan is tops in China for geographic and demographic diversity (villages from the Tibetan highlands to tropical rainforests house nearly 50% non-Han ethnic minorities compared with 7% in the country over-all), half the country's plant and animal species, and agricultural output that's nearly a third of China's GNP. If you like, think of Yunnan as the Chinese California. Dali, a small town sandwiched between the Jade Green mountains and the Erhai Hu lake, attracts travelers with centuries-old archictecture amidst the scenic backdrop, Bai minority markets, and general laid-back buzz. Zhongdian is a Tibetan town 3200 meters up in the highlands, with clear air, amazing views, monks on every corner, and a Yak in every pot. Between the two, Lijiang is home to the Naxi matrilineal minority, and a maze of tiny winding cobblestone streets through wood buildings, street markets, and active canals that criss-cross the old town. Jinghong, capital of the Xishuangbanna Dai Minority Autonomous Region in the deep south of Yunnan, is a sleepy melting pot of Chinese minorities, Han, and immigrants from across the borders. This is the tropics, complete with pineapples on the corner, mosquito nets over the bed, and golden-haired monkeys a few miles out of town. I've never seen so many butterflies.
Anyway, enjoy the pics!