In Search offrom kunming, capital of China’s yunnan province, wind your way through the charming cities of dali,

lijiang, and ultimately the fabled shangri-la, discovering along the way the province’s ethnic

minorities, legendary temples, stone forests, scenic lakes, and the origin of the historic ‘tea horse route’.

W ho would have thought that a mere two-hour flight from Kolkata can transport you to the City of Eternal Spring,

Kunming? I’m about to discover this, as I board a China Eastern Airways with my parents, bound for this destination that few Indians are aware of ‒ for in its very proximity lies its attraction.

And our first vision of Kunming did not disappoint. From the grand Kunming Chanshuing International airport with its massive twirling ribbon-like columns, state-of-the-art shopping facilities, and gleaming floors, you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d landed in the West. A smooth 24km-ride later, we check into our hotel, the Yijing Garden Resort and Spa Hotel (+86 8714313338).

As the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in southwestern China, Kunming has a long and colourful history from its time as an early settlement on the fabled Southern Silk Route to southeast Asia, India, and Burma. Sitting at a height of 1,900 metres above sea

level, and on the northern side of Lake Dianchi (named after the first kingdom to control the Kunming area, Dian), the leadership of Kunming changed hands under the kingdom of Dali and dynasties of Han, Ming, and Qing. Today, the city is the prosperous seat of the Yunnan province, with a population of 1.8 million. It was propelled into the modern era when it caught the world’s attention after the World Horticultural Exposition in 1999. Just seven kilometres from the city centre, the Expo Garden is today a tourist magnet, set on 218 acres of land, and seven kilometres from the city centre. One of the highlights is the Grand Greenhouse, where, in separate climatically controlled halls, you’ll find giant pyramids of poinsettias, begonias, azaleas, rhododendrons, and cacti. In fact, so famed are Kunming’s flowers, that the city produced 800 tonnes for the Beijing Olympics.

We then proceed to the Bamboo Temple, a Mahayana Buddhist temple, in the city’s Western Hills, which was destroyed by Kublai Khan and rebuilt in 1280, with its peaceful courtyard

surrounded by 450-year-old cypress trees. The main hall houses three large Buddha statues, at the centre of which is the historical Sakyamuni. The most fascinating feature of this temple is the collection of 500 arhat or monk-like clay figures piled one on top of the other in the interior halls created in the late 19th century by sculptor Li Guangxiu, some grimacing and some grotesque.

Our guide tells us that every visitor can find his or her likelihood in one of those figures!

We head to the old town, or Guan Du, which used to be an old port, and was rebuilt in 1999. The oldest temple there dates to the year 1219. There, the Vajra Pagoda (with its snail-shell covering), built in 1457 sits in the central square. Just a few metres away is the Miaoxhian Temple (a Shaolin temple where all the monks are trained in kung fu), which sports a fierce dragon sculpture on the stairs leading to the prayer hall, and hundreds of red prayer ribbons attached to trees.

The area around the Green Lake Park or Cuihu, is strewn with parents taking cherubic children for a walk, little old ladies playing with their dogs, and young couples walking hand in hand. Come November, the place becomes a refuge for hordes of migrating seagulls, we are told. Just opposite the park is an amber-coloured colonial period building that resembles a Franciscan seminary, bordering a large, rambling courtyard. This is the old French Legation, a

kunmIng’s eXpo garden has a grand greenhouse, where you’ll fInd pyramIds

of poInsettIas, BegonIas, aza leas, rhododendrons,

and CaCtI.

teXt By PRIYA KUMARI RANAphotographs By KISHAN S RANA

The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, about 20km from the town of Lijiang, is a sacred mountain of the Naxi ethnic minority in Yunnan, with the highest peak, Shanzidou, sitting at a lofty 5,596m. Its stunning vistas and scenic beauty harbour a wealth of flora and fauna.

Clockwise from top left: The Bamboo Temple in Kunming’s Western Hills; A Naxi girl at a palace belonging to the Mu family, Lijiang; One of many restaurants that flank the cobbled streets of the old town in Lijiang; A wooden laughing Buddha at the entrance to Lijiang’s old town.

spotlIghtYunnan Province

shangrI-la

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Clockwise from top: Kunming’s Expo Garden, created in 1999, is a tourist magnet; The San Ta or Three Pagodas in Dali, stand against the Cangshuan mountains; Shilin’s Stone Forest is now a World Heritage Site; A deity in the Yuang Si Pagoda, Kunming’s popular Bud-

dhist temple, and the largest bronze temple in China, built during the Ming dynasty.Jiaozi, momos, or Chinese dumplings are a staple, from Kunming to Shangri-La (top); A dance drama depicting a traditional Bai

wedding, during the ‘Three Tea Ceremony’ in a village near Dali (below).

reminder of the area’s French legacy. Inside, is a collection of coat of arms and training paraphernalia (it used to be an elite military academy). Stay at the nearby four-star Lian Yun Hotel (+86 8715156661), for a taste of city comforts.

The next day, we drive to Shilin, the Stone Forest, which is a 350 sq km area located in the Shilin Yi Ethnic autonomous County, and listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007. The most incredible characteristic of this stone forest is the sight of densely clustered limetone pillars that were formed under the sea some 300 million years ago. Once there, special eco-friendly electric cars ferry you from one sub-forest to another, and it’s a good idea to wear a hat or a cap (you can buy one at the many shops at the entrance) to ward off the strong sun. Chinese tourists are the most common sight, with many breaking into joyous claps as they watch dance performances by the Sani people of the Yi ethnic community. You might even be tempted to buy a colourful woven wallet or two, but be prepared to haggle ferociously.

Yunnan is famous for its tribal people, who in China are called ‘National Minorities’. The three leading towns of Yunnan (after Kunming), heavily visited by tourists are Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-la, each unique in its topography and its ethnic life, where we plan to wend our way. Besides the Tibetans, some of the most famous tribes are the Naxi and the Bai – which means ‘white’ in their dialect – who inhabit the town of Dali, our first port of call, and a 45-minute flight from Kunming.

Dali sits at a height of 2,000 metres and boasts of an average of 150C, and is located on a big ear-shaped lake, Erhai, which measures 42km in length and pours out into the river that eventually becomes the Mekong, when it enters Laos, and then Cambodia and Thailand. We head to our abode, the Regent Hotel (+86 8722666666), a four-star property with a century-old reception area, with façades painted with the distinctive black, grey, and white frescoes, typical of that area. The night is spent exploring Yu Road, main street, home to bustling food stalls and eateries, and shops selling jewellery, clothes, and bric-a-brac.

The next day, we drive to Xi Zhou village, around 30km from Dali, where we witness a colourful morning market (and end up buying a painted glass hip flask from an old lady), and then head to Sacun village, where we take an excursion on small boats (wearing lifejackets), to see trained cormorant birds (they put a ring around their necks so they cannot swallow big fish), go fishing for their masters. What is amazing, is the way they bring up from the water big fish, which are then sold to spectators. This is followed by a short performance on a boat stage of Bai music and dance, which we watch from our boats.

In the same village, we attend a ‘Three Tea Ceremony’ at a Bai cultural centre, where spectators are served small bowls of three kinds of tea: bitter, to symbolize how life is hard and bitter when one is young; sweet, to symbolize the good things that come to one later in life; and finally, flavourful, to show how in old age one can reflect back on one’s life and enjoy the memories. While this is served, onstage, an elaborate 20-minute dance drama is performed in elaborate Bai costumes, music, and dance, depicting the wedding of a young couple, and the three days of ceremony that takes place.

By far one of the most stunning sights in Dali is the Guanyin Tang Temple, dedicated to the Goddess of Mercy, also known as Avalokitesvara. In 200 BC, when the Han people wanted to invade Dali, it’s rumoured that the goddess turned into an old lady carrying a large stone to block them. Behind the Guanyin Temple sits the Gantong Temple, atop a hill (you can hike or take a shuttle bus up). The gigantic, renovated buildings (there are three of them), gleam colourfully, with golden-hued Buddhas smiling serenely from within. The San Ta or Three Pagodas, right before the temples, stand tall against the backdrop of the Cangshuan mountains and the lake, the tallest of the three being almost 70 metres in height, and made of hollow brick.

On the 190 kilometre stretch from Dali to Lijiang, we stop at a ‘midway’, but one with a difference. Anywhere else in the world, such a place would have a food court and souvenir shops. But the Chinese, traveling to Dali and

Lijiang from many other provinces, are intent only on jade bargains. Thus, we barely see one or two food stands at this place!

Lijiang, a UNESCO heritage site, is a 1,000-year old village, authentic and also a paradox. With its winding lanes and water channels, single-story houses crested by tile roofs, it is as it must have been over hundreds of years. Only cycles and mopeds are allowed; cars abound on its periphery. But it is also hollowed out – no one lives there, and virtually every second home is an inn or a small hotel, and there are 6,000 of them. (We stay at the posh Wang Fu Lijiang Hotel (+86 8885189666), in the old town.) The rest are restaurants and shops, making this village

a vast commercial enterprise. And hordes of Chinese tourists descend to Lijiang, mostly by bus, lodge in the inexpensive hotels, and throng the markets. Around the village the new town has come up, with lots more hotels and restaurants. Food-wise, we stick to local vegetarian fare (not such a challenge, given that strict Buddhists run all-vegetarian eateries, most of which was spicy, and included stir-fried Chinese vegetables, and tofu.

Barely a couple of kilometres from Lijiang are two other villages of the same vintage, Baisha and Hsuhe, not as picturesque as Lijiang, but also at an earlier stage of commercialization, both inhabited by locals, and yet undergoing tourism transformation. At Baisha, we spot vendors

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tHE MAGICAL SHANGRI-LA do we see China as a savvy image marketer? that is exactly what yunnan province did in 2001, when a remote town, ‘zhongdian’, was renamed ‘shangri-la’, borrowing the name of a mythical city that James hilton had conjured up in his novel Lost Horizons (1933). for hilton, shangri-la was an idyllic place of tranquility, harmony, and bliss.

yunnan’s shangri-la sits at the edge of the tibetan plateau, populated mainly by tibetans, with a sizeable han (Chinese) minority in a population of 440,000. the new buildings along the highway, schools, colleges, and district headquarters, are testimony to Chinese investment in the greater tibet region. In the summer, shangri-la is lush with greenery, ringed on one side by a range of mountains.

located at 3200 metres, it boasts of cool and dry summers, and truly cold winters. It is the seat of several tibetan monasteries, the largest of which is Ganden Sumtseling Gompa, at the edge of the town, which is an important Buddhism seat, with 600 lamas; it has several attractive temples located at the summit of a 200-step climb – not an easy proposition at that height!

hordes of Chinese tourists now rub shoulders in the old town with smaller numbers of western backpackers and tourists from many lands, attracted by easy accessibility (several daily flights from kunming), and the chance to capture a glimpse of the tibetan way of life.

the old town square of shangri-la is dominated by three temples, one of which boasts of the

world’s largest prayer wheel, which is some 25 metres in height. on a sunny afternoon, the area is picturesque, buzzing with activity with stalls selling handicrafts, jugglers, and enterprising owners of lovely tibetan massifs, who will let tourists pose with their shaggy dogs — at a small price, of course! one can even pose atop a white yak. leading from this square are stone-paved roads, for pedestrians, and the ubiquitous cycles and mopeds. this is tourist town, with handicraft shops, bars, and restaurants, studded with small, inexpensive hotels and guesthouses. we chanced upon a nepali restaurant, and after days of exclusively Chinese cuisine, savoured their biryani, dal, and roti.

a major must-visit, about 15km out of the town, is China’s first national park, Po da tso, a haven of forest, grasslands, and lakes, which attracts some 12,000 to 15,000 tourists per day, principally Chinese. entry tickets are a cool ¥260 (about $45, the same price for locals and foreigners). one then embarks on one of 100-odd shuttle buses that take tourists to five drop-off points, at the two major lakes, a grassland pasture, and two viewpoints. the lakes are pristine, and most Chinese visitors walk along the lakeside on elevated boardwalks; the injunction against picking the rhododendrons and stepping on grass is clearly followed well. the grasslands are marked by herds of yaks and ponies, belonging to the pastoralists that live within the park, making a splendid sight. one catches an occasional glimpse of the high snow-clad mountain peaks in the distance.

shangri-la lives up to its borrowed name...

By Kishan s Rana

what Is good Jade?Jade connects with history; in an earlier age it was so rare as to be available to only kings and rulers. the best varieties come from parts of China, and myanmar. essentially one needs to be Chinese to fully understand the features

that make for high quality, and why a same-sized piece, say a bracelet, looking more or

less similar to the next one, can vary 100 times in price. Jade is usually pale green in colour, but it can vary from alabaster, to light purple to deep-green. It is translucent, lustrous, and

gives a subtle glow of its own; it improves in the wearing. Jade bracelets are traditionally worn

on the left wrist, closer to the heart.

Clockwise from top left: The highest peak of Po Da Tso, a national part a short drive from Shangri-La, sits at 4,500 metres, and can be reached by cable car; The world’s largest prayer wheel, over 25 metres high, stands tall in the old town of Shangri-La; The Ganden

Sumtseling Gompa monastery is an important seat of Buddhism, to be reached after a 200-step climb.

selling beautifully embroidered cushion covers and trinkets, again to be bargained for.

A major attraction, about 20km from Lijiang, is the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, with peaks of 5,500 metres. A cable car takes you to a lookout, which promises a flower meadow after a 6km hike. Alas, at 3,500 metres already, oxygen is rare, and the task is daunting. We then go to an open auditorium, to see a 500-member dance drama on the life of the Naxi people, against the magnificent backdrop of the mountains.

The first person to bring alive to the West the ethnic heritage and natural beauty of Yunnan province was botanist Joseph Rock (1884-1962), whose articles and photographs in National Geographic in the 1920s onwards made the world aware of this region’s charms. He is remembered in an exhibition at one of the old palaces that was the sprawling home of one of the leading families of the region.

This entire entire region of Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La is central to what is called the historic ‘Tea Horse Route’, that gave real

content to the economy of this region, 700 years ago. This tea is grown in the Pu Er County (which produces among the most exclusive of Chinese teas, matured for hundreds of years and literally worth their weight in gold!). Xizhou village near Dali was home to wealthy

tea merchants, as well as a prospering carpentry trade. The people of Lijiang hold that their tea has more colour, body, and tastes better. The trade that developed involved taking tea, packed in bricks and in round-shaped blocks, selling it to Tibet, taking in return animal skins, which were in turn taken to India. The short, sturdy Naxi horse played a key role in this round trip that took about three years for the merchants that built their fortune on it. Hence the term Tea Horse Route describes this entire region, with inscriptions about it in places such as Lijiang and Shangri-La.

A word on the tea trees of this region. Unlike the short tea bushes that we know in India, in Darjeeling or elsewhere, the tea tree grows 20 metres and higher, and lives for over 100 years; it is said that the oldest in Yunnan is 1,000 years old. Women were the main source of labour for tea – it was respectable for men to drink and laze around, apart from those that went on the Tea Route, or became soldiers, who too were famous among the Naxi and their sister tribes.

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