Oasis in Old Dali

We were on board a bus leaving Lijiang headed to Dali. Our expectations were fairly low, as we repeatedly heard of the over development of the town for the new breed of Chinese tourists. Although Sichuan and Yunnan provinces offer gorgeous sights and opportunities for cultural exchange, we hadn't found any — pardon the old cliché — "wow factors" as the popular guidebooks suggested we might. We asked ourselves, what could we get out of this old city Dali?

Those who visit Dali's old town come for the views the mountain Cang Shan, which rises surprisingly high behind the town, the large lake stretched out in the shape of Buddha's ear named Erhai Hu, as well as San Ta Si (Three Pagodas) built in the mid-9th century. Travelers' hangout on a street called Huguo Lu, also known as "Foreigners' Street", where guesthouses, restaurants and cafés are concentrated. Chinese group tours stop here for a taste of Western travel culture.

What caught our attentions in this town, however, was the local culture that has been established by a group of young people living in this relatively quiet town. The formation of this community took its natural course, as young Chinese and Westerners migrated here and became friends. Some of the Chinese are native Dalian, but others moved from big cities like Beijing and Shanghai. They all had the same reason for moving here, saying "I lived in other places in China, but it was Dali where I met the most interesting people." The young Chinese seem to be the freest and of the most atypical we have seen throughout China.

They explored their unique viewpoints, tastes in music and art during conversations at the local cafés and soon they began to form a loose knit community of friends, eating and drinking together on a regular basis. The relationships formed extend in many directions, with both the Chinese and Westerners learning and relating to each other equally. As a result, they have established a collective atmosphere that is supportive, warm and welcoming.

For all of its fame as a tourist destination, Dali is relatively quiet town. There is not the kind of development pressure like we saw in Lijiang, and only the center of town is bustling with tourists. Still, many investors have their eye on Dali, expecting a boom to take place sometime in the future. This community of young adults is no exception, however, the hard push of commercial businesses is not evident and they continue to enjoy their slow lifestyle while running guesthouses, cafés and bars. The income generated through their businesses generates just enough to keep them free.

The result is an at-home, warm and relaxing environment where they welcome visitors who appreciate their unique sense of lifestyle. As travelers passing through Dali, we felt fortunate to find this wonderful community. It was an opportunity to get to know others while exchanging information and thoughts with people who were outside of the mainstream. After traveling in China for two months, it was an oasis where we could drop our guard and enjoy ourselves with these new, creative friends.

Apples and Sunflower Seeds

Yunnan Province is rich in nature and full of fertile lands. The area hosts a rich variation of culture as it sits on the borders of Tibet, Burma (now called Myanmer), Laos and Vietnam. While most of China is made up of the Han Chinese culture, multiple cultures have co-existed here for centuries, each forming their own communities and villages throughout the province. There are 25 unique minority tribes found throughout Yunnan. They include the Zhuang, Hui, Yi, Miao, Tibetans, Mongols, Ya, Bai, Hani, Dai, Lisu, Lahu, Wa, Naxi, Jingpo, Bulang, Pumi, Nu, Achang, Jinuo and Drung. The area around Lijiang is dominated by the Naxi tribe, while many of the people around Dali are of Bai origin.

We visited the Bai village called Jiu He on market day. It's located about 75 kilometers southwest of Lijiang. Villagers were shopping for all sorts of daily necessities ranging from toiletries, to clothing, to, of course, food. It is a market for the local people, and nothing at the tourist market was for sale. The most unusual item found at the market was, most likely, the two foreigners who came to visit (that would be us). We were welcomed with their honest smiles as they all tried to offer us their wares. When we were encouraged to try the local dish of sautéed soybean jelly flavored with chili I decided to go for it. It looked similar to the Japanese food called Kon-nyaku, but was much softer and melted in my mouth. At first taste, my tongue was covered in certain sweetness, followed by the punch of the chili spice. It was a delicious, yet inexpensive, treat.

Children began to gather around us as we walked through the market. We played the fun game of "instant photo" with the digital camera. The kids became even more excited when they could see their own face on the LCD screen and pushed their way into the next series of photos offering up their innocent smiles. When finally we came to the gate of their elementary school, they reluctantly waved goodbye and headed back to class.

It had been raining everyday during the past week, but this day was filled with sunshine. That early autumn feeling was in the air, cool and crisp, but still warm and pleasant in the sun. Soon the village would be in full swing bringing in the harvest, but for now, the adults gathered on the porches of the village houses and chatted about life.

As we headed back to our base at Lijiang we stopped off at another local village, this time of the Naxi tribe. The village was named La Shi and was well known for their apples. The town seemed like it was built around an apple orchard, and everywhere we looked branches were laden with red and green against the fading green leaves. In the center of the village, women sat in the quiet hours after lunch and chatted away while working on there knitting or drying of seeds. Their smiles were welcoming and they displayed an innocent curiosity about this strange Anglo and Asian couple.

Two elderly women invited us to visit their homes. Both were in a traditional design, with impressive gates and walls surrounding the property. Inside, the gate gave way to a large open-air courtyard surrounded by four structures, one on each side. The south facing structure was the main house where, traditionally, the eldest family members live. Two other structures faced east and west, respectively, and housed other family members, usually the oldest son and another sibling. Water buffalo, pigs, and chickens were housed in the north facing structure. Fierce dogs that barked non-stop at the strangers entering the family compound stood guard.

The courtyards were lovingly cared for, filled with walnut trees and potted plants. Corn and sunflower seeds were spread out in the open-air to dry. Each of the women offered us apples and sunflower seeds, pushing handfuls of the freshly harvested seeds deep into our pockets. We sat and listened to their life stories that reflected on China's hard and complex history. Today they live happy and content, enfolded in the traditional family structure, surrounded by their children and their grandchildren. Their smiles told us more than their words ever could.

Red Lanterns

An overnight train from Emi to Panzhihua plus an eight-hour bus ride took us to Lijiang, an old town known for its uniquely traditional architecture and Naxi culture.

Due to its cultural importance, the "old town" (as it's called) has been chosen as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The old traditional buildings withstood a major earthquake in 1996. Most of the damage in Lijiang occurred among the newly developed buildings, while the old houses stood almost indifferently. The officials were so impressed with the stability of the old building that they are now rebuilding the collapsed parts of "new town" using the same traditional methods.

Over half of the Yunnan population is a collection of minority tribes, Naxi and Bai among them. China's cultural wealth is well preserved in this city. Women proudly wear their traditional dress in their daily life and the younger generations create designs using the traditional pictographic Naxi language.

Looking down upon the town from the hillside takes you back a few hundred years as the view is filled with classic Chinese style rooftops made from slate tiles. The skyline is a series of black lines all sweeping upwards at their ends.

The town reminds me of an area of Kyoto called Kiyamachi because of the clean, clear flowing canals that line the cobblestone streets. At night, a warm glow comes over old Lijiang. Red lanterns cast their rosy colored light in the running waters of the canals. Everywhere you look you have the sense of being in old China.

Walking the cobblestone streets offers quite different views from the hillside above. The first floor of each building lining the street is a storefront. In the "old days" these shops sold all manner of goods necessary for life in Lijiang. Today they have been converted into souvenir shops, restaurants, and cafés. From morning to midnight this small town's streets are full of tourists shopping, walking and eating.

At first I was disappointed about the shopping mall appearance, with shop after shop selling T-shirts, jewelry, tea and more of the same. However, after a few days I found the reason for all the souvenir shops.

The mountains surrounding Lijiang, including gorgeous places like Tiger Leaping Gorge and the "official" Shangri-La, are also known for their lumber resources. Repeated flooding and landslides, made worse from the deforestation, have prompted the Chinese government to shut down many of the local logging companies. They have begun to encourage the communities to replant trees to stabilize the earth in the affected area. This resulted in massive unemployment, especially among the Naxi people, and they turned to tourism to make a living.

The UNESCO label created a world-class destination and the Chinese are quite proud of it. They flock to Lijiang to shop, take snapshots with the locals in their tribal clothing and to party in the bars at night. Only old black and white photographs on postcards can tell how it used to be, when this old town had its true charm.

Scenic Places in Sichuan

There are many scenic and historic attractions in Sichuan, a province located in southwestern China. We left Chengdu, its capital, on our way south to Yunnan Province, and stopped off at a couple of places along the way.

The first place was a town called Leshan. Its major attraction is the huge stone-carved Buddha that towers majestically over the confluence of two big rivers, the Min He and Dadu He. They claim it's the largest Buddha in the world. Our arrival coincidentally coincided with Da Fo Ji (Big Buddha Festival) and the grand Buddha was decked out in ribbons. This mid-size town was swollen with visitors who were taking part in festivities. As night fell, thousands of light filled paper lotus were released into the river.

The best part of Leshan was the people. They were very friendly and treated us with the typical curiosity toward foreigners but also with manners that they would use with their neighbors. This town has a gentle kindness among its people.

Emi Shan, our next stop, is famous for its beauty of forested mountains, waterfalls and ravines. It has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its tallest peak reaches over 10,000 feet, and its mysterious environment, shrouded in fog, is said to have been inhabited by hermits with unworldly knowledge and power. Emi Shan is dotted with several Buddhist temples and is one of the four holy mountains in China. The air is fresh and thick. Water is pristine and its flow sounds powerful and refreshing. So many colorful butterflies of various kinds fly about everywhere. And the vegetations on the mountain seem to hold everything together.

Despite the beauty and spiritual undertones of Emi Shan, we had a hard time appreciating its gifts as bus load after bus load of Chinese tour groups dutifully filed through each of the scenic spots. Thanks to the paved roads and cable cars that connect the major sites, it doesn't take much effort to be able to appreciate them.

Here in China, one must venture off the tourists' paths, in order to experience views and quiet moments at "famous scenic and historic sites of interest". It requires stretching your paths to places without much transportations or that take physical effort to reach. At Emi Shan, this means climbing up and down literally thousands of stone steps on the sides of the mountains for several hours. Once off the main path, though, the mountain showed us her true beauty.

It has been interesting to observe the budding tourism industry here in China, from Beijing to Tibet and now the southwestern corner of the country. To me, China has some of the most beautiful places that I have ever seen, for their nature, histories and mystic impressions. On the other hand, every country in the world has it's own famous tourist destinations that have been overly developed and commercialized. That seems to be the case with many places in China and unfortunately the true beauty is shaved away by excessive development.

China Creates

China seems to be in the center of the news media. The majority of information out of this country is centered around economics, politics, and industry. Its long and colorful history and its traditional, diverse cultures are also the focus of media attention. Its name is mentioned frequently in the days following the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics. But what about modern art in China? We peeked into parts of the art scene that has been quietly yet steadily progressing in Beijing.

Central Academy of Art in Beijing is one of few elite art schools in China. Those students who were admitted came through its narrow gate, having being recognized for their skills and potentials. Its School of Design receives fifteen thousand applications, and only five hundred are accepted. That's very competitive, where less than half a percent of applicants gets a nod (.033). The college offers many curriculums varying from traditional Chinese art, calligraphy, sculpture, painting, to digital media. There are a quite few foreign students studying abroad here as well. In addition to the mainly Chinese student body, the school hosts several international students from Japan, Malasya, Thailand and other mainly Asian countries.

Not far from the art school is an area of art galleries and artists' studios mixed into an industrial neighborhood. Some of the industries are still open, and have been operating since the Cultural Revolution. Artists have moved into the abandoned factories, creating an interesting environment for creative activities and displaying art. Imagine modern paintings and sculptures displayed in warehouse like spaces that still sport old propaganda slogans in giant red characters praising Chairman Mao. The art is new and full of originality. Many collaborations with European artists and curators take place in the area. Mixed into the gallery spaces and factories are trendy and fashionable cafés and restaurants.

I believe that modern art is a good indicator for advanced nations' cultural priority, freedom, and reserved strength. While this does not imply that developing nations have no interesting art scenes, they remain quiet in the area of new forms of self-expression in general. In many cases, developing countries stick to their traditional arts, which is often the charm for its visitors.

The industrial China is a contractor of huge scale manufacturing for itself and other countries based on high efficiency and low costs. Originality and creativity don't have much to do with this productivity. As we all know, these two elements are required in order to be noticed in the modern art world. In Beijing, many progressive artists are expressing their creativity, accumulating reserved strength and harnessing their minds to appreciate these new art forms.

Belly Full

Our bellies are full! Chinese food is said to be one of the world's three great cuisines, and we have been enjoying it everyday. We've been eating in restaurants for every meal, because our lodging is a college dormitory without a kitchen. Each restaurant and street food vendor offers a wide variety of ingredients, flavoring and cooking styles. It's a lot of fun eating in China, once the language issue is overcome. Being Japanese is an advantage as I'm able to read some (not all) of the Chinese characters.

The Chinese diet is well balanced. While they can select from different meat and fish dishes, they always eat them together with pure vegetable dishes. They value the seasonable vegetables grown in tune with specific times of year. Spiciness and greasiness vary from restaurant to restaurant and dish to dish.

It's the customers who create the meal by choosing several dishes, balancing tastes like bitter, salty, sweet and spicy. When a group of four adults dine together they may have one appetizer, two vegetables dishes, and three to four meat or fish dishes. We gasped at the amount of food that people around us ate at first, but now, we too order three or four dishes and do a pretty good job of devouring each of them. Chinese cooking is a strange thing, considering the amount of oil in each meal it's a wonder we don't suffer from heartburn. There is one thing for sure, after 4 or 5 hours we're hungry again!

There is a restaurant across the street from the dorm that is known as one of the best noodle shops in town. Each time we visit we're treated to a live performance of noodle making from the front showcase window. The noodles are ordered according to the sauce you put on top and whether you would like the noodles warm or cold. The noodles come plain, surrounded by several dishes of bean sprouts, soybeans, green onion, stringed turnips, cucumber and diced celery. The waiter asks you which condiments you'd like, and dumps them on top of the noodles before serving you. He leaves the sauce for you to add to your liking. Pour the sauce on top, mix well and enjoy! Their chewy texture is fabulous and the cold variety makes a wonderful lunch on a hot humid day. Our favorite toppings are beef juice in miso paste and peanut sauce.

The price of food is also a blessing to cost-constraint travelers, like us. It's cheap. As long as we don't indulge in highly priced restaurants, three meals for two can be managed under 10 US dollars per day, without much pressure to keep the cost down. Our favorite breakfast is a kind of egg pie called "ji dao guang bing". It's a pancake stuffed with fried egg topped with sweet miso paste, green onions, cilantro and bits of red pepper. Freshly made and piping hot they cost about 15 cents. Drinks like soda or fruit juice cost more than the meal itself. The aforementioned noodle dish is about 1 US dollar per bowl.

After a bit of trial and error, we've found a formula for picking good restaurants out of the tens of thousands here in Beijing. When buying simple foods like breakfast or snacks, they must be freshly made, ideally in front of you, while you wait. For lunch and dinner, our highest priority is the cleanliness of the restaurant. A bright atmosphere with many people eating inside is essential. If the pot of tea served is not steamy hot, it's not a good sign. We found that the locations of a restaurant, be it on a main street or back street is not so important as long as it's clean, bright, crowded and serves hot tea.

By the way, vegetarians can enjoy wonderful dishes in any restaurant in Beijing. Our guidebook lists a few recommendations for vegetarian only places, but, overall, they are totally unnecessary. Looking through several menus we learned that they are organized in categories, listing first their specialties, then appetizers, soups, meats, fish, vegetables, deserts and drinks. All a vegetarian has to do is to turn to the vegetable dish section and make a choice (but then, reading the selections is a challenge, but many menus have pictures of the dishes, and this makes it much easier). Chinese vegetarian restaurants, we found, are places where they serve mock-meat and fish product based on soy and gluten. When beautiful, fresh vegetables and tofu can be had at many restaurants, why bother?

Under the Grey Sky

"China is incredible!" my stepfather repeatedly told me in amazement. He had recently visited the country to observe it's manufacturing sector, which has been radically growing for several years, and has recently accelerated into high gear.

During the first few minutes of our arrival we could see the new economical growth and outrageous development here in Beijing. There are so many people in our view, many new high-rise buildings under construction in all directions, and brand new cars on every street.

The expressions of the people are bright, with smiles and laughter filling the sidewalks. And all of this is moving around under the huge dome of the grey sky that hovers over the city. These were some of our impressions, immediately after our arrival on a train from Ulaan Baatar.

Unlike Europe in a cold summer and dry Mongolia, the humidity is 100% in Beijing. Add smog to that and we have a kind of air so thick that you can literally cut it with your own hand. On a sunny day, the visibility is no more than two kilometers. Even buildings nearby are in a grey haze due to this hazy air quality. We are maneuvering through the city mainly by taxi and on foot in this atmosphere that is different from any other cities we have visited so far.

We plan to stay in Beijing for two weeks. However, our time for exploring is limited, because Lyn is collaborating with students at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in conjunction with her SIGGRAPH artist-in-residence. When we walk in the city, we like to avoid the main streets and wonder into the backstreets, called Hutongs. Once we get away from the touristy spots the real lives of Beijing begin to come into our view. The city is quite safe to walk anywhere and so many of the elements in the people's lives here remind me of my childhood in Japan.

When was the last time I saw middle-aged men in a neighborhood sitting around a chessboard on the sidewalk, waving fans, and drinking beer? At dusk, I can hear and smell cooking that comes from houses nearby. Young housewives yell at trouble-making little boys. Older women are gossiping loudly, seemingly all talking at the same time. And vendors come in and out of the neighborhood; selling goldfish in bowls and crickets in a little bamboo cages.

There seems to be a park, small or large, in every neighborhood. The people who utilize those parks are mainly in middle age and older. Some take their grandchildren and some others walk their little dogs. Others group up for various forms of exercises, such as walking, Tai Chi, sword dance, fan dance, and social dance. Men surround Chinese chessboards or play cards. They use these parks daily and they all seem to enjoy being there. No parks seem to be just a manicured, pretty waste of space.

We saw photos taken by young Chinese photographers in Berlin, depicting rapidly changing urban sceneries and contrasts of the old and the new. The Beijing that we are looking at now has so much of the expressions that we saw in those pictures. Once we recognize that the similar changes are taking place all over China, we would have to say, "China is incredible!" On the other hand, it is beyond our imaginations how these changes in China would affect itself and the world in the coming years.