Tribasia Blog

(picture by Babasteve)
After four months spent on improving our Chinese vocabulary and hand talking, we were able to say 'hello, 'bye', 'no', 'no need', 'no have', 'how much is it?', 'thank you', 'where do you go?', 'room', 'bus', 'bus station', 'train', 'water', numbers and hand talk them (which is is quite confusing since the sign for '6' looks like the sign we use for 'telephone/calling' in Europe, the sign for '5' ressembles the one for 'shut your mouth' and the sign for '7' looks like your finger got broken, etc).

The language barrier was indeed an obstacle but it did not prevent us from meeting and communicating with locals. We met lovely people along the way as well as disgusting ones (the ones spitting on bus floors and puffing in their kids' faces -and ours).

We got frustrated with the state's Big Brother's stance and its paranoia. The clampdown on many Internet sites made blog posting difficult, if not impossible. We still -sarcastically- laugh at CCTV9 (China Central Television, THE 'International' channel of China)'s comments that 'China is developing Human Rights from a collective and economic perspective whereas the West is focusing on individual and political rights.' As if Human Rights were a dish which could be prepared with different ingredients,depending on the Chef's whim, regardless of his customers' identical needs.

China is indeed booming and our guide book could not cope with the rapid changes and growth it is undergoing. However, freedom of speech is still in its infancy and will only improve if Chinese citizens slowly -but surely- rise to the challenge.

Some people might ask us why we spent so much time in China? Because Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces are treasures of natural and ethnic beauty. Despite the huge distances we had to cover and other logistical challenges, we were happy to come across minorities we had not encountered before and travel through stunning landscapes.

We are now leaving China for a smaller and more relaxed country with a wealth of history and nature: Laos. And -sigh of relief- we will now be able to blog freely!! :))

Labels: China, Guangxi, Guizhou, human rights, Laos, Sichuan, Yunnan

We follow on the previous entry with our exploration of the Drung valley...
There are different possible reasons for the face-tattoing custom of Drung women:
1) The Dulong wanted to avoid slavers - such as the neighbouring Tibetans and Yi kingdoms of the time.
2) The Dulong were animists and women believed that their souls would be reincarnated as butterflies if they tattooed their face with the design of a butterfly spreading its wings.
3) The Dulong women would be considered ugly without a tattoo, i.e. a tattooed face was beautiful. However, to this day, no one -not even the Drung- knows exactly how this custom started.

After three days in the Dulongjiang area, we started to despair. We still had not met any tattooed-face woman. Finally, we met one by chance. She was walking on the dirt road in the valley. One led to another and in the next three days, we managed to meet five of them and heard about two more -beyond our reach unfortunately.

Most of these women are well in their eighties and nineties. Despite their age, some are still strong enough to go working in the fields.
We also met one who just seemed to await death by staying all day close to the fire in her hut.
Unfortunately, as days pass, more and more of these women will pass away and the facial tattoo custom of the Drung will be confined to history books.

We left the valley and arrived after a 30-hour journey back to touristy Dali for a rest.
Tomorrow, we are back on the road. Our next destination is Xixuangbanna...

Labels: China, Drung, Dulong, Dulongjiang, tattoo, Yunnan

We arrived in Dali a couple of days ago. 'Touristy' is a good tag for this old town, whose soul is getting lost in the midst of hundreds of Chinese tour groups.
However, grab a bicycle and ride a good 50 kms out of town and you will find yourself discovering the Bai countryside, its villages and markets.

The Bai minority has long being predominant in the region. The women's traditional costume consists of a long-sleeve white shirt worn under a -usually pink- sleeveless vest buttoned on the right side, long white trousers, a colourful apron and a hat. The base of the hat is also white but it is adorned with colourful or/and flowery stripes, glitters and furry or fluffy material on top.

Bai men are very similar in appearance to Naxi men. They sport the same blue-collar type of uniform with a blue beret, or Western-type clothes. However, their features are slightly different.

As for so many other minorities in south-west China, the headgear is the central piece in the costume. When riding on paths alongside fields, it is quite common to see Bai women sporting their hats (the easiest way to identify them, even from far) but they leave the rest of their traditional attire at home, opting instead for Western clothing to work outside.

We also took time to explore a few -mainly- Bai markets. They are spread all around Erhai Lake, in the Dali region. Some are only held once a week, others (the biggest ones) everyday.
Bai women are keen traders and they will try to sell you batiks, shoes, accessories, even vegetables if they can. We always resisted the fatal attraction of spinach and potatoes to ride back to Dali before dark!

Tomorrow, we are off to the wildest part of Yunnan. We will hopefully be able to update the blog at the end of the month with details of our expedition.
Stay tuned on Tribasia!

Labels: Bai, Dali, Markets, Naxi, Tribasia, villages, Yunnan

We went south of Zhongdian to trek in the high mountains of the region.
There, we came across Hui and Yi villages.

The Hui minority is Muslim. Women cover their hair and men often sport a moustache or, more rarely, a bear. Their daily outfit does not vary from Han Chinese. When we crossed their villages, we could see Hui men and women busy working in the maize fields following the harvest and cleaning them in preparation for planting. The Hui represent the second largest minority in China.

The Yi minority is more reclusive. We got invited for lunch by a couple returning from their fields. They laid down their tools before entering the house. There is very little natural light entering the room so it takes a bit of time to get used to it. The kitchen space was on the right by the entrance.
Behind it, the main living space spread around the fireplace. They asked us to sit on small stools by the fireplace on which a giant wok was resting. Our host put some giant white beans with boiling water to slow cook and added fresh spinach shortly after. She added a bit of lard in the mixture for taste. We got a big serving in a bowl together with two portions of rice. It was genuinely delicious!

In terms of clothing, Yi Women wear a very colourful outfit: a long slightly pleated colourful skirt, a long-sleeved top, a jacket adorned with colourful stitches and richly decorated and a pentagonal-shaped hat. Nowadays, women tend to only wear their hats and jewellry (big loop earrings linked by a beautifully-crafted golden chain at the front) for ceromonies or at the market.

Hence, it was our luck that we ended up in a village on a market day. We witnessed people setting up their stalls or parking their small trucks along an alley by a river. Pretty soon, Yi women were showing off their colours with their beautiful hats, dresses and jewels. The market was a maze of minorities: Naxi, Hui and Yi people were trading their farm produce for a few frantic hours. Then, around three o'clock, everybody went back to their villages and the market vanished as fast as it had appeared.

From an historical perspective, Yi people were, until 1959, a class society. Black Yi were the aristocrats and landowners who could trade slaves. Meanwhile, White Yi were labourers. The lower cast among the latter had no rights and could be freely traded as slaves. They have come a long way since then but retain their air of superiority at times ;0)

After such a wonderful experience, it was time for us to backtrack to Zhongdian for our next adventures.

Labels: Hui, mountains, Naxi, Yi, Yunnan

We trekked a few hours out ot Zhongdian, cum Shangri-La, before we came across traditional Tsang people's villages.
Tsang, also called Tsang-U, are one of three people making up the Tibetans (together with the Khamda and Amdo). Many of them live from the land. When we visited their villages, families were busy stocking up barley and maize on giant wooden drying platforms in preparation for the winter.

Tsang villages can be identified at once not only thanks to the multiple drying platforms popping up in the fields surrounding them but also the structure of their houses.

Tsang houses are often two-floor houses and huge in size. The wooden structure is enclosed by three walls at the back and on sides, with a couple of decorated windows at the back. The front of the house exposes the wooden structure, i.e. it is not covered by a wall, and opens on a courtyard.

Tsang have their own dialect but many of them speak puthongua, i.e. mandarin.

We trekked back through beautiful landscapes. The Autumn colours give a new lease of life to nature in the Yunnanese mountains at this time of year and we gorged on them ;))

Labels: houses, Tibetan, Tsang, Tsang-U, villages, Yunnan