The Stone Forrest is a unique
geographical feature near Shilin Kunming. A true Limestone Karst formation
which has been shaped and eroded by wind and rain to form grey limestone
pillars reaching 30m in height
The only thing is that like all
tourist attractions they are literally packed with Chinese tourists who come
more for the social occasion rather than the geographical experience.
Kunming is now well trodden on
the Chinese tourist path but gave us the opportunity to stock up on western
groceries. We stayed in the car park of the “Minorities Village” which
presents, under tourist conditions, many of the 52 minority groups in China of
which around half are represented in Yunnan Province. I didn’t go into the park
but enjoyed the sunset
Heading west of Kunming we
visited the Yunen dinosaur dig location. A world renowned archaeological
site with over 60 fully recovered skeletons impressively displayed at the
original site
In Dali with the aid of our
guide we decided on the menu by choosing what to eat from what was displayed on
the foot path. I don’t think it would meet with western standards of food
preparation or display but there you are, that’s China
Dali is in a valley adjacent to
the Cang Shan Mountain Range which rises up to 4120m and in typical Chinese
tourist fashion has a cable car to the top! We only went half way as the
weather was not kind, not unusual considering it has permanent snow fields. It
did provide for some interesting walks along the extensive trails that have
been put in place
One had to watch out for
oncoming teams of horses carrying building blocks for furthering tourist
infrastructure
Further north is the Three
Rivers National Park which consists of the Yangtze, Mekong and Nu Rivers which at
this point flow parallel to each other. The Yangtze flows through a very deep
and restricted gorge called Tiger Leaping Gorge. We bought our tickets and
preceded in
It certainly is impressive with
an almost sheer drop of 3900m from snow peaks to the river and is claimed to be
the deepest gorge in the world
The road started off not to badly
but……..
….soon deteriorated into a
dangerous unprotected edge to a sheer precipice with constant rock falls. The
road had to be cleared of rocks in between our vehicles
The views and rush of water on
the famous Yangtze were certainly spectacular though!
Further north are the White
Terraces formed by calcium carbonate from spring water which has solidified to
form spectacular pools of cascading water. Similar to the Pamykalle
(…spelling?) terraces in Turkey
While there was still rice
growing taking place it was rapidly being replaced by cereal crops more suited
to the colder higher altitudes of the north. The season here is shorter and the
rice planting is only just underway while its nearly finished in the south
Cereal crops are now more
common with barley currently being harvested. Everything is done by hand from
planting, harvesting and thrashing. Here the straw is being carried away for
storage
On our way north to Shangri-La
we continued to rise into the foothills of the Himalayas. We crested our
highest point so far at just over 3700m and yes the truck particle burner
didn’t like it but we were able to clear the fault with our OBD – thanks John P
Yak country! A real sign of
Tibetan influence
Shangri-La is real Tibetan
country and the houses, people and customs display it. There were numerous traditional
Tibetan houses built in grand style but I can’t fathom out how they can afford
it compared to the more common low set yak herders houses…
Tibetan stupas are now common
place
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