We fly to Kunming 昆明 from Hongkong 香港. The streets of Yunnan's capital are dominated by bicycle traffic. We ride bicycles to the outskirts of Kunming and visit a local coffee factory. Later we have bowls of steaming hot coffee in an old coffeehouse and bakery located in the older, central part of Kunming with narrow, tree-lined streets.
We take a long and cramped over-night bus to the small town of Dali 大理 on the western plateau of Yunnan province between the Cangshan mountains 苍山 to the west and Erhai lake 洱海 to the east. Dali was settled by Bai 白族 and Yi 彝族 peoples and was the capital of Yunnan 雲南 province during the Ming dynasty 明朝. Homes and shops are made of stone and we see workers quarrying granite as we take a walk in the foothills of Cang (4000m). On our way hitchhiking towards Lijiang 麗江 we stop at the market at Shaping market 沙坪場 on the far side of Erhai lake. Erhai or "ear-shaped sea" is 40km long and is at just under 2000m elevation.
We hitchhike to the old mountain town of Lijiang 麗江 at the base of Jade Dragon Snow Mountains 玉龍雪山 (5596m). We rent bicycles again here and explore the labyrinth of narrow streets and canals, interwoven with markets and shops. With a population of 280,000. Lijiang is home to many ethnic minorities, including Naxi 拿喜, Lisu 傈僳, Pumi 普米, Nuosu 諾蘇, Yi 彝 and Tibetans 藏. The Naxi, famous for their love of flowers and their folk music, make up 68 percent of the population. Tammy enjoys Naxi music performance, organized by a local ethnomusicologist, in a traditional home with a courtyard.
