Recent Events (3-21)

Big news here is the arrival of the new teacher we have been waiting for. His arrival meant that I could finally be given the additional class I needed to satisfy Peace Corps’ expectations. So Peggie gave me a class on Monday. Unfortunately, since Sigve, who is Norwegian and has a Chinese wife, was the last to arrive and Peggie didn’t know that he would be commuting, his schedule has early morning classes four days and he has no day without classes as the rest of us do. I happened to be there when Peggie gave him his schedule. Nice Jackie offered to take his evening class instead of the Monday afternoon class until I noticed that it is a chemistry class. Then outspoken Jackie took over and made the observation that Dale had that class last term and had nothing good to say about it. I also observed that teachers who had evening classes last year said they were horrible. So Peggie called the department to see about changing the time. The only time offered as available was Friday afternoon from 3:45 to 5:30, which doesn’t work for Sigve because he has to pick up his daughter. So Peggie asked me about that time. Still being outspoken, I responded that I don’t have classes on Friday and don’t want to add one at that time and would prefer to have it Thursday evening.  The situation was left to be settled later. I was not proud of being outspoken, as it is considered rude here. But, unfortunately, it happens sometimes. I emailed Peggie to apologize and say I would take the Thursday evening class and it would be OK. If she had given me that class initially, I wouldn’t have liked it, but I wouldn’t have liked it privately, not publically. Monday she informed me that they had told Sigve that he has to do the class on Friday, and they are trying to find a new time for it.

So Monday afternoon I went to my new class and no students were there. I texted Peggie, knowing she has class all afternoon. She called me to tell me that the department had changed the time of the class to Thursday afternoon without telling her. They didn’t think about the fact that the teacher might not be available then, which I’m not since I already have a class at that time. Tuesday I learned that the class would be Wednesday morning. Again, no students were there. Peggie said she had told the department to tell the students but thought they probably didn’t do that. Maybe next week.

At English Corner last week, there were only about 15 students. The classes assigned now have electives that evening. When we divided into groups, for the first time, I had more than the guys. It was fun to observe that. Afterwards, Bennie, who had been in young Dan’s group, came over to walk out with May and me. She told me that, although he is handsome and nice, I am special because I’m a woman and some things can only be talked about with women. It was nice to be appreciated and to have recognition that our Monday discussions are valuable to them. I have enjoyed them.

Bennie and May are part of the group of five girls who have been coming to my office hours to talk. Grace and May came regularly last term, and Bennie and Olivia came once. Now they have deepened the level of discussion and have spoken openly about their ideas. Last week they started talking about the recent missing plane and the sadness that so many people died in the crash. This became a discussion about “What would you do if you know you will die tomorrow?” Then the topic changed to my having told them what a lover is in class, since our current topic is romance. Girls have often mentioned that they want to find a lover when I know they mean a boyfriend. So I took the opportunity to explain the difference. They were aghast. If they learn nothing more this term, they will remember that. From this the discussion went to romance to divorce to having an affair to the injustice of girls, and not boys, having to be virgins when they marry to gay/lesbian love and marriage. I was surprised at some of the topics as they came up.

This week two girls from other classes joined the discussion. After a short general discussion about their weekends, the topic of friendship and love was brought up. Everyone participated. I was really pleased that they integrated the new girls so well and that the discussion was student led. I only made a few comments.

I have noticed in general that students are more willing to participate in class this term. Three of the classes had me last term. Since the other class had Dale, they are used to having a foreign teacher who expects them to talk. During the break, some students are chatting with me now, and more say “good-bye” at the end of class. Students are also participating in class for the new teachers, since they also had a foreign teacher last term. It’s nice that there is a carry-over effect and they don’t need to be shy and hesitant to speak again this term. And several have come to the office for assistance. I am meeting with Grace and Eddy on Wednesday evening to work on speaking. They thought the group would be larger, but no one else is interested.

The other recent drama was about students who wanted to join the work-study program to work in the U.S. this summer. Bennie, Olivia, and May came to talk with me about that. Olivia was sure she would go, as her mother had agreed. The other girls talked to their mothers while we were together, and both said “no.” May said she is from a small town and no one has ever gone abroad. Although money is not an issue, Bennie’s mother wanted her to focus on her studies and not work. Both girls were very disappointed. Bennie’s mother came to have dinner with her that night. On Monday she reported that her mother had agreed that she can join the program next year. Olivia had discovered that she is not eligible this year because her ID has her age as 17. She was born when her mother was 18 years old, and, at that time, it was illegal to be married under age 18. (The new age for legal marriage is 20.) So, when they registered her (which wasn’t done at birth at that time)  when she was five years old, they recorded her age as being four so it would look like her mother was an appropriate age for being married when she was born. Now she is legally 17 even though by birth she is 18. We laughed about that. So both girls plan to participate in the program next year, and everyone is happy.

Saturday I went with Grace to watch her play in a ping pong competition. Five of her friends also went along. She was the only person on the team who had her support group with her. It made her feel good to know that she has such good friends, and she was very appreciative of my going. The event was at the Communications University, about a half hour walk from here. 

She played in the singles competition in the morning, and, in the afternoon, she played in the doubles competition even though she had never played doubles before. The school team won second place. Although it was a long day, I was glad I went. In addition to supporting Grace, I got to chat with the other students, most of whom haven’t talked to me much. At the end of the day a couple of them asked questions about things they didn’t understand about English, which was nice.

The teachers’ classes started this week. When we were given the textbook and told that it was the second half of the book we used last term, I observed that it wasn’t because it starts with Unit 1 on page 1. It was frustrating. Later I noticed that an activity told students to read the selection on page 86. Our book goes to p. 75. So that was frustrating until I turned the page and there was the reading on page 8. They had changed the unit numbers and all 75 page numbers so that it looks like it is the beginning of a book. Only in China! I have the intermediate class again, which I enjoy. However, the English level of these teachers is overall lower than of those last term. Two men were in an elementary level class last term and are clearly still at that level, but they don’t want to go down to a lower level even though they can’t do much at this level. I guess they think they finished that level and want a higher one.

The yoga class has started again. I learned that there are three classes and 105 students. I hadn’t realized that there was more than one class last term. They placed me in the class with the bilingual teacher, which is nice for me and gives the girls practice listening to English. I’m happy to be back in class.

The multi-media cabinet has been open in the Thursday afternoon class for two weeks now. Peggie said they told the man to open it for me. So it’s ready to use when I arrive, which is good.

Spring is finally here. Temperatures have been in the 60s and even low 70s during the day and in the 50s at night. Winter clothes have been put away. Magnolias have bloomed.

Sunday April and I rented bicycles and had an enjoyable ride around the area for two hours. 

Back to Work (3-9)

I’ve been back at school for three weeks now. On Feb. 16, I received my schedule for the term along with the news that classes started the 17^th. Since I was flying back that day, my first class was cancelled. I guess they determined the term dates after they signed off on my travel plans in mid December. Or the administrators who agreed to my plan didn’t know we would start teaching the first week. This is my third semester here and it’s the first time foreign teachers have started classes the first week. Actually, only Dale and I started because we teach English majors. I had suggested to Peggy that the schedule for English majors could be given to us because they know when their classes will be. So it happened.

I have four classes of English majors again, three of which are the same classes I had last term. One of Dale’s and my classes changed teachers. Peggy mentioned that there may have been a schedule conflict. The only conflict I can see is that the class I got from Dale is on Monday, which is his day off. We all have a free day that gives us a three-day weekend. I really didn’t want to follow Dale as a teacher because he focuses on entertaining students so much, and they love that and him. I’m not an entertainer. So I hope the students are adjusting OK. My three classes seemed quite happy to have me again, as they are comfortable with me and most feel that they improved their oral English last term. It was really nice to be able to pick up where we left off, since they know my expectations and are comfortable speaking in class.

The Peace Corps expectation is that we will teach 14-16 hours (7-8 classes) a week. When we add the teachers’ class, I will have 10. I’m supposed to have one class of non-English majors added—sometime. Mr. Xie has given permission for Dale and me to teach only 12 hours for this term only. I’m still waiting for this class. Peggie is waiting for final word as to how many, if any, more foreign teachers will be coming. Then I will be given one or two classes of non-English majors. For a while, word was that maybe two more would come. Now it seems that maybe one or none will come. They are independently contracted teachers, as they are not from TTC. If it works out, this will be the first time the university has hired teachers on its own.

New in the classrooms is that the multi-media centers in the classrooms (not in all classrooms but in all of mine so far this term) all have the same panel for turning them on and off. Last term there were two different panels and I didn’t always remember which places to push; so this is much easier. The systems are locked when classes are not in session and are opened with a card that teachers have. However, since we are not Chinese with an identification card, foreign teachers cannot be issued a card. So, if the cabinet is not open, the class monitor has to call the man to come with his card to open it. This has been a problem in one of my classrooms, and the man has not been happy to have to come every week. Last week he yelled at me. I don’t know what he said, but the students were shocked. Mr. Huang will talk to him and explain why I don’t have a card.

We all have mops now. It seems that they aren’t getting a new cleaning lady to replace the one who quit in November. I had the communal mop, but it was gone when I returned from traveling. I think someone cleaning the rooms for the new people used the former cleaning lady’s key to enter my apartment and get the mop, and it wasn’t returned. So they school agreed to purchase mops and buckets for each of us. Jane, the new woman at the waiban, now has the former cleaning lady’s keys. New this term is that they have arranged for sheets to be changed every two weeks.

Two weeks ago I met Yienfanh for dinner. I had met him at IST and learned that he is the volunteer who is at the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the university where April is now teaching. We got along well when we chatted there; so it was nice to meet with him and continue building a friendship. When he mentioned inviting Dale to join us, I told him I’d rather not. Later when I explained that, when Dale is present, conversation focuses on him, Yienfanh replied that he could see that. He returned to the apartment with me because we were enjoying walking and talking; so I invited him in for tea. When we walked in together, the security guard popped up wide-eyed, and the other man even turned to look. I explained that he is my friend. I think they may have thought he was following me, as he is half Chinese and looks Asian, not “American.” We had a chuckle over their response.

The two new TTC people are both male. The older one is British; the younger one is Australian. They have not had an official welcome with the university president and waiban director and a lunch. When we went to English Corner and the students were told to find their foreign teacher, about twenty gathered around young Dan. About twelve gathered with Dale and Paul, and eight with me. It’s the young, handsome men who are most desirable; old women don’t get as much attention. But I do have a small following of mostly my students, and we had a great chat.

The flowering trees are flowering, which I enjoy. They would be even more beautiful if the weather was better and the sky wasn’t always overcast. Unfortunately, some flowers have died due to the cold (mid 30s and low 40s at night) temperatures we had for two weeks.

Saturday April and I joined Yienfanh for a trip to Chengdu to meet up with other volunteers. Only one, Chris, joined us. I enjoyed meeting and chatting with him. We walked around the Tibetan market area, which I hadn’t been to before. It was interesting to see the Tibetan’s dressed in their traditional clothes 

and the shops selling Tibetan items. It was also interesting that there were more policemen in the area than in other areas. We ate at a Tibetan restaurant Chris had been to before. It turned out that it features mostly yak meat dishes. April tried rice and milk, which turned out to be exactly that—a plate of rice with some milk poured over it. I had yak yogurt and another sweet dish that had things like beans and yak butter. It was nice. After dinner, Fran, an Italian who is a student at TCM University and a friend of Yienfanh’s, joined us. She was also fun to meet. 

After walking around a bit more, we went for dessert at a coffee shop April had found before. It’s like a Chinese version of Starbucks with a totally different name. It features waffle and ice cream desserts and lattes along with some other desserts and drinks.

Since it was too late to get a bus back, we took a bus to the edge of Chengdu and then took a “cowboy taxi” back to Wenjiang. Yienfanh knew about these, but it was new information for April and me. People returning to Wenjiang from Chengdu stop at the last bus stop in the city and pick up a carload of people going to Wenjiang. We paid 40 yuan ($6.60) for the three of us—more than a bus but less than a taxi, and the driver brought us to our universities.

Sunday April came over and we walked around the shops near here. It was good to do that again.

News two weeks ago was that my Christmas package arrived. Mailed December 9, Priority Mail. I guess that got it out of the U.S. quickly but doesn’t mean much in China. The box had been completely wrapped with clear tape that said “China Post,” which is what held it together. The bag of stuffing mix had been crushed and broken open. Most of it had seeped out the cracks at the box’s crushed corners; only a handful of crumbs were left in the box. Everything else was fine. It was really great—and a big surprise—to receive it, as I’d given up on it in January. April had a third package mailed to her that didn’t arrive. Amanda had one that was mailed in September that she didn’t get. So I felt extra lucky to have mine. Among the items were a bag of Christmas mints and peppermint white chocolate bells that I had fun distributing to friends along with the story that my Christmas package had arrived.

Other news: I received the results of my LPI (Peace Corps language test). I achieved High Novice, which is the level required after Pre-Service Training. People who didn’t achieve that level, like my IST roommate, had to retake the test during IST. The message also mentioned that the examiner was surprised to learn that I had done so well studying on my own—without the Peace Corps intensive language training. I was able to speak sentences and use a few things I had learned in my eight hours of language prior to the test. I’m happy with that result. I know they expect a higher level in six months, but I’ll be happy to maintain this level. The instruction was to work on conversation now, but I’m not really interested in conversing; I’ll stick with survival Chinese, maybe at a little higher level.

Lijiang Part 2 The end of the vacation (2-17)

Sunday morning was overcast and the mountains were not visible. I had thought about going to the mountain, but Julie and Bruce had both discouraged me because it is very expensive; total cost, including a car, is about 700 yuan ($115). Bruce added that since I’ve been to Jiuzhaigou, I didn’t need to go to the mountain because one of it’s attractions is a lake similar to those of Juizhaigou and I’ve seen the best. Bruce had suggested the Yuhe village, which is known for its stone houses. Since Sunday was overcast and I’d lost my enthusiasm for the mountain, I decided to hire a driver to go to Yuhu and Baisha villages, since I’d missed Baisha on Saturday. Julie also suggested that I go to Black Dragon Park in Lijiang. Bruce concurred, thinking that I should go there and then walk back through old town Lijiang because I should see it on my first visit. The driver took the road I had started riding out of town on on Saturday. So the policeman was correct in his directions to go straight and turn left. But I wouldn’t have known what to do next; so it’s good that I went back and followed the route on Bruce’s map.

In Yuhu, the driver stopped at Joseph Rock’s house. Bruce had mentioned that and I’d seen his name on a store in Shuhe. He is famous for leadning National Geographic work here in the 1920s. When I entered the courtyard, a young woman visiting the house was called over to talk to me. She explained that I had to pay 40 yuan ($6.50), the foreigner admission price; Chinese pay only 25 yuan. That was the first time I’d seen that difference. It wasn’t really worth that much, but it’s a contribution to the upkeep. 

After visiting the house, I roamed around the village for an hour. All the websites say that Yuhu is not touristic, and it’s not but tourism has begun. There were six other vans in the village and a few small groups of Chinese tourists were walking around. One went by on horses. I wondered what the villagers think of people coming to photograph their houses.

Next we went to Baisha village, since I’d missed it on Saturday. Bruce thought I went too far. First I went to the embroidery school where an English speaking woman showed me around. People can come to the school and learn to do embroidery for no cost. They have pictures embroidered by students and by teachers for sale. I purchased a traditional Naxi picture made by a student. I had, of course, selected a more expensive picture because it is a traditional theme and there aren’t many of those.  The woman had told me that prices would be discounted 40% for the Spring Festival. She reduced the price of my item by 50% since I didn’t want the frame. I was happy because I like folk art and I had liked that picture when I first saw it. The women are spinning.

Baisha is billed as a village that is like Shuhe and Lijiang were in the past. The main street has shops selling items for tourists and several restaurants. Interestingly, the restaurants have their menus posted and printed in English and Chinese, unlike those in Shuhe and the one I ate at in Lijiang. I chose one that advertised Naxi food, and I had an eggplant pie, which was stir-fried pieces of eggplant between two pieces of flat, steamed bread. The man seemed thrilled that I was eating there.

Although the village is set up for tourism on the main street, the buildings are still authentic, not reproductions. 

Many people sell tie dyed table cloths, which the Naxis are known for. Many shops have small, metal items and figures. Others have the same shawls that are everywhere in the area. 

Near the gate several old women were sitting and selling vegetables. 

Highlights of Baisha were two girls who noticed that I was taking a photo from a distance and started posing. They had fun posing for close shots. 

Another was an 86 year-old woman who saw me photographing her house entrance. She was walking home and motioned for me to follow her. In the courtyard, she motioned for me to take photos. 

Then she brought out some oranges and posed with them. After I finished, she gave me four oranges. Then she indicated that she wanted money. I guess she’s done this before. I didn’t have much change; so I gave her the equivalent of a dollar.

Next I was dropped off at Black Dragon Park. When I went to pay the entrance fee, I was told that I had to have the 80 yuan ($13) Lijiang sites ticket in order to enter. I told the woman I was only there for two hours and was leaving the next day; so I didn’t need the ticket for all the sites. I wouldn’t have minded paying if I were going to visit a few sites, but I didn’t want to pay that much just to walk through the park. She called someone else who told me I had to purchase the ticket. So I said I would. Then the woman asked if I was going home and told me I could go in for no fee. This was really nice of her, but I felt a little bad about not paying something.

The park is famous for its clear pool in which Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is reflected. Not on Sunday, as it was overcast and rainy and the mountains were not visible. Some people had their photo taken in the place where the mountain would be in the background and the background was photoshopped in. 

On a clear day (from the Internet)

There are temples and pagodas in the park as well as the lake. It was a lovely way to spend a couple hours.

After the park, I walked through Old Town Lijiang to get to the place where I could get a taxi back to the guesthouse, as no cars are allowed in Old Town. Shortly after entering, I saw a restaurant advertising Yunnan’s famous Across the Bridge noodles, which I had missed in Kunming. Surprisingly, it is a soup. It was OK, but I didn’t think it was delicious; not something I’d go out of my way to have again. I had had a Chinese woman in Kunming tell me that, although they are famous, she didn’t think they were delicious either.

After eating, I enjoyed walking along the river and looking at the buildings for a while. In general, I found Lijiang to be overdone as an Ancient Town. Too many tourist shops. Many people working in the shops and standing outside restaurants were in traditional costume. This can be nice, but the whole setting seemed artificial, especially after being in less reconstructed places like Shaxi and Baisha. Even Shuhe is less touristic and is quiet in the evening, as most tourists go there during the day and return to Lijiang. 

The main square has all the famous Western fast food places—McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut. 

And there were way too many tourists wandering around. Some streets were so crowded that it was an effort to walk through them quickly, as I was trying to do. I was glad I had chosen not to stay there.

I was tired of it and was ready to leave, but I couldn’t find the way out directly. I tried to use the map and knew the general direction—downhill, but I got turned around twice and the streets didn’t go where they seemed like they were going. Eventually, I got onto a main street that clearly on the map goes to the end of Old Town. But it’s a long street. I was happy when I arrived at the main street with cars. I had to negotiate toughly with the taxi driver, as Bruce had told me to pay 30 yuan and he wanted 50 and then 40. After I refused and stood there waiting for another taxi, he called to me and said 30 was OK.

By the time I got to Shuhe, it was raining steadily. But it was a light rain; so it wasn’t too bad. When I arrived at the guesthouse, Julie greeted me and told me that she had turned on my electric blanket. That was great news, as I’d been thinking for a while that I just wanted to sit on my bed with the electric blanket. She also brought me a cup of rice soup—popped rice in ginger broth.

The weather was cold and it drizzled off and on all day. So it was good that I wasn’t doing a lot outdoors. I was glad I had my hat and gloves and umbrella, although Bruce had offered to give me an umbrella when I left. In three weeks of traveling, this was the only day with not nice weather, and it wasn’t really bad weather—just uncomfortable.

Monday morning at 6:30 I went to get into my cab to the airport. Julie greeted me at the bottom of the stairs with an umbrella, as it was drizzling. She made sure the driver knew where to take me. The trip took about an hour, as the driver took the old, winding road instead of the new highway, probably because the latter is a toll road. They will need to increase the fee to include the toll if the highway is to be used.

Thus ended my three-week holiday. Another great traveling experience in China. I enjoyed seeing the minority groups and their villages. I especially enjoyed the nice weather and being able to do so much bicycling and hiking where the sky was blue and the sun was shining. I guess the last couple days of overcast sky prepared me for returning to Wenjiang. 

Lijiang Part 1 (2-15)

When I arrived in Jianchuan at 2:30 and asked for a bus ticket to Lijiang, the woman waved and said “no” in Chinese and “tomorrow” in English. I recognized that that meant there were no more buses. The Chinese tourist who had been in the van with me was behind me and spoke to the woman. He confirmed that there were no more buses that day and suggested that I look for a van. The vans were all going to Shaxi, and buses go to Dali. I guess they don’t expect people to go to Lijiang that late in the day. But a few taxis were sitting there waiting for unsuspecting tourists who don’t know the bus schedule. They wanted 300 yuan (about $50). I thought this was too much but didn’t have much choice, as I needed to get to Lijiang and there was no other way to do it. The man suggested to one taxi driver that he could take other people and charge me less. I decided to wait half an hour to see if anyone else showed up. At that time, I was still alone; so I negotiated a 20 yuan discount and got into the car. Probably should have started lower and negotiated harder. Then the driver started talking to two young people who had just arrived. So I got out to let them know that it was OK to join me. The driver told them that I would pay 200 and they would pay 100. I’m not sure how that was determined other than that I am a foreigner and the price I was paying was the special foreigner price. They were probably paying the real price. I don’t know, but, since they were students and it would give me a further discount, I agreed. This turned out to be a good decision when the driver had no idea where to take me once we got to Lijiang and the young man took over finding the location of the guesthouse. The drive to the edge of Lijiang took only an hour on the new highway; I had thought it would take closer to two hours. Then the young man put the address into the car’s GPS and the driver got me to Shuhe, the village the guesthouse is near. He stopped so he and the young man could ask for further directions, but no one could help. I tried to call the phone number I had from the reservation agency, but I got the message saying the number was not in service. I saw a policeman and suggested that they ask him where the guesthouse is. He pointed and gave some directions. The driver drove that way for a few minutes and then stopped again. The young man got out and asked more people who were not able to help. Then I heard him talking on the phone about me. He got a lot of information and the driver proceeded. After a few minutes, we stopped to pick up a woman who turned out to be from the guesthouse and was meeting us so she could take us there. She was the person he was talking to. In the end, I got my money’s worth from the driver, since he was so good about taking so much time—about 40 minutes—driving around and making sure he delivered me. When he gave me my bag, he said he was sorry. I think he meant for taking so long and not knowing where to take me. I was sorry I couldn’t say more than “thank you a lot” in Chinese, since he did a great job taking care of me.

The guesthouse is lovely and the garden looks just like the photos online. From the second floor, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang’s famous mountain, can be seen in the distance, but it was only slightly visible because it was cloudy. I was the only guest. Julie, the woman we picked up, brought me some tea, a cut up apple, and a couple snacks so I could relax and settle in. Then she gave me a map of Shuhe and walked me to town, which takes about ten minutes, to make sure I knew the way there and back.

I walked around for a short time and then found a place to eat. The menu had photos of some dishes; so I was able to identify and point to tofu. At a restaurant across from mine the waitress was carrying her baby. Not something one would see in the U.S.

Saturday morning the owner, Bruce, asked if I wanted a free upgrade to an upstairs room with a balcony because I was the only guest. It seemed rude to not accept his generous offer. While I was out, they moved my things. My new room was twice as large as my original room. The bathroom has a small, wooden tub with a seat that was nice to use when showering. The balcony is on the back side and has a view over neighboring roofs.

My activity Saturday was bicycle riding to Baisha village, another ancient village but one that isn’t as developed as Shuhe and Lijiang. Buce took me to a rental place and showed me on the map how to get to Baisha. I followed the directions. After a while I knew something was wrong and asked a policeman who pointed and told me to go straight ahead and then turn left. I followed his directions for a while but still felt that something wasn’t right. I then stopped to have a look at my map and realized that I’d taken the wrong road out of town and was in the wrong place. So I returned and started over. That error cost me an hour.

As I rode toward Baisha, I stopped in a couple roadside villages and wandered into them for a bit. 

I also stopped at the Naxi Impression Show building which was closed but is a great building. 

Another stop was San Duo Temple, built in the 8^th century and the oldest temple in the area. A favorite stop was a corner store I stopped at to purchase a drink. The woman working there is a very old Naxi woman and another old woman was shopping. A woman with a boy on her back walked past, and the boy was enthralled with me.

I enjoyed views of the mountains 

and the valley as I rode higher up the mountain road.

After I passed the Dongha Culture Theme Park, I looked at the map again and realized that I still wasn’t close to Baisha. The winding curves Bruce had added to the map were just beginning. The road was a gradual uphill climb and I was doing OK with it, but there was a strong wind off and on, making riding challenging. Then the grade increased and I had to stop and walk, as I couldn’t manage that grade in the altitude. I did this three times and then decided that I wasn’t enjoying the ride anymore and I didn’t have to go to Baisha; so I turned around. It was on the way back that I realized that the road had been uphill the whole way, but the first part was so gradual that I hadn’t noticed that it was slanted uphill. 

On the way back, I stopped to buy a snack and noticed a wall with Naxi paintings across the street. So I went down that street to photograph the paintings. At the end of the wall, I realized that it is old building that is being renovated. So the day’s ride was enjoyable even though I didn’t reach my original destination. I rode for three hours, including stops, uphill on the correct road, and it took an hour and a half, including stops, to get back to Shuhe.

Back in Shuhe, I took another wrong turn and ended out in a different part of the village from where I’d started. So I walked around that part and walked along the stream to what is called a lake but is really a pond. In one area, a group of Naxi musicians were playing traditional music, which is rather atonal. 

One bridge, Qinglong Bridge, over the stream is 400 years old. It is the oldest and longest stone arch bridge in Lijiang. 

I learned that the Naxi have three wells: one for drinking, one for washing vegetables, and one for waste water.

It was a relaxing walk after the day’s riding. Then I decided that I wanted to return the bicycle. That was easier decided than done. I wandered around for quite a while enjoying looking at the buildings. In the main square English songs were being played. Then I asked for directions, using the map, because I didn’t know where I was on the map. Not too long after that, I found the rental place and returned the bicycle. Next it was time to eat. I found another place that had a few photos on the menu and ordered the black fungus.

After eating, I took another wrong turn—the theme of the day—and ended out walking around more than I’d planned to, as I was ready to return to the guesthouse. I asked for directions three times. After following the last woman’s directions, I ended out on the road out of the village toward the guesthouse. After all the walking around the village, I was done with Shuhe.

When I arrived at the guesthouse, Julie brought me a cup of tea and pastries. I enjoyed them while sitting in the swinging chair on the balcony. Even though it was dark, it was relaxing to be there.

When he drove me into the village in the morning, Bruce commented on China’s not being accessible to cars. He said that individuals have only been able to own cars since 2009. Prior to that, cars were only owned by agencies for business. When he moved to Shuhe in 2009, his was the only car in the village.

This area is home to Naxi ethnic people. As with the Bai people, the old women wear traditional clothes while the young don’t. 

Houses have a wooden piece hanging from the eaves 

and what I think is a snow lion on top. 

Old houses are made from mud bricks. 

New ones are stone or from cement bricks or blocks that are often stuccoed over. There is a lot of construction going on here, as in other places I’ve visited. All the villages I walked in have new buildings going up. Bruce explained that all the new construction is not for local people. It’s for rich people from other places, especially Sichuan, who want a vacation house in Yunnan.

There are Tibetan Buddhist temples and flags in some places. The ethnic paintings are distinctive in style. Bruce explained that one building in Shuhe was a former “hotel” for those traveling on the Tea Horse Road. It is now an information center.