In April 2009 , Bill & I had the good fortune to travel with a very small group of Belgians (9 people with Belgian guide) in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces on the edge of the Tibetan border. We traveled with local buses and stayed in very primitive lodging in places where they had seldom if ever seen westerners. People were welcoming and as curious as we were.
PS: any picture can be enlarged by clicking on it.
Our guide knew when the markets were. Unlike our market days here (every Saturday…) the markets are depending on the moon cycle so it would be the first day after Full Moon or 4 days after New Moon etc.
We roamed thru richly cultivated rural landscapes and a few cities.
The countryside was in turmoil as they were building giant dams on the Yangtze River condemning villages and fields to be drowned.
As we headed towards Tibet we came across Tibetan monasteries and fortress-like houses.
Han Chinese were still seen as invaders for these traditional cultures (mainly Tibetan and Yi). They still made their own clothing: beautifully decorated jackets and hats for women and felt capes for men.
Come and see much more exotic images at the Kingston Spit and Whittle Club, Water St. (second left from Main St).
This slideshow is part of monthly presentations at the Schoolhouse series.
