To get from Cuzco, Peru to Kunming, China only required about 54 hours of travel and five airplanes. Being a little sleepy, one of the students left a computer on board the airplane. I quickly realized that my basic Chinese was not really up to the situation. Fortunately, the airport had a translator and we got the computer back in lost and found. I'm not sure we'd have been so lucky in most countries.
Our first few days were in Tonghai, a small town outside of Kunming. We used this time for orientation, a few seminars and Chinese classes. We also visited a local temple, which seemed to double as a senior center. On any given day retirees play maj jong, play musical instruments or just sip tea. I found out later that Kunming has become a favorite spot for retiring Chinese, it's also one of the most touristed cities in China.
Kunming is in Yunnan in the southwest of China, which is definitely my favorite part of the country. There are over fifty minority groups, who often wear traditional dress around town. We stayed in the Yunnan Minorities University (Minzu Dashue), which had been set up to promote education of ethnic minorities. It wasn't until about 1300 during the Yuan (Mongolian) dynasty that Yunnan even became part of China, so it still has a wild west feel to it, especially outside of the city where minorities maintain their traditional cultures. They have a saying here that "the mountains are high and the emperor is far", so there isn't the sense of government authoritarianism that I felt on the east coast.
Yunnan borders Schezuan to the north, so the food is spicy, sometimes ridiculously so. I like it, but neither of my co-leaders cared much for it. One of my favorite dishes, even from Yantai five years ago, is Ma La Tofu. I never actually knew what the name meant. It turns out, it's spicy spicy tofu. The La is Yunnan style spice, which is straight heat you'd recognize in most peppers. The Ma is the lip numbing spice, which I had never noticed before.
My only complaint with Kunming was that it was so cold. It snowed for the first time in five years while we were there. We didn't have any indoor heating, so I'd go days on end feeling cold. The good news was there are plenty of western style cafes and restaurants with pretty good heating and coffee (rare in China), so I could always go hang out there to warm up. The locals prefer hot pot, which is boiling water you use to cook your own meat and veggies.it is also usually very spicy, so has been known to have consequences and repercussions later in the night.
Our first few days were in Tonghai, a small town outside of Kunming. We used this time for orientation, a few seminars and Chinese classes. We also visited a local temple, which seemed to double as a senior center. On any given day retirees play maj jong, play musical instruments or just sip tea. I found out later that Kunming has become a favorite spot for retiring Chinese, it's also one of the most touristed cities in China.
Kunming is in Yunnan in the southwest of China, which is definitely my favorite part of the country. There are over fifty minority groups, who often wear traditional dress around town. We stayed in the Yunnan Minorities University (Minzu Dashue), which had been set up to promote education of ethnic minorities. It wasn't until about 1300 during the Yuan (Mongolian) dynasty that Yunnan even became part of China, so it still has a wild west feel to it, especially outside of the city where minorities maintain their traditional cultures. They have a saying here that "the mountains are high and the emperor is far", so there isn't the sense of government authoritarianism that I felt on the east coast.
Yunnan borders Schezuan to the north, so the food is spicy, sometimes ridiculously so. I like it, but neither of my co-leaders cared much for it. One of my favorite dishes, even from Yantai five years ago, is Ma La Tofu. I never actually knew what the name meant. It turns out, it's spicy spicy tofu. The La is Yunnan style spice, which is straight heat you'd recognize in most peppers. The Ma is the lip numbing spice, which I had never noticed before.
My only complaint with Kunming was that it was so cold. It snowed for the first time in five years while we were there. We didn't have any indoor heating, so I'd go days on end feeling cold. The good news was there are plenty of western style cafes and restaurants with pretty good heating and coffee (rare in China), so I could always go hang out there to warm up. The locals prefer hot pot, which is boiling water you use to cook your own meat and veggies.it is also usually very spicy, so has been known to have consequences and repercussions later in the night.
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