Rosemary and Rick's China Adventure

China has a unique beauty. A look that cannot be replicated anywhere else. And, Yunnan province has even more beauty because of it's elements of mountains, flowers , streams , bridges and unique architecture. So, here are some photos that , hopefully, will give you an idea of what we experienced. Hope you enjoyed this memoir as much as I enjoyed creating it !


This lovely water retention area is used by the locals for bathing, laundry and irrigation.


These ducks spent their day at the retention pond

At the end of the day, their owner came to bring them home.


The view of the fields from the sundeck of our hotel in Tengchong

Baihai Wetland

One of China's unique bridges


Iris blooming at Baihai Wetlands

Building detail in Dali

Changshun Mountain, Dali

Roof detail in Dali

Bai residence in Dali


The roses are magnificent

Erhai Lake in Dali

Outside of Shaxi at Saoboshan Monastery complex

Ancient Bridge at Shaxi

Shaxi Ancient town street


Rhododendrons blooming on the roadside


Shaxi Old Theater in the Square


A very showy Peony, a prized flower indigenous to China

Old Theater, Shaxi

Private home in Shaxi, now shared by 6 families

Lijiang canal

Rooftops in Lijiang

Building detail, Lijiang


Roof detail, Lijiang


Yulong Snow Mountains in Lijiang

View from our guest house in Tiger Leaping Gorge

Tiger Leaping Gorge

The Yangtse River at the bottom of Tiger Leaping Gorge

The hiking trail down to the river at Tiger Leaping Gorge

The view behind our guesthouse

Thanks for viewing !!!

The population of China is approximately 1.3 billion people, 92 % of which are Han Chinese. The other 8 % live close to China's borders with Tibet, and Southeast Asia. These "Minority Tribes" have very distinct characteristics, including dress, food, religion, housing and facial features. During our travels we met people from the BAI, NAXI, TIBETAN, and YI tribes. We also encountered thousands of HAN Chinese who were traveling to visit the more remote areas of the country. After a short period of time, we were able to distinguish between a minority tribe member and a Han Chinese. Many of the minority tribes have local governance of their province, with oversight ( very evident) of the Chinese Communist Party. We found that the people were warm,

Local singers in Kunming , entertaining for the crowd.

He was playing an ancient instrument that didn't sound very melodious to us !

Fellow travelers and our hosts at the Tibetan Guest House in Tiger Leaping Gorge. Note that we were the only westerners!

These gentlemen were very interested in a card game that was going on. No doubt , they had wagered on the outcome. Gambling and games are a big past time in China.

social and very welcoming. They were as interested in us as we were of them. In the long run, we found that our similarities , desires and needs outweighed our differences !. Here is a look at some of the beautiful faces of China.

These Han women were dressed to perform Chinese opera in a park in the capitol city of Kunming

Children fishing in the local stream in Tengchong

The hotel staff in Tengchong. We were there for 4 days and they did not speak a work of English. We communicated through sign language and via a translation app on their phones. Sometimes the results were hilarious. But, we really enjoyed their company and their generosity.

A young lady in native BAI dress. Like all teenagers, she was on her phone !

This BAI lady was weighing her produce at the local outdoor market

Another beautiful BAI lady

A BAI lady at the market. Note her beautiful , colorful hat.

A young child going to market with his goat

This young child could really peel that banana ! Such a gorgeous expression.

A BAI lady at the market, with her "backpack"

Captured at the market in Xizhou

Rick and our BAI hostess, Sunny. We spent 3 nights at a wonderful hotel that she owns with her Dutch expat husband Gerard.

A HAN family on vacation.

The Chinese just LOVE their children. They are usually carried on their parent's or grandparent' s back. I never saw a child chastised or spanked.

This lovely BAI lady saw us peering into her beautiful garden while we were hiking one day in the hills outside of Shaxi. She invited us in to have a cup of tea and we communicated with sign language. I showed her some photos of our family that I had stored on my phone, and she shared her photos with us. When we rose to leave, she wanted us to stay for lunch ! It was a highlight of our visit to that area of Shaxi.

Our delightful restaurnteurs in Shaxi . What gorgeous smiles !

A YI lady on the phone. These people live in villages way up in the hills and come into the towns on market day.

She's shopping for spices.

A YI lady with an elaborate head dress.

These elderly NAXI ladies perform in the Sifeng Square in Lijiang.

Another YI lady. They are quite elusive.

This man is from the NAXI tribe. He offers tourists the opportunity to pose with his golden eagle, for a fee, of course.
Isn't he handsome !

A local lady with her child. Taken at a food court restaurant.

She was working at the family food stand with her baby tied to her back. He was about 1 year old and was actually walking.

Local NAXI woman working at an silk embroidery workshop. Their workmanship was wonderful. She will work on that item for over a year.

A mother and daughter who owned the small inn that we stayed in at Tiger Leaping Gorge. They are Tibetan. The mother, who is well over 70, has never left the small village that she has lived in for her whole life. I shared my pictures with her and we really bonded !!