My First China Trip

In April 2003 I traveled for a month in western China.

I avoided the eastern cities and major tourist venues and went without the aid of tourist agencies or group tours.  I just took my passport, a smile and a helpless look, making it up as I went, first to Sichuan Province and then to Yunnan Province.

My goal was to see ethnic minorities and wild, beautiful scenery.  I succeeded on both counts, finding Tibetan, Yi, Naxi, and Bai people living their everyday lives, each dressed in unique clothing of their cultures.  I traveled through the eastern Himalayas, the broad grasslands of the plateau and the deep river gorges of the Dadu, Yalong and Yangtze Rivers.

I first flew to Hong Kong, took a bus across the Chinese border to Shenzhen and then flew to CHENGDU.  I stayed a short time in Chengdu after which I took the bus up to KANGDING, a small city at the edge of the Tibetan plateau.  After a few days I ventured by bus on  rough roads over high mountain passes to the Tibetan town of GANZI, elevation 10,800 ft.  After three days in Ganzi, I returned to Kangding

I made new friends, shopped for a rug and rested before heading south by bus to XICHANG to see the Yi culture on my way to Lugu Lake and Lijiang.  It turned out that Lugu Lake and Lijiang were closed to tourists because of the SARS epidemic, so I was forced to take the train on south to KUNMING.

Kunming is a lovely city with lots of trees and flowers, pleasant temperatures.  From there I flew to LIJIANG successfully crossing a SARS checkpoint. I was able to see Tiger Leaping Gorge and the great first bend of the upper Yangtze River.  DALI was next, a nice, clean Bai community with balmy weather and lots of shopping opportunities.  SARS cut off my trip to the upper Mekong River, so a lounged and rested in Dali before heading back home. 

It was an incredible journey with many challenges and satisfactions.