House of the Dragon

(Alex) 

Well, although it is not my day to blog, certain circumstances (i.e. a moderate bout of food poisoning) have left Mark and Lianna pretty much incapacitated, so I’m picking up the slack. Today was the first day full in Kunming, and, although only half of us experienced it, it was one of the best days of the trip so far. Leaving Mark and Li to sleep off their illness, Allison and I met up with our guide, Mike, and set off into the busy streets of Kunming City. 

The best way to describe the sprawling city is to recount a tasteful combination of advancement and of tradition, with skyscrapers and traditional Chinese architecture dispersed along the busy streets. I in particular was interested in visiting the city because of my personal connection to some of its history. My godmother’s mother was the daughter of Yunnan Province’s last governor general, Long  (Dragon) Wen, before the Cultural Revolution, a man who, as our guide told us, has garnered much praise amongst the locals of Yunnan for his many beneficial reforms and public projects, most importantly the Burma Road. His daughter had arranged for our group to be allowed to actually visit her family’s house, which has since been converted into an extremely exclusive hotel for visiting dignitaries, and was the first destination on our trip. 

To call it simply a house is an understatement.  This place was an entire compound, complete with its own beach front property, a theater, and “rest and relaxation” house that looked closer to a mansion. We were greeted by the head liaison of the hotel, and were led rather quickly around some of the more tranquil areas of the resort. However, this did not detract from either the beauty of the location or the personal resonance the location had for me. Envisioning  “Nai-Nai” and her family growing up in such amazing and lavish locale really gave me a new perspective and appreciation for the stories she has told us. We both certainly felt honored to have access to such an exclusive aspect of Kunming’s culture. Michael, however, didn’t seem to grasp the concept of a godparent, and constantly referred to Long Wen as “your ancestor”, and even took the opportunity to brag about me to the driver. After taking many photos, we continued on to an amazing Buddhist temple lodged in the heart of the city.

Seeing many different forms of traditional architecture and techniques, including one borrowed from the Japanese by which it is possible to build an entire temple without using a single nail, Allison and I both were entranced by the beauty and charm of the temples. We both took tons of pictures so be sure to keep an eye out for them soon! My personal favorite shrine was one that sat on a small pond only a few inches deep, housing a many-armed Goddess of Mercy. Seeing the devotion which the local Buddhists showed this and every other shrine was certainly an eye-opening experience. Michael was surprisingly knowledgeable about the various different sects of Buddhism and how they manifested themselves in this temple, much to Allison’s delight (ongoing joke here… Allison wants to become Buddhist). 

After a lot of wandering, we  left the temple and decided to break for lunch in a little restaurant right in the shadow of the Western Mountain. The food there was, in a word, AMAZING! It was by far the best food I have had on the trip so far, especially the restaurants specialty, a pork knee extremely reminiscent of the cuts of meat I have had at the Beer Gardens in Munich. While Mark and Li couldn’t experience it, I’m sure Allison and I ate enough to feed four people! After an extremely satisfying meal, we headed up the Western Mountain to view some of the most spectacularly position temples I have seen thus far. 

The Daoist temples in the Western Mountain are quite literally carved into the mountain side, making for some spectacular views and some extremely spiritually devout followers. Climbing up what seemed like hundreds of flights of stairs (with Michael having us count everyone, then stating the significance of the number to Daoist philosophy), we came to the highlight of the trip, the grottos. These grottos were carved into the face of the mountain by a single Daoist Priest and took over 3 years to complete! They consist of these intricate passageways periodically interrupted by shrines to Daoist gods. It’s astonishing to think the sheer force of will needed to complete such a formidable project! Again, look for photos soon! On the way down, Michael thought it would be fun to take the long way, descending not by car, but by stairs formally used by peasants wanting to show their devotion in the days before cars. Yea. Fun was had by all.

 Lastly, before heading to the hotel, Mike took us to the shore of the unpolluted half of the Dian Chi Lake (yes, they are separate bodies divided by a damn put in place by who else, Long Wen!), to see the migrating Russian seagulls. As it turns out, not such a good idea ‘cause Allison received a special “gift” from a passing gull, found on the drive back to the hotel on her backpack. A few more inches and we would have had a much more messy situation on our hands! Well, that pretty much sums up our day… we decided to forego dinner because Mark and Li are still out of it and Allison and I are dead tired. Will write again soon!