“No!”

(Lizzy)

The past two days have been very busy, and, I think we would all agree, yesterday was one of our best yet. We were picked up by Nancy, a woman of Bai nationality and our enthusiastic guide, and taken to see a market in a beautiful nearby village where the local people sell their fresh produce. Nancy explained to us that the Bai minority is a matriarchal society in which the women do most of the physical labor and the men do crafts, especially carving. The Bai men are called “carving men” because throughout history they have been carvers of everything from jade to silver to wood. The Bai people were given their name, which means “white,” because of their white buildings and the women’s white costumes, which many, including our guide, choose to still wear today.

Nancy explained to us that the Bai people are all very kind. We soon experienced their generosity ourselves when we were led into a stranger’s home unannounced. The family living in the beautiful, ancient courtyard-style home was happy to have us look around ...

Our next stop was a second village, this one slightly bigger than the last, but still full of ancient traditional Chinese style buildings. The villages are surrounded by high walls and pagoda-style gates, all painted with the brightest colors. Because people are celebrating the New Year, they decorate their doorways with banners of different colors that each has a different meaning. For example, a green banner signifies that a child in the family has begun attending a famous university this past year. We were very fortunate that the family living in the house Nancy showed us was celebrating the wedding of their son. The courtyard was packed with guests, many wearing the traditional Bai costumes, and all enjoying a feast. We were again exposed to the overwhelming generosity of the Bai people when everyone at the party invited us to sit down for the wedding lunch with them. Though it smelled delicious, we had to decline.

As we continued to stroll through the cobblestoned village, taking many pictures of the beautiful pagodas surrounding us, our guide led us to the Bai temple. We were again lucky to have arrived when the old Bai women were there praying and eating lunch. The elderly ladies, all clad in brightly colored outfits, insisted that we try their food, and this time we couldn’t resist. We sampled delicious soup and fermented tofu, which we were later told was made last year.

After saying goodbye to the women at the temple we drove through the picturesque village past expansive fields of garlic and other bright green crops where Bai women were working. We stopped at a tie-dye shop. Tie-dye is a traditional craft of the Bai people, and Nancy explained to us how the bright indigo dye is made and how the fabric is tied into intricate patterns to be later filled in with dye.

After a bountiful and tasty lunch of Bai food in the courtyard of a village restaurant, we drove back towards the Old City of Dali to the Three Pagodas. The pagodas are the main attraction in a four kilometer park that is a Buddhist temple. The land was chosen for the temple by a Song dynasty Emperor due to its perfect feng-shui; the main temple is situated directly in front of the center peak of a mountain range and facing the Erhai Lake. The combination of a big mountain and a big lake is excellent feng-shui. Sixty-five monks live in the temple today. The park is divided into four sections each with its own temple; the uppermost temple is meant for the Emperor, the next for the Empress, the third for the common people, and the last for the Bai people. The temples on each level are all decorated according to their respective class; for example, the Empress’ temple is engraved with phoenixes, which represent female power. The oldest buildings in the park are 1,200 years old, including the largest of the three pagodas. Everything has been renovated and restored to near its original condition.

The three pagodas stand at the base of the park, on the lowest tier. There is one central pagoda that stands 16 stories high, and is surrounded on either side by matching 10-story high pagodas. The smaller side pagodas are leaning slightly inwards, which shows that the architecture of the dynasty in which they were constructed was inferior to that of the Song dynasty, during which the main pagoda was built.

After taking countless pictures of the numerous pagodas and turning the world’s largest Buddhist prayer wheels, we returned to the Old City of Dali. We arrived through the Southern gate of the city which is painted yellow and was once meant to be used only by the Emperor. Our guide led us down Foreigner Street and showed us how to distinguish real jade from fake. We stopped in a tea store and sampled Dali’s famous teas, including one that was eight years old. We were shown the art of washing and preparing the tea before drinking it. Nancy then led us away from the touristy streets and down a quiet road towards the Catholic Church, where we met a 103-year-old nun who was surprisingly lively.

We reconvened for dinner at a local restaurant where we sat outside and watched as people stared at us. Colin and Ryan were thrilled to again get the local potato dish they discovered the night before. All of the food was great; possibly the best we have had yet. After eating we continued to explore the Old City and discovered some beautiful old pagodas hidden among the buildings. Each building in the cities, including every home, has a central courtyard and is decorated with intricate wood carvings and painted in the brightest colors. We have all noticed that China is much more colorful than America.

We returned to our hotel and woke up early this morning for our flight to Kunming, where we spent our four-hour layover exploring the now very familiar airport and eating. At the restaurant we chose for lunch, to each thing I tried to order the waitress said “no!” until I gave up all together.

We then had our last Chinese flight from Kunming to Xi’an, where we were greeted at the airport. Our guide explained a little of Xi’an’s history to us in the car ride from the airport to the city, during which I noticed that traffic patterns are much more structured than those we have experienced in the less modern cities. The guide told us that Xi’an was chosen as the capital of China for 13 dynasties, for a total of over 1,000 years. We were taken to the old city wall which stretches 14 kilometers around the rectangular city. We rode bikes along the wall, which would have given us a nice view of the city if it weren’t for the thick fog, though we still enjoyed the ancient architecture and the refreshing cold air.

After checking into our new hotel, our guide led us to a hot pot dinner, where we each had a small pot of broth boiling a flame and an array of raw ingredients. Cooking our own food made us appreciate it more, and everything was delicious again. The only minor glitch was when I accidently lit my napkin on fire in the Bunsen-burner-like flame, which I promptly dropped onto the ground (very near the tablecloth) and which Ryan instinctively stomped out. Everything was fine, expect for the bottom of Ryan’s shoe which was slightly melted.

After leaving the restaurant with no harm done we walked around the city, enjoying its transformation from day to night. Tomorrow we are off to tour the famous Terracotta Army, which I can’t wait to see!