Spectacular scenery with a rich history

Yunnan's myriad attractions are something to write home about

Arriving at Kunming International Airport, an African proverb about a lizard that jumps from the tallest tree in the forest springs to mind.

The lizard somersaults several times before landing safely on its feet, then announces that even if no one else is willing to praise it for its feat, it will do so itself.

Yunnan province, of which Kunming is the capital, fully deserves the praise heaped on it because of its beauty. Yunnan, in China's Southwest, is home to some of the best scenery in China.

For those keen on nature, the province's topography seen from the air offers a breathtaking spectacle. Vegetation-cloaked mountains, deep valleys and forests combine to present the elements of a masterpiece of painting.

"Welcome to Kunming. My name is Li Hui but you can call me 'Fan Dada'," a gentleman introduces himself at the airport to the team of six mostly senior African journalists I travelled with. We later learn that Li is an official from the Yunnan Foreign Affairs Office in Kunming.

Li, with Zhang Yixin, also an official from the ministry, accompanies us to every place we visit in Yunnan. After a 20-minute drive we are at Kunming Hotel.

In the morning we head to the Yunnan Foreign Affairs Office for a briefing on trade relations between Yunnan and African countries. Trade between the two increased more than 240 percent last year, and growth in imports to Yunnan was particularly large.

At the briefing we are told that the main commodities traded are phosphate, tobacco, shoes, garments, motor vehicles and furniture. Others include pharmaceuticals, plastic products and iron ore.

In the afternoon we get the chance to tour what is said to be the biggest nationalities museum in China, the Yunnan Nationalities Museum, and the Yunnan Nationalities Village in Kunming.

Our guide receives us at the entrance and takes us to the clothing section of the museum. She tells us the museum has several exhibition halls with 120,000 items on display, including clothing, pendants, stones, rare gems and books.

On the wall at the entrance to the clothing section is a large display showcasing women from the 26 ethnic groups inhabiting Yunnan dressed in their traditional regalia.

I break away from the group and start moving around on my own. I am impressed by the manner in which the exhibits are displayed behind large glass frames, and on the side is an elaborate explanation of the relic both in Chinese and English.

The section I find most interesting is the one with costumes for religious and sacrificial occasions. Displayed are costumes for witches and wizards together with paraphernalia used to perform religious rituals, and they include chicken feathers, animal skins and flywhisks. We then move to the Nationalities Village about 2 km away.

The chirping and singing of birds welcomes us to the Yunnan Nationalities Village.

We find more than two dozen well laid-out traditional homesteads of the ethnic minorities in the province spread across the 7,500-square-meter village.

Hardly has our guide, dressed in full Dali regalia, started her introduction than it begins to rain. We scamper in different directions for the nearest shelter. I seek refuge with the guide at a typical Dai ethnic homestead, where I am given a tour.

The house is built of wood and grass thatched roof. After touring most of the other homesteads, I discover they were all built to reflect the lifestyle, religious beliefs and architecture of the ethnic groups at the core of the buildings. A striking resemblance in all the homesteads is the hand carved wooden roof and ceilings and the open courtyards at their center.

When I arrive, a group of Bai men and women are performing folk ballads in the courtyard of a homestead. The only accompaniments they are using are a set of drums and shakers. I do not hesitate in joining them in dancing to the rhythmical beats and beautiful voices of the folk songs.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 08/15/2014 page23)