McDonalds restaurants snuggled amidst ancient towns.  Olympic Park-esque high rise construction orbiting even the remotest conurbation. Hello Kitty and anglophilic electric scooters whizzing by.  Breathtaking mountain vistas.  Unexpected stories. Kind Faces and most importantly, delicious cycling!  Our first few weeks in Yunnan has given us plenty to ponder and wonder over as our bikes roll on.

China: Where old meets new,  there’s always room for a Maccers 😉

With Brians wheel back from Hong Kong we bid farewell to our wonderful host, Alice, in YuangYang.  In such a vast country and with limited time on our visas, we hopped on a bus to Dali. We’ve only two months in the Western provinces of Yunnan and Szechuan so are having to be decisive about where to go and what to see. 

Heavenly Alice, one of Chinas hidden gems!

From the near isolation of the rice terraces to the Disney like streets of Dali!  Chinese domestic tourism is booming and with it comes the consequential floods of tour group madness.  3 years ago Dali old town was a quiet lakeside settlement. Through a combination of being used as a back drop in several movies and Yunnan being pumped as the idyllic retreat from the East, things are changing swiftly.

A moment of calm in Dali

It’s hard to distinguish where the old ends and the new begins.  Buildings sympathetically erected in the old style are a heady repetition of shops, bars and restaurants.  It always surprises me how so many shops selling the same things can make a trade.  But here in the heartland of consumption they certainly do.

Amongst the hustle and bustle of these ‘ancient towns’ it’s pleasing to see the focus on recycling and renewable energy.  Since arriving in China we’ve seen very few petrol powered scooters.  Everything is electric and no design to kitsch.  From Hello Kitty to Union Jacks and bubble gum pop that makes your eyes hurt.  Though these silent hairdryers make crossing roads all the more perilous.

Electric scooters = +++

The morning we left Dali we managed to break the nut on Brians seat post. (We’ve not had much like with the bikes of late). With the screw embedded and now headless it took all the efforts of a friendly bike shop man, his power tool, hacksaw and angle grinder to get us back on track.  By the time we were ready to roll the day had left us behind.  After a stiff drink to placate the nerves we decided to amble 20km along Dali lake before taking to the road in earnest the next day.

A magical moment on Dali lake

Moving up and out of the valley strangely bought back memories of our time in Holland.  Perfectly manicured crop fields and sparklingly clean pathways floating on the quiet ambience of village life.  It was a handy return to the saddle and we bedded down in a town not mentioned in our guides. Rather wonderfully, where every guest house came with a hot pool fed from a natural spring!

Manicured and cleaned to perfection

I’m not sure whether it was the murky hot pool or my pork soup dinner but the night was spent yelling down the porcelain thrown. As mentioned the limited time on visas meant no rest for porcelain shouters and we were off up a 1000m climb to the town of Shaxi.  A dirt road ascent and flint cobbled offering on the way down had us shaken and stirred by our arrival.

The summit into Shaxi, always worth climb

Flint cobble stone roads, feel the vibrations!

Shaxi is a vision of what Dali used to be. Crumbling alleys, quaint squares and timber houses mingled with coffee shops. Providing the perfect spot for a days rest and people watching. 

Crumbling alleys of Shaxi

Perfect spot for people watching

Being back up at around 2000m the weather has thankfully cooled from our SE Asian heatwave.  As luck would have it we’d also timed our journey with the rainy season of this province.  At altitude the deluges are no longer warm and we’re getting used to braving on drenched to the skin.  The changing skies and weather only seem to add to the spectacle. Shards of sunlight and dramatic clouds squabbling for the horizon.

Dramatic skies of Yunnan

It was up and over another few mountains to reach Lijiang.  The city which provides the blueprint for all the ‘ancient towns’ of this region.  We’re coming to accept that most tourist destinations in China come with a hefty price tag.  To walk the streets of the old town here is £8.50 per person + expenses to visit any other attractions. A costly business for the budget traveller.

Neat and tidy Lijiang

With a few days to spare, due to extending our visas, and coming to the end of our fascination with touristy China, we took to the surrounding hills for some day trips.  The mountain meadows of Wenhai were splendid.  Unfortunately we hit another price tag of £30 to travel on a road to the infamous Tiger Leaping Gorg.  It was a quick decision then to pack in this part of the province and head North to Shangri La.

Purple haze across the meadows of Wenhai

Rising over the mountains the architecture changes in the crest of a single hill.  From Chinese traditional buildings to Tibetan houses.  Flooding our memories again to our time in the Himalayas.  As we’re coming to expect, this is a country of many faces and we’re looking forward to the next leg of rural charms as we dive into Szechuan.

Tibetan (magic) houses

Bored of your Great Dame? They make a wonderful rug

These last few weeks have made us ponder what it means to travel. For some it’s waiting for the perfect swell off a rugged coast half way around the world.  For others it’s getting out of their comfort zones driven by butterflies in the belly. Sun, sand and seduction keeps many a traveller happy. Adventure is a popular catalyst but for us at the moment in China, it’s been the individual stories shared of a people hoping for change.  Of social movement and new era for their country. 

It reminds us how important it is for us all, in our own small way, to strive for positive change in the world.  Big movements are often made by small cogs that keep on turning. And the quietly swirling cogs of China are undoubtedly it’s hidden gems.

Till next time, keep making your worlds a better place 🙂

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