Yin Yihui – Artisan of Folk Embroidery in Midu County, Dali 

大理州弥渡县密祉乡民间刺绣艺人 – 尹宜慧

http://www.ynich.cn/view-ml-13111-2739.html

The news was updated on May 29, 2019. 

The launching ceremony of the international road transport in the Greater Mekong Subregion (China-Laos-Vietnam) was held in Kunming, Yunnan province on May 27.

Implementing a MoU on goods and people-to-people exchange in the sub-region, the joint transport aims to strengthen communication among the Lancang-Mekong countries, while increasing connectivity along the China-Indochina economic corridor.

In the MoU, an agreement on facilitating cross-border flow of goods and people was reached among countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, with details in cross-border procedures, road signs and transport fees specified.

The MoU was signed in March 2018 by the officials from the six GMS countries, granting one-year permits that allow vehicles to freely enter Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Transport officials from China, Laos and Vietnam attended the launching and delivered speeches, including Viengsavath Siphandone, the Lao deputy minister of transport and Phan Thi Thu Hine, deputy director of the Vietnamese highway authority.

Chinese vice minister of transport Liu Xiaoming presented the GMS license to related companies.

Hong Yuchang – Master of Metal Handicraft Making in Heiqing County, Dali 

大理州鹤庆县金属工艺品制作高手 – 洪钰昌

http://www.ynich.cn/view-ml-13111-2736.html

About Haba Snow Mountain

Haba Snow Mountain is a mountain rising above the northwest side of Tiger Leaping Gorge in Yunnan, China. It rises opposite the higher Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and towers 3,500 metres above the upper reaches of the Yangtze River(Jinsha River). The summit of the mountain is a popular destination for amateur mountaineers and its lowest slopes are crossed by the popular Tiger Leaping Gorge trail. Its massif is considered the southernmost extent of the expansive Shaluli Mountains, themselves a component range of the Hengduan Mountains.

Summit of Haba Snow Mountain

In 1995, Chinese Climbers successfully reached the top of the 5,396-meter Haba Snow Mountain, making it the tallest snowcapped peak conquered by man in Yunnan. It is the ice and snow trail from the camp 1 to the summit, the altitude up 500M, usually, it will take you about 3 hours to the top. At the top of the mountain, you can see clearly Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Meili Snow Mountain and other famous mountains. 

Why is Mopanshan National Forest Park So Special?

Mopanshan national forest park磨盘山国家森林公园, named for its shape like a millstone, has a variety of flowers opening all year round. Especially a variety of azalea, alpine meadows, forests and lakes, vast clouds and sea and precious animals which constitute the park’s unique landscape. It is one of the boutique scenic spots in Xinping.

In spring, the mountain flowers blossom one after another, forming a brilliant “flower sea” spectacular. In summer, the shade of the tree and the green mountains are reflected in the lake and the green waves are glittering, forming the scenery of “people in the painting, mountains in the water”. In autumn, red, yellow and green leaves are dotted the mountains and forest. In Winter, mountain are in the mist, you can see the fog spectacle.  The main landscapes include more than 50 scenic spots such as forest lake, moon lake, cliff valley, observation platform, enemy mountain, sea of azalea flowers, camellia forest, etc. Mopanshan National Forest Park is dominated by subtropical forest natural landscape. In the forest park, you can not only get sufficient visual enjoyment, but also can relieve the brain fatigue and cultivate the mind, because of the abundant oxygen ion content in the scenic area.

Where is Mopanshan National Forest Park?

Located in the southeast of Xinping Yi and Dai Autonomous County, Yuxi, Yunnan Province, Mopanshan mountain national forest park is located at the southern edge of Yunnan plateau, Ailao mountain, about 215 kilometers from Kunming city, and 20 kilometers from Xinping county. Approved by the ministry of forestry in 1989, the planning design was completed in May 1993. The park covers an area of 75 square kilometers, 1260 meters to 2614 meters above sea level. Annual average temperature is of 15 ℃, warm all the year round . The park’s forest coverage rate is 94 percent, including large areas of pine coniferous forest.

Nearby Attractions

1. Ailao Mountain Nature Reserve哀牢山自然保护区

Ailao mountain, with an area of 50,660 hectares, is located at the junction of the five counties in Yunnan province, including Xinping County. Established in 1986 with the approval of the people’s government of Yunnan province, and promoted to national level in 1988, the main protected objects are evergreen broad-leaved forest and wildlife.

2. Tea-horse Ancient Road Tea-horse Ancient Road Scenic Spot is located at the heart of Ailao mountain, Qianjiazhai Village千家寨. There are historical sites like “Ma Ta Shi Chuan(马踏石穿)”, “Qianjiazhai Village Walls(千家寨寨墙)”, “Iron-fining Furnace” and so on. On this ancient road, there are rough Yi minority, graceful Huayao Dai minority, unrestrained Hani minority and enthusiastic Wa minority.

3. Guzhou Wild Forest古州野林

Xinping is located at the eastern foot of Ailao Mountain, which is rich in tourism resources, with the characteristics of natural scenery “Grand, Beautiful, Precipitous”. Guzhou wild forest has more than 300 species of higher plants, and so far has 700 years of original forest history. Guzhou wild forest is a kind of feng-shui forest, which is closer to the town than the same altitude area and has a larger continuous area. It is a famous original forest scenic spot with intact mixed coniferous broad leaved forest. There are dense forests, huge ancient trees, thick mosses and old vines in the scenic area

4. Chu Orange Manor褚橙庄园

Chu orange manor is divided into five parts, guesthouse area, farm stay area, ecological breeding area, leisure fishing area and fruit garden. Relying on Chu orange manor, an ecological tourist attraction integrating cultural display, conference reception, tourism training and leisure sightseeing is built here.

Best Time to Visit

Tour is suitable all-year-round, but the best time to sightsee is from July to October.

How to Get There

There are 6 non-stop buses a day from Kunming to Xinping County. Then you can take a taxi or tourist bus at Xingping Bus Terminal to Mopanshan National Forest Park.

Kunming-Xinping County

Departure Time: 8:30, 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 14:10, 16:30

Ticket Price: 73 CNY

Distance: About 180 kilometers

Consume Time: About 2.5 hours

Accommodation at Mopanshan National Forest Park

Here are several recommended hotels in Xinping County.

1. Shiguang Xiaozhu(Golden Time) Hotel新平时光小筑酒店

Address: Jiaxia Avenue, Jiasa Town, Xinping County, Yuxi玉溪新平县戛洒镇戛洒大道

Tel: 18887730188

Starting Price: 115 CNY

2. Nature Outdoor Villa新平大自然户外农庄

Address: Daha Liangzi, Daha Village, Jiasa Town, Xinping County, Yuxi玉溪新平县戛洒镇达哈村达哈梁子

Tel: 15758024198

Starting Price: 93 CNY

3. Xinping Ailao Mountain Hotel新平哀牢山酒店

Address: The Middle of Jiasa Avenue, Jiasa Town, Xinping County, Yuxi玉溪市新平县戛洒镇戛洒大道中段

Tel: 0877-7393878

Starting Price: 111 CNY

Useful Travel Tips

1. High altitude area in Xinping County, the temperature difference is large. You are supposed take coats to prevent a cold because of the large temperature difference from daytime to night.

2. Mountain area is prone to natural disasters, so try not to go out in heavy rain. 

3. Ultraviolet rays are strong on sunny days, so protect yourself from the sun. 

Located in Xizhou Old Town, Zhoucheng Village is lying 30km north near Butterfly Spring in Dali. It has earned the nickname ‘the Hometown to Tie-dyeing’. The delicate and colorful dyeing process appeals to many travelers at both home and abroad. Except for the tie-dyeing, travelers can have a view of the tradtional architecture and daily life of Bai ethnic minority. Zhoucheng Village is the largets Bai ethnic village in Dali. Villagers carry on the traditional culture of Bai, like Dongjing Music, Bawangbian Dance and Patron God worship.

Chinese Name: 大理州宾川县州城镇州城村委会
English Name: Zhoucheng Village of Zhoucheng Town in Dali City

Zhoucheng Bai Ethnic Village

Tie-dyeing

Tie-dyeing is the traditional folk art of the Bai ethic minority. It can be dated back to 1,000 years ago. At the very beginning, the Bai make tie-dyeing in their own houses, and gradually home-based workshops appeared, becoming so common that almost every family had one. The material originally used was pure white cotton cloth with blue dye, but today the choices in both color and design are richer and more varied than before – greens, reds, and browns have been introduced in addition to the traditional blue. The designs are simple, inferring an idyllic pastoral life, and are made with dye that will never fade. However, even though the designs are simple, the process is anything but, as procedures are becoming more and more complicated with increased demand. Watching how the Bai people make their tie-dyed pieces is absolutely a must-see.

Process of Tie-dyeing

The first step involves drawing the designs on a piece of cloth. Unlike other tie-dyeing designs that choose to feature abstract patterns, the Bai like to incorporate flowers, animals and plants such as bees, butterflies, bamboos and lilies. The second step is to tie the cloth with thread – not too tightly and not too loosely. Next, it involves dyeing the cloth with dye made from a Chinese medicine called Banlangen. The fragrance is supposed to be good for both skin and health. Last, the threads must be removed and the cloth hung out to dry.

Architectural Form

Here you can see a typical “a reflecting wall while the other three serve as living spaces”, “quadrangle courtyard with two extra patios in the two sides” enclosed courtyard formed Bai local-style dwelling houses building.

Bai Dwelling House pays attention to decoration of reflecting wall, door and window, gable and gate house. The reflecting wall is a necessary main building of two wing-rooms and three courtyards, it is cornice grey tile and caping wall; the main house is to connect gable of two wing-rooms and make it an enclosed courtyard. The center of the reflecting wall was whitewashed by lime, written inscription, and embedded with marble wall; the surrounding sector inlaid and drawn the outline of rectangular and circular design, and painted with pastel. Doors and windows, especially the panelled door of main room, mostly are cloud wood, toon, Chinese catalpa wood, and other rare wood, carved on the golden chicken, kylin, and other auspicious patterns.

Ethnic Culture

Zhoucheng Town Belief

Zhoucheng Town Bai ethnic believes in mainly Buddhist. In Zhoucheng Town, there is Yinxiang Temple and Longquan Temple and other buddhist temples, etc. Like other Bai village, Zhoucheng Town has their own local deity worship, in Zhoucheng there are two local temples. Lingdi Temple consecrates its local deity hero Du Chaoxuan who chopped the boa in the Butterfly Spring; Jingdi Temple consecrates Zhaomulanggang who was the earliest ancestor of Zhoucheng Town. They were the legendary heroes and ancestors, also the patron saint of the local village. Here people can visit Bai local-style dwelling houses, street market, Bai tie-dye, and can appreciate Bai wedding, but also taste the Bai flavor food, buy Bai folk arts and crafts.

What to See

National tie-dye products

In Zhoucheng Town, you can see the rich ethnic tie-dye products. Since the late Ming dynasty and early Qing dynasty, tie-dye is Bai people’s traditional folk craft in Zhoucheng Town, tie-dye crafts are in collection of culture and art as a whole. Tie-dyed cloth is made by hand suture needle, repeatedly immersed by cold dyeing method. The color is green, dignified and elegant, and it is fine production, design pattern is pure and fresh, colorful, sold at home and abroad. The handicraft made of tie-dyed cloth is full of strong ethnic flavor, is also full of modern flavor.

Festival Activities

Zhoucheng Town Bai ethnic in addition to celebrate the same festivals like the Spring Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, and Mid-Autumn Festival with the Han nationality, they also celebrate traditional Third Month Fair, Raosanlng, Torch Festival and other national holidays. Every June 25 in the lunar calendar, the annual Bai Torch Festival was held here, strong ethnic characteristics, and large scale scene create the Torch Festival a lively atmosphere.

Useful Travel Tips

 Best Time to Travel Zhoucheng Village: from March to November is the best time to visit Zhoucheng Village. During that time there is traditional Third Month Fair, Raosanling, and Torch Festival. Every June 25 in the lunar calendar, here will host annual Bai Torch Festival. At that time village is full of ethnic features.

Travelers should respect the local ethnic custom and protect the traditional architecture.

A visit to the Dongchuan Red Land Scenic Area (东川红土地景区) is incomplete without a stop at Wangfang Liangzi (瓦房梁子). This location is renowned as a frequent spot for the old star of Dongchuan, and many visitors remember him fondly. Previously, a high school classmate of mine visited and even encountered the old gentleman along with his partner and granddaughter. Unfortunately, during our recent visit, the old man had passed away. His image, clad in a long sheepskin coat (大羊袄) and holding a long pipe (长烟), remains etched in our memories.

Scenic Beauty of Wangfang Liangzi

Wangfang Liangzi is the first scenic spot encountered on the journey from Kunming (昆明) to Dongchuan.

As you continue along the road after passing Yuepuao (月破坳), you will arrive at Wangfang Liangzi. This small village is notable for its hillside location, offering breathtaking views of both the nearby and distant red lands. Visitors are often captivated by the stunning landscape, which showcases the vibrant red soil that the region is famous for.

Local Culture and Interaction

Interestingly, while exploring Wangfang Liangzi, you may encounter local Yi people (彝族) dressed in traditional sheepskin coats  and carrying portable long pipes . These locals are generally friendly and enjoy posing for photos with visitors, with the picturesque Red Land serving as a stunning backdrop. It is customary to offer a small token of appreciation, as being a “model” for photographs deserves recognition and reward.

Ideal Sunset Viewing

Wangfang Liangzi is undoubtedly an excellent spot to enjoy the sunset. Due to its elevated terrain, you can gain a panoramic view of the beauty of Yuepuao, providing a perfect setting for capturing the vibrant colors of dusk as they illuminate the landscape.

Jiangcheng Niuluohe Tea Plantation

Niuluohe Tea Plantation is located in the south of Jiangcheng County, Puer City, Yunnan Province. It borders Laos and covers an area of ​​more than 100,000 mu. It is surrounded by virgin forests and produces pollution-free tea. It is the ideal environment for organic tea. Niuluohe tea industry was established in September 1987. The existing ecological tea garden covers an area of ​​18,000 mu (including 5,000 mu of cloned tea gardens), 1,000 mu of coffee gardens, more than 8,000 mu of economic forests, more than 4,000 tea workers, and an annual output of 3,500 tons of tea. It is a professional tea enterprise integrating production, processing and sales. In the past 20 years, Niuluohe tea industry has carefully created the brand of “Niuluohe” and “Jiangcheng Yueyuan Tea”, which are jointly watched by the tea industry.

Nutritional value

Tea is rich in nutrients and contains many ingredients, nearly 400 species. Most of them are caffeine, theophylline, theobromine, choline, astragalus, flavonoids and glycosides, tea tannin, catechins, terpenes, phenols, alcohols, aldehydes, acids, esters, Aromatic oil compounds, carbohydrates, multivitamins, proteins and amino acids. Tea also contains calcium, phosphorus, iron, fluorine, iodine, manganese, molybdenum, zinc, selenium, copper, antimony, magnesium and other minerals. These ingredients in tea are mostly beneficial to the human body. Its main function is to stop diarrhea, refreshing, dispelling, facilitating urine, removing phlegm and relieving cough, clearing eyes and getting fire down, eliminating summer phlegm, reducing inflammation and detoxification. Since tea is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of human diseases, the folk “open seven things” (Match, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea) include tea, and there is also “no day without tea”.

Historical folk culture  

Jiangcheng tea has always been one of the important source  of high quality Pu’er tea in Yunnan. Historically, Jiangcheng tea production has undergone a process of germination, prosperity, decline and development. According to the records of the history, the two generations of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, in addition to the “tea-horse road”, it also radiated four “tea horse avenues” centered on Pu’er. One of them passed through Jiangcheng, the “Tea Horse Avenue” from Pu’er to Laizhou, Vietnam. It was transported by Pu’er from Jiangcheng County to Laizhou, Vietnam, and then transferred to Europe. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, there were tea cultivation and listing in the city of Jiangcheng County. In the early years of the Republic of China, local merchants acquired Mao Tea, which was processed and shipped to Vietnam and Mengla. According to “Jiangcheng County”, there were more than 10 tea shops opened during the Jiangcheng County Republic of China. At that time, the Jingcheng Tea House, located in Jiangcheng, was highly regarded for its refined high-grade Pu’er tea and exported to overseas.

 Tea Exports

When Jiangcheng County had a large number of exports, the export sales of tea had reached 1,700 per year. After 1949, Jiangcheng Tea House produced Pu’er Round Tea and sold it to Vietnam, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Pu’er tea lovers in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan particularly like Pu’er tea produced in Jiangcheng, Puer City, Yunnan Province, such as “Jiangcheng Round Tea”, “Jiangcheng Iron Cake” and “Jiangcheng Chunjian”.

Production method

1, Cool: lose some of the water in the fresh leaves. During the water walking process, some aroma substances are formed, and some of the macromolecular ester-capacitative sugars are hydrolyzed into small-molecule-capacitable sugars.

2, Green Removing: the raw materials Pu’er raw tea processing is Yunnan big leaf species, green tea. The green tea is mostly fried in a pot. Because of the high water content of the large leaf, it must be combined with squeaking when it is removed, so that the tea loses water evenly, and the high temperature quickly inactivates the enzyme activity to stop the oxidation of polyphenols. Evaporation of a part of the water, which is good for smashing into strips.

3. Smash: Break the tea cells to ensure that the tea juice is fully leached during brewing. According to the old and tender raw materials, the tender leaves are light and short, and the old leaves are heavy and long. It is advisable to master the basics.

4. Drying: The dried tea leaves are naturally dried under the sunlight, and the organic matter and active substances in the tea leaves are retained to the utmost extent. The dried tea leaves have the largest cell pores, which is beneficial to generate a large amount of heat during the fermentation process.

5. Autoclaved: The dried tea leaves are steamed and placed in different molds for compression molding.

6. Drying: The water content is controlled below the water content that can be safely stored. Generally, the Pu’er tea is required to have a water content of less than 10%.

How to Get to Jiangcheng Niuluohe Tea Plantation

1. By Air

There are no airports in Jiangcheng County. Visitors can take a plane to Simao District, Puer, then take a long-distance bus to Jiangcheng County.

2. By Train

Pu’er Railway Station is the middle station of the Yumo Railway under construction and an important station for the Laos section of the Trans-Asian Railway. It is expected to be put into use by 2020.

3. By Long-distance Bus

There is the Passenger Station in Jiangcheng County for people to get in.

4.Jiangcheng – Jiangcheng Niuluohe Tea Plantation

Take the taxi or rent a car to go to the Jiangcheng Niuluohe Tea Plantation.

Where to Stay in Jiangcheng County

Jiangcheng County is a county under the jurisdiction of Pu’er City, Yunnan Province, China. There are many hotels around Jiangcheng County. Yunnan Exploration will provide the best hotels for you. The recommended hotels as follows:

1. Jiangcheng Mancheng Business Hotel(江城曼城商务酒店)

Add: Sanjiang Avenue, Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County, Pu’er (普洱市江城哈尼族彝族自治县三江大道)
Tel: 0879-3831777

2. Jinma Vacation Hotel(金马假日酒店)

Add: Sanjiang Avenue, Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County, Pu’er Prefectur (普洱市江城哈尼族彝族自治县三江大道)
Tel: 0879-3729999

3. Xinhong Grand Hotel(鑫宏大酒店)

Add: No.59 of Lianyi Road, Sanjiang Avenue, Jiangcheng Hani and Yi Autonomous County, Pu’er Prefecture (普洱市江城哈尼族彝族自治县联谊路59号)

4. Dingsheng Hotel(鼎盛大酒店)

Add: Next to Xinhong Parking Lot, No. 60 Lianyi Road, Jiangcheng County
Tel:0879-3829777

5. Sanjiang Budget Hotel(三江快捷酒店)

Add: Gate of Tianshi Community, Opposite of Xindaxin No. 15 Sanjiang Avenue, Jiangcheng County

6. Tianhao International Hotel(天豪国际大酒店)

Add: Floor 1, Sanjiang Building, Sanjiang Avenue, Jiangcheng County

7. Jiangcheng Mancheng Business Hotel

Add: Building 1, South Zone of Sanguo Trade City,Sanjiang Avenue, Jiangcheng County
Tel: 0879-3831777

Best Time to Visit 

It is suitable to visit Jiangcheng County all year round. Like many other cities in Yunnan, Jiangcheng is a place where the seasons are like spring. There is no cold, no heat, warm and humid, especially suitable for human habitation, so you can go to Jiangcheng at any time.

Recommended Tour

When you traveling Pu’er, Jiangcheng County is a good place to be put on your list. It can be joined in whatever your Pu’er tour or Yunnan Tour.

11 Days Yunnan Ancient Tea-Horse Road Tour with Puer and XishuangBanna Tea Culture Exploration

14 Days Southwest Yunnan Tea Culture Tour from Xishuangbanna to Puer and Lincang

Travel Tips 

1.There are many ethnic minorities living here, such as Lahu, Hani, Wa and Yi. Varied customs make it a colorful city. Eating habits, ceremonies, costumes and folk legends can all be a strong attraction for people who are visiting. In addition, the city is the hometown of the well known Puer Tea, and the local people have diversified ways of handling tea, such as bamboo tube tea, cold tea dish, earth-pot tea and baked tea; all of which you should try.

2.Enjoying a plateau monsoon climate at low latitude, the region is affected by the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal. Therefore, the main features of its weather are mildness and humidity without strong winds.

3.Special Local Products: Puer Tea, bamboo shoot, edible fungi, purple rice, mango.

Why is Yuxi Museum So Special?

Yuxi museum focuses on the history and culture of Yuxi, which is the essence of Yuxi culture. There are many exhibition halls, such as the vivid paleontology exhibition hall, the exquisite bronze museum exhibition hall and the Nie Er culture exhibition hall, and the exhibition hall of Yuxi history deduction, which record the details of Yuxi’s past and present.

The Yuxi museum consists of eight basic exhibition halls and a temporary exhibition hall, covering over 5,000 square meters, including paleontology hall, new paleolithic hall, bronze hall, porcelain hall, painting and calligraphy hall, modern and contemporary history hall, culture and art hall and tobacco hall. All the exhibition halls are applied the novel display and exhibition concept, cooperated with the modern sound, light and electrical technology, and assisted with the three-dimensioned animation, touch screen, simulation scene and other methods.

Where is Yuxi Museum?

Yuxi museum, located in Hongta Avenue of Hongta District, Yuxi, Yunnan, adjacent to Hongta hotel and Nie Er park, has beautiful environment and convenient transportation. It is a comprehensive and multi-functional museum integrating collection, display, scientific research and external publicity and communication.

Features of Yuxi Museum

1. Ceramics Exhibition Hall: The ceramic exhibition hall takes the Yuxi kiln which produced blue and white porcelain in the Yuan and Ming dynasties as the masterpiece of Yunnan blue and white porcelain. It is the most abundant exhibition hall in the whole museum. 

2. Marine Biological Hall: There are models and fossils of ancient Marine life species, especially the famous trilobites, Yunnanozoon云南虫 and Fuxianhuia抚仙湖虫.

3. Dinosaur Fossils Exhibition Hall: It displays all kinds of dinosaur fossils from the Jurassic period, most of which are from the Chengjiang Maotianshan animal fossil coenosis澄江帽天山动物化石群.

4. Intangible Culture Exhibition Gallery: It displays ethnic costumes, historical culture, national, provincial and municipal intangible heritage protection projects of 8 counties and 2 districts in Yuxi.

How to Get There

The transportation in Hongta District is convenient. You have two ways to get there. The museum is located on the main road of the city, and it is also convenient to take a taxi. The price starts from 6 yuan.

1. By Long-distance Bus

There are many buses from Kunming to Hongta District of Yuxi. After arriving at the Yuxi bus terminal, you can take No.4 bus, getting off at Oil Company Station.

Kunming South Bus Station-Yuxi Chengxi Bus Terminal in Hongta District

Departure Time: 7:00-20:00

Price: 37 CNY or 55 CNY

Distance: 107 kilometers

Consume Time: About 1.5 hours

2. By Train

The fastest way to get to Hongta District of Yuxi is by train. After arriving at Yuxi Railway Station, you can take No.9 bus, getting off at Power Center Service Station.

Kunming South Station-Yuxi Station in Hongta District

Departure Time: 8:10, 9:55, 10:07, 18:47, 19:13

Ticket Price: 32 CNY or 40 CNY

Distance: 81 kilometers

Consume Time: 32 minutes

Kunming Station-Yuxi Station in Hongta District

Departure Time: 5:36-17:20

Ticket Price: 16.5 CNY

Distance: 105 kilometers

Consume Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Nearby Attractions

1. Nie Er Park聂耳公园

The ancestral home of Nie Er, a famous musician of our country and the composer of the China national anthem, is in Yuxi. Now there is Nie Er park in Yuxi city. Founded in 1985, there are Nie Er bronze statue and memorial hall in the park. Completed in July 1987, the park is a comprehensive park mainly dedicated to the memory of the people’s musician Nie Er, integrating culture, rest and recreation. The park is divided into memorial area, recreation area, cultural activity area, quiet rest area, children’s recreation area, flowers production appreciation area and park management area.

2. Yuquan Temple玉泉寺

Yuquan Temple, located in Daying Street of Hongta District, Yuxi City, is adjacent to Yingyuetan映月谭 leisure culture center and Yingyuetan hot spring. It is a large-scale Buddhist activity site and a national AAAA level tourist attraction. uquan temple is majestic and grand in scale, consisting of seven shrine buildings, including the grand buddha’s hall大雄宝殿, heavenly king’s hall天王殿, the hall of patriarch祖师殿, pharmacist hall药师殿, Dizang palace地藏殿, hall of 500 arhats五百罗汉堂 and wealth hall财神殿. The grand buddha’s hall enshrines Sakyamuni Buddha carved from sandalwood, 26.8 meters high, which is the highest indoor Buddha in southeast Asia.

3. Yingyuetan Hot Spring映月谭温泉

Yingyuetan Hot Spring映月谭温泉 is located in Dayingjie Subdistrict of Hongta District, Yuxi, Yunnan. It is a unique place for recreation and recuperation, also a pure Japanese style hot spring tourist resort. 

Best Time to Visit

Museum visit is mainly indoor activities, consequently, tourists can visit Yuxi museum at all seasons.

Accommodation Around Yuxi Museum

Hongta District is the government seat of Yuxi City. Accommodation is convenient here.

1. Hongta Hotel云南红塔大酒店

Address: No.32, Hongta Avenue, Hongta District, Yuxi玉溪市红塔区红塔大道32号

Tel: 0877-2066666

Starting Price: 379 CNY

Rating: 4-star

2. Longma Hotel玉溪龙马大酒店

Address: No.48, Hongta Avenue, Hongta District, Yuxi玉溪市红塔区红塔大道48号

Tel: 0877-2067102

Starting Price: 134 CNY

Rating: 3-star

3. Home Inn如家快捷酒店

Address: No.40, Fenghuang Road, Hongta District, Yuxi玉溪市红塔区凤凰路40号

Tel: 0877-2021777

Starting Price: 107 CNY

Useful Travel Tips

1. Please keep quiet and don’t make any noise when you enter the museum。

2. Some objects in the museum are not allowed to be photographed or touched, and there are warning signs inside.

3. With convenient transportation and strong cultural characteristics, the museum is definitely the best place to enrich your knowledge. If you want to visit Yuxi, you can visit Yuxi museum first to learn about it, and then the field trip will be more interesting.

4. Adjacent to the Hongta Hotel and Nie Er Park, there are plenty of restaurants and entertainment venues to choose from around Yuxi museum.

5. The Museum is closed on Monday, except Chinese legal holidays.

Brief Introduction

With the altitude of 3500 meters, Bigu Heaven Lake, covering an area of 0.21 square kilometers, lies in the Bigu Rangeland which is located in Lianhe Village of Zhongdian Town in Shangri-la City. It is about 51 kilometers away from the city seat and the road reaches the lake area, hence very convenient. In Tibetan language, Bigu Tianchi Lake is called Chu Zhang, meaning a small lake. It got the name because it is situated in Bigu Rangeland. This lake is surrounded by the forest and the water inside is as clear as jade. It presents extraordinary peaceful and clear.

Features

The 30 square kilometers area in the surrounding area of the lake was covered by primeval forests with large and ancient trees, mostly tall and straight fir and spruce. This dense and green forest is full of the vitality of the great nature. The lakeside is surrounded by rhododendrons, mostly yellow, red and white. With the average depth of 1.62 meters, the deepest point of the lake is only three meters. To the south of the lake is a marshy area with lots of water and wild birds, including yellow duck, sheldrake, black-necked crane. 

Legend

There is an oval-shaped island in the middle of the lake, with many azaleas standing between 1.5 and 2 meters tall. Legend has it that there are two yellow azalea on the island, which is changed by a pair of sentimental yellow duck. During every June-September, there are groups of yellow ducks habitating on the island to give birth to little ducks.

Best Time to Visit

Visit the lake during the period from May to July, you can enjoy beautiful and fragrant azalea flowers. The flowering phase of azalea is from the middle June to the end of July, during which all colors of azalea are in full blossom, decorating the lake. The slow slope in the north of the lake is covered by the azalea of purple and pink colors blooming from the late of May to the end of June. When it comes to the late autumn and winter, the sacred Tianchi Lake will be covered by snow. But the water is still clear and the trees are also green.

How to Get there

There are shuttle buses in town that make regular trips to reach the lake area.

Chinese Name:滇越铁路五家寨人字桥
English Name: Wujiazhai Ren-shaped Bridge of Yunnan-Vietnam Railway in Pingbian County, Honghe
Honghe Wujiazhai Ren-shaped Bridge of Yunnan-Vietnam Railway in Pingbian County, travel guide introduces the main attractions, entrance tickets booking, The best time to visit, How to Get there, the highlights, facts, history, photos, weather, accommodation, visiting routes, travel tips, tour maps of Wujiazhai Ren-shaped Bridge of Yunnan-Vietnam Railway in Honghe.滇越铁路五家寨人字桥

Dianyue(Yunnan-Vietnam) railway is not only the first railway of Yunnan but is the few in number “one-meter wide between the two rails” in the country. It was build by the Frence colonial authority based on the unequal treaty. Because the railway starts from Vietnamese’s Haifang , a city once the colony of France, passed through the border of China and Vietnam and comes into Yunnan, that is from Hekou extents north to Kunming , so the railway got the name “Dianyue railway” .

Zig-Zag Bridge of Yunnan-Vietnam Railway

Based on the 《The Constitution of China and France’s Concluding and Designing Dianyue Railway》, the constitution which was designed between China and France in 1903, the French technicians were send to scouting the routes, planed to building the railway and established formally Dianyue Railway French Company. Vietnamese section includes the distance from Haifang to Lao Cail, and Dian’s section includes the distance from Hekou to Kunming of Yunnan Province. The railway’s last section starts from Hekou , passes through Bi Sezhai of Mengzi and ends at Kaiyuan,; the middle section starts from Kaiyuan, passes along Nanpanjing River to Panxi and ends at Yiliang,; the first section starts from Yiliang, passes through Chenggong and ends in Kunming. The railway was set up from 1901 and ended on 1st April , 1910, then the whole line was open to traffic.

The track gauge of the Railway is only one meter, the overall length is 855 kilometers, and Vietnamese section is 389 kilometers, the Dian’s section is 466 kilometers. The total cost of the whole line was about 159 million francs, one more times higher than the track gauge is 1.435 meters railway construction. Now, many old buildings such as Bi Sezhai railway station, the former site of Hekou post office, the former site of foreign settlement of Mengzi etc. had been remained alone the railway.

Hekou Customhouse was built in the year 1887, the total area of it is 1127 square meters, and it was one of the earliest customhouse of China. In addition, there were historic preservations such as France stationed Hekou authority agency, Hekou supervision and handling office.

Once for a long time, the Michelin Engine galloping on the Dianyue railway was a symbol of quick speed in ordinary people. When mentioned something’s speed was quick enough, one would say: how fast it would be? Is that quicker than Michelin Engine? The old staffs worked along the railway when mentioned the Michelin Engine now, they will be full of praise: that Engine is so quick that when you hear it roars in the distance, you raise your head and it has been gone away like wind.

The Michelin Engine once belonged to “noble train”，except for soft seat, there were western restaurants, bars, kitchens, washrooms, rest rooms and other service corollary equipments. It was said the waitresses were French beauties. In the year 1935, Mr. Jiang Jieshi encouraged to build Dianyue railway, and once had the plan to inspect it, but had to cancelled the project for his other business, and only his wife Mrs. Song Meiling had made the journey into realization, and the train she took was Michelin Engine, the comfort and the speed of the train had gave her great surprise, and she never thought that there was so excellent train in such huge mountain and gorge.

The reporter had seen the Michelin at depository of Kaiyuan locomotive depot Yiliang back-turning section. Glory and honor of the past had been cleaned by years, and the locomotive had only be left a shell, the inside decorate had nothing left, and one could’t tell where was the bar, where was the restaurant, 12 V-shaped cylinder stators had been bared outside. It was said the expensive aviation gasoline had been running in the engine, the words “red flag” on the head of the machine could be seen clearly, and the name was used during the Cultural Revolution, but common people still used to name it “Michelin”, and after liberation, Michelin was stopped to be used until it was difficult to get the installation kits to repair the machine in 1980’s.

Michelin had created a speed record in the past one hundred years, lots of people said the secret was on the tires of the machine. Over hundred of years, there is no trace of chap and adhesive on the tyres, the surface texture of the wheel is still distinct, the word “Michelin” could be seen clearly, people have to admire French’s the super technology level.

It was introduced that Kunming railway administration had invested over 800,000 yuan to repair the machine to display it in the exhibition. So we could not see it galloping on the rails, but at the least we could imagine its past heroic posture.

Zig-Zag Bridge of Yunnan-Vietnam Railway

Give Dianyue Railway an Objective Statement

　 Three pieces of remarkable things had happened in Yunnan in the first half of the 20th century: the first was building Dianyue railway in the early times of the 20th century, the other were building Burma road and the Hump during the war of Anti-Japanese, and the three pieces of things made the world known Yunnan, and at the same time let Yunnan known the outside world of China. While the Dianyue railway, whether from the span of the time, the scope of the engineering and the influence to the development of Yunnan was the first of the three projects.

Dianyue railway was one of the most toughest projects in the world modern history. The overall length of the railway is 854 kilometers, 465 kilometers is in Yunnan and the other 389 kilometers is in Vietnam, and 178 bridges and 152 tunnels were built along the railway. Within the Yunnan section, over 60,000 workers were forced to build the railway, and among them, over 12,000 workers died in strange land for diseases, injury and other reasons, including over 800 foreign technicists.

Dianyue railway, the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal were considered the three most toughest projects in the world.Dianyue Railway has great humanity value for it is not only one of the three plateau railways in the world, but is the only gage railway which is still in use in China, so it is the precious cultural relics, living specimen and fossil in the railway development of China, even the world as well.

There is one paragraph describing the scenery of Nanxihe river, which is one of the section Dianyue Railway passes by, in the book 《the Railway of Yunnan》which was written by a Frenchman: ” from the viewpoint of scenery, the natural landscape of Nanxihe river bend is the most magnificent, and it touches one’s heart most. Its steep hill, the boundless open fields, and majestic view would be compare with Alps.”

Grand sight is in the perilous peaks, but it is the most difficult thing to build railway in such difficult conditions. Everywhere in the mountains is dense forest and 2-3 meters high thistles and thorns, “it is impossible to enter the jungle without a dagger. And the jungle is also a zoo, there are lots of deers, monkeys, sometimes there also have leopards, even dangerous tigers, they get a great threat to the workers, horses, mules and doges’ safety.” In addition, the most difficulty to overcome during building the railway through the jungle is to handling the mountain collapsing and the great amount of the collapse rocks on the slope. It was said in the book《The Railway of Yunnan》: In the process of constructing the Railway, except 12,000 labors died for the construction, there also died over 80 “leaders” , almost all were French. They were buried at Kaiyuan and Zhicun village, just nearby the railways. One day in a summer, the reporter drove to Kaiyan to search for the graves of the French, asking for many people and meeting many troubles, the reporter got the information that there was a place named “Yangrenfen” in a fertilizer factory buried many foreigners, “it was said they died in the time of constructing the Railway.” After contacted with the propaganda department of the fertilizer factory, the reporter finally stepped into the area of the “foreigner grave” which were surrounded by walls, but instead the reporter saw numerous pots of flowers. When the gardener knew that the reporter came for the foreigner graves, he led him to a corner and pointed to corner and said:” there were all.” Push aside the grass, the reporter saw some graves as expected. They were short, on the head of each grave was carved some French words, perhaps they were the name of the dead. The local people said that in the past, the place had greater area, and was surrounded by stone walls, later the walls were pulled down for some people built house on it, and some bones were dug out.

The reporter listened silently and did not know how to estimate the Frenchmen who died here. At that moment he suddenly he thought of the consul general of France stationed in Yunnan, he had a Chinese name “Fangsuya”. Several years ago, a man from Kunming copied Fangsuya’ photos which were pictured in Yunnan, then he took them back to Kunming and displayed. The exhibition caused a great sensation. Undeniable, the French came to Yunnan and wanted made it their colony, and after Dianyue Railway was opened to traffic, it was like a suck blood vessel, plundered over 230,000 ton tin from Gejiu, impacted greatly to nation’s handicraft, so in for years of traditional education, these Frenchmen were invaders and bloodsuckers.

But when the time went to 21 century, the Railway became the door of Yunnan opened to outside world, and just this Railway drove the development of Yunnan’s economy and changed local people’s thought. It brought in western advanced cultural education, democratic and scientific thoughts. In the war of liberation, the Communist Party built secret traffic line alone the Railway, they passed message to their organization through the Railway, sent their excellent railway workers to revolutionary area, so the Railway had made contribution to Yunnan’s liberation.

A Spike A Drop of Blood, And A Crosstie A Life

After the first Opium War in 1840, the French invaders came into China, and in 1885, they opened the door of southwest of China by force, then they despoiled Yunnan’s railroading right. In March 1898, the minister of France stationed in China used the event helped Qing Dynasty returned Liaoning to China as the excuse to meet with the prime minister of Qing Dynasty, while putting forward the firm term of ceding Guangzhou Bay to France, they had also required that “China must permit France or French company build a railway from the border of Vietnam to Yunnan Province, and Qing replied “permissible to comply with the requirement.” So France obtained the right of building Dianyue Railway. In September, 1899, headed by Banque de I’IndoChine and other several organizations established Dianyue Railway Company, contracted the business of collecting money and construction. In October, 1903, France and China concluded and signed 《the Constitution of Dianyue Railway》, and in 1904, the part in Yunnan was started.

The construction of Dianyue Railway was built on the price of “A Spike A Drop of Blood, And A Crosstie A Life.” Most of the places that the Railway passes by are sparsely populated areas. There are 3628 bridges in the length of 466 kilometers railway, such as the herringbone bridge at Boduqing, the Railway bridge frames between two mountain cliffs, and from the bridge to ravine there are 90 meters, the length of this herringbone bridge is 65 meters, to finish it cost over a year. Because the engineering was so complex and enormous, the Frenchmen had invested more than 150 million francs, much higher than the cost of constructing Jinghan Railway or Pujin Railway. According to statistics, when the Railway was finished in 1910, more than 60,000—70,000 people died for it, even the local official of Yunnan at that time had to admitted “ The railway was really constructed by flesh and blood of our compatriot.”

From Plateau to the World

We had to admit that for thousands years of primitive, closed and backward conditions of Yunnan was completely broke down just because of the Railway. It made Yunnan and the world began to realize each other, and from then on Yunnan’s history was changed for the rapid development of the society and economy , and Yunnan thus made a further influence to China’s recent history.

When the first roar of train was heard in the deep valley of Yunnan one hundred years age, the great shock it gave to common people was unprecedented.

After the Dianyue Railway was opened to traffic, some Frenchman had written final report in 《The Railway of Yunnan》like that:“ Yunnan’s real export is not in the east, namely Guangdong and HongKong direction, but in southeast directly from Honghe River Valley to Haiphong and Tokyo Bay dirction.”“Before Yunnan was collected with Tokyo Bay and the South China Sea by railway, anyone would not make Yunnan a valuable place.”

Yunnan immediately from closed border became the forefront of China. The first hydropower station of China—-Shilongba Hydropower Station was built near the Railway, in 1913, the Station began to supply power to Kunming. When the whole Beijing were using oil lamp at that time, the ordinary people of Kunming had been using electric light. In Kunming, there were various and numerous foreign firms, shops. English, French, German, Japanese, Greek could be heard everywhere, Chinese from other cities, such as Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Henan and Tianjin gathered here, all of those made Yunnan become intersection of Chinese and Western culture. The tin industry developed quickly, it became the most important pillar of the economy of Yunnan, the output of tin from Gejiu was the second in the world, and so Gejiu city got the name of “Tin Capital”, many Podunk along the railway, such as Hekou, Mengzi, Gejiu, Kaiyuan etc were prosperous for the railway, they became developed counties of Yunnan Province.

About Honghe River Bridge

Honghe River Bridge is the largest bridge on the Yuanjiang to Maohei Expressway in Yunnan Province. It is located in Yuanjiang County, Yunnan Province and spans the Honghe River. The total width of the bridge is 22.5 meters. The height of the main pier of the bridge is 122 meters, and it is the highest bridge in the world when completed. The main beam was constructed by cantilever pouring method and opened to traffic in December 2002.

Where is Honghe River Bridge?

Yunnan Honghe River Bridge is located in the northwest of Yuanjiang county, Yunnan province, and is a extra-large bridge on the national road 213, Yuanjiang-Mohei(元江-磨黑) Highway.

Best Time to Visit

You can visit Honghe River Bridge all the year round.

How to Get There

The best way to Honghe River Bridge is drive. You can stop and enjoy the scenery wherever you want. Besides, you can also take long-distance bus from Kunming to Yuanjiang county. It is about 200 kilometers from Kunming to Yuanjiang County, 3 hours.

Accommodation Around Honghe River Bridge

Honghe River Bridge is not far from the county seat of Yuanjiang County and Mojiang County, so you can stay in these two counties for overnight. Or you can also go to Kunming for accommodation, and you have more choices in Kunming.

Useful Travel Tips

1. Honghe River Bridge is on the Yuanjiang-Mohei(元江-磨黑) Highway.

2. Honghe River Bridge is very high and spectacular, take care of your safety when standing on the bridge.