China - South of the Cloud, 7 day adventure of hill tribes, terraced fields and cockt
 

China - South of the Cloud, 7 day adventure of hill tribes, terraced fields and cocktails.
Yunnan province in southwest China borders Vietnam, Laos and Burma. Yunnan is definitely one of the most ethnically fascinating and scenically stunning provinces in all of China. Home to 25 of Chinas minority groups and over half of all China's plant and animal species - it is easy to understand why Yunnan is highly favored by all kinds of travelers.

Our friends arrived late in the evening in Kunming airport. A new airport that was in use only from last June.

Half an hour later we travelled in a van to Kunming Hotel.

We had a big bowl of rice noodle soup for dinner, plus some beers.
You should put meat, egg, vegetables and noodle in the hot soup and wait 2 minutes for the meal to be cooked. It is called the "cross bridge noodle".

Being in the plane for so long, we decided to go to bed early because there is 220 KM waiting for us tomorrow.

Left the hotel, we drove to the Traffic Police Bureau to get our temporary driver license.

We got our body and eyes checked and the firendly officer gave us a brief lesson on Chinese Driving rules. Half an hour later, we got our drivers' licenses. We were good to go!

The traffic became very busy when were out on the streets. We followed the river of the cars and truck finally got out of the city. We soon hit a big lake and we were surrounded by locals who never see any foreigners riding motorcycle here. Kind of under the spotlight. Had lunch in a local restaurant. The toasted duck was very delicious, but the smelly tofu was not that favored.

We rode 220 KM to Jianshui county, Jianshui is a state historic and cultural city. We stayed in the private Garden of the Zhu Family. This grand complex is a typical local residence with distinctive features. As it was built by Zhu Chaoying and his brother in the late Qing Dynasty, it got the name ''the Private Garden of the Zhu Family''

We woke up to the birds' singing and time to explore this gorgeous private garden and feel the old China. All the building was well kept. The gardens and houses were built strictly according to Chinese FengShui.

Time to go, set off we rode to the city to admire this old City Gate which is older than the Tian An Men Square in Beijing. Then we headed south to the Red River.
The traffic became little and we started to see rural villigas and mountains.

After a tea break we rode down to the valley of the Red River. Checked in and time for aperitif before dinner.

The Red River was called Yuan Jiang in Chinese. It becomes Red River when it flows to Vietnam. We were only some 150KM away from the border of Vietnam.

Yuanyang - a most delightful vicinity populated by the Yi, Tai, Miao, Hani and several other minority groups. With their resilience and diligence, they created wonders both practical and exhilaratingly beautiful to behold. Crop is grown on steps carved into slopes and together with the clouds enveloping the mid-mountains, the landscape is transformed into a remarkable work of art.

More beautiful pictures of the terraced fields.

Arrived in a little village and stayed at a guesthouse. Time for a drink!

Woke up to some beautiful fields in the cloud. We set off again to the mountain roads.

We had some great fun riding the mountain and bumped into a market. Crowds of minorities of Hani, Yi and Yao were in the market to trade and buy.