South China Trip to Kunming Page 1 Page 2
South China Trip from Shenzhen to Kunming 1998. Double click on photos to see full screen view. 20 photos total on this page.

	We entered China through Shenzhen on the border with Hong Kong. Trains arrive from or leave to Hong Kong about every 15 minutes. On Friday evening the station is packed with thousands of workers leaving the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of Hong Kong to return to their families for the weekend. This is the railway station concourse in Shenzhen.
Shenzhen

Shenzhen is a modern city of about 4 milliion people. There are lots of hotels and expensive cars with darkened windows and curtains. But you are likely to be accosted by beggars on the streets, or solicited by prostitutes posing as hairdressers. This photo looks back towards the Hong Kong border.
	Shenzhen view.

	It rained heavily all the way to Guangzhou, and continued to rain on the train trip out of Guangzhou. The countryside is very green and mostly flat. This is possibly the Bei River.
Guangzhou to Henyang

Hard sleepers have 6 berths per compartment. No privacy, so you need to be prepared to stay in the same clothes for the trip. (Soft sleepers cost more, have only 4 berths per compartment, and a door) Being western, we were the hot topic of conversation among the Chinese all around us. A meal trolley comes selling food, but you can also get off at railway stations and buy food on the platform (if the "dragon lady" will let you).

On train

	We passed through Guilin at about 2.00 am so did not see it, but when we awoke the views were absolutely glorious -steep mountains rising out of the green plains.
Guilin to Guiyang

Rural village, houses with thatched roofs, vegetable gardens and bananas. Many villages were set right at the base of mountains, allowing the flat ground away from the mountains to be wholly used for cultivation.
	Guilin to Guiyang

	Throughout this day the spectacular mountains formed the scenery backdrop
Guilin to Guiyang

Good refections in the river
	Guilin to Guiyang

	Rural village garden. Cabbages are a favourite, but these gardens have some sort of a vine growing on a trellis.
Guilin to Guiyang

Rice fields are terraced so that water runs from one level to the next. All the flat areas and those that can be terraced are farmed. The typical steep mountains dominate the background. In some areas on slightly higher ground, corn (maize for Americans) was seen growing.
	Guiyang to Kunming

	In Kunming, my wife and a friend wander down a lane where small open shops sell food, plastic items, etc. Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, is a fairly modern city, but it does have contrasting areas. This area looks third-worldish, but is close to modern buildings and roads.
Kunming back street

Outdoor restaurant busily preparing food. We bought breakfasts here. I remember asking a teenage girl the price of a food item in Mandarin, and then asking the question again because I did not hear it well. I was surprised when she answered in English. Hotels have some staff who speak English, but they don't always speak it well, especially at the cheaper hotels. But Kunming has a TV news session in English covering local happenings.

Kunming back street

	Jin Dian (Golden Temple) Bell Tower. The temple is on a hill which overlooks Kunming. A large bell is housed inside this structure. If you pay, you can dong the smaller one there. A tourist bus departs one from one of the stations, but it is also on the itinerary of day or half day trips provided by local operators who have English speaking guides.
Golden Temple

A worshipper bows to the idols. In the nearby shops and on the mountain track are various people selling incense sticks.
	Golden Temple

	This bronze calf had banknotes strung around its neck, offerings from worshippers, I presume.
Golden Temple

Butcher shop. No refrigeration here! However we did not see any flies either.
	Kunming back street.

	This modern department store, the equivalent of perhaps Myers in Australia, was only a street away from the butcher shop in the last photo. There were hundreds of mannequins - all tall western blonds! All clothing stores have lots of them. Along the streets it was interesting to see quite a few young ladies with their hair dyed red, and quite a few men with permed hair. How things have changed!
Kunming department store.

This bicycle rack was near the department store. They all have green registration plates. Along the main streets, bicycles and pedestrians travel in separate divided lanes away from vehicles. Near the bicycles is an entrance to a pedestrian underpass which also contained scores of stalls selling clothing, jewelry, small electrical items etc.
	Bicycles

	The entrance to the Stone Forest, approx. 120 km from Kunming. It is one of China's most important tourist attractions. Tourist buses pull up at a township nearby, and guides walk you to and through the Stone Forest telling you about the various myths connected with the features. eg. "If you can pass between these 2 rocks without touching them your marriage will last forever."
Stone Forest.

The stone forest is in the area where the Yi people live, one of about 20 minorities living in Yunnan province. These girls have 2 horns in their headware, meaning they are single. Married + no child = 1 horn, married + child = no horn. If a male wishes to show interest in a Yi girl, he may touch her horn!
	Yi women.

 

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