Dancing with the Tibetans:
The 100 km. from the Tiger Leaping Gorge to Shangri-la were interesting because we had clearly entered Tibetan territory. The ride was not easy: 70 km. straight up before hitting a plateau 30 km. before the town. During that distance, we had ascended from 1800 m. to a cold 3200 m. The scenery changed about halfway, becoming distinctly Tibetan. The houses, white stupas, and prayer flags were the most obvious sign, as were the women in their vests, blue-fringed aprons o.. Read More »

Northwest Yunnan Province: Biking with Yoav and Liron among the high mountains to traditional towns and the Tiger Leaping Gorge:

After recuperating our visas, we flew back to Kunming and headed onto northwest Yunnan province. Our first stop was the town of Dali, a charming town surrounded by mountains on all sides and a lake in the east. The town has traditional houses made of stone, carved wooden doors, and curved, upward-turning roofs. Painted panels decorate the upper portion of the walls… Read More »

Hong Kong:

After passing several lakes and playing cat-and-mouse between several stormfronts, we arrived in Kunming, the “City of Eternal Spring,” where it was anything but that for us. Cold rain and damp weather encouraged us to once again bring out our winter jackets and gloves – in May! We had hoped to receive a one-month visa extension in the city in order to have enough time to complete our trip to Lhasa, but that proved impossible, so we had no other choice but to go to Hong Kong .. Read More »

c)Southern Yunnan Province – Colorful Minority Groups, Stunning Terraced Rice Paddies, and Traditional Architecture

We spent two months in Yunnan province in Southwest China, which is surely one of the most interesting provinces in China. Over one-half of its inhabitants belong to an ethnic minority, and the province is home to one-third of the country’s official 100 million minorities. In addition, Yunnan is China’s treasure house of plants and animals, giving the province nicknames li.. Read More »

Impressions of China:

We really felt that we had entered another land when we entered China. Although similar to S.E. Asia in some respects, it was also very different in others.

Spitting, smoking, and drinking tea seem to be the national sports in China. Certain stereotypes jumped out at us from our first moments in the country, starting with our first meal in the border town, where men smoked from enormous bongs, drank tea from tiny glasses, played cards, drank heavily, and talked even l.. Read More »

RELIGION IN CHINA:

Religion in China is a big subject, but I have tried to divide it into distinct topics that will make it easier to read and digest. The main topics are Popular Religion, Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Minority Religions, and Religion & Communism.

Chinese religion has been influenced by three main streams of thought: Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Although each has separate origins, all three have been inextricably entwined in popular Chinese re.. Read More »