Yunnan province in China is the most diverse in the country, both biologically as well as culturally. It is said to possess as much flowering plant diversity as the rest of the northern hemisphere put together. The province also accounts for only 4% of China’s surface area, but is home to half of China’s bird and animal wildlife. It is situated in the southwest of the country, and borders Laos, Burma and Vietnam. Ethnic minorities, some with historical links to these bordering countries, account for 34% of Yunnan’s population, but 50% of all the officially recognised ethnic groups in China. It’s capital Kunming assumed great strategic significance as the gateway for trade with the Indian subcontinent and Central Asia, and in more recent times as the terminus for the Burma Road.
Kunming was also to be our initial arrival destination for our next cycling adventure, organised again through Spice Roads. The Antipodean contingent flew into Singapore on various flights over the previous two days, with all expedition members arriving on time for check-in on the 03:00hrs flight to Kunming. We had hoped to check luggage all the way through to Lijiang, with tickets issued for both legs. Alas, this was not permitted, with everyone having to first clear Immigration and Customs in Kunming, and then check-in again for the domestic flight to Lijiang. With only two hours to spare between flights, I for one fretted over the possibility of missing the connecting flight through lengthy queues. However, to everyone’s pleasant surprise, we sailed through the various formalities, and found ourselves sitting down to a breakfast banquet at Kunming airport with an hour to spare.
The onward flight to Lijiang afforded us our first spectacular views of the Hengduan Shan mountain range. Our initial excitement however was immediately replaced by a sense of foreboding, as the sight of vertiginous winding roads through deep valleys and over giant peaks seemed to contrast greatly with the ‘moderately undulating’ description given to use by the expedition organisers. This thinly veiled perpetration of terminological inexactitudes left many fleeing for the emergency exits!
Having barely contained all-out panic, we disembarked at Lijiang’s brand new airport and were met by our expedition leader, Cathy, and her 2iC, Thai Chun. Given the newly anticipated arduous nature of our cycling expedition, we had expected to be met by someone with Tour de France credentials and huge lungs encased in a sinuous body atop Lawrence Dallaglio’s legs. We were thus utterly dismayed to discover that Cathy, a Chinese national, is half the size of Andy, a quarter of Simon’s weight, with calf muscles smaller than Darren’s wrists. However, in the days ahead, we learned the hard way not to underestimate her svelte diminutive frame and cute smile – Genghis Khan incited less fear than her cruel embrace.The bone-shattering journey to the Hexi Hotel located in Lijiang’s Ancient Dayan Town district afforded us our first views of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which was a pleasant distraction not only for us, but clearly for the city planners too, who had omitted to build a road connecting the new airport to the city. The rest of the day was spent exploring the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, that is a preserve of Naxi culture, art and architecture. A journey through this maze of canals and narrow streets far eclipses a tour through any overseas ‘China Towns’.
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