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Tibetans busy with harvest, Shangri-La
Tibetan men and women busy with harvest near Napa Hai, northwest of Gandan Sumtseling Monastery in Shangri-La (Zhongdian), China
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Gandan Sumtseling Monastery in Shangri-La
Gandan Sumtseling (or Sōngzànlín Sì) is a Tibetan monastery in Shangri-La formerly known as Zhongdian or Gyalthang in Tibetan. Gyalthang is located in the northwest of Yunnan province in the prefecture of Diqing. This town / area used to be Tibet(an) and has been occupied by China in the 1940’s. Gandan Sumtseling is roughly 3 km north of the center of Shangri-La. In the monastery we where invited in the kitchen by some monks. They seemed to be very lonely. It must be hard not to be able to travel to your home country and to lose a lot of freedom due to the Chinese suppression.
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Bad weather in the old town of Shangri-La
Muddy roads in the old town of Shangri-La (Zhongdian) due to days of bad weather When travelling six months through Asia it is very hard to avoid both the rainy season and winter. We could avoid the winter, but therefore not the rainy season. So every now and then we had a lot of rain. Here in the old town of Shangri-La pigs didn’t seem to mind the rain and the mud.
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People in Lijiang
More Lijiang photos: lovely streets and Naxi people.
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Lijiang, Cobbled streets and canals, Yunnan
Cobblestone street, canals and wooden buildings in the lovely town of Lijiang in Yunnan province, China. Lijiang is a hill town (2400m) located in the northwestern part of Yunnan province and borders the province of Sichuan. The city is known for its unique Naxi culture. The Naxi are descended from Tibetan nomads. They have a matriarchal family tradition and their own writing system that is more than 1000 years old. Lijiang is also known as the “Venice of the East” (because of its system of waterways and bridges) and is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Dali Tour Guides
In the old town of Dali you’ll find many funny tour guides dressed in so-called traditional clothes. Dali and surroundings are home to the Bai minority. Most Bai women who are still wearing traditional clothes in daily life wear blue clothes like the woman returning from her fields on the picture below.
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Dali near Erhai Lake in Yunnan, China
City wall around Dali, a traditional (and touristic) city near the Erhai Lake in Yunnan province, China A very small part of the Erhai Lake is visible in front of the hills on the left side of this photo. Three old people taking it easy on this hot August day. Many buildings in Dali have (colorful) decorations at the facades
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Stone Forest near Kunming, China
Stone Forest east of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province, China This Stone Forest is a group of limestone formations roughly 90 km east of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. The “forest” covers an area of about 500 km2. Of course people tend to give names to the rocks, like the elephant rock below. Elephant rock, Stone Forest, Kunming
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People playing Mahjong next to the West Pagoda in Kunming
People playing Mahjong next to the Xisi Ta (West Tower or West Pagoda) in Kunming In Kunming you’ll find these “twin towers” constructed in the late eighth or early ninth century AD, under the rule of the Kingdom of Nanzhao. The east tower is located 200 meters to the east and situated in the Dongsi Tower Tea Garden (Dong Si Ta Cha Hua Yuan).
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Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces: Waterfall & Yao women
More Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces in the surroundings of Ping’An near Longsheng, China (click for more pictures) Children playing at a waterfall just outside a village. Two Yao women with colorful clothes walking along the rice terraces. The Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces are mainly inhabited by two minority groups: the Zhuang and the Yao people. The Yao women are known for their extremely long hair that can be up to two meters long.
