Insiders Out: Guizhou
Editor’s Note: Our “Insiders Out,” Gabriel Monroe and Shelley Jiang, are currently on a Southern Tour. Over the past few days they've taken in the terraces, gorges, stone forests and blood oranges of Yunnan and Guizhou. Here are some excerpts from the latest entries on their blog.
“A Kunming-based company has bought the development rights to the three most famous rice-terrace viewing spots. They're in the process of building ticketed viewing platforms. No more standing by the side of the road (well, according to prescription; there's still plenty of other spots to stand by the side of the road for great views). No more little girls hanging around staring at tourists, offering a dance or a song. (Though they still sell eggs at Duoyishu.) The Yi woman at Duoyishu told me she wasn't paid for her land that the viewing platform was built on. It seems that development is coming, however slowly, to Yuanyang, and while there are plenty of new houses in all the villages, one can't help but wonder if the Hani and Yi people will somehow be missing out?” Click here for more.
“For RMB 75 each (although the Beida student ID saved us a whopping 17.5 – poor students rejoice), we were driven along a road opposite the Peak Forest in a tourism-issue golf cart. We were told in great detail why several of the karsts had been named as they are, including preemptive rebuttals to the objections to such names that tourists commonly raise. Having imagined freely exploring the scores of demon’s caves, tiger’s lair and falcon’s perches throughout the magnificent karst forest, we were dryly awakened from our irresponsible flights of fancy.” Click here for more.
“We encountered this beast on the four kilometer walk from Yuanyang's old county seat (云南省红河州元阳县新街老县城) down to the terraces at Longshuba (龙树坝).
Anyone have an idea what it is?” Click here for more.
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