Yunnan

13 Jan – 19 Mar 2024 First impression is everything. The moment I arrived at Pu’er (普洱), I was struck by how warm and pleasant it was and we decided to take a longer break to enjoy the warmer climate. Many people from the northern China “migrate” to the southern part of Yunnan in winter […]

Date: 1 Jan – 7 Jan 2024 I said before the best way to travel is to have no plans and just follow the locals’ suggestions. So after a laid back Christmas and New Year in Kunming, we followed our Kunming friend Haiya’s suggestion and went to  the Gudui Trail (谷堆山路線) about  60 kilometres south

  Date: 20-31 Dec, 2023 After a very exuberant stay in Guizhou, we headed towards Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan. It’s amazing to see how the weather changed dramatically as we drove up the hill towards Yunnan – one minute it was misty and damp on the Guizhou side, then the mist disappeared and

China has many so-called ancient towns (古鎮) but they are sometimes overrated and too commercial. We decided to give Shaxi old town (沙溪) a go as from what we read, it sounds rather appealing and tends to take a back seat on the list of most popular destinations which is just what we like about

We made this video to give you a taste of what our almost five month stay in Jianshui is like and why we love it so much. 不經不覺在建水過了5個月，這是我們喜歡建水的人與物。

After the initial few weeks of total shut down, the authority slowly loosened the measures and starting from early April, tourist destinations, hotels and restaurants re-opened. We found a small Muslim restaurant right next to the mosque that suits our palette as it is less oily and spicy than most other local restaurants. The three

We arrived at the small old town of Jianshui (建水) just three days before its lockdown at the end of January during the Chinese New Year holiday. It was at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic in China and we felt as if we were entering a ghost town with most shops closed and not

Many friends and family members are worried about us and been asking if we have gone back to Hong Kong. We are still in Yunnan and have kept them updated that we are doing okay. We are so grateful for all the support and care. Thank you guys. We learned about the coronavirus when we

I want to tell you more about Mr. Ma. He was a school teacher for 30 years and he probably taught all the grown ups in the village. He also worked on his paddy fields and so you can imagine how hard working he is to support his family. Although he is much older than

On the fourth day, four young guests arrived and their presence altered the mood of the guesthouse. We had not encountered any foreigners on our trip so far and hearing them speaking in English sounded out of place yet refreshing at the same time. We chatted with them at breakfast the next morning and learned

The next morning, we heard a knock on the door and got ready in a daze and went down to meet Mr. Ma. We saw his son-in-law instead and together we walked uphill in the dark and passed the village where most of the guesthouses are located. We reached the sunrise spot when it was

We went to Yuanyang for its beautiful rice terraces (梯田), but slowly we discovered what attracted us most is the hospitality of its people and its simple way of life. According to Lonely Planet, Yuanyang’s rice terraces is one of the top attractions of the province, an UNESCO World Heritage Site and the best time

What really strikes us most is the people and how direct and forthcoming they are. As we have lived in Shanghai and Guangzhou for over eight years, we know that mainland Chinese are very open about their age, how big their apartment and how much they earn, etc. But here, we encountered yet another level

We finally left Wuzhou City after spending two weeks there. Started early in the morning, we drove six hours (580 km) to Baise City (白色市).  We spent two nights in Baise City then drove another five hours (360 km) before arriving at Puzhehei. Puzhehei is a turning point in our trip as it marks our