The Jade Belt Walk

We decided to test our language skills by purchasing bus tickets and heading south for the weekend. Luckily Steve managed to buy tickets for the right bus on the right day to get us to Dali on Friday afternoon. The bus ride was in and of itself an experience. Our driver must have been paid more to arrive early because he spent the three hour drive passing every car, bus or object on the road with great vigor and liberal use of the horn. Most of the time you couldn't tell if there was oncoming traffic in the other lane because of the sharp corners on the mountain roads-I suspect he figured we had the mass to win whatever collision we sustained. Li vomited twice.

We arrived in Dali in a downpour and the moment we walked away from the bus we were hounded by people trying to get us into their taxi or wanting us to stay at their guesthouse. This is ubiquitous in Dali. As foreigners we were magnets for people trying to sell us things. It was fairly unpleasant and made us reluctant to spend much time wandering the streets. After a 30 minute walk in the rain through town we found our quaint guesthouse and had a nice quiet meal and a well deserved rest.

Dali is nestled at the foot of the Cangshan mountains-a spectacular series of sharp peaks and steep valleys full of waterfalls. We were able to take a chairlift (Made in the USA) from town up to the Zhonge Temple on the mountain. From here we walked 10K along a path known as the Jade Belt Walk. I still cannot fathom how this path was constructed. The terrain is ridiculously steep and muddy. This walk took us in and out of the valleys. It was a misty day so the clouds played up and down the slopes and occasionally we would get a peek of Dali below us. At the halfway point we found a group of Chinese tourists at the Seven Maiden Dragon Pool. This is a series of seven clear pools set in the bedrock. The granite slopes are steep and wet, so steps have been chiseled into the rock to provide purchase. Nevertheless we saw a woman in three inch spike heels trying to jump across a small waterfall. She missed and was only kept from sliding down the falls by three people who caught her. We decided we should leave before more interesting things happened.

The hike ends at Qingbi stream which forms the "Grand Canyon" of the Cangshan mountains. Li walked all but the last mile! From here we took the Gondola (made in Austria) to the base of the mountain. After being pursued by a van driver for 10 minutes we walked down to another Temple 45 minutes away. This Temple is built around a large stone. Legend has it when Dali was being invaded the Goddess of Mercy turned herself into and old woman and appeared before the invading army carrying this large stone. The army panicked and retreated thinking that if the old women were this strong, the men must be ferocious. Needless to say we all slept well after a long day of hiking and exploring.

On Sunday we braved the markets and the hawkers buying some small pieces of local Dali marble. More interesting are the thick city walls which surround the old town and the gates that guard the entrance. The most prominent local ethnic minority group are the Bai people. Li was very excited to buy some traditional clothing as a souvenir and didn't seem to care as much as I did that it was white!

Our bus driver on the way home was clearly in league with our first bus driver, but Li only vomited once. Steve did have to help the woman sitting next to him who was very green and sweaty and was trying hard to avoid using the "motion sickness" bag he offered her.

We called the weekend a success.