Every morning you have two choices, continue to sleep with your dreams or wake up and chase them. Thanks to all for the reminders to live life! It's too easy to get sucked up into things that don't matter and wander around not accomplishing any of ones dreams. I make it a point to take trips throughout the year that allow me to live and I'm slowly but very steady weeding things and individuals out that try to suck up my happiness ~ screw em' as I live more in 5 minutes on my motorcycle than some people live in a lifetime...............

March 2016, made my way to Yunnan province starting my trail...



Yunnan is the most southwestern province in China, with the Tropic of Cancer running through its southern part. The province has an area of 394,100 square kilometres, 4.1% of the nation's total. The northern part of the province forms part of the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. The province borders Guangxi and Guizhou in the east, Sichuan in the north, and the Tibet Autonomous Region in the northwest. It shares a border of 4,060 kilometres with Burma in the west, Laos in the south and Vietnam in the southeast.Most of the population lives in the eastern part of the province. In the west, the altitude can vary from the mountain peaks to river valleys as much as 3,000 metres. Yunnan is rich in natural resources and has the largest diversity of plant life in China. Of the approximately 30,000 species of higher plants in China, Yunnan has perhaps 17,000 or more. Yunnan's reserves of aluminium, lead, zinc and tin are the largest in China, and there are also major reserves of copperand nickel. The Han Empire first recorded diplomatic relations with the province at the end of the 2nd century BCE. It became the seat of a Tibeto-Burman-speaking kingdom of Nanzhao in the 8th century CE. Nanzhao was multi-ethnic, but the elite most likely spoke a northern dialect of Yi. The Mongols conquered the region in the 13th century, with local control exercised by warlords until the 1930s. As with other parts of China's southwest, Japanese occupation in the north during World War II forced a migration of majority Han people into the region. Ethnic minorities in Yunnan account for about 34 percent of its total population. Major ethnic groups include Yi, Bai, Hani, Zhuang, Dai and Miao.



First stopover in Dali, formerly known as Tali, is the county-level seat of the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Yunnan and is one of the most popular spots for independent China travellers and hugely popular with those studying and working in southern China. About 50 min. by plane or 4-5 hrs by bus from Kunming (Yunnan's capital), Dali is considered by some the perfect place to relax in southern China. Dali is the seat of Dali Prefecture and includes Dali New City and Dali Old Town. When discussing or travelling to "Dali", it's important to be clear which you are talking about. Xiaguan is usually where transportation to "Dali" arrives but is a common standard industrial Chinese city. Tourists are usually trying to get to the Old Town, which is famed for its traditional architecture, beautiful scenery (the dramatic Cangshan Mountain range, Erhai Lake and small handworked fields of pleasantly varied produce), minority cultures (mostly Bai but also Yi and Hui), and nightlife. There is also much to see and do in the surrounding countryside but to my eyes, the whole region became just another tacky tourist destination, even more compared to my last visit during May 2003.....



Anyhow ~ long story short and let the pictures do the talking again, as I had time to spare, took a relaxing afternoon bike cruise around Erhai Lake, an alpine fault lake in Yunnan province, China. Its name means "Ear-shaped Sea", due to its shape as seen by locals and travellers also known as Yeyuze or Kunming Lake in ancient times.

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Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

More pictures then during the relaxing afternoon bike cruise around Erhai Lake (Dali / Yunnan)....





























Dali Old Town / Bakery 88, excellent cake and great frothy hot coffee. The German style bakery is easy to spot and has a great cake selection visible from the street.
Now ~ all the rest of Dali Old Town looks like any other Mainland China touristy tacky strip of shops, touts, scam artists, tour guides, hostels, dodgy bars & restaurants, etc., can't be bothered to walk around....

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Departing from touristy Dali and kickstarting the interesting part of my Yunnan Trail 2016 heading basic direction North-West ~ as usual prefer riding the smaller countryside roads as absolute no point blasting along expressways and large national roads...

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Departing from touristy Dali heading general direction North-West...

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

There are quite a few Bai ethnic minority temples dedicated to a myriad of local gods and legendary deified figures along the route.
Locals were always keen to drop their daily activities to show one of their temple located on top of steep hill beside the river. They were also proud to explain that the entire village participated financially, and after years of saving funds, they were finally able to renovate the temple and put a brand new series of statues on display for worshipping.

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Shaxi is a historic market town in Jianchuan County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan province, China. It is located roughly halfway between Dali and Lijiang. The Sideng market square of Shaxi was added to the World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in 2001.Shaxi started as a trading point for tea and horses during the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907). The prosperity of the town was at its height during the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368–1912).It is probably the most intact horse caravan town on the Ancient tea route leading from Yunnan into Burma and Tibet and is now being preserved through a cooperation between the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH) and the People’s Government of Jianchuan County. Nearby Shibao mountain contains Buddhist rock carvings and temples of over 1300 years old with, amongst others, images of the bodhisattva Guanine. The two main ethnic groups of the Shaxi region are the Bai and Yi people.





















































Shaxi info = http://www.shaxichina.com

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Well ~ how to describe in simple written words, the Lijianification of Shaxi?

The term ‘Lijianification’ describes the process by which a rural small ancient town is developed into a travel destination and where locals do not reap the economic benefits of this development because most of the guesthouses / hotels and stores’ owners actually come from outside Yunnan province. Shanxi is actually small, most bulk of the tourists come in groups by bus from Lijiang / Dali as Shaxi is halfway between the larger very popular touristy towns (typical tacky Mainland China tourist circus), spend one hour running through the ancient Shaxi cobblestone streets.
They want to get a perfect shot of the old theatre / town square and eventually sit down in one of the multiple cafes before going back to their base. Some tourists do stay overnight in Shaxi to enjoy the quietness of this old trade post on the ancient Tea and Horse road once the tour groups are gone.
Shaxi, tourism is burgeoning and flourishing. Guesthouses and foreigner-friendly cafes with menus in English have sprung up in the old streets. Shaxi is becoming another of these cosmopolitan travel destinations in rural China where tourists can forget about the local beer and local dishes. You can now sip a mojito and wait for your pizza while gazing at the old Sideng theatre.

Really enjoyed Shaxi old town square every day of my stay after around 16:00hrs. sitting in the Old Tree Cafe (Siding Square) enjoying freshly Yunnan brewed coffee as only the locals around, all them annoying loud mouthed tourists are gone and forgotten....
The Old Tree Cafe is run by Auntie Chang and Uncle Zheng, a retied couple and they established the Old Tree in 2005, true restaurant pioneers in Shaxi! Their location coulldn't be better for those who want to enjoy the activities around Sideng Square. The Old Tree is in a corner of the square just adjacent to the Baoxing Temple with a few outdoor tables.

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

My temporary Shaxi residence for a few nights, a small quite boutique hotel (5 rooms only) called Old Theatre Inn Shaxi http://www.oldtheatreinn.com located approx. 3k's from the Shaxi old town square.





















The owners / operators of the Old Theatre Inn run a organic restaurant in the Shaxi Pear Orchard Temple nearby, a short leisure stroll through the fields....
http://www.oldtheatreinn.com/shaxi-village-folk-temple/

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Shaxi locals will tell everyone hiking the Stone Treasure Mountain known as Shibao Shan is a must-do for all travellers who stay in the Shaxi valley, the ancient trade post on the old Tea and Horse Road in North Yunnan province.
The mountain area is famous for its red rock formations called Danxia landscape and the Buddhist grottoes that feature unique stone-carving. The latter contributed to Mount Shibao being known as the ‘Mogao Caves of Yunnan’, in reference to the famous Buddhist frescoes in the desert of Dunhuang in Northwest Gansu province.

Long story short ~ fired up the F8GS for a decent long cruise in the mountains as been in the Shaxi area before and did not get very far trying to sneak into the Shibao Shan national park area with the bike this time......

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Long cruise in the mountains around Shaxi region...

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Shaxi continues the tradition of a Friday market, where the Bai trade everything from household goods and farm tools with the Yi and Yao people of the surrounding mountains, who bring exotic mushrooms, wild honey and meat.
The cobblestone footpaths, rammed earth courtyard houses and emerald fields give Shaxi a bucolic charm that requires no commercial gimmicks, great day out walking around the Friday market....

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

More Shaxi Friday market pictures....

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

More Shaxi Friday market pictures. While traditional caravans may not be spotted anymore, Shaxi’s Friday market still offers a taste of what it must been like a thousand years ago.
You might not find packs of tea for sale off the backs of mules, but you’ll find pretty much everything else, from spices to fish to human hair. No worries, they’ve got a dentist, too, right on the side walk and he went absolute ballistic about me taking pictures while he performs some voodoo......

















































“要不要 ganja?” (do you want some ganja?) asked by several wrinkled, 70+ year-old woman. Would come across bags of stalky, mountain weed being sold next to apples and on tables attended by little old ladies in the mountains and at the Friday Shaxi market....

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Friday Shaxi market day, just over the river is the livestock market, where local farmers barter over piglets, mules, horses, cattle and all other farmyard animals....

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR

Another lovely Shaxi Vally / Yunnan day during spring and taking the F8GS out for a nice long cruise around the region....

__________________
Somewhere down the road in China since '89 ~ along the route I've learned the hard way that pleasing everyone is impossible, but pissing everybody off is a piece of cake....TBR