Lijiang and more of Dali

This area of the Yunnan province has about 5 different ethnic groups and many people travel to the mountain city of Lijiang to see the Naxia peoople, one of the last matriarchical societies in the world. Chinese and Western alike flock there because of the so called "free love" or open relationships that the Naxia women have; women make all the major decisions, own the property, and are in charge of the children. I guess the only real difference is that at least here in Yunnan they acknowledge what is true everywhere else...women rule!!

Our Dali adventures

Sometimes I don't think I know enough adjectives to describe all that we have seen and experienced in the last two weeks. Maybe some pictures will help. These were taken in the Yunnan province in China's south, at the crossroads of Burma and Tibet. We were planning to spend time elsewhere but travelling by bus and in the mountains takes a long time...and can be difficult and dangerous. So, we opted to stay in the Dali area. This is a picture of a Bai woman we bought a baby backpack from...not that we'll be needing this but it was beautiful.