The Landslide Rule

When traveling by bus in a developing country, if the road ahead is blocked by a landslide, don't panic. Grab your gear and walk over the landslide. There WILL be transport waiting on the other side. And that's what we did on our way out of BingZhongLuo when a landslide blocked the road just 2 kms from town.

We could have panicked. The road was blocked 2 kms into our 300km journey south to Liuku. There was literally no other way out. To the west is Burma. To the North is Tibet. And the two-day walk over the mountains east to the next town with transport is impossible due to snow. There are three guys with picks and shovels working clearing debris. This could take awhile.

Our south-bound bus was the first vehicle to come across the landslide. The driver made no move for 10 minutes. We asked for a full refund of the fare. The drawback of hopping over the landslide at this point was losing the whole fare of the 300km journey and having to buy the fare again from the next bus. Sun-Ling got on the phone to the bus company who agreed to refund our fare but that meant returning to the BingZhongLuo station which we did, getting our refund, and then walking back 2kms to the landslide. In 10 seconds we were on the other side. And 5 minutes later we had snagged a free ride in an SUV to 40 kms to Gongshan where we bought onward tickets to Liuku.

BingZhongLuo

We arrived in Gongshan around 2:30PM after a so-so bus ride from Fugong featuring more riverside hydro-electric plants, churches, snow-capped mountains towards the Burma border, and villages flying red flags. After not finding a suitable hotel - we are real hotel snobs now ;-) - we decided to press on 45 kilometers to BingZhongLuo (BZL) the northern-most town in the valley.

We hopped on a local bus; that is, a leaves-when-full bus. But before I could sit down I had to move a live chicken out of my seat. Its owner was also transporting a pair of new rubber boots, a small engine stowed in a bamboo basket, 2 dozen eggs, and a large bottle of Snow beer (the world's best selling beer btw).

Finally, after a load of lumber was stacked in the aisle and various cargo attached to the roof, we headed north. Along the way more passengers piled in and stacked their cargo in the aisle. At the county border, the police poked their head in the bus and then waved us on.

About 5 kms before BZL there was a sign that said "Pay fee 250 meters". The bus pulled over, a man came out of a small builing, walked around the bus peering in, and then tapped on my window. "Come with me", he motioned. And I alone had the pleasure of paying the 100 RMB fee for entering the BingZhongLuo Scenic Area. It was indeed a pleasure because all non-locals are supposed to pay the fee, but he did not notice Sun-Ling sitting in the seat in front of me, so we escaped with only one fee between us; fairly benign "racial profiling" by the lazy ticket seller.

In BingZhongLuo, we found a suitable hotel run by the Border Military Police, with heat and hot water, and pleasant young staff, all military policemen. At dinner, we ran into another American, Hope from Philadelphia, who is also traveling in Yunnan and walking the various old trails. Many tips and stories were exchanged.

The next day, after poking around town gathering info, we set out on what became an epic hike with 1000 meters elevation gain, vistas, stupas, bushwhacking and calf-deep snow.

Heading up after starting in town below. Still below the snowline at this point.


Almost at the turnaround point. The far mountains are on the other (east) side of the river.


Passing some mines.




Great view of Bingzhongluo on the way down. Our hotel is on the main street - the only street.


Day Two: Rain. So just a short walk to the First Bend of the Nu Jiang.




Day Three: Walked 15 kms North along the river and back, crossing a muddy landslide (mudslide) on foot one way and in a 4x4 the other, walking part of the Tea Horse Trail, and enjoying the views as the valley becomes a gorge, then a valley, then a gorge, then a valley again.





On the Tea Horse Road with WuLi Village in the background.


International Women's Day basketball game in Ni Da Dang Village.


Day Four: Hiked up to the nearby Tibetan Temple. Then headed up the tributary that runs between the temple and BingzhongLuo with amazing waters, local woodcutters and bowmen, pigs, cows, and horses, and more snow-capped peaks.

The skies are clearing.


Tibetan Buddhist Temple.






Local Bowmen. They really do use crossbows to hunt game.

Next Stop Fugong

Fugong has a dusty main drag stretching for several kilometers along the Nu Jiang; however, we are not here to hang out but to hike to Da You village.

Awesome hike! See the pics below.

Note to fellow travelers: The road to Da You village is just north of the 228 Km marker, about 2 kms north of the Fugong bus station. The road is easy to follow up the switchbacks but there are shortcuts, paths used by the locals, that can cut the distance. There are several forks. Ask a local for the way to Da You if you're not sure which fork to take.

The crossbows for sale in Nujiang Valley towns are not just for tourists.


Fugong's vehicle bridge over the Nujiang is only wide enough for one car at a time.


Getting some fuel for the walk.


Two local women showed us the shortcuts between swtichbacks on the way up. One was carrying her grandson. They/we stopped for us rest each time we ran into a friend or neighbor.





We were surprised to see this turkey at one of the houses on the way up.


The local Lisu people are Christians. Missionaries developed a written script for their language which you can see around the doorway.


Typical dwelling.


A village near Da You Village. All the local villages were flying red National and/or Chinese Communist Party flags. Not sure why.


Some views from the walk.







The buildings at top right are Da You Village. Those are some steep fields.




Sun-Ling enjoying the view from Da You while taking a rest on an irrigation ditch.


Above the villages we followed an irrigation channel into an area that was not cultivated; a rarity.


Middle school students returning to Fugong (in the distance) on Sunday afternoon after spending the weekend at home in Da You. Sun-Ling had a nice chat with these girls as we walked down the mountain with them.

Hanging out in Liuku

The day started with a nice ride minibus up the Nujiang with bridges to spot, friendly locals, and pretty good scenery. And in Liuku we scored the best hotel room view of the trip so far with a view of the pedestrian bridge, the river, and the surrounding hills.

Liuku is a great place to hangout, especially since we had the first rainy day of the trip. We studied and plotted our route, enjoyed the view from our room, strolled on the new "river walk", ate tasty rice noodle soup again and again, and bought instant coffee made in Yunnan.

Along Route S228, heading North up the Nujiang Valley to Liuku.


Hotel room view of town, hills, and river,


Liuku.


The pedestrian bridge at night.


And during the day.


Rice noodle soup.


Buying a spicy cold noodle snack.


Sugarcane market.

First Day in the Nujiang Valley

We started this trip in December with three planned objectives for Asia: attend a cousin's wedding in Shanghai, visit Taiwan, and travel up the Nu Jiang (Nu River) valley in Yunnan, China. So finally we hit the Nujiang Valley at 11:15AM on February 29, 2012, crossing the bridge at Dao Jie and heading up S230 along the west side of the Nu (known as the Salween outside China). Our goal is to head north 400 kilometers to Bingzhongluo. But not all in one day. But not all in one day. Today we will stop in Mangquan, about 65 kms north, after checking out an old bridge along the way.

The ride up the valley is quite scenic with fields of sugarcane on the semi-flat spots on the eastern hills and planted bougainvillea along the road. The driver lets us off at a sign that says: Shuang Hong Qiao (Double Rainbow Bridge) 500 meters. We hop off the bus with all our gear. The plan is to check out the old suspension bridge, have a snack, then flag down passing north-bound transport to MangQuan, the next town.

There has been a bridge at this spot - a narrow, rocky section with an island one-third of the way across - since 1779. The current bridge dates to 1921 says an inscription on a beam. Actually there are two separate bridges connected/joined by the island.

The bridge is still used by the locals. While we were there, three motorcycles drove across, and there is "evidence" that mules or donkeys regularly cross. ;-)

After crossing to the west bank, we returned to the island for a stretch, water, and sesame cookies; then trudged up the steep path to the road, and within 5 minutes were on a minibus to Mangquan.

Mangquan has a sight, the Sandieshui or Three Piles Waterfalls. So immediately after getting a room at the hotel across from the transport depot, we set out for the 4km walk to the falls.

Our progress was very slow at first. In addition to awesome scenery, it is harvest time for three local cash crops: sugarcane, tobacco, and coffee. I stopped many times to take photos. Especially interesting to us North Carolinians is the local short-leafed tobacco with leaves 6 inches long at most, in two varieties called "fragrant" and "roasted" by the locals. In the morning, the stalks are cut and taken home where the leaves are cut off the stalk, strung up, and hung in the greenhouses.

Evidence of the coffee harvest is all around. Pungent dark red empty hulls composting by the road. Light brown beans drying in courtyards, and workers coming down from the hills at the end of the day with sacks of newly picked beans.

Once we passed through the village and into the dark green coffee fields our pace quicken even as we headed uphill. At the end of the 4km road, a stone path led straight up. An hour later we were at the top of the three waterfalls and the adjacent Buddhist Temples. Awesome views due east to the town, the Nu Jiang, and the far bank's hills. The waterfalls were much less awesome as only a trickle was flowing down the big stone walls.

Insight: An old man was tending the temples. We have climbed far and high to reach many temples and there is never a wise holy man at the top like in the movies, only greedy old men or women who want to collect a fee or sell something; or like today, a tottering old man who nods, gestures and mumbles.

A light rain began to fall as we headed back to town and less than 2 hours later were enjoying a terrifc meal at a family run restaurant a few meters from the hotel. A great way to start our Nujiang Adventure.

Sun-Ling, wtih red pack cover, on the Shuang Hong Bridge. The far, eastern, bridge has the longer span.


Motorcycle guy on western bridge.


A man walks across the eastern span.


Snack time on the island between the two bridges.


Sugarcane harvest in Mangquan.


Coffee in front, short leaf tobacco behind, and the distance the sugarcane fields of the far bank.


Tobacco fields.


Processing tobacco. You can see the stalks with leaves, bare stalks, and strings of leaves.
Drying tobacco.


Drying the tobacco.


Cured leaf.


Drying coffee in the courtyard.


Coffee fields above town.


A beautiful walk up to the waterfalls.


Old man tending the temple that is next to the middle waterfall.


View from the uppermost temple back to Mangquan as a light rain begins to fall.


Descending the stairs.


Burning cane fields at night as seen from our hotel room.