Yi country and Moon City

My first venture into Sichuan province involves a series of bus journeys north from Qujing the largest town of eastern Yunnan. Seriously steep and barren mountains, traversed on sub-standard road surfaces, are followed by the spectacular descent down into the Yangtse river valley.

Cross the river into Sichuan, and the road onward runs through small towns and villages distinct for their Yi nationality architecture and people. The Chinese character for this nationality 彝 depicts a boar’s head, rice and silk being offered to the ancestors.

Journey’s end for me on this trip is the town of Xicheng set at the north side of Sichuan’s second largest lake Qiong Hai. Rumour that this is the best place for admiring the moon, as it allegedly appears to stay longer in the sky in ‘Moon City’ than in any other place in China, would explain the subject of the lakeside sculpture.

Here’s a slideshow of eleven photos I took on this trip. A description for each photo will show if you move the cursor/pointer onto it.

With all that bus travel it has taken to get here, why not get a sleeping berth on the train to Chengdu? It’s then just an hour on the bus to the place they call ‘China’ Hollywood‘.