Dong Bas and Leaping Tigers

Within days of extending my travels, I've reaped the rewards in two distinctly unforgettable experiences -- meeting a Dong Ba and hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge.

Yunnan province is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in China. Among the many ethnic minority groups that call this area home are the Naxi. One of the rare traditionally matriarchal societies, the Naxi are also unique in having their own pictographic script that is still in use today. Passed down from generation to generation by grand masters known as Dong Bas, the script has survived centuries. In fact, when we visited the Dong Ba Research Institute in Lijiang, we were shown a text more than 400 years old kept by this particular Dong Ba's family. The secret to its preservation? Paper that's made with poison to protect it from the ravages of worms.

Sadly, though, there are only 20 Dong Bas remaining today, with slim hope of the complex script surviving many future generations. We did meet a lovely girl who showed us around the institute, however, and it was really heart-warming to see how earnest she was in sharing with us and helping to preserve this part of her culture. She also introduced us to the resident Dong Ba, who was a picture-perfect grand master if you could imagine one -- complete with a long grey beard, time-wizened face and immense hat adorned with colourful feathers. We learned about their creation story that involved 7 sisters and 9 brothers, and to decipher a few simple messages (e.g. "Happy Birthday"). Over the past week, we've also attended a Naxi orchestra concert, seen the stone and wood houses that miraculously withstood the major earthquake in the early 90s that leveled most other buildings, and enjoyed the kind hospitality of Naxi families while hiking the gorge.

And that brings me to... Tiger Leaping Gorge. We hiked up and up and up, with the jangle of horses behind us and the songs of their men entreating us to go for a horseback ride or give them our bags. "It's a lot farther you know... you'll be tired..." YuppieNomad set them straight with a few vehement "bu yao"s, though, and thereafter we continued our hike in relative peace, save for the chirping of birds and the sounds of cicadas. The scenery was breathtaking and we paused probably just as often to catch our breaths as to enjoy the views. Snowcapped mountains piled on top of each other; waterfalls, trees and rockscapes; wonderfully sweet-smelling berries; the lazy curves and rushing rapids of the Jingsha River; and oh, the defiant brightness of wildflowers. Ten and a half hours of hiking, a mild sunburn and farmer's tan on one arm, but it was all worth it.

One thing the Gorge probably could do without, though, is the advertising that persists even there. Somewhere along the line, some of the guesthouse owners decided to mark the route with yellow and red arrows for the ease of hikers. Good plan, definitely, and we were often reassured by the sight of an arrow when paths diverged. I begrudge them not the right to say "Naxi family guesthouse this way" or "Tina's 30 min" but some (namely Woody's) were just too much. Directional signs are one thing, effective graffiti is another.