Southeast Qian Kailai Hotel Kaili

19/8 - Xijiang
Xijiang (pronounced Shijiang) is a picturistic village near Kaili, populated by the "Miao" people.
In fact, we understood that most of the region is populated by Miao.
We arrived at Xijian at the afternoon, and went about to see the town.
The town itself is very beautifull, the people are nice, no matter that modern life is creeping in.
From time to time you see a modern tourist-minibus drive by hastilly, hunking its horn. By the way ...

... the street with the driver we've hired from Kaili for the day, Mr. Huang, dodging the swinging ends of overloaded carrying poles, and watch the people at their business. Later, the driver shows us a paved side street sloping down past a small square where a crowd of men have set their pet birds' cages all together so the birds can socialize. The birds' chirping is drowned out , however by a man at a folding table nearby who has set up four TVs ...

... i got lost finding especially as there is no one walking around or they cannot read chinese as with it being a Miao village(speak Miao) some cannot speak or read mandarin. The trek was really cool as you get a mixtures of all the rice paddie fields, hills which make for great views Basha This is where I met a load of Chinese art students and i had a session of ' take a picture of a foregner' which lasted for 10 minutes - no ...

... the final corner and finally spotted Matang Village, a brown mass blending the bright greens of the corn and rice fields in front of it to the deeper greens of the forested hill behind it. The people who live here are the Gejia minority, officially part of the Miao minority but confusingly unlike them. We look at the village with anticipation. It's about lunchtime, and this morning we'd skipped breakfast. Our fertilizer lady smiles again and takes us on a different path ...

... Roast duck" Dan exclaimed, his eyes ablaze. "Dog," I replied, and pointed to the crispy animals' rat-like tails. "Not for breakfast," he said. "Not today," I agreed. The sweet smell lingered. I decided it probably wasn't dog. We walked further down the street, counting five or six dog restaurants, all empty. Dog must taste better in the afternoon, I concluded. We passed a tobacconist and an apartment building. The smell was stronger. A group of people clogged the ...

... my leg feels cold when she takes it away. Mystified all I can do is laugh too. I notice I'm wringing my hands nervously. I stand on the path and watch her climb the hill. She's still laughing. Dan is higher up the hill than I am, taking pictures of dragonflies. He looks down and waves when he hears her laughter. *** We're in XiJiang, supposedly the largest village of the Miao racial minority in China. The Miao are known as Hmong among themselves and outside of ...

... looking women, is a long history of migration and persecution that parallels that of the Jewish people in the west. These women are part of a culture that call themselves Hmong, and who the Chinese call Miao. I have heard different stories from different Hmong people about whether they embrace or are offended by the term Miao, so I will use Hmong here. They are, however, the same culture, carrying the same rich history. The first impression that I had of the Hmong, women with fancy ...

... lui propose de boire un thé et nous voilà parti dans l'aventure il me propose de m'accompagner avec une de ses étudiantes car les villages que je veux traverser sont son village natal et celui de ses parents. C'est un pari car je ne connais ces gens que depuis quelques minutes et ils me proposent de m'emmener 3 jours dans des lieux totalement éloignés de toutes les routes. Mais c'est une aubaine, il faut savoir prendre des risques. Bien m'en a pris j'ai pass ...

... vide a l'exeption des petites chaises. Le melange des culture est parfois disproportionne ; En se baladant la haut apres des heures de marche sans voiture possible un paysan laboure son champ avec son bufle je le prend en photo il me demande si je veux manger dans son village je dis OK il sort son portable et appelle sa femme puis nous accompagne chez lui a une demi heure de marche plus loin ...

... English was not very good and for over 2 hours we spoke to these kids about ourselves, our travel and our lives. They seemed very fascinated by the stories of growing up in South Africa, and were especially interested in the wild animals. The 2 day trip we did was probably our best experience in China. It was completely unspoilt. We walked from village to village over 2 days just stopping off at locals houses ...