(NOTE: THIS ENTRY SHOULD PRECEDE “THE ROAD OUT OF CHINA…..PRAGUE”)
Nov 5-7, 2009
Kunming as capital of the province of Yunnan, and our last major city, is the gateway to our last region of China. It’s hardly worth noting except for the pix that show some of the seemingly wanton destruction of the past and unchecked race to glamour and shine.
Twenty years ago Kunming had a provincial charm to it. One of the furthest cities from Beijing, it sauntered at its own pace; it housed many of the distinct minority groups within China, especially the Chinese muslims. Now the muslim quartered has been bulldozed over. Old Kunming as seen in the pix, is also being flattened for, “a Brighter Future.”
It will be rebuilt to resemble the old but for yuppified China. And shiny it certainly is. But it does offer something we havent seen in more than 6 weeks—clear blue, blue sky.
Amidst the shining new pedestrian walkway, we found 16 blind masseuses (ok, some weren’t really blind….this is China after all) So we all got massages of varying quality.
Then Trish found a pearl from heaven in the form of Dairy Queen. With some new mates from San Francisco, Curtis and Linda,
two people we connected with immediately,we dug into blizzard ice creams. Yet DQ like the surrounding modernity, was so new that wires hung from the ceiling, the windows had just been installed, the locks weren’t in place, the uniforms still had the creases of newness; typical. The race to wealth, the sprint to succeed, the price of prosperity. Our continued segment into less urbanized, minority rich China shows the other side of the Olympic glitz. Even Chinese tv is replete with glitz, images of harmony, wealth and progress. Truth enough, hunger has largely been eradicated, 100s of millions no longer live in poverty. Yet the media have a saccarin façade, critical self analysis or dissent is unheard of, all is great, and will soon be even greater.
But Kunming still has West Lake Park. For China, it’s a decent city park and shows a laid back urban vibe we haven’t seen lots of. Street musicians are scattered about, playing for the joy of it or cigarettes. One such bloke on slide guitar (see pix) did a funked up Chinese classic before launching into a pretty decent rendition of, “Jingle Bells.”
Kunming is also the beginning of the end of China for us. Vietnam is around the corner, and though we are ready to move on, its been a great run, better than we imagined. Seeing China 20yrs later and with Trish’s eyes has been enormously gratifying. She understands my mom’s and my eccentricities better. She gets why we talk so loud. She sees that being able to sleep anywhere and in any position is an element of superiority we Chinese have. And she sees that everything revolves around food and family.
Job For Losers: Traffic Cop
Job For People With No Social Skills: Complaints Office (or as they say, Informant’s Line)
Favorite Bad Translation: Deformed Man Ending Place (toilet for disabled)
Next: north to Lijiang and Tiger Leaping Gorge
