Yi Minority Torch Festival

On the 24th day of the lunar month of June, the Yi people gather together for three nights to make large bonfires and light torches.  At the time, our Chinese was not proficient enough to understand complicated things like festivals and traditions.... so when we were invited to come out one night, all we could really understand was "wear shoes that cover your feet!"

We later learned that this festival is a celebration of the end of a tyranical leader's rule.

Zhaotong, a remote city in the north east corner of Yunnan, in 2010 was about 10% Yi people... and yet it seemed everyone, Han Chinese and otherwise, turned out for this event.

Above are three of my students who met in our home during one summer. Neither John, "short round" nor Lindy are Yi minority, but joined in the festivities anyway!

Scott is throwing some powerd on the fire that makes the flames burn extremely bright for a split second.

Fireworks, bonfires and paper lanterns everywhere!

Lighting our own paper lantern took quite a long time, but we eventually got it flying high out of sight.

I would love to return and celebrate this festival again one day when my understanding of Chinese is much greater!

Famous Zhaotong Apples

Apples from the rugged orchards of Zhaotong

(North-eastern Yunnan province) 

When we first came to Zhaotong, people who were eager to proudly introduce us to their home-town repeatedly bragged on these apples and urged us to try one fresh from their orchard.

This was a fascinating place... each leg of the journey up the mountain brought a new surprise.

We started by taking the city bus to the edge of the city. From there we rode a little "bread truck" further away from the city and into the country... when the bread truck could no longer make it up the winding dirt roads, we got out and rode on motorcycle taxi's up up up the mountain. My sweet little dog rode tucked inside my coat!

Finally, after the motorcycle dropped us off at the orchard, we hiked a little ways up to the farmers house - which was made from mud bricks, concrete and a hand-made clay roof.

To my left are Heidi and Lisa, my fun-loving friends who provided almost all of our adventures the two years we lived in Zhaotong.

Having mud-brick walls, they put this plastic wrap on the walls to keep dirt clumps from falling and making a mess everywhere!  Also, as you can see, they needed to have something that pictures could be hung on!

Here (above) Lisa manages to steady me because I almost took a stumble into the ditch while trying to pass by a tree.

Our LOOT!  So many apples... the next month we had lots of apple pie, apple cobbler, apple butter, apple sauce... and mostly just plain apples.

And you know?  The locals are right-- they were the best apples I'd ever eaten.