The first ever completely solar-powered vehicle to attempt an overland journey around the world drove into Kunming yesterday, on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

The Solartaxi – with its space age exterior and bumper car-like interior - stopped to meet with the head of Kunming's Environmental Protection Bureau before heading off for an official reception by Kunming Mayor Zhang Zulin at the World Horticulture Expo Garden.

The Solartaxi set off from its birthplace of Lucerne, Switzerland on its round-the-world trip on July 3, 2007, coinciding with the European Sustainable Energy Forum. Without using a drop of petrol it has so far travelled 26,231 km (16,300 miles) through 19 European cities, the Middle East, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Thailand and Laos.

Having visited events such as the Bali Climate Change Conference last December, as well as institutions and inventors working to develop renewable energy solutions, the Solartaxi will stop at Yunnan Normal University's Solar Energy Research Institute this afternoon for a presentation before departing for the Shanghai New Energy Expo on May 9.

The Solartaxi world tour initiator, Louis Palmer, cycled across Africa and crossed the USA and South America by ultra-light plane before deciding to use a solar car to demonstrate that everyone can take a step towards preserving the planet.

"As a regular citizen I cannot change the world," Palmer said, "But I can demonstrate to the world just how dire the global climate situation has become and how many sophisticated solutions to lower the greenhouse gases already exist - which bring with them many other advantages."

The Solartaxi took three years to build with the assistance of over 200 assistants, including The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and three Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences.

The car pulls a trailer equipped with high-efficiency solar panels from main sponsor, Q-Cells. This generates roughly half of the electricity needed to run the car. The other half is generated through solar panels on top of the headquarters of sponsor Swisscom and reaches the solartaxi through the grid – the solar taxi recharges its batteries at Swiss embassies, whenever possible. The grid works like a bank, from where Palmer can withdraw his earlier deposits when travelling by night or on a cloudy day. The Solartaxi can travel 400 km on one charge, reaching a top speed of 90km/h.

"I had no money and no knowledge about how to make this car," Palmer said. "But I met people along the way who were willing to help. Now the Swiss government is supporting me and every country I go to I'm in the newspapers. It is really amazing!"

GoKunming joined Palmer for a ride in the Solartaxi, during which time he shared some of his stories on the road. Since leaving Switzerland, Palmer has ridden with Jordanian princes in the passenger seat, crossed 3,000 km of Saudi Arabian desert in scorching 51 degrees Celsius (132 degrees Fahrenheit) heat unable to drink water because it was Ramadan and driven through Syria accompanied by a VIP-style motorcade provided by the transport minister.

"Something weird happens everyday," said Thomas Gottschalk, Solartaxi mechanic and one of the two permanent crew members. Though Gottschalk says that the perpetual road-tripping experience and constant media spotlight can get a bit intense, with new crew members floating on and off over the ever-changing landscape, the tour has provided him with a unique opportunity to connect with the world.

"I love that through this I can get in contact with local people. Get inside their life; see how life is on Earth," Gottschalk said.

While Palmer hopes to change the world by "rekindl[ing] hope and a zest for life, set[ting] an example to counteract resignation and stimulate reflection," he also gives due credit to tightening pursestrings for surprisingly helping his cause.

"It's great because now people are thinking about the energy and cost of driving because petrol prices are rising."

The Solartaxi tour is the fulfilment of a childhood dream for Palmer. Drawings from when he was 14 years old show the first design for a solar-powered car with which to travel the world. But Palmer puts it down to coincidence.

"What I dreamed when I was a child just happens to be what I am doing now. I think it's amazing that no one has done this kind of thing yet. I don't want to be part of the [climate] problem; I want to be part of the solution. Everyone's just got to do a little bit."

Louis Palmer and the Solartaxi will be at Yunnan Normal University's Solar Energy Research Institute from 2:30 pm today for a presentation.

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The second installment of the Kunming Outdoor Music Festival took place over the weekend in Taiping Town outside of Kunming - this time featuring two days of music from bands based in Kunming and Dali. This edition of the festival attracted around 600 people and featured a greater variety of performers than the last - plus perfect weather for taking in music under the stars.

Many of the performers from the first edition of the festival last November made it back to perform on Friday and Saturday nights, including organizers Gouride (狗日的), Tribal Moons, Heiyu (黑宇), and No Answer (打死我也不说).

No Answer, whose Chinese name means 'beat me to death and I still won't talk', was arguably the most improved band since the last festival – owing primarily to the addition of vocalist Bai Cai, whose energetic stage presence was able to get the audience more involved than at the band's previous shows （see above image). Drummer Yang Yang also put in a solid performance, confirming her status as one of the more talented young drummers in the Kunming music scene.

Perhaps the biggest surprise at the festival was the opening night performance by the rock/reggae hybrid Made in Dali, who were the consensus favorite among people who attended the festival both evenings.

There was a sizeable military presence at the festival, with dozens of (officially) off-duty soldiers checking out the variety of musical offerings under a nearly full moon. On Saturday night during an 11 pm set by Co Op Sol (邪作社), formerly known as Rap Republic, two military personnel carriers drove into the festival, lights flashing and sirens blaring.

Some of the audience was slightly confused when a few dozen soldiers quickly assembled at the rear of the seating area. Things quickly returned to normal, however, after it became apparent that the soldiers seemed more interested in watching the show than interrupting...好玩嘎！

Photo: Aaron Bono

Related Article: Kunming Outdoor Music Festival returns this month

Over the last several days, Carrefour locations throughout Kunming have been dealing with something different than the usual crowded aisles and long checkout lines. The French retailer has been targeted by protestors in Kunming and other major cities around China for allegedly supporting Tibetan independence, an allegation which the company's headquarters vehemently denies.

Carrefour, which has 122 stores throughout China, was also subjected to protests in Beijing, Qingdao, Wuhan, Xi'an and Hefei over the weekend. The protests are partly a result of Chinese anger regarding the protests that dogged the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay - particularly when a pro-Tibet protestor tried to wrestle the torch from the hands of fencer Jin Jing (金晶), who has one leg and uses a wheelchair.

Chinese citizens are also upset with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been contemplating boycotting the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on August 8 this summer in protest for China's handling of last month's riots in Lhasa. Both the torch incident and Sarkozy's public boycott musings have been cited by Chinese netizens as reasons for boycotting French goods and companies – with Carrefour at the top of the list.

Ironically, some of the anger directed at Carrefour is connected to statements by Jack Cafferty, a commentator on US-based television network CNN. Cafferty created a new wave of anger among Chinese netizens when he referred to China as "goons and thugs", a statement that led to a showdown between China's Foreign Ministry and CNN, who apologized for Cafferty's remarks, saying he was only referring to the Chinese government. Spokeswoman Jiang Yu of the Foreign Ministry rejected CNN's explanation/apology for Cafferty's remark.

Not all of the thousands of people at the Kunming protests were protesting Carrefour or CNN – some protestors were protesting the call to boycott Carrefour. The anti-boycott protestors were reportedly heckled and hit with a bottle of mineral water according to Kunming media reports.

The small group of anti-boycott protestors jokingly calling for an end to the protests, saying they were tired of being bombarded with calls to boycott France. The group bore signs saying "Establish a harmonious society, oppose the boycott" and "Build a harmonious environment – welcome the 2008 Olympics".

According to a Xinhua report, a man surnamed Zhu was leaving the Nanping Jie Carrefour on Thursday when he was accused by a group of protestors as being a "sellout to his country" (卖国贼), an accusation to which he responded "What are you doing boycotting Carrefour? More than half the stuff they sell is made in China!"

Image: Reuters via Yahoo