Next week Kunming and the rest of China will take the week off for the National Day "Golden Week" holiday to celebrate the 59th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

The week-long holiday is expected to provide a boost to the country's tourism industry, which is still recovering from the Olympics travel boom that never happened. Around 146 million people traveled during the National Day holiday last year, spending 64.2 billion yuan (US$9.3 billion).

Many of these people (and their money) will be travelling around northwest Yunnan during the next ten days, looking to experience stunning scenery, different cultures and some of the cleanest air in China. Tourism is one of the pillars of Yunnan's economy and is a major influence on the direction of the province's development.

GoKunming has been travelling around northwest Yunnan – albeit not as much as we'd like – since 1999. Last week, while on assignment updating a US-based China travel guidebook, we visited the popular destinations of Lijiang, Tiger Leaping Gorge and Dali. How have these places held up over the last few years? Here's what we found:

Lijiang (丽江)
Lijiang's old town of Dayan (大研), a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the most popular travel destination in Yunnan, with 5.31 million tourists passing through in 2007 and spending 5.8 billion yuan. Tourism has changed much of what was once a rustic town into a mix between a shopping mall and a theme park.

Lijiang's commercialization has emerged as a source of concern for UNESCO, but even if it were to be de-listed, it's difficult to imagine that tourism would drop off – especially domestic tourism.

Despite the seemingly innumerable guesthouses, restaurants, cafes and shops aimed exclusively at tourists, the old town's old buildings, stone bridges and fish-filled streams still make for a nice place to stroll around – especially the further one gets from the center of the old town.

That said, the old town feels like it is being maxed out in terms of how many visitors it can handle. In the last few years, the nearby old town of Shuhe (束河) has emerged as an alternative to Dayan. Much of Shuhe is occupied by new buildings intended to look old, but there is still an old town that feels like there are still local Naxi people living there.

Although considerably smaller than Dayan, Shuhe seems destined for a similar fate. Cafes, bars, guesthouses and shops aimed at the new Chinese middle class have sprung up throughout the old town. Only a small number of domestic tour groups come to Shuhe now, usually early in the morning. Expect that to change quickly.

Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡)
Once slated for damming, Tiger Leaping Gorge was granted a reprieve at the end of last year when government officials scrapped plans to dam the gorge, through which the Jinsha River (金沙江) – which eventually becomes the Yangtze River – flows toward Shanghai and the Pacific Ocean.

The gorge is formed by the flow of the Jinsha River between 5,596-meter Yulong Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山) and 5,396-meter Haba Snow Mountain (哈巴雪山), forming spectacular 2,000-meter cliffs.

A mountain trail – referred to as the 'high path' in contrast with the paved road once known as the 'low path' that passes through the gorge – enables visitors to hike the gorge between the towns of Qiaotou (桥头) and Daju (大具) over a total distance of roughly 40 kilometers. The hike is usually done in two days, with one night spent at one of the growing number of guesthouses on the trail.

We aimed to take the trail in one day, leaving Qiaotou at 9 am after arriving from Lijiang. Early morning clouds obscured the majestic peaks on either side of the gorge and the air was cool – ideal hiking weather.

Taking the trail from Qiaotou to Daju means getting most of the climbing out the way before settling into a generally easy but rather long hike. The trail is well-marked in general, but a map will generally help reduce wrong turns as well as being useful in gauging one's progress on the hike. Maps of the gorge are available at the Gorged Tiger Café in Qiaotou - located just past the booth where the local government collects a 50 yuan entrance fee.

There are a few small villages along the trail, with some homes converted into guesthouses with restaurants and travel provisions. When the sun is out it is intense, so sunblock and a couple of liters of water are recommended when packing. Foodwise, it is good to bring snacks – be they local walnuts or the candy bars available in Qiaotou and on the trail – but as guesthouses are frequent enough, there is little need to pack a full meal.

Around ninety minutes into the hike, one hits the trail's toughest stretch - a steep 600-meter switchback ascent known as the 24 bends. Even experienced hikers will likely need to take a break or two at some point on this ascent, which tops out at 2,400 meters. After this point the trail becomes essentially a contour path before merging with the road below at Walnut Garden some 20-plus kilometers into the hike.

Shortly after completing the 24 bends the sun came out in full force. Determined to make it to Daju before the sun went down, we ignored the sun and pushed on until hunger forced us to stop for lunch around 2 pm.

After refuelling, we completed the high path and joined up with the low road, taking it several kilometres before discovering that the old ferry which is the only way to cross the Jinsha into Daju finished at 5 pm, ending our hike just short of our goal. Maybe next time. Thanks to the gorge not being dammed and filled, there can be a next time.

Dali (大理)
The old town of Dali has been one of the most laid-back towns on the Yunnan travel circuit and remains so, but there is little doubt that the city has changed drastically in recent years.

In 1999, Dali was an established travel destination for domestic tourists as well as foreign backpackers. Most of the guesthouses, cafes and restaurants targeting travelers were located on the upper section of Huguo Lu, which was already primarily known by its nickname of Yangren Jie or 'Foreigner Street'.

Today Huguo Lu seems to only attract domestic tour groups and foreigners with outdated travel guides. One street over, Renmin Lu is now brimming with cafes, restaurants and guesthouses – seemingly all the way down to Erhai Lake. In 2000, the street was almost entirely 'local'.

Since '99, some of Dali's top sightseeing attractions have been repackaged in ways to maximize ticket revenue. A massive Chan (Zen) Buddhist temple has been built behind the Three Pagodas, helping justify the hefty 121-yuan ticket to enter the Three Pagodas site.

The Cangshan Mountains (苍山) are still a short walk to Dali's west, but now it costs 30 yuan to even set foot on the mountains – there is an army of old men scattered throughout the mountain area to make sure that tickets have been paid.

Despite recent commercialization, Dali's chilled-out vibe remains, and as more people from around China and the world discover it, more people are looking to Dali as a place to live or have a second home. Not surprisingly, Dali property prices have been some of the fastest-growing in China.

All in all, it appears the money will keep rolling into Dali – the biggest investment at the moment being a 10 billion yuan project by megadeveloper Shui On Land.

Despite all the change that has taken place in Dali, there is something about its idyllic surroundings, slow pace of life and the feeling of being far from the rest of the world that suggests the town will remain a good place to take it slow for years to come.

Tags: business, Cangshan Mountains, Dali, environment, Lijiang, Shui On Land, Tiger Leaping Gorge

Report: Kunming court to handle crimes against the environment

Wednesday, 24th September 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (2)

Kunming municipal officials intend to create a trial court which will only handle environment-related lawsuits, according to Chinese media reports.

Should the court be approved by the local government, it will handle criminal, civil and administration cases related to crimes against the environment. Defendants found guilty of such crimes will be "given severe punishments and must treat the areas they have polluted to clean them up," according to the reports.

The news comes shortly after reports of heavy arsenic contamination in Yangzonghai Lake. It is likely that a large percentage of the more than 26,000 people living around the lake had been ingesting arsenic-tainted water for years. Now the area is suffering a shortage of drinking water, with the government shipping in supplies (see image above).

Local officials in Kunming and the counties of Yiliang and Chengjiang are now engaged in finger-pointing and responsibility dodging, according to the website china.org.cn. According to reports:

According to a County official in charge of environmental protection, officials were unaware of the high levels of arsenic accumulation in Yangzonghai Lake until June 28, when they received calls from the Yunnan Provincial Government.

"We do not monitor Yangzonghai Lake, since Kunming City is responsible for that. They provide all our data. In the past, we knew little about arsenic pollution," he said.

However, an official from the Environmental Protection Bureau of Chengjiang County emphasized that they have been making efforts to monitor the Yunnan Chengjiang Jinye Corporation, but it refuses to abide by the relevant regulations. Between 2002 and 2008 the company has been fined six times for environmental pollution infringements. Although the maximum fine of 100,000 yuan (US$14,653.52) has been imposed several times, the sum is trivial in comparison to the company's profits.

As China Environmental Law Blog puts it:

Thus, this wasn't a case of turning a blind eye to polluters, it was a failure of the regulatory system to provide sufficient disincentives to pollution. In other words, the lake is polluted with arsenic because even maximum penalty amounts are so "trivial" that it makes economic sense to "pay to pollute."

Yangzonghai relief image: china.org.cn

Tags: Chengjiang, environment, law, pollution, Yangzonghai Lake, Yiliang

Yangzonghai Lake suffering from heavy arsenic pollution

Thursday, 18th September 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

Despite being landlocked, Yunnan has plenty of water, including the headwaters of the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween Rivers. It is also home to nine large lakes, with Kunming's Dianchi Lake (滇池) the biggest of the group.

Dianchi Lake is also famous for being heavily polluted – to the point where its water is unfit for industrial use. Yunnan's polluted lake club has recently added a new member – Yangzonghai Lake (阳宗海) – which the provincial government announced has heavy levels of arsenic in its waters. Yangzonghai is now officially considered unfit for drinking, swimming in or fishing in.

The arsenic discovery came during a snap inspection of enterprises operating in the Yangzonghai basin 45 kilometers east of Kunming, with eight companies found to be engaging in illegal polluting practices. Yunnan Chengjiang Jinye Industrial and Trade Co Ltd (云南澄江锦业工贸有限公司) has been named as the main polluter.

The company allegedly failed to build the legally required treatment facility for its wastewater, with years of accumulated arsenic seeping into the local water table. Yunnan Communist Party Secretary Bai Enpei (白恩培) and Yunnan Governor Qin Guangrong (秦光荣) have pledged to take "decisive action" to remedy the situation.

As recently as 2002, Yangzonghai had been noted for having water clean enough for drinking and swimming – a stark contrast to the environmental devastation of nearby Dianchi Lake. In February of this year, Kunming Communist Party Secretary Qiu He (仇和) visited Yangzonghai, warning local enterprises that the lake must not become a "second Dianchi".

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Tags: arsenic, Bai Enpei, Dianchi Lake, environment, pollution, Qin Guangrong, Qiu He, water, Yangzonghai, Yunnan Chengjiang Jinye Industrial and Trade

No-car days to no longer include Second Ring Road

Thursday, 28th August 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

The committee in charge of Kunming's no-car days has reduced the scope of no-car days to only include the area within the city's first ring road, citing current construction on the Second Ring Road's western portion as well as roadwork starting today on the road's eastern and southern segments.

For the last three months, the area between the first and second ring roads was off limits to odd- or even-numbered cars on alternating months. Beginning this Saturday and continuing on the last Saturday of each following month, private automobiles will be banned from the area within the First Ring Road from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

The First Ring Road includes Huancheng Dong Lu, Huancheng Nan Lu, Xichang Lu and Yieryi Dajie. Buses and taxis will still be allowed to operate within the no-car area.

Over the next 12 months, Kunming will invest six billion yuan (US$878 million) into improving traffic flow on the Second Ring Road. Roadwork on the second ring road is scheduled for completion by September 2009.

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Tags: construction, environment, First Ring Road, no-car days, Second Ring Road, traffic

Relocated pandas suffering from post-earthquake stress

Thursday, 17th July 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (1)

Si Jia

More than two months after the devastation of the 8.0 magnitude Wenchuan earthquake, the psychological scars of the earthquake and its aftermath are only beginning to heal for those who were affected by the massive tremor.

In addition to the millions of survivors in Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, the endangered giant panda, also known as China's 'national treasures' (国宝, guobao) are also recovering from the traumatic experience. China's largest giant panda breeding base at Wolong is only 30 kilometers from Wenchuan.

Initially the three pandas Si Jia (思嘉), Qian Qian (芊芊) and Mei Qian (美茜) – all females less than two years old – were transported out of Wolong to another base in Ya'an, Sichuan. Due to continuous aftershocks and landslides, it was decided that the pandas would be moved to Kunming, where it is hoped they will recover from what is essentially post-traumatic stress disorder over the next two years.

Qian Qian

After arriving in Kunming on June 26, the three pandas are now in their third week at the Yunnan Wild Animal Zoo in northeast Kunming, and are still jittery from the quake.

The Wenchuan quake was catastrophic for the Wolong reserve, where 150 pandas had been living. More than a dozen of the base's 32 pens were destroyed, five pandas went missing and one died.

Si Jia, Qian Qian and Mei Qian didn't come to Kunming alone, their zoo keeper Xiao Yi also moved to Kunming from Wolong. According to a Xinhua report, their keeper tries to soothe the three young pandas by saying nice things to them in the Sichuan dialect.

"When they feel safe enough, the three pandas will enjoy themselves in the playground," Xinhua quoted Xiao as saying. "They roll all the way down the slope and stack themselves up, one on top of another, but they are extremely scared of loud noises."

Mei Qian

According to Xiao, recent thunder in Kunming has had a startling effect on the pandas, who are having the same reactions to thunder as they did to the aftershocks and landslides in Sichuan.

There are plans to build a new Wolong panda base, this time in Huangcaoping, Sichuan. Required investment for the project is estimated at two billion yuan (US$290 million). The new base, proposed by the Wolong reserve, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is expected to feature a panda laboratory, panda hospital, a 1,500 square meter cub pen plus a bamboo cultivation area.

Kunming's three pandas will have to wait if they want to move back to Wolong – if approved, the project is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Image: clzg.cn

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Tags: endangered species, environment, pandas, Sichuan, Wenchuan earthquake, Wolong

Kunming to plant 800,000 trees this year

Monday, 14th July 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (2)

This year in Kunming, public works projects have been bigger and more frequent than in recent years. From the Xiao Ximen 'turtle back' flyover to the installation of thousands of surveillance cameras citywide to the conversion of major roads into one-way streets, it seems that one is greeted by change whenever one steps out the door in Kunming.

The most recent bit of change to affect Kunming residents is a bold and somewhat controversial plan to plant 800,000 trees throughout the city this year. As of June more than 200,000 trees had already been planted in the city's four major urban districts.

While most Kunming residents appear to support increased green space and plant coverage in the so-called 'Spring City', the fact that many of the new trees are small and weak and have been planted on already cramped sidewalks has drawn criticism from pedestrians.

"How are people supposed to walk down the street when there are two rows of trees in the way?" asked a university student surnamed An, as she walked down Weiyuan Lu. "Looking at all these scrawny trees in the way it's hard to believe that there's a plan behind this."

There is a plan, and it is a big one. As Kunming Municipal Parks Bureau Director Zhang Jiaren (张家仁) recently informed Kunming daily Dushi Shibao:

"Kunming has already put forth a higher target [for green coverage] – we will establish a national ecological garden city. If we want to realize this goal, the rate of green space needs to reach 38 percent, the rate of green coverage must reach 45 percent and per capita green space must reach 12 square meters."

Even areas known for their green space such as Cuihu Park have not avoided the tree invasion. Hundreds of trees – dozens of which have already died – have been added to the promenade encircling the park, drastically affecting views of the park as well as impeding the area's heavy foot traffic.

Many trees have also been planted in areas normally used for car parking, which is already scarce in car crazy Kunming, which is adding an average of 500 new cars to the road each day. Thousands of trees have also been planted underneath overhead lines, threatening to disrupt electric and communication services in Kunming as they grow.

In addition to the location of the trees, the massive project's funding has also become a sore point for local business owners, who are being forced to help foot the bill for the planting spree.

"We have to pay for these trees, but that one's already dead," said a manager of a business on Huancheng Nan Lu surnamed Wang. "Why are these little trees being planted in the shade of much larger trees?"

GoKunming spoke to several business owners and managers in the city's downtown area and discovered that businesses with newly planted trees in front of their commercial space have been asked to pay 550 yuan per tree. Many of the people we spoke with said they've been asked but haven't been forced to pay up – yet. According to a Dushi Shibao report last month, the city's strategy to pay for the trees is 'plant first, levy later'.

Although most of the businesspeople GoKunming spoke to support the idea of more trees in the city, many spoke of the trees planted near their businesses bringing differing degrees of inconvenience. For any businesspeople thinking about taking matters into their own hands, it should be noted that Director Zhang of the Kunming Parks Bureau has already issued a warning to businesses that intentionally harm the trees:

"There are many businesses that don't support tree planting, even to the point of killing trees planted by the government. For example, the Wuhua district government has planted a row of trees in front of a large restaurant. Maybe the row of trees influenced customer parking – after a short time, three of the trees planted in front of the restaurant had died.

"We're guessing that the restaurant poured boiling water on the trees to scorch them to death. We'll replant trees, but if it happens again we'll ask the media to expose what they are doing."

Related articles:

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Major Kunming traffic arteries converted to one-way roads

Tags: environment, traffic, tree planting, Zhang Jiaren

Jackie Chan to open 'Peace Garden' in Kunming

Thursday, 10th July 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

Hong Kong film star Jackie Chan (成龙) was in Anning this past weekend, where he signed a framework agreement with the Anning government for a project entitled "Jackie Chan Peace Garden" (成龙和平园), which will be located in Anning's Taiping New Area.

"I've been thinking of this concept for many years," Chan told an audience which included top municipal and provincial officials. "Today it has finally been realized."

According to Kunming media reports, Chan said he has long wanted to create a "peace garden" that promotes peace and environmental awareness on the mainland. Additionally, he envisions the garden as a base for charitable and philanthropic events.

Chan said that the peace garden idea was shelved because potential partners on the project were only thinking about how to use his name for their own personal gain. He started visiting Yunnan scouting for sites for the project at the urging of a good friend, he said. In the end, he decided on Anning's Taiping New Area, 20 kilometers southwest of Kunming, as the site for the first Jackie Chan Peace Garden.

"Not only do we want to build China's first tree-planting and environmental protection garden, there's also the chance that here we will hold benefits and beauty pageants here as well as television and film events," Chan added.

In addition to outdoor garden space, the 300-mu (20-hectare) Jackie Chan Peace Garden will feature a Jackie Chan museum and a stadium for events. According to the official Jackie Chan website, no dates have been set for the start of construction or the opening.

Tags: Anning, charity, environment, Jackie Chan

Yunnan to ban all plastic bags in 2009

Thursday, 3rd July 2008 ~ Chris ~ Link ~ Comments (0)

Just weeks after China implemented a nationwide ban on free plastic bags, Yunnan province is once again putting itself at the forefront of the country's environmental movement – this time with a total ban on production, sales and use of plastic bags across the province next year.

According to a Xinhua report, the ban will begin January 1, 2009 and will cover plastic bags of all thicknesses, as opposed to the current national ban on plastic bags thinner than 0.025 millimeters. The report said that throughout Yunnan, 'truly environment-friendly shopping bags' will be provided free or for a fee to customers at supermarkets, department stores, shopping outlets, hotels, restaurants and other venues.

Prior to the nationwide ban on free plastic bags that went into effect on June 1 of this year, Yunnan had already earned a reputation for being one of China's most environmentally conscious provinces with plastic bag bans in the popular travel destinations of Shangri-la (Zhongdian) and Lijiang.

In Shangri-la and Lijiang, local residents quickly adapted to not using plastic bags, switching to reusable, biodegradable bags after experimenting with newspaper and woven baskets.

In addition to addressing the problem of 'white pollution' – the plastic and polystyrene pollution that can be found throughout China – Yunnan is also emerging as one of the more progressive provinces in terms of developing solar energy resources.

Both the cities of Shilin and Dali will soon boast some of China's – and Asia's – largest solar power projects, and Kunming, where half the city's residents use solar energy to heat their water, was named China's 'Solar City' by the Worldwatch Institute.

The Kunming municipal government is also reportedly considering developing the city into a production base for degradable plastic bags.

Image: hb.newssc.org

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Tags: Dali, environment, Lijiang, plastic bags, Shangri-la, solar power

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