New Years Celebrations in Yunnan Province February 17th to 27th. 2015

This year I was honoured to celebrate the Lunar New Year and Losar (Tibetan New Year) with my dear friend, Jubilent.
I flew in from Bangkok to Lijiang airport where they picked me up and sped me through the mountains to her father's farm in rural Lijiang, Yunnan province. New Years here is a week long festival where you take turns visiting allll your relative's homes in the area, and eat as much food as you can possibly hold. Most days we walked through the fields of wheat (rice will be planted later) and canola, climbing up the side of the valley along the blue Jinsha river. It was a busy, full, eye-opening week.

The Jade Dragon mountain followed us as we drove through the countryside.

Jubilent stopped to by higher stools so we would be more comfortable sitting at the little tables.

A market at the side of the main road caused a traffic jam as people tried to park.

The water of the Jinsha river ("golden sand") really is this colour!

Fields of wheat

The river banks are lined with grey sand.

Jubilent's father's farm

We are greeted at the gate with traditional white cadahs.

Baba is glad to see his great grandson!

We climb up the stairs to our room.

Brother has just finished enclosing another bedroom area.

We move in beds.

Air out the bedding...

And admire the view..

New Year's Eve, firecrackers are let off just before we eat.

Father's helper cooks a sumptuous meal over a wood fire,

including pork from the farm's newly slaughtered pig.

The immediate family sits down to a huge meal on a little wooden table.

Gifts are given, including the little red envelope (It's just like Christmas!)

We light sparklers at midnight, and we can hear and see other farms letting off beautiful fireworks.

On New Year's Day, relatives come to help prepare the food.

We sit, in order of our age and relationship with the host, on the porch

for lunch

and dinner, most foods fresh from the farm including chicken feet, 4 dishes of pork and root vegetables pulled that morning.

Yum!!!!

The next morning visitors arrive.

Then we leave to visit close relatives up the mountain, taking a short cut across the fields.

Up the mountain...

Along a path used by early silk traders...

To another farm compound of an uncle.

A water buffalo greeted us at the from door.

We were offered delicious food - 22 dishes!! Then we played cards while the servers ate. This was very frustrating for me, since I like to show my appreciation by helping, but it's not their way, and to help would have insulted them.

After many hours we say goodbye, but decide to pop into the house next door,

and are warmly greeted.

Jubilent's father presents the grandmother with a cadah - at 99 she is the oldest person in the village.

I was thrilled to give her a Canadian pin.

Oh, the stories she must have, especially of how she lost part of her finger....

Then we say our goodbyes,

and start our journey down the mountainside...

back home.

On the 21st, we visit a favourite uncle

and eat more wonderful food!

and meet more wonderful relatives.

That night we go to watch a performance at the local school.

Full crowd, bright moon in inky sky

The kids were great,

So were the older locals...  then we walked home in the dark, trying not to fall off the mounds of earth between the wheat fields!

The next day we climb the hills to another relative.

daughter and mother

And more wonderful food!

On the way home we passed some men going to the yearly ceremony of removing cows' horns.

Next day we walked to the neighbouring house.

and had wonderful local snacks and green tea before a big lunch.

The morning we left, the clouds were as grey as my heart - I didn't want to leave! But leave we did, tucked into a bus-van for a 4 hour drive to Lijiang.