We'd kill to eat Yunnan Barbecue

(by Desmond)
Almost all of Yunnan people are lovers of Yunnan barbecue. Quite different from other places' around the world, Yunnan barbecue is unique in its raw materials. Wild mushroom, 韭菜(a kind of eatable grass), eggplant, muscle of chicken foot, chicken skin, and various kinds of local tofu... These materials are only used in Yunnan barbecue and they are always winners.

Besides, beef, fish, pork chop, chicken wings and some other common barbecue materials become different and also terrific after adding some unique Yunnan flavoring. One of my favorite barbecue dishes is grill couch grass wrapped fish topping with red pepper powder... tender, spicy, immersed with couch grass's faint scent, amazing food you'd never have...

Every city, every town, and every block in Yunnan, you can find Yunnan barbecue booths. Yes, not big restaurant normally. So, you can imagine how cheap you'd cost to enjoy such a fantastic barbecue. 2 people splurge 100 Yuan(14 USD) and you can be fully satisfied.

Cultural Lijiang

(by Desmond)
China is extremely proud of her long history and abundant cultural resource. Particularly, Yunnan is greater at her natural resource mingled with her unique cultural resource, which makes this land outstanding charming and special in the world. Lijiang and Dali are representatives. Today, we would like to give you a bite on Lijiang.

Lijiang has hundreds of years' ancient Naxi civilization, which is separated from, but somewhat influenced by, the mainstream Chinese Han culture. Naxi people have their own word, music and style of building and costume. And these are all still well-existent today. Deep breath! When you are walking in the old city of Lijiang, every touch on a wall of the old brick house with wooden sculpture, every step on the slate street covered with moss, and every time of your looking into the deep blue sky right above your head, you smell the power of such culture all the way down into your spirit.

The feeling of Lijiang is romantic, or fabulous...This is different from the amazing feeling in Beijing. Such feeling makes you drunk, flow like a feather... No, wait a minute... This is like a sense of God, you by no means would understand what I'm talking about unless you yourself experience such feeling. If you want to know God, read the Bible. If you want to know Lijiang, go pack your stuff and live there for a few weeks~

Blooming Plum Blossoms

(by Desmond)

“The scent of plum blossoms comes from surviving the bitter cold.”

Nearly every Chinese literator has left some laudatory lines or paintings on plum blossom. In their opinions, plum blossom does not crowd the spring time with all the other flowers to catch people’s attention but enjoys its own efflorescence lonely in the winter. In traditional Chinese culture, plum blossom becomes a symbol of pride, noble self-esteem, and perseverance.

With a myriad of beautiful characters and spirits, plum blossom is extremely significant to Chinese and their profound culture. As a very famous king of Dong Wu(222-280), Sun Quan wished to enjoy the unique plum blossom's faint fragrance forever, even after his death.

In Nanjing, originally the Capital of Dong Wu, Plum Blossom Hill is the burial mound of Sun Quan. This hill is one of China's most famous places to see the blooming plum trees. This romantic king gave order to cover his tomb with a blanket of beautiful plum trees, while the green woods and other gardens nearby are also dotted with it. Though thousands of years have passed, at the every end of winter, you still can see plum blossoms blooming on this little hill, contrasting beautifully with the first green leaves of spring.

Lying on the Cloud

(by Desmond)
"I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky"...Many people like this song, especially its lyric...

Artists and art lovers always have such exciting and inspiration when place themselves in high mountains...That's why so many rock music festivals choose famous Yu'long Mountain, in Lijiang, to have their live show.

Yunnan is well-known for her mountains, including famous Yu'long, Mei'li, and Jiao'zi mountain. They are covered with snow all years and local minorities worship them as god. Fabulous...Even this word is not accurate enough to describe such amazing beauty... If there is a word, it must be created by god and using only in paradise...

Yes, paradise! If you say you are touching the sky in Tibet, you may feel lying on the cloud in Yunnan...

What is Tomorrow's Breakfast?

(by Desmond)
Many people like to plan their next day's schedule before falling asleep. At that point, the first question comes to Kunming people's mind is: What is tomorrow's breakfast? Kunming people are like nobles, because they have hundreds of kinds of tempting breakfast on their menu for selection.

It is said that Chengdu, another big city in southwestern China, is the kingdom of traditional snack. But actually, Kunming has much more. Noodle and Rice-noodle, with various adding flesh and flavor, are common choices. Besides, Er'si, a noodle like stuff made of sticky rice, is unique in Yunnan and also a wonderful choice. It can be cooked not only in the same way as noodle and rice-noodle, but also with some other complicated measures. Such as famous Pa'rou Er'isi, cooked with thoroughly cooked meat and gravy, and Duan'si Er'si, which is cooked with thick gravy sauce, etc. If you are in a hurry and don't have enough time to sit down and enjoy a bowl of er'si, pick a Grilled Er'kuai (in the photo) and eat it up on your way. Er'kuai is a pancake like food made of sticky rice. Grilled Er'kuai is always eaten with thick sesame sauce and fried bread stick, tasting soft, sticky, crispy and savory.

Moreover, there are various Yunnan flavors' dumplings, pancakes, and a lot of curious stuffs with strange names. Count on traditional Chinese breakfast, like steamed bread, rice and vegetable roll, and so on, it is really really tough to make a decision on what to eat tomorrow.