We left Kunming the 17th of March to head up North.  We first traveled to a Daoist mountain called Weibaishan.  We got to hike up the mountain when we first got there.  I went off by myself and found a secret pathway that went to a nice view on the side of the mountain.  I sat there for about an hour by myself and did a watercolor and wrote in my journal.  It was the first time I had been alone by myself in a long time and I felt very peaceful and in tune with the present moment.  I just sat and listened to the wind in the pine trees and watched the sky and view in front of me.  I came to the conclusion while sitting there that all moments are beautiful and that humans tend to focus on the negative side of issues instead of seeing that all moments and phenomenon are a blessing.  Usually it takes getting away from our busy hectic lives of routine and structure to see this truth.  There was a unique sense of calm on the mountain and I felt very peaceful while there.  The next day we traveled down the mountain and saw a Daoist practitioner who played the flute and did a tai ji demonstration.  I identify strongly with Daoist philosophies and ideas of natural flow and things.  Before coming to China I was the most fascinated by Daoist faith above all other religions.  It was interesting to study the philosophies behind Daoism before coming to China, and now that I am here it is very fulfilling and eye opening to see everything in person.  Furthermore, I enjoyed the rural atmosphere of the mountain; it was nice to get away from the city of Kunming and into the woods. 

Our group then traveled to Dali, a predominantly Bai minority town.  The town was fairly touristy but had a lot of culture and old town heritage.  We only stayed there for one night. 

We then traveled to Shibaoshan to a Bai temple on top of a mountain.  The Bai minority group primarily lived there and the people seemed very peaceful.  The temple was primarily Buddhist, but there was some nature gods, animist and Daoist influences as well.  There was a large variety of sculptures and shrines at the temple and it was apparent that a great deal of work and thought went into the upkeep of the temple and the maintenance of the buildings.  There was an air of sacredness in Shibaoshan and I especially liked that we had to walk to the top of the mountain up treacherous stairs to get to the temple.  This was one of the main reasons why there was not much tourism at the temple, because it was a hard climb and there was no chairlift or the like to take people to the top.  All of the women on the trip stayed in one large room, it was like a giant sleepover with all of my fellow lady travelers.  There was also a large population of monkeys living on the mountain side.  Those were the first monkeys I have ever seen in the wild, and they were entertaining to watch. 

After staying in Shibaoshan for a night we drove to the top of a mountain and walked down into the valley of Shaxi.  Shaxi was a small quiet town that was primarily Bai.  There was very little foreign influence in the town and being there was the first time I felt like we were in ‘real’ rural china living in the midst of it.  We were fed all of our meals in a traditional Chinese style with all of us sitting at two small tables and having a variety of dishes served to us.  We traveled to an old bridge and to a Bai temple in the heart of Shaxi.  The city seemed very impacted by rural agriculture and industry.  We learned that two Swiss men came in to Shaxi and helped develop a preservation plan for the town in order to preserve the religion and cultural heritage of the area.  The town underwent much construction and recreation in order to save its heritage. 

We then traveled up north even further to Lijiang.  Lijiang was a very large city, full of much commercialization and tourism.  There was a prevalence of Naxi culture that was exploited, but we learned that the Naxi religion is pretty much extinct.  The Naxi religion is somewhat zombified, where it exists but is not alive and cognizant or practiced.  The city of Lijiang is perpetuated by foreign and local tourism and appears to be thriving off of it very well.  There is a large presence of gift shops and night clubs in the Old Town, which was where we were staying.  It has been odd for me to be staying in these areas of mass tourism, and to have learned so much about the culture and area before traveling there through our assigned readings. 

I have been sick for about the past two weeks.  I started feeling ill the day I got back from my Yunnan Exploration project week.  From then I just got progressively worse and ended up going to the hospital and missing a few of my classes.  I had a scare that I had appendicitis and that I would have to get an immediate operation that day.  At the first hospital I went to the doctors said I definitely had appendicitis and that I could take some antibiotics, but I would probably end up needing surgery.  We went to a different doctor a few hours later and they determined I just had a bad bacterial infection in my intestines.  I received a bunch of antibiotics and was relieved to be able to continue on the trip with the group as scheduled.  Over the following days I have had really bad stomach cramps that are very overpowering and distracting.  I have also experienced some other less desirable symptoms of a bacterial infection such as diarrhea and nausea.  It has been extremely difficult to participate in everything we have been doing on the trip and eat the food provided when I do not feel well.  Being sick for so long can really impact your whole life and your outlook on everything.  I went back to the hospital in Lijiang and was prescribed more antibiotics. 

Hospitals in China are very different from the states.  The structure is completely different in how you get things done, you pay before you get something done and there is not very much privacy.  You can wait in a room with ten other people in line to talk to a doctor about your symptoms and everyone hears them when you describe what is going on.  It was interesting having Dasa being my translator and having her do all the transactions for me in the hospital and to not really know what was going on.  Also Chinese hospitals are a lot dirtier and less sanitary then American hospitals.  Overall though my trips to the hospital have been interesting learning experiences, and I am very thankful for Dasa for coming with me and maintaining a postive and happy attitude towards everything going on.  

Experience with religion 

Traveling to so many different places in just one week has really expanded my idea of China and the cultures and religions that exist and thrive.  It appears to me that some Chinese peoples are very vague about their religious beliefs and just follow the ways of others or the norm.  They say they are Buddhist, but then do not know who statues of different Buddhist deities are, or do not seem to understand or encompass the basic identification of Buddhist beliefs.  There appears to be a disconnect with strong religiuos belief in more touristy areas where religion seems to be more commodified then actually practiced.  Whereas, in more rural areas religion seems to be more alive and internalized into daily life.

On another note I thought the concepts described in Catherine Bells reading on religion and belief was extremely fascinating.  Bell draws a variety of conclusions about how religious beliefs and boundaries around those concepts are very ambiguous.  The interpretation of the truth is difficult due to so much internal variation with various peoples and systems of meaning making.  No one knows the way things really are because everything has been constructed around our own realities and ideals.  I enjoy examining these ideas and applying them, it is an interesting view of the world and the way people conceive of it.  Applying this idea to what we have been studying also makes for a fascinating study on religion and they way different cultures hold a variety of truths to be real.  

Lastly, being in Lijiang and seeing and learning about the zombification of Naxi religion was very influential on my experience of the city.  I have never experienced the dying out of a religion or culture before and it is saddening to see the impact of tourism on a local traditional religion.  The Naxi dongba religion is still commodified but is not practiced on a large scale anymore and all the living practitioners of the dongba art are old and slowing passing away.  Noticing the production of Naxi dongba pictographs and seeing them in various gift shops on necklaces and t-shirts gave me an odd feeling.  I felt by being a tourist I was somewhat perpetuating this cycle of exotification and romanicization of a culture.