An in-depth look as to why where is important
Travel
RURAL CHINA
DAI - NAXI - UYGHUR GAO SHAN - EWENKI
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CONTENTS
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Dousing Life Into the World:
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By Bryn Dettman
By Stephanie Cheng
Approaching the GaoShan village I hear the pounding of stones against rice and the low droning of voices in the wind…
Transparent beads paint the air with a slow, pulled back motion…
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Wearing the Stars:
By Roanna Zou
Vibrantly coloured flowers sprinkled across the rich black, blue, and white fabrics like bright New-York City lights against a night sky…
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A Spring Night in the World of a Plain:
The Taiwanese Thanksgiving:
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Last Nomads and the Sacred Forest Spirits:
By Hyo Jin Kim
I spot a shivering bush few meters away, dropping some red berries as the bush shakes, following the sound of a creature moving…
By Jenny Kim
I come across an unknown fragrance flapping in the wind…
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Why is Where Important?
Dousing Life into the World: Dai Ethnic Minority By Stephanie Cheng The Dai minority. A bustling and festive minority, filled with water, mud, agriculture, rice, huts, and hearty residents. Living in a subtropical climate, the Dai minority embrace their use of water, rich soil, and foods.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: A Bamboo Building with the words “Water-Splashing Festival�, Formal Dai attire, A historic Dai monument, The straw roof of a Dai Hut.
The Water-Splashing Festival involves men, women, and children from the entire village.
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ransparent beads paint the air with a slow, pulled back motion. With the fling of a mocha-coloured arm, they soar above the temple. Gliding through the sky-lit canvas, they hover for just a few moments before the stroke is finished. The marbles slowly descend, dripping pass the cheerful men and women before they slap the ground. One moment, it is quiet and calm — the droplets hover in the deep-blue sky — next, a sharp, smack sound. The water hits the floor like a brick. “May this bring you happiness!” My host, Aang exclaims, pouring a handful of water on me. As the water calmly brushes my face, the ends of my mouth curve up into a smile. “Peace! Prosperity! Health!” The land of the Dai is plentiful in lakes. A large herd of the tanned Dai locals
buckets filled to the brim with water. Even several feet beyond me, I see several men, women and children splashing and playing around with the water. I reciprocate with gusto. The Dai people and I stand near the edge of the lake, splashing water at one another. As hot as it is, Aang, and the rest of the people are in their best, fanciest outfits. It is the third day of the water-splashing festival — the climax. In the Dai culture, the first two days were more concentrated on the banks of the Lancang River. Activities like dragon boat racing and sending out floating lanterns at night occurred. The Dai’s lakes and rivers were heavily incorporated into their grand celebration. On the third day, all would gather at their Buddhist temple, where monks, such as Aang, would bathe their Buddha statue. This ritual is called the ‘Bathing the Buddha’ ritual. “Water!” “Water!” The people yell. Aang said I 4
am lucky to be there during the watersplashing ceremony. The people call out to the sky while splashing around, like peasants praising a priest. Looking around, the water, much like a cooling blanket for the locals, jostle around in bright red and yellow buckets. It turns out that water is considered a symbol of goodness and religious purification. The entire festival, which also occurred two nights post my arrival, is a practice of peace and prosperity. The act of an individual dousing another in water is a telltale sign of respect and goodwill. Because water is the only thing on Earth that can help everything grow, water is considered a god. As the water-splashing ceromony came to an end, shivering, frigid families flock to the festival marketplace, scanning the stalls for a memorable souvenir. A pungent, but lavish scent — much like pork — perks my body up. The warm air tickles my nose. The barbecue scent lights up the marketplace, sizzling in the midst of the crowd. Aang and I walk to the source. In front of a heavy-boned man, stood dozens of steaming hot,
The Dai bring large buckets to carry water. The festival is usually held near or at the local lake.
heartily. He and Aang exchange words of Dai Lü, the Dai dialect. The man turns to me, handing a stick of insects to me. I am hesitant to take this snack — who willl enjoy these elephant“A pungent, but lavish scent sized bugs? The large, — much like pork — perks my glazed insect looks body up. The warm air tickles polished in the sweltering sun. Aang urges me to my nose.” try. Slowly, I take a bite. Though the texture is wet, deep-fried insects. I oily, and hard, the striking taste caress each of inspect the my taste buds. Ah… I think to myself. Just one insects closely, bite of this deep-fried snack let it spread trying not to show all around my mouth. Aang and the stall any hint of disgust. merchant exchange gleeful glances. The The man laughs tantalizing taste tethers me to the ancient culture of the Dai. Looking down for my next The people of the bite, I notice something unusual. The insects Dai minority live were not small. As I ask about the size, Aang in large, twoand the merchant explain the famous large storey huts referred as insects in the XiShuangBanNa area. In Dai, “Bamboo and minorities around it, the air is humid and 5
the land is wet. This subtropical weather attracts large insects. The relaxing climate is also the reason I came to visit Dai in the first place to write about it. I look at my midday snack again, ready for my next bite. Its body is as long as my iPhone, with stick-skinny limbs shooting out from the side. Deepfried insects is considered traditional Dai food. Just as we escape the crowding marketplace, something catches my eye. Mud flying, water spewing, children frolic along the paths of the farm with buckets of water. Farmers and their families, still damp from the festival, are working in the fields for the most famous crop of the Dai minority — rice. Rice, a crop that was widely known as one of
Having a very moist climate with rich soil,
the Dai are abundant in farmland, most of which
is dedicated to rice.
the only crops which grew in water, was abundant in the land of the Dais. The brown rice, merely escaping their green stalk shells,
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glimmers in the salty sunlight. I was introduced to a new kind of rice in the Dai minority. The Dai people appreciate rich, glutinous rice. This is not like any kind of rice from Panda Express. In the fields, a young girl comes running towards us, with small dish with a triangle-shaped banana leaf wrap. Slowly, I unravel the leaves to reveal a steaming hot, delicate plate of rice, with a fragrant bamboo aroma. I take a bite of the triangle. The sensitive rice melts in my mouth. Yet again I am able to taste another one of Dai’s delicacies. This rice, or commonly known to the Dai as bamboo rice, has a difficult procedure in general. Harvested brown rice was soaked in water in a thick bamboo tube, for seven to eight hours. The bamboo rice originated from the bamboo forests of Dai. The wetland has many bamboo influences, considering its stance in southern China. After
that procedure, the rice would be set in a banana leaf wrap. As we head back to the village for the night, I notice the wooden huts. Each of them have a very still, stilted structure. Scattered along the curve of the hill, the bamboo buildings have a thick, straw-like roof with a wooden infrastructure as rough as sandpaper. “Because the typhoons,” Aang explains. “The floods.” The Dais were heavily influenced by their subtropical rugged topography. In addition, the Dais were massively abundant in rainfall, mostly because of their The Dai spend their leisure time in smaller huts with stools and tables. These huts are usually
near their local bamboo forest
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location in the Southwest Uplands. In the Southwest Uplands, minorities are humid and subtropical. But with all advantages, there are consequences. Aang continues, explaining the numerous typhoons the Dai receives annually. He gestures towards the stilts of his house. The large, wooden building towers over us. Living in a home with stilts has other advantages — a chance to escape insect manifestation, dampness, and the chill from the mud. Since the Dai live in a wet climate, they are prone to the effects of sea level rise. As we walk up the steps of his house, I can't help but notice the large balcony. Upon a Aside from their main rough, wooden floor, sits a is the only crop, rice, the Dai plump, water-bearing tank the minorty
“There is no other thing on size of a beanbag. Though the is also abundant in Earth that place water can region, the Southwest corn. can help Uplands, is one of the most feel as well-used everything water-centralized regions, that at than the Dai.” grow, so water is considered a god. does not mean that all of their Considering Dai’s subtropical, water is in peak condition. rugged topography, it isn’t strange how much water there is. Here, water is used as much as The people of the Dai are independent. it possibly can. There is no other place water Instead of cowering in fear over what they are can feel as well-used at than the Dai. massively abundant in, they embrace it. Water
During the last day of the festival, the people of the Dai minority dress in their best clothes.
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Why is Where Important?
Wearing the Stars: Naxi Ethnic Minority By Roanna Zou The Naxi mostly live in villages located in the Yunnan Province in the Southwest Uplands. Despite the mountainous regions there, the main occupation of most people is agriculture. And to show their industriousness in the fields, the Naxi wear a sheepskin cape around one shoulder with seven stars embroidered onto it, wearing the stars.
LEFT:A traditional Naxi doorway leading into the village
The shrine for Sanduo on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
ibrantly coloured flowers sprinkled across the rich black, blue, and white fabrics like bright New-York City lights against a night sky. The sheepskin cape slung over one shoulder, which was exquisitely embroidered with seven stars and intricate sun and moon symbols, only added to the clothing’s beauty. The detailed designs ranged from shades of black to white—black representing the earth, and white the sky. Together, the earth, sky, and stars are sewn onto the sheepskin cape, symbolising the Naxi’s industriousness as they cultivated the rich soil—dampened by the plentiful rain and abundant water resources—from dawn to dusk. One by one, loosely fitted gowns brushed past me, creating a slight breeze, but my attention was drawn to the delicate boat-shaped, hand-sewn shoes peaking out from underneath long trousers and big-silver earrings glittering in the sunlight. Following the mouth-watering scent of roasted pigs, sheep, and fish, I followed the aroma to the BeiYueMiao Shrine—where the delicacies were sacrificed to Sanduo God. I passed children enjoying a picnic near a shallow stream—under one of the many pine-trees close to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, with clustered leaves that obscured them from the brunt of the brightness, but still left sunlight sparkling through chinks in the leafy canopy. Earlier in the morning, I had curiously watched families cook using ingredients from an impressive assortment of different fruits and vegetables, ranging from rice, to beans, to potatoes—working as hard as a dozen, sturdy Lijiang horses to prepare a memorable meal for everyone. The Sanduo Festival in the Naxi, on the 8th day in the second month of the Lunar calendar, was one of the largest ones that happened in that ethnic minority group.
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My adrenaline pumped as I danced to Dongjing music, reviving me after a three-hour long flight from Beijing to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Then closely followed by a long drive to Lijiang— where the Naxi minority was located. I was content to embrace the Naxi culture as I was only going to be there for a day—trying to experience everything for my travel article. Abu Gaoding, my host, occasionally leaned towards me, whispering interesting information into my ear. “Usually the clothes are not as colorful,” he mumbled in his heavily accented English. “Today though, we wear new ones in honour of our protector, Sanduo.” I nodded with understanding. I had known about Sanduo God already, as it was starred in one of the most famous myths.
The traditional Naxi clothing with seven star representations sewn onto a sheepskin cape.
The myth depicted a hunter who stumbled upon a grotesque white-rock and decided to keep it. To his surprise, it was as light as a feather and he could lift it with ease. After stopping for a short break at the foot of the mountain though, the hunter discovered that he could no longer lift the rock—it was as
if it had grown limbs and rooted itself firmly and deeply into the earth. Many thought the rock was the avatar of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which was what incited the building of BeiYueMiao. The avatar was dubbed Sanduo and was regarded as the protector for all Naxi people. Turning in the direction that Abu Gaoding pointed, the first thing I noticed was 13 snowy peaks above the clouds and fog nestling in its crevices, like a crystal white dragon lounging languidly on a ivory blanket. The natural, untouched paradise was a sight to behold. Even though it was surrounded by a mountainous area, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain stood out. If I looked closer, behind the misty blanket showed the vast species of plants and animals. The mountain held over 400 species of trees, at least 1/4 of China’s plants, and was a sanctuary for rare, wild animals. Most importantly, Mt. Jade Dragon Snow was also the home to tea-leaves like tiny strips of dried apples whitened by the sun —the Wild Snow Tealeaves. When added to boiling water, the combination created a rare tea called Wild Snow Tea, which my host insist is the best cure for high-blood pressure. As unusual as it seems, the tealeaves ripened when snowflakes float lightly down, touching the earth slightly before they melt. During winter, flocks of men, women, and children, used to the mountainous areas, arrive at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain to collect the leaves with care. When I collapsed onto the ground—sore throat aching from singing, and legs trembling with adrenaline from dancing—Abu Gaoding offered me some of the Wild Snow Tea as a refreshment.
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14 The doorway decorated with religious paintings that led to a Naxi village.
The view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain from the Naxi village.
Blowing softly across the surface, creating ripples of water and wisps of smoke, I slowly sipped the drink, savouring the bitter-sweet taste. Warmth ran through my veins, helping my body adjust to the normally cool temperature, I took my time studying the varying altitudes of the Naxi landscape. The high elevations of snowy-peaked mountains and green grassy uplands contrasted against the clear blue rivers and narrow valleys, creating a piece of artwork that could never be replicated. The time passed by as I familiarised myself with the village; cleaning up after the festival, admiring the simple but elaborately, delicately decorated wooden housing, and trying to keep up with conversations that consisted of both eastern and western dialects—which the Naxi had adopted from the Han. I heard panting and gasping breaths behind me, turning around, I found myself facing the flushed face of Abu Gaoding. “Lucky you”, he exclaimed, “We have enough time to ride up Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and come back before night fall”. Excitement coursed through me as I followed HeXiao, YuFeng, Wanduo, and Abu Gaoding, getting closer and closer to the sacred mountain, looming before me. When the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain didn’t seem to far ahead, my host heaved me onto a Lijiang horse—a type of very scarce and sturdy horse. Flower shrubs and piles of rocks surrounded the narrow dirt-trail we were following, more and more pine trees started appearing out of thin air, and as the trail brought us further upwards, fir and spruce trees materialised. The sturdy mount I was on top of seemed to lazily clamour along, content to remain at the back of the group despite all my urgings. However, as we reached the rougher terrain, my horse showed tremendous agility and endurance—it even had no problems galloping with the right signal. Trudging steadily upwards, the mixture of tree scents grew more pronounced, like the smell after a cleansing, pouring rain. Light poured through the branches, lightening the leaves to a crisp, grassy green. Looking up, I watched the skies change, becoming a mixture of orange, 16 pink, yellow, and deep blue, as it prepared for sunset.
17 The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain that is home to more than 13,00 plants, 400 types of trees, 30 dierent types of animals, and the wild snow tea that the Naxi uses as a cure for high blood pressure
Flashes of light chocolaty-grey blurs streaked through the trees, and watching closely, I was sure I had caught a glimpse of a Yunnan snub-nosed monkey. Occasionally, I heard a roar deep into the distance, instantly covering my skin in goosebumps and eliciting a shiver as I imagined endangered clouded leopards, native to the mountain, jumping out from behind bushes and flashing their blindingwhite, sharp teeth in a growl.
As agriculture was the main occupation of many, most of the Naxi scuttled around the fields, tending to their chief crops of rice, maize, wheat, potatoes, beans, hemp, cotton. Further onwards, I could see other blurry shapes heading into mountains in search of richreserves of non-ferrous golds like gold, silver, copper, and aluminium. Moving my eyes to the forest, if I focused hard enough, I could make out the distinct crowing of a hunting falcon, which was closely followed by men dodging around pine and spruce trees, carrying on the ancient Naxi tradition of hunting with falcons.
Soon, with a cool breeze blowing behind me, my fears were forgotten as I concentrated on the panicles of pastel-pink poppies and clusters of cerise-colored crabapples Again, I wandered through the village, now scattered along the rock-covered path. Not different from before; bright with the day and the long afterwards, we started the descend reality of returns. I inevitably had to return back downwards as it was to Beijing. I ate a unsafe to travel too far “The gowns topped with solemn breakfast with up the mountain. Abu Gaoding, then sheepskin capes—combining the Racing on my horse, walked along the earth, the sky, and the stars.” the wind whipped at streets, trying to my hair, tangling it as I absorb the memories traveled faster. Reaching out a hand, I gently of Naxi. Spending 24 hours with this minority brought it to a wisp of mist next too me, group really gave me a better sense of how letting it breeze through my fingers. Naxi’s geography impacted their lifestyle—the evidence obvious in the village. Skidding to a stop next to the Naxi village, I jumped off, lightly stroking the fur of my horse I walked past workers wiping sweat off of their as a way of thanks. Surprisingly, I found that foreheads from the 27º climate before crouching the mount wasn’t panting or even appeared again in the rich soil. Walked past reddishto be out of breath, her heart calm instead of wooden courtyard houses that embraced the the erratic beat I had expected to find. Han culture. Walked past women sitting next to embroidery stations, delicate fingers flying to Waking up the next morning from several embroider detailed patterns. Walked past thickroosters trilling “Cockadodadoo”, I dragged trunked trees, past the scent of dew and rain, myself up to the window, peering out at the past brightly colored flowers as alluring as tendrils of the pink-rays of sunrise. The Naxi unwrapped presents underneath the Christmas farmers, diligent and determined, was already tree. And past the gowns topped with sheepskin covered with mud, bent over fields irrigated capes—combining the earth, the sky, and the with water from the Jinsha, Lancang, and stars—into the waiting car. Yalong rivers, hard at work.
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TYPES of
TREES To build their houses, the Naxi uses:
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To build their houses, the Naxi uses:
Why Is Where Important?
A Spring Night in the World of a Plain: Uyghur Ethnic Minority By Jenny Kim The Uyghur are spread in Xinjiang Province. A plain is a really necessary geographical feature to them because they do different activities related to a plain such as agriculture and stock-farming. Tian Shan, an icecap, is a good water source to the plains in farming. CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Green grape lane, Resident house in Kashi, Tian Shan and a lake, Mosque Built by Polished Bricks
come across an unknown fragrance flapping in the wind. This is a region that is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records – the most remote city from any sea in the world. As I amble along the green grape lane, my heart is pounding faster and faster like right before an important inspection. The fragrance is an aroma of freshly baked bread. My two feet lead me toward where the aroma is coming from without hesitating. I am extremely tired from my long journey that began 34 hours ago at a train station in Beijing and ends here – Urumqi. I feel like this area will have me in plain, plain, plain for 24 hours, with no reason. The fragrance of baked bread and milk tea – Uygur’s a typical breakfast – escort me to a house of Uygur family. As I approach the gate, I can hear kids giggling. The gates are made of wood while the house is made of cement or bricks. The upper part of it is cut like checkerboard. “Qing jin” kids’ mom says. Right above the door, I see the checker with holes again. It is to help the room cool itself during the daytime, especially when the highest temperatures reach 30˚c in June and July.
Above: Green Grapes are growing in grape lane. In Urumqi, some of Uygur, especially who run the restaurant, raises green grape and give it to their customers as appetizer.
Left: The graph is showing the average highest temperature of Xinjiang and Beijing in each month. Beijing’s temperature is higher than Xinjiang’s because it is more southern, closer to equator — line notionally drawn on the earth equidistant from the poles — means getting more sunlight.
Right: The graph shows average lowest temperature of the two regions — Beijing and Xinjiang — in each month. Xinjiang’s temperature is lower than Beijing’s because it is further from the equator. Again, the closer to the equator, the hotter the region is.
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Beijing
Xinjiang
Yan Dynasty
Xiongnu Empire
Jin Dynasty
Han Dynasty
Dadu by Mongol
Tang Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
Yuan Dynasty
Ming Dynasty
Zunghar Empire
Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
Republic of China
Xinjiang Province (Republic of China)
place to plant and grow lavender — full daylight, not over-drenched.
Above: The table has shown how Beijing and Xinjiang have changed over periods. Common things Beijing and Xinjiang have are Yuan Dynasty, Qing Dynasty and Republic of China (present). The table shows how Yuan and Qing were big because it had both of Beijing, northeast, Xinjiang, northwest.
After lunch, I open the gate and come out and take a few steps. The whole family comes out behind me except for babies, young kids, and grandparents. My clothes getting out of house is absolutely different from when I first enter the place because Wang Tai tai says that I should be in very comfortable clothing in order to help them work. Consequently, I have a purple hat on my head and clothes – short white sleeves and pants that is down to my knees. Tai tai gives me farming gloves to avoid getting injured on hands. Everyone wears white sleeves. In summer, it is way better to wear white sleeves because white sleeves reflect the sunlight while black sleeves tend to absorb the light. With the family, I move to a lavender plot that Wangs will harvest in late summer, next season. The plot is spread so spaciously in Tarim Basin – the biggest basin in China – that I cannot see or estimate where the end of it is. Since it’s before spreading seed, it is nothing more than an empty, large ground. Today, the family is going to start sowing seeds. Lavender seeds are very small, even smaller than a pinky fingernail, like a mini-version of watermelon seed. Having a grain on hand and observing a second, it sort of feels like a small insect such as a fly or a mosquito on palm. Below the blazing sun (the plant needs full sunlight to grow), we begin spreading it by planting in well-drained soil about an inch lower than the surface of the ground. According to Tai Tai, this spot is an ideal
Above: Uygur ladies in their tradition clothing are looking after their lavender. Lavender, an herb, is used in various ways. It is used to make medicine. It is used for restlessness, insomnia, nervousness, and depression.
“How often will you water these?” I ask her. Although the ground shouldn’t be over-drenched, water is one of requirements that a plant must have in order to grow itself. “You really don’t have to water these by yourself” she replies. Since lavender has to be moist, not over-saturated, it’s not essential to water them every weak or month. Urumqi is where doesn’t rain a lot. Average precipitation days of each month are even less than 10 days, less than 100 days a year. Even in summer, Urumqi only rains about eight days, whereas Beijing rains around 15 days, a half of a month. After a long walk, Wangs and I reach a wide plain. Tai Tai has already gone back to home to get ready dinner and festival. Now, I’m with Mr. Wang and his 23 first daughter.
Above: In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous region, people do stock-farming for different and various ways. Uygur enjoys eating sheep and its wool can be used to make clothes, too. Stock-farming is one of essential activities to Uygur.
This time, we are on grassland, not grassland soil where we were before. There is a giant, stable-like hut at the center of the plain. Right behind the plain, an icecap is standing in a straight stance and showing off its wonderful scenery, like a miniature of Mt. Everest. Mr. Wang goes to the gate of the hut (it is, in fact, a stable of sheep), and opens it. Then, different colors of sheep such as pure white one and dark chocolate-colored one all come out in an unorganized order. Their colors remind me different types of chocolate that I normally buy at a supermarket, which is in front of my apartment. The sun rises over the icecap, the temperature lowers, and the three of us haven’t heading back to the home, in the stable. I start sneezing and coughing due to low temperature. On the way back to home, I mostly talk with the first daughter, a junior at Xinjiang University in Urumqi. She tells me several various and interesting features about Xinjiang’s geography because she has lived in Xinjiang since she was born, her knowledge about Xinjiang is very broad.
“In the late fall, my family shaves their wool and make clothes to wear in winter. Uygur really loves eating sheep, particularly my family”
“I know right. Skewered sheep is one of delicate foods I love in China” I agree. Since sheep is used for both of clothes and food, it’s very significant to them. It’s very important to keep growing the grass on its ground. Or all sheep will die due to the lack of grass, their meal. The icecap right behind where sheep are called Tian Shan, a perpetual snow, whose top – about 5,000m high — never melts due to such a low temperature.
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Above: The mammoth mountain is, in fact, very essential geographical feature in Urumqi, a place where Uygur mostly does farming. Tian Shan range has watered cultivated lands and plains.
had their own instruments, songs, and movements since the ancient China. Each minority group has developed their characteristics by affecting each other’s, or being influenced by other groups.
When we almost arrive the home, kids giggling, adults talking about their family affairs, people are all moving to somewhere. “Where are we going to?” I question. “We are going to the next place to celebrate this festival. It begins in earnest now” People have already started performing on the stage when we get there. The first performance I see is dancing. Colorful clothes fluttering, golden earrings shining, women dance actively. Right behind the stage, the blossoms are floating in the air and they are delightful enough to be scenery. The moon rises and stars are sparkling and glittering in the night sky. They are so charming like someone’s drawing them on the sky. Firework (Chinese love firework because they believe that it avoids bad luck) has just been exploded and the last performance, come up to the stage and begin their presentation. People with musical instruments, especially plucking one, move to the sides of the stage in organized lines and start playing a piece of music. Men on the stage, flexible and balanced, show how amazing they are by performing impossible movements. Minority groups in China, especially western and southern area, have
Wheels on luggage spinning, gate opening, I’m about to say farewell Uygur family, Wang. “Thank you so much for letting me do homestay. Visit Beijing next time. Bye” I say as I’m getting away from them. The odor of green grape is forcing me not to leave this area. Then, I completely move out of the lane. To Uygur, plains, in Tarim Basin, is a crucial geographical feature as well as an essential feature. They use plain to grow lavender, to raise sheep and their sheep supply them foods, clothes. Without plain, they won’t be
able to maintain their life properly.
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The Ways to Get Urumqi from Beijing Left: The map is showing the ways to get Urumqi from Beijing. There are two ways to go Urumqi — by train or plane. Riding train takes 32 hours and 19 minutes. The train goes to South Urumqi Station from West Beijing Station. Airplane — the another way to go Urumqi — flies from Beijing Capital International Airport to Urumqi Diwopu International Airport. China Southern Airline provides 8 flights a day without stop. They have a flight at 07:40, 09:10, 12:40, 14:40, 14:50, 16:50, 19:35, and 22:00.
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Why Where Is Important?
The Indigenous Taiwanese Equivalent of Thanksgiving: The Gaoshan Ethnic Minority By Bryn Dettman
The Gaoshan Minority occupy the island country Taiwan. The hot and humid weather affects the Gaoshan life immensely. Mountainous and rugged, the Gaoshan mountains make life challenging for the villages built there. The beautiful Gaoshan villages and mouth-watering food are what attracts Clockwise form top left: Pond in the Gaoshan Village, village center, tower in Gaoshan village
This is the center of the Gaoshan Village. The building directly in front is the community kitchen.
pproaching the Gaoshan village, I hear the pounding of stones against rice and the low droning of voices in the wind. Winding and cobbled, the pathway leading up to the village is lined by green trees and plants. The sun shines through clusters of clouds in the blue sky. The thudding gets louder as I draw nearer and nearer to the village, and soon I can make out words chanted in a distinct South-East Asian language. The thumping of stones against the dull grains of rice is slightly robotic, and I know that the Gaoshan minority has been singing work songs accompanied by the pounding of rice for centuries. Right now, they are singing a very significant song. Today is the Gaoshan Harvest festival— one of the most important holidays in the Gaoshan culture— and I am fortunate enough to be there to participate. I walk
there to participate. I walk through a small gate and see a circle of people with pounding rice with a mortar and pestle, except quadrupled in size, while singing a low melodic song. My host, a middleaged man named Yeba, tells me what they are singing. "Well, it varies, but today they are singing about the recent harvest, and how grand tonight's feast will be." I can see his eyes flash with anticipation. Everybody in this village looks forward to tonight. Right now, everything needs to be prepared for the dinner that will be served for everybody in the village tonight. "The party doesn’t stop for days!” says Yeba. I can already tell the people are celebrating; children are running around in the patches of poppy-like flowers while elderly men and women watch over the
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One of the cramped bamboo houses crafted by the Gaoshan minority. In the hot and humid weather of an island on the Equator, the gaps between the sticks of bamboo provide cooler houses.
infants. Teenagers carry tools to the experts and watch their techniques closely. Everybody is doing something to help out. The feast tonight will consist of the main Gaoshan crops. The staple foods in this village are rice and root vegetables, such as taro and potatoes. In the mountainous region of Taiwan, altitudes can be anywhere above 1,000 meters and it is hard to grow certain crops. Fortunately, root vegetables hold up exceptionally well. There is also some meat, such as ham and beef. There are some cornmeal cakes, and some leafy vegetables, but the most prominent foods are rice and roots. I decide to pull my weight, even though I am visiting, because everybody is working hard to prepare the food I will eat. My host takes me to his
cramped bamboo house and grabs a stone bowl full of freshly cooked rice. He sits on the floor and I watch him closely. "You just squish the rice into a paste," he says as he demonstrates. "Come! It's easy!� Right now we are making Ciba, cooked rice that is squashed till it's pasty and gooey. I sit down on the floor next to Yeba and pick up the bowl full of rice. The warm rice against the dark stone is like the sun and the shadows in a black and white photograph. Yeba hands me a wooden spoon and shows me, yet again, the most effective motion for squishing the rice. I stick in my spoon and start to squish. I soon get the hang of it. Actually, it is quite enjoyable. I ask if I am doing it right, and my host laughs. To make Ciba correctly, it needs to be 31
thoroughly mashed, then seasoned. mild stimulant, and they give the person Finally, my host takes my bowl to a chewing them a warm feeling. Betel nuts kitchen to be seasoned and finished. He are soft when they are fresh, but they are says that his wife's mother has passed eaten when they are dried. By the time the recipe down from her mother, and so they are dried to perfection, they are too on. He says that there is no better Ciba hard to cut with an average kitchen maker than his wife. Ciba is definitely a knife. There are customized betel nut Gaoshan favorite. cutters that are shaped similar to Yeba strides out of his dark, scissors. In the South Asian countries, compact dwelling and starts wandering betel nut is very popular. In the islands, idly to the center of the village as I follow. there is a proverb that means, loosely "See that man over there?" he says translated, "like two betel nut halves". as he points to a shriveled but venerable This is similar proverb to "two peas in a man sitting on a traditional rattan rocking pod", but is mostly used to talk about chair. couples and newlyweds. Astonishingly, "He is almost 100 years old. He has the effects of betel nut on one's body seen almost every are extremely harmful. harvest festival this “The Gaoshan believe that They can increase the village has had." As I chance of getting the betel nut has healing start to walk over to various kinds of cancer, him, he stops me. power and is good for the a s t h m a o r t h e "He speaks no heart and good for the mind.� worsening of asthma, English.� Even the high blood pressure, little Chinese I know is no use here- the and type 2 diabetes. Gaoshan language is similar to the Filipino I ask him how he has lived so long and Malay languages. The aboriginal while chewing this dangerous fruit. He Taiwanese are more closely related to the laughs and says, "Betel nut is... very South-East Asians than the mainland good! Very, very good." My host tells me Chinese. that the Gaoshan believe that the betel "I can translate for you if you would nut has healing power and is good for like me to," my host says and I accept his the heart and good for the mind. The old offer. As I walk closer, I can see that the man laughs again and nods. elderly man is chewing betel nut. The "Very good!" He points to his head, betel nut, or Areca nut, is not actually a then he points to his heart. I enjoy the nut. It is a drupe, a fruit similar to a plum, company of this amiable old man, so I peach, or cherry. They grow on the Areca talk to him for a while longer. palm, which are splattered across the hills "The Hans from the mainland have and coast beyond this village. The betel introduced Buddhism, and Westerners nut is highly valued, and in Taiwan, and i n t ro d u c e d C h r i s t i a n i t y. B u t t h e other South Asian countries, chewing traditional belief in deities will always be betel nut is similar to chewing tobacco. the most common religion in our Betel nuts are commonly eaten while people." Yeba translates. The old man wrapped around the betel leaf. Dried lime smiles knowingly and starts talking to my is added, in addition to cloves, host again. cardamom, and other spices for extra flavor. Betel nuts act as a 32
"When he was young, there was only the traditional Gaoshan worship, spirits and such. But now, everything is mixed up," Yeba says. I thank the old man and he nods and picks up more betel nut. I smile and walk away, wondering, not for the first time, how that man is still alive. Just as the old man said, the traditional Gaoshan minority religion is the worship of deities and spirits. The deities change from place to place, but the nature deity, universe deity, and heaven deity are very common. Witchcraft is prevalent in Gaoshan villages, and soothsaying of various styles is very prominent. The Gaoshan are also very suspicious and there are many taboos, such as the prohibition of twins. It is believed that they predict the coming of a disaster, therefore, if a pair of twins are born one will be killed. Illegitimate children are also forbidden, and they will be killed or left in the wild. Fathers should not touch their baby, because
babies are fragile. The Gaoshan believe that the baby will infect his father with his fragility. Sneezing is forbidden, because the spirit goes out of the body and will attract evil spirits, thus bringing disaster to themselves and people around them. Men cannot touch a woman's loom, but on the reverse side, a woman cannot touch a man's weapon. These seem like insignificant and unreasonable, but the Gaoshan stick firmly to their beliefs. The sky is turning pink as I start strolling to the center of the village. I sit down at the large rough table, one of many in the center of the village. The sun dips beneath rough mountains, black silhouettes against the ever-changing rainbow of colors in the evening sky. A middle aged man holding a variation of a mouth organ, very similar to the Thai Khene or the Malay Sompoton, struts to the center of the makeshift stage and sits down on a crude wood stool. Following closely behind is a small young woman carrying a long bamboo flute, and she sits next to the man on a similar stool. A cluster of burly men carrying an assortment of drums and idiophones, mostly hollow gourds, hoist their items and sit down on their stools. Finally, a man, portly and jolly, carrying a nose flute shuffles onto the stage. The crowd was cheering, but the whistles and applause skyrocketed as the nose-flutist toddled onto the platform. The instrumentalists, seemingly simultaneously, take a deep breath and start to play their respective instruments. Waiters, all young volunteers wearing red and blue tunics and dresses adorned with shells and stones, step fluidly out from behind the large tables bringing out the massive amount of food that has been prepared by the steadfast members of this village over the last few days.
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The feast is a free-for-all, and through a bit of ruckus, I have managed to get plate loaded with Ciba, hopefully what I helped make, Xinuo, and various potato and taro dishes. There are still many more platters that I haven't touched, but I can try everything after I finish what I have on my plate. The festival lasts all night, and Yeba tells me that there are leftovers for everybody. The dancers come out just as the musicians finish their third song, and the cheering starts again. The dancers are wearing vibrant dresses and tunics, woven from cotton or hemp. They are also wearing large colorful headdresses, and I can't believe that they don’t fall off as they dance. The costumes the dancers are wearing look extremely intricate, and its no surprise that the Gaoshan tailors are the ones that made them. Gaoshan clothiers are accomplished in the art weaving and dyeing, and they seem to enjoy using the very brightest dyes possible. They are also experts at decorating sleeve cuffs, collars and hems of the attire they make. Embroidery and beadwork enhance the already striking Gaoshan outfits. Women wear bracelets, made of shells, animal bones, and beads, on their wrists and ankles.
Accompanying the dancers are the singers. Yeba says, "Now they are going to sing an ode to our ancestors and the gods that created us." I watch as the quartet joins the musicians on the stage and they start to sing their ballad. I happily scoop some more food on to my once full plate and listen to the song. The whole feast is a merry experience because everybody is exhausted from making the feast but they are satisfied with everything. I am satisfied too— my trip to the Gaoshan minority group has been very enjoyable. I look around at the lanterns framing the stage and the dancers smiling and clasping hands while performing the “Hand Holding” dance. Adding more food to my plate, I look at Yeba and think about the interesting things I have learned from the Gaoshan people. I am dreading tomorrow morning, when I have to leave this Gaoshan village and return home. But I still have the whole night ahead of me.
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Why is Where Important?
Last Nomads and the Sacred Forest Spirits: Ewenki Ethnic Minority By Hyo Jin Kim Ewenki are well known as the people of reindeer. They still live the life of hunter gatherer, domesticating animals such as moose and reindeer and their strong beliefs in shamanism and animalism kept the forests of the Greater Khingan Mountain Range undamaged. Explore the magical life of the last nomads.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Deerskin Pouches, chums made of birch trees, the plain, domesticated animals
Picture Citation: "Evenki of Siberia." Evenki of Siberia. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2015.
spot a shivering bush few meters away, dropping some red berries as the bush shakes, following the sound of a creature moving. I follow them silently, riding on a reindeer brought from the village. The reindeer, the common beasts of the forest, carries me through the neverending dark woods. These beasts are domesticated for better transportation in the mountainous region where Ewenki live. They are most suitable way of transportation in this type of land where the ranges are composed
of volcano rocks. We move deeper and deeper in to the green forest filled with tall trees where some sun rays hit the green blanket.
Picture on the top shows the plain of the Greater Khingan Mountain Range taken from the elevation of 1200m.
I see a shaman calling the hidden wild animals to come, making sounds of nature. He sounds like a bird living in the woods, echoing the tunes in the magnificent forest. A man wearing deerskin and a fur hat aims his gun at the shivering bush. The atmosphere of the dark
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forest becomes silent, so silent that I couldn’t hear any noise, not even the sounds of breathing. It was silent until a bullet rocketed out of the gun, shooting in the speed of the light through the air, aimed towards the shivering bush. We return to the wide grass plain located in the Greater Khingan Range, one of the most well preserved mountain ranges in China, filled with sheep herd that looks like white, dancing clouds. The same wooden totem pole I saw in the morning stands firmly at the entrance of this village of reindeer people and greets the Ewenki and me. Chums made of reindeer antler and birch tree barks look like wooden cones sticking out of the majestic green plain surrounded by tall timber woods. Lying down on the grass blanket, feeling the warm breeze carrying away all my pressure. I enter my host, Boke’s house. The whole house was built with birch tree, which is one of the common species grown in the packed forest of Greater Khingan Range. Greater Khingan Range covers the Heilongjiang Province located in northern part of China, in the elevation of 2035 meters and its pasture covers 9200 square kilometers in area. A wooden boat made of larch tree and a deerskin is displayed on the wall. Other than hunting, Ewenki fish in the lakes and rivers flowing in the mountain range they live in. they live in. One of the major rivers in the mountain range—Heilongjiang, the Black Dragon River or Amur River, runs through the province. Animal skins are from
hunting in the dense forest of this mountain range, habitat of variety of animal including reindeer, deer and moose. The houses of Ewenki are decorated with fancy bone carvings, saddles for riding reindeer, deerskin pouches, knives and spears for hunting and some pipes for tobacco. Boke’s deerskin clothes and fur hats are hanging on the wall of the house. Furs are beneficial for surviving the nomadic lifestyle of Ewenki and the cold climate in the Greater Khingan Range, where temperature goes down to average -28˚C (or colder) during winter. Next to the clothing, I spot a pair of ski. Ski is part of their daily life in winter—they are used for transportation when it was hard to ride reindeer in the
Picture of Boke’s house
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TOP: Map of the Heilongjiang Province The Greater Khingan Mountain acts as a border between Inner Mongolia and Heilongjiang Province. This map shows the locations of the cities in the Heilongjiang province and the Greater Khingan Mountain Ranges.
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thick snow. The noise of drum calling the spirits of the nature fills the whole village. The sounds of drum echoes in the woods packed with magical trees. It sounds like birch sticks hitting the magma rocks of the mountain. Shaman, wearing elaborate beads and bird wing shapes, is hitting the drum to cure the sick man crouching down on the grazing land of the mountain, filled with tall, green blankets of grasses, spitting out cough out of his throat.
The drum continues to echo sounds of drum in the sacred wood. The shaman, who just went through the spiritual journey for the cure for the man’s disease, blessed the patient with words of instructions of safety. Sticking a pipe of tobacco between his lips, he walks towards the dead moose we shot for its burial.
Holding the dead moose, the man tears the skin of the beast. The leftover bones of the moose, including its head, are packed tightly together in a bundled bag made of dry grass picked up from “He has been struggling because of the the splendid, green blankets that evil spirit for few days,” says Boke. I covers the whole forest. Then shaman watch Ewenki’s shamanic healing ritual comes up, pulls it up carefully just like from few distances he is picking away, watching the up a newborn silhouette of dancing “Sticking a pipe of tobacco b a b y , a n d shaman who is in it on between his lips, he walks hangs the middle of his the sacred spiritual journey. The toward the dead moose we shot tree ending sick man calmed the wind d o w n a f t e r f e w for its burial.” burial of the minutes, looking less moose shot painful and more relaxed just like he is for the meal. sleeping in peace. There was a tree, standing tall in the middle of the With some help from reindeer, I go to clearing of the forest near them, the near by river (it is one of the 600 decorated with colorful banners. rivers that flow in the Greater Khingan Range) to catch fish for dinner. Boke is “The evil spirit that gave him disease will carrying his birch boat I saw when I first move to that sacred tree,” Boke walked in his home. I could see the explains. stones in the bottom of the lake—it felt like I could stand on my feet when I Trees are considered sacred here, just jump in to the water. Floating the boat like any other living objects. Shamanism in to the water, Boke prepares to fish. is why the plains in the Greater Khingan Suddenly I see a fish—a huge one Range have one of the most well jumping in to the air, swirling its body preserved forests in China. just like a flying gymnast. The net fills up with fish like a balloon. Feeling proud of
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the net, we head back to the village. Sun starts to bleed—the blue sky of the mountain range is dyed with orange. The bleeding sun is hanging on the horizon line of the flat landscape of the Greater Khingan Range. Sitting in front of the handmade birch desk, I wait for the grilled fish Boke caught. White fairy dusts are scattered on the sky that is covered with black ink. I step in to the chum. The chum doesn’t allow a bit of moonlight to come in to the birch cone. But the chum can’t block the singing creatures hiding in the thick bushes. Ewenki’s chums in the plain Lying on the flat plateau of the Greater Khingan Range, I hear a choir singing. The tall grass dances and sings following Boke is sitting down the rhythm made on the green by the wind “The sun is hooked on the b l a n k e t w i t h a brushing through reindeer. He has a opposite side, rising up and tin basket next to the green leaves of the packed him filled with white spills its orange blood on the forest filled with liquid. birch, larch and blue blanket.” aspen polar. “I’m milking the Insects sing the r e i n d e e r, ” B o k e tunes along with the melody created by answers to my question. I look inside trees, grass and wind, creating a the tin basket. Milk is in there. The beautiful harmony. liquid is pure white—it is white as snow. “Milk is going to be made in to The sun is hooked on the opposite cheese and butter,” says Boke “Take side, rising up and spills its orange some slices of reindeer cheese and blood on the blue blanket. A sheep herd is grazing on the green, flat I sit on a reindeer standing in front of plateau surrounded by tall trees. The that same totem pole I saw yesterday trees in this mountain range are morning. The Ewenki villagers are out in especially tall because the Greater the forest somewhere for hunting. I get
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TOP: From hunters to workers The Greater Khingan Mountain Range has many different resources such as oil. The Soviet started to dig the environment to get resources for benefit of Soviet Union. Because Ewenki lost their hunting territory in the late 1900s’, they started to live as workers.
a final glance of the splendid green wave, birch bark cones and a group of white cloud dancing on the green wave. I feel the warm breeze of the virgin forest as the reindeer trots on the rocky floor of the Greater Khingan Range, swishing through the bush and tall trees of the forest. Crowberries drop down on the tall grass every time I touch the bush. I hear echo of drum mixed with harmony of forest birds and small crawling creatures. The whole forest silences in all of the sudden. “Bang!” The echo of the sound of the gun breaks the silence.
Still sitting on the reindeer, I turn back— there are no shaman, no birch bark houses, and no group of white cloud. Reindeer herders are nowhere in sight, I only see the tall grasses, trees that are standing proudly and I see one of the 600 rivers in the Heilongjiang province. Watching the footprints of the reindeer left on the Greater Khingan Range, I reflect on the last 24 magical hours
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Oolong Tea from the
Gaoshan Minority
Thanks to the humid and rainy weather combined with the high altitudes of the mountains in the center of the island makes Taiwan perfect to grow the world famous Oolong Tea.
Gaoshan tea makers export small amounts of Oolong Tea at a slow pace, but in the perfect area of Taiwan, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get better Oolong Tea! Gaoshan made Oolong Tea is wanted all over China, so you can get expensive Taiwanese tea all over China, but the best is in the alpine Taiwanese villages.