Abigail, Writer of the Day

Abigail at the Yunnan Nationality Museum

Breakfast in Kunming consisted of a buffet that included rice
noodles, they could be very spicy depending on what you put on them.

We packed to leave Kunming then went to lunch at a minority peoples restaurant. We were greeted by these Ai Ni musicians.

After lunch we went to the Yunnan Nationalities Museum. There was a display of contemporary paintings.

The museum also had an incredible collection of costumes of the various minorities.

Naxi painter Zhang Yanling demonstrates traditional Dongba painting.

Abigail writes:
Today was the end of a beautiful and fulfilling day in Kunming. While riding on the little green bus driving to our final meal in this amazing city, I reflected upon my time spent with my home stay family and thought about all the friendly people I met while visiting the Kunming schools. I especially remembered the night I went to the mall with Jennifer and many of the other host sisters in our group to take pictures in a photo booth. It was fun because I got to see what my host sisters were like outside of school. They were so much more relaxed and we were able to have a good time being together.

We visited the Yunnan Nationality Museum after lunch. It was interesting to see all the paintings lining the walls of the ground floor. They were so beautiful, the colors gorgeous and eye catching. We spent several hours here as part of our last day in Kunming looking at the displays.

Flying to Xishuangbanna was exciting because it was nice seeing all of the trees and the difference in geography. City buildings changed to increasing amounts of trees. After all the drama of checking into the new hotel and going out to dinner, it was very late. You could say it was an eventful day, but we all embraced the challenge.

Ms. Skawski-Pride adds:
The Yunnan Nationality Museum was one of the best stops of the trip and the biggest surprise I had on the trip. I spent several hours examining the dress for the nationalities of Yunnan, wandering through displays about agriculture, and learning about some of the traditions of the minority groups we would see as we traveled.

The surprise came when I wandered into Zheng Yunling’s Dongba workroom where the artist was painting a landscape of a mountain. The paintings hanging all around the room depicted different aspects of Chinese life, many showing scenes like the Naxi tending sheep or idyllic mountain scenes. I had hoped to buy a piece of artwork, but had no way to bring one home without ruining it. I left not realizing there was a pamphlet in the back with a few of the painting designs on it until later when our group reconvened. I decided to go back to the workroom to get one, but when I arrived, the room was closed and the door chained. In my disappointment I didn’t notice the artist approaching until he called to me and motioned towards his shop. I explained that I loved his work and hoped to at least get one of his pamphlets in the back of the store to remember his shop. He smiled and I followed him to the back. He handed me the pamphlet and then held up his index finger motioning for me to wait as he thumbed through a book. I waited, watching as he nodded his head while scanning the pages before finally snapping the book closed and handing it to me. When I lifted the cover I realized it was a book with all of his paintings inside. He asked if I would like to buy it and when I nodded, he wrote his Chinese name on the inside cover before giving it to me. What a great find!

The lunch was excellent and included a performance of songs and dances.

Boarding our China Eastern flight to Xishaungbann.