On Aug.11th, we arrived to Kunming, capital of Yunnan province. I tried to find a smaller local army hotel next to Camellia Hotel for as little as 70 yuan which is quite cozy and safe to live in with only 70 yuan per night. During our stay in Kunming, we went to Yuantong Temple, the World Horti-Expo Garden, and the Qiongzhu Temple. Yuantong Temple is at the foot of Yuantong Hill in the northern part of Kunming. With a history of more than 1,200 years, Yuantong Temple is the grandest as well as the most important Buddhist temple in Yunnan Province. It was built by King Yimouxun of the Nanzhao Kingdom during the late eighth century as a continuation of Putuoluo Temple, and the restorations to the temple performed from the Qing Dynasty onward had not changed Yuantong Temple's unique architectural style of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. Different from all other Buddhist temples, which are built on an ascendant, we enter Yuantong Temple from above and descend along a gently sloping garden path. A memorial archway with four Chinese characters -Yuantong Shengjing (Yuantong Wonderland)-is standing on the halfway; you can see the entire temple from here. Suddenly Lily disappeared. The ten-yuan shoes she bought days ago were worn out and she went out to have them repaired. Later I know she had gone to have supper with the Italian boy we met on the train. No wonder she refused to come back to dine with us when she got the call from Karel. Hihi, a boy with glamour has attracted her! The temple complex is built around Yuantong Hall (Mahavira Hall).. A delicate stone bridge which has an elegant octagonal pavilion stands in the center connects Mahavira Hall and the temple entrance. The pavilion is connected to the rest of the complex by various bridges and walkways. The surrounding 500 Buddhist Arhats who are stone artworks that are considered the most important historical relics in Kunming. From the top of the stairs, we enjoyed the terrific panoramic view of the entire complex. Outside, on each side of the main hall, there are stone staircases that are carved out of the mountainside and wind their way to the top of the hill. Surrounding the temple pond are a series of halls where we found old women praying, people sitting and chatting, ongoing classes in Buddhist scriptures, a magnificent calligraphy studio, an exhibit of temple photographs taken at the end of the Qing Dynasty, a temple shop, a restaurant, and more. These are quite similar with those in other temples. Yuantong Temple represents the Buddhism of China today. It is said that buddhists from around the world come here on pilgrimages to pay homage, there are special Buddhist services two times each month, and the Buddhist Association of Yunnan Province is located here. On the train to come here, we met a nun who was having only bread and apple most of time of the day. We tried to search her later in the temple but failed to find her. Yuantong Temple plays a very important role in history and in the modern world. In 1999, the beautiful southwest Chinese city of Kunming became the venue for a global event, the '99 International Horticultural Exposition. The exposition hosted by the Chinese government at the turn of the century, was endorsed and registered as an A1 professional exposition by the Bureau international Des Expositions (BIE) and the International Association of Horticultural Producers (IAHP). " Man and Nature - Marching into the 21st Century " is the theme of the exposition. I went there with Lily on 12th. It was raining nearly the whole day. I carried the digital camera and an umbrella to stroll here and there. Karel stayed at the hotel to look after Sander since he got ill that day. Poor, Sander. I tried to take as many good photos as I could in order to show them the nice viewsights outside. The exposition was about the age-old traditions of horticulture and the products associated with it; beautiful gardens and courtyards which combine traditional culture with modern civilization; achievements in protecting the natural environment and maintaining ecological balance; souvenirs about horticulture, landscaping and environment, and delicacies from different countries of the world. Within half day, we traveled from one country to another and enjoyed all the model-like sights. All these are so artificial in Karel’s eyes, so it was ok for he did not come.. The expo garden was so big that we spent so many hours in it and came back to hotel late for supper. Before coming back Lily asked me to accompany her to a supermarket. Sth is always wrong with her mood, so I had to comfort her and tried to make an agreement between her and us. I feel I was just like a balance to keep us in good order, although sometimes stupid in some way facing sth new. Hihii 　Qiongzhu Si (the Bamboo Temple) The bamboo Temple is on the Yuan Hill and about 12 km northwest of Kunming. It was the first temple built after Zen Buddhist was introduced to Yunnan early in 1279 when a Buddhist Master gave a Buddhist sutra to Hubelei Han (the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty). The present Bamboo temple was rebuilt in the Guangxu Era (1833 to 1890). The entire architecture of the Bamboo Temple was built with the natural landscape of the hills. It consists of five ports, including Tianwang (Heaven King) Temple, Fanyin Pavilion (with 216 arhats images), Tiantailai Pavilion (with 216 arhats images), Daxiong Temple (with 68 arhats) and Huayan Pavilion (rebuilt in October, 1989). In the temple, there are many historic relics, such as the " Tower Stele in Memory of the Death of the Eloquent Buddhist Master " , " Imperial Edict Stele " in Mongolian and Chinese languages as well as scenery spots, including peacock fir of Yuan Dynasty, Courtyard of Depository of Buddhist Texts and Cemetery of Monks.Karel liked the place so much for the distinct building style. I was still wondering why so few people were visiting then. Different sense towards beauty? Lily wanted to taste the food made in the temple but we gave up later since it seemed not clean or delicious. just as most other travellers to Yunnan visits Dali, we also went there on the 17:00 bus and arrived at 22:00. On the bus I was amazed to meet a foreign lady who offered me some information on traveling in Dali. As a foreigner, she knows so much about China, even more than a Chinese do. The bus driver also warned us against some gangs of robbers, which made me so frightened at that time. Karel and Sander are foreigners and this made me feel more frightened since they were regarded rich and easily robbed by others. When we arrived, I found an elegant hotel which seemed like that used by emperor in ancient time. Karel liked it so much and let me persuad Lily to accept it. Karel offered to pay for all of us and then invited us to western-style dinner. I was reminded that the about 2 hours later would be Karel’s birthday. Lily was still in blue mood and we comforted her patiently. Sander sent her back when I was still chatting with Karel. But later we could not find Sander, which made us so frightened. Karel expected sth wrong happened to S. Luckily he was well found later since we went on different way. Poor K spent his birthday in a special day. I gave him some tea bought from Guilin later as a gift. He was always kind to others, which made me moved. Before we enjoyed the scenery in Dali, I went to book the bus tickets to Lijiang the next morning. Back, I got to know Lily had quarreled with the waitress and left by herself. Karel got irritated. I had a good talk with the waitress and we enjoyed western breakfast there. We enoyed the performance over tea before we left for Lijiang. By cable-car, we enjoyed the soaring Cang mountains and picturesque Ear Lake and the three pagodas. The region is famous throughout China for it's marble.. In fact right across China marble is called "Dali Stone"! Unfortunately, the quantity of travellers to the area has dramatically changed its character, and tourism is the overwhelmingly dominant industry in the area. Dali prefecture remains one of the most picturesque regions of Yunnan, and it's easy to strike off alone. When we arrived at Lijiang, I found a good hotel for 130 yuan per night for three of us. However foreigners were forbidden to come in, which sounded strange to us. Then I arranged another good one for them and I went to Youth Hostel with Lily where we found a lot of foreigners sharing one big room without any interruption to each other.On that evening we found a nice restaurant beside a clean river. For the first time I was irritated by the awful food and service. I complained to the manager in a polite way and got much discount. Karel was surprised to see me pulling a long face since I was always in good mood. Hihi. Li-chiang (Lijiang) city is a most interesting place .We found them to be simple, honest and wholly delightful people. We enjoyed the marvelous Nazi Concert and Lishuijinsha performance. The most famous scenery should be the great Snow Mountain (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain), whose jagged peaks crowned with gold where the morning sun had kissed their summits. Unluckily we retreated on our way to the mountain since it was too foggy to see it clearly. Then we went to enjoy Baisha Fresco , Dongba Mystery. I got to know why evils are always called Bad Egg in Chinese. They were out of the bad egg according to Dongba doctrine. Haha,interesting. The woman driver took us to her hometown, Suhe Old Town, where we found a river running in front of their houses, just as what I learned in some poems in my textbooks in middle school, really beautiful. If only we were living here for some years. Black Dragon Pool (黑龙潭; hei long tan) is a park which lies at the northern edge of town, under Elephant Hill. Near the Pool, I took some photos with a well-dressed monkey since I was born in monkey-year. We tried to climb the hill from the park for a good view of the surrounding area. To my surprise, Karel got the top of the mountain at ease, which is hard for most of us. We were thirsty and went to knock the door of the lonely house only to hear the barking of a dog and voice of a child. Maybe we were regrarded to be robbers. hahha. Some people reported being robbed at knifepoint on this path 2004-06-03, so we were warned to either take a knife or scale it with some friends. Lily came back from Zhongdian by herself, in blue mood, again. I tried to talk with her to make her happy. Then we decided to go back to Kunming together. In a travel agency, I booked the bus tickets to Kunming and plane tickets from Kunming to Xi’an. Dangerours! When I wrote down the timetable with my bag half open on my shoulder, I was frightened to find a thief sticking a long tool into my bag trying to get the mobile.