Updated 30th September, 2002
* * * Jinghong Summary * * *
In Jinghong I remembered what Hoang once told me about the priorities of the Chinese people, which are food, clothing, and shelter, strictly in that order. It is not surprising therefore that wherever you travel to in China, you will come across stalls, of one kind or another, selling meals or snacks and the most unusual "kitchen" I had ever seen during my travels, was in Jinghong.
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The future of any country lies in the hands of its children, and the children of China are certainly well taught about the country's history. Chinese school children are often taken to Memorial Parks or to other places of historical interest, but like all children they sometimes find something of more interest to them. As this group of Jinghong school children approached the pavilion where we were standing one of the boys suddenly gave an excited shout and pointed to something on the ground. Other children quickly gathered to inspect his find, which was out of sight of the Western man.
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We had been to visit a Monastery in Jinghong where young boys were taught by monks and as we were walking back through the trees, a savory smell of cooking food wafted in the air. The source was this Jinghong woman's kitchen where she was preparing snacks, always very popular with Chinese people, particularly if they are something new.
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Although the Dai is the largest of the minority groups in Xishuangbanna, there are many other smaller ones, some nearing extinction. On our way back to Jinghong we were taken to visit part of one group that numbered less than 2000 members. We walked up a dirt track to a small commune near Jinghong, living in stilted houses but the only people we saw, except for one middle aged woman, were either very old or very young.
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