The Road to Manfeilong
June 23rd, 2006
ENTRANCE TO THE BAMBOO SHOOT PAGODA IN MANFEILONG
The road to Manfeilong is long indeed — and bumpy. We left for the village and its “bamboo shoot” pagoda at 8 a.m., after a short trip to a bank to exchange money. The bank clerk wore a nametag with a number, just like the flight attendant on China Air. That seemed a little impersonal. Then again, if you are dealing with people who might not speak your language, like if you’re visiting Los Angeles, a number might be the only way to lodge a complaint. (This particular bank also placed a small, electronic message board outside the clerk’s window with both the clerk’s name and photograph. At the end of our transaction, an electronic voice asked me — in English — to rate the clerk’s service. I pressed the “satisfied” button.)
The road to Manfeilong is currently being rebuilt. The Chinese government is constructing a modern highway to link Yunnan province with nations to the south. The road project is part of a massive construction effort to upgrade the country’s infrastructure. The Chinese claim they will have a highway system rivaling America’s in 20 years.
We traveled about 45 miles to get to the pagoda. It took more than four hours. It’s hard to describe what that ride was like. “Bumpy” would be an understatement. “Really, really bumpy” would be an understatement. I didn’t really mind the rough ride, though, for we saw many interesting things along the way.
We first stopped to investigate a rubber plantation. Our guide showed us a tree and explained how a worker had removed some of the bark, allowing the natural rubber (latex) to flow down the trunk, onto a spout, and into a small bowl. (See pictures below.) I found the entire process amazing. Every hillside around here is covered with rubber trees. The native trees have been cut. Rubber workers walk through the plantations every day cutting bark off the trees. They empty the small bowls into buckets, which are then emptied into larger containers, which are then taken to the Manfeilong.. I don’t know where it is taken next.
A STAND OF RUBBER TREES
THE BARK HAS BEEN CUT…
LATEX DRIPS INTO A BOWL…
…AND IS TAKEN TO MARKET IN LARGE BUCKETS.
Residents who manage to avoid working in the rubber plantations, probably work the rice fields. The hills are covered with rubber trees; the valleys are covered with rice fields. We stopped and photographed women planting rice. Everywhere we went, we saw people working in the rice fields, planting rice or plowing.
(The residents of Yunnan Province use gas powered plows. A single man walks behind the plow steering it with his hands. I mention this only because it illustrates a certain stage of economic development. Last year, when I visited Senegal, I saw local farmers plowing their fields, but not one of them had a gas powered plow. They all relied on farm animals or used hand tools.)
After about thirty miles, our dirt road suddenly gave way to pavement. We had reached a small city, an oasis, really, of smooth pavement.
FINALLY, A PAVED ROAD!
We drove for about 500 yards and then left the city behind us.
We drove another five miles when we came to a sudden halt. Some villagers were blocking the road. We saw an interesting temple just beyond the crowd, so we got out of the bus and to investigate the situation and to visit the Buddha. Many of the villagers cheered as we approached them. I walked through the crowd, toward the temple, and several men reached out and said “hi.”
I reached the temple and began to take pictures when our guide suddenly arrived and said, “You must come back. Something bad has happened.” I took a few more pictures — how bad could it really be? — and walked back to the bus. “No more pictures,” the guide said. What gives? I wondered.
WOMEN AT THE TEMPLE
We had stumbled upon a land dispute involving two local villages. Some of the villagers involved in the dispute dug a trench across the road preventing motorists from crossing. I’m not sure why they did this, but it certainly got the attention of the authorities. A half dozen uniformed officers were on scene to resolve the situation. The officer in charge made our guide promise to delete any photos that we had taken of the scene. We all promised to do so. (I didn’t take any pictures of the trench and I didn’t bother to delete the ones that I had taken.) The officer didn’t want word getting out about the dispute.
We took a back road the rest of the way to Manfeilong. It was surprisingly smooth. We hit a roadblock just inside the village. Residents were unloading their rubber latex and their vehicles blocked our way. We got out of the bus and walked through the village to steps leading to the famous pagoda, high above us on a hill. We all took a breath and began the climb, more than 200 steps, to the shrine.
THE BIG CLIMB
The Manfeilong Pagoda was built in the year 1204 after Sakyamuni Buddha is said to have visited the area, near the present day border with Myanmar (Burma), and left a footprint. It is known variously as the “bamboo shoot” or “silver” or “white” pagoda and rises 55 feet in height and consists of nine dome shaped “stupas.”
I took quite an effort to reach the pagoda, but I think everyone was pleased that we visited. It’s a remarkably peaceful place. A pleasant breeze always blows high on the hill, and if you listen carefully, you’ll hear the sound of wind chimes tinkling from the pagoda. The view of the valley is beautiful, the temple gardens lovely. I rang the temple bell three times for good luck and began the long walk home.
EXTERIOR OF THE PAGODA
PAGODA BUDDHA
VALLEY VIEW
TEMPLE GARDEN
The journey home was less eventful, but it provided a good picture on China today. It’s still quite poor. Homes in rural Yunnan are made of brick, cinder block, or wood. They’ve got wood roofs and metal roofs. Most have electricity. Running water isn’t guaranteed.
Villages have same haphazard quality that you see in most poor, rural areas (a quality that says “no zoning” and “code violation”). We saw construction workers using heavy equipment to build the new highway. But much of the work is being done by hand. We saw men using hammers breaking rock for use in a retaining wall. We saw women — plenty of them — carrying heavy rocks to the work site. We saw men mixing cement by hand. And if you’re not working on the road, you’re working in the rice fields or rubber plantations.
At the same time, the road is a symbol of China’s growth. It will bring economic development and social change. Already, health authorities have noticed an increase in the number of HIV cases. As constructions workers move into the area, prostitutes follow them.
The new Mekong dam is another sure sign of China’s growing power. China has already built two dams on the Mekong. The Jinghong dam will be the third. These dams are quite controversial. China is upriver on the Mekong and every dam it builds affects every country downriver. But those countries are small and weak and China can do as it please.
After returning to Jinghong from Manfeilong, we drove to the dam site. A sign at the entrance let us know that we would not be able to enter. (Our local tour guide jokingly called the dam “our national secret.” If so, it’s the worst kept secret in Southeast Asia. You can find pictures of the dam on the Internet.) We turned around and drove to a restaurant for dinner.
JINGHONG GATE
Several us went for a walk through Jinghong after dinner. It’s a busy, seemingly prosperous place. Every store was well stocked and open for business. Residents crowded the sidewalks. A colleague on the trip, Aaron
Sorenson, visited Jinghong in 2005. He says the city is completely different in 2006. It’s livelier. The shops are open later. It seems to be booming. Once considered the “frontier” of China, Jinghong has made a great leap forward.
Walking the streets of Jinghong, it was hard for me to imagine what could possibly keep residents in the country. People in the country perform hard manual labor. They have very few diversions or luxuries. However, I am told that many ethnic minorities in Yunnan are not tempted by city life. They like the country, their community and customs, and few of them move to the city. Moreover, the rubber industry has brought some prosperity to the country.
People in the city have their own bond as well. In my short walk, I saw a large group of senior citizens exercising together in a courtyard under the lights. (They weren’t doing Tai Chi, just moving to music.) In another park, I saw a group of older women dancing together. Nearby, a group of men was singing in front of several dozen spectators. The people of Jinghong seem to have a strong sense of community.
DANCING IN THE STREETS
I had wandered off on my own to take some pictures and decided to head home. After several wrong turns, I got lost. I showed people on the street my hotel card — which had a map of downtown on the back — and they kept pointing me toward my hotel. Eventually, I found it.
BABY SEES THE LIGHT
Entry Filed under: Freeman Fellowship
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