China Travel Forum

[Lorna]

My interest lies in ethnic craft. It must be handmade, it can be antique. Price is secondary - but of excellent quality and must reflect the local culture. I would hate to buy something not local. Where is the best place to buy...it must be small enough for me to lug into the plane... It could be a pottery, a sculpture, a clock anything.... even tapestries are fine.
I will be there from Jan 23rd to Jan 30th...will the shops be open.
What is the lowest temp - do i need thermal wear]

[Molly]

I spent a marvellous 10 days in January 2004 in this region. I did a lot of (strenuous) cycling and had stories by the hundreds to recount. Because this region is so rich with different cultures, it would be a shame not to take something very typical back.
One of the marvellous sights I saw when I was in Dali, was a family Batik business with all the cloths laid out in the sun to dry. Lijiang has lots of old typical household items which fascinated me, as well as a wide range of musical instruments (which were very popular with my nephews and nieces).
I carried my thermals with me, but I didn't need them - even in the north of Yunnan (there is a significant difference intemperature between the north and the south.
I hope you manage to pick this up before you leave but anyway I do hope that you have a great time. Yunnan was my favourite region of China.