The local Naxi ethnic minority people
in Shuhe and Li Jiang love to dance. They get together in large and
small groups and dance together round and round in large circles. If
the dance is in the evening it will be around a bonfire, but the
steps and rhythms are the same.
FIRST DANCE, LI JIANG
 |
| afternoon in a Li Jiang park |
The first group circle dance we saw
was in Li Jiang. One afternoon we were attracted by the sound of
music and discovered several large group of people dancing in an open
space just inside the city gate. They were very friendly and having
such a good time that I was tempted to take them up on their
invitation to join in, but figuring I would look foolish not knowing
the steps I declined.
SECOND DANCE, HUI FENG INN, SHUHE
 |
| Hui Feng staff ladies dance in the inn courtyard |
The second dance was one held in the
courtyard of our hotel in Shuhe, the Hui Feng. The staff set up a
small bonfire in the courtyard and mostly the older ladies of the
staff danced round and round the fire with an occasional guest
jumping in and out of the dance. The steps and rhythms of the music
and dance were similar to those we had witnessed in Li Jiang, but the
light of the bonfire gave it a more mysterious ambiance.
THIRD DANCE, "MUSIC SQUARE", SHUHE
 |
| "clubbing" in "Music Square" |
The third dance. We had heard about a
bonfire dance being held in the evenings in one of the squares in
Shuhe. One evening we decided to go and have a look. When we arrived
at the square it was still light enough but the bonfire was crackling
away and the circle dancing had begun. The crowd was very large and
it was a sort of public clubbing scene adapted to the traditional
circle dancing as we had witnessed the previous evening in the hotel
courtyard and in Li Jiang. But, unlike the older women who danced in
the courtyard, this scene was much younger and it was a lot of fun to
watch. We finally threw in the towel and joined in the dance
although: 1) we didn't know the steps, 2) we hadn't danced in years,
and 3) I wasn't sure if I could dance with a titanium pin in my hip.
But, what the hell, you only live once, and we danced round and round
for a couple of numbers, probably out of step with the folks who knew
the moves but it was great fun anyhow.
SHUHE BY NIGHT
Shuhe looked very pretty and exotic at night when we returned from our "dancing" to the Hui Feng, which, itself, looked rather calm and serene. And in that mood, I come to the conclusion of my China - Winter 2016 journey.
 |
a clear spring runs through it - commercial center of Shuhe
with food stalls, shops, restaurants, night clubs, etc. |
 |
| gate to the Hui Feng Inn |
 |
| entrance courtyard (one of three) and lobby of the Hui Feng Inn |
The real Bali, a province of
Indonesia, is quite reachable however. It may not be “mystical”,
but it certainly fulfills many of the basics of a tropical paradise.
It is located in the Indonesian archipelago just east of Java a few
degrees of latitude south of the equator. It has beaches, mountains,
volcanoes, swaying palms, soft sea breezes, bananas and coconuts and
monkeys. It is also too touristy in some places and has
fallen victim to heavy traffic of cars, trucks, busses and
motorcycles. So, paradise, accordingly, is how you see it and where
you find it. It's like gold, you have to pan for it.
