Organised by : Maxby Chan

We have been invited by the Cultural Society of Honghe County to witness a once a year Carnival of the Yiche Ethnic Minority Tribe in the Red River (Honghe) County. We will be joining this tribe to celebrate their two days annual carnival. This is a rare chance to join one of the tribal festivals as a guest.

We have successfully organised a photosafari trip to witness the amazing terrace rice fields of the Honghe County in March this year.

This is a short 6 days and 5 night’s trip to the far reaches of Yunnan where not many tourists will go. Our journey starts from Kunming. We will be spending a night at Shilin County before making our journey to PuZheHei. Puzhehei is one of the most picturesque spots in Yunnan Province. After spending a night, in PuZheHei, we will travel to Dayangjie where the Yiche Ethnic Minority Tribe lives. We will be spending two days to join in the celebration of the Yiche people. June/July is also a time when the lotus flowers are in full bloom. There will a lot of opportunities for both landscape, flower, and people photography. We are working in collaboration with the Chinese photographers and taking you to places where only photographers would do.

PuZheHei

Puzhehei was approved as National AAAA-class tourist scenic spot in 2009. It has been named as the National Wetland Park in 2012. Puzhehei, has 68 Karst Lakes and over 300 mountain peaks. It is often called the “Guilin” of Yunnan. The best time to visit PuZheHei is around June/July where the lotus flowers are in full bloom.

 

Yiche Ethnic Minority Tribe

The Yiche or Yicyu people are a branch of the Hani people with a population of about 23.000. They inhabit several areas of Honghe County, especially some villages of Dayangjie (called Yiche Township by the locals), Langdi and Chegu Township. Most of the Yiche villages are situated on the southern side of the Yuanjiang River, amongst the beautiful rice terraces.

Adolescent Marriages

Adolescent marriages are a common practice. It is arranged by their parents. This marriage is called “lihhahha”. After the marriage, the husband and wife don’t live together, but with their own parents. The wife, however, must visit her husband every twelve days until the first child is born. During this period of “lihhahha” the wife has the freedom to have close proximity with any man she chooses.

Celebration of the Kuzhazha Festival.

They have a special custom of celebrating the Kuzhazha festival. This is celebrated at the beginning of the rainy season and is one of the main festivals of the Hani. However, to the Yiche, this celebration is of utmost importance. To them, it is a celebration of fertility and abundance. It is also a boy meets girl celebration and it draws some of the sexiest erotic costumes and dances.

Itinerary

Day 1 – 19^th June – Kunming-Shilin County (No meals provided)

• Meet at Kunming
• Transfer directly to the southeast Yunnan.
• Stay overnight in Shilin County or Mile County depends on your arrival time.
• Dinner at own expense.
• Hotel – either Shilin Meeting Center Hotel www.slhyzx.com  or Mile County Legend Hotel http://hotel.elong.com/mile/02517006/

Day 2 – 20^th June – Pu Zhe Hei (B,L,D)

• Breakfast
• Check out of hotel
• Drive to PuZheHei (3 Hours)
• Lunch on the way
• Visit the lakes.
• Check-in local Yi Hostel
• Sunset shoot
• Dinner
• Free And easy
• Hotel – Yi Hostel

Day 3- 21^st June – PuZhehei-Honghe(B,L,D)

• Sunrise shoot
• Breakfast
• Visit PuZheHei village
• Lunch – Guoqiao rice noodles in Menzi City is highly recommended.
• Drive to Honghe County.
• Check-in hotel
• Hotel – Yunti Hotel

Day 4 – 22nf June – Dayangjie town in Honghe county(B,L,D)

• 4am departure for Dayangjie to join the annual carnival of the Yiche people.
• Whole day at carnival.
• Check-in local hostel for overnight stay.
• Dinner
• Free and easy.
• Hotel – Local Hostel

Day 5 – 23^rd June –  Dayangjie-Honghe-Kunming(B,L,D)

• Breakfast
• Check out hostel
• Join in the Yiche Carnival in the morning
• Drive back to Kunming
• Check-in hotel
• Dinner at local restaurant.
• Free and easy
• Hotel – Kunming Hotel – http://www.kmhotel.cn

Day 6 – 24^th June –  Kunming-departure(B)

• Breakfast
• 8:30am visit Kunming Park
• Old streets of Kunming
• Shopping
• Transfer to Airport

End of Trip
If you are interested, please email for further details: [email protected]