Hello Yunnan

Goodbye zai jian Chengdu. Though only in Chengdu for only 2 weeks, twas a bittersweet goodbye to the city and hotel we called home and to some friends (Kristan, Heather, and Ping) who flew back to Seattle. 

Hello Yunnan! Leaving our little Bastyr China safety bubble, Kristina and I headed to Kunming, the capital of Yunnan (and soon after, Lijiang). My first feeling was that it felt like Seattle, like home, with the cleaner and cooler air, the mountains, and greenery.

Why Yunnan? My maternal grandmother is from Yunnan. Not much more is known than that, but was a strong enough reason to go in and of itself. To top if off with many many cherries, It's suppose to be the most culturally and biologically diverse province in China. With that, hundreds of its plant species are used in Chinese medicine - like yunnan bai yao!! Last but not least, pu-reh tea!!
 

I'm so thankful Kristina decided to come with me last minute. Exploring a (relatively) foreign country can be stressful. My focus was Chinese communication, and her's was navigation. Together, we made a pretty good team :)