07/22/2025 - 07/23/2025
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While riding in the taxi, I was intensely looking for activities in Kunming that I hadn't discovered during my earlier research. The only thing I found was an old gate known as the Jinma-Biji Archway, located a bit south of our new hotel. This archway is another historic site that was regrettably destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and later had to be rebuilt once the nation regained its composure. There are two arches—Jinma or Golden Horse on the east side and Biji or Golden Rooster on the west side, both named after nearby hills. The original structures were erected in the early fifteenth century during the Ming Dynasty and symbolized the gateway to the city. Legend has it that once every sixty years on an autumn evening, the shadow of the Biji Archway cast by the setting sun perfectly aligns with the shadow of the Jinma Archway from the rising moon. Between the two archways, a street performance was occurring, and the gathered crowd was laughing heartily, though I had to depend on Mei Ling's fragmented translations to grasp what was happening.
Near the gate, there was an outdoor shopping mall that embraced the traditional Chinese aesthetic with its intricate paifang gates and barrel tile roofs. Inside, various stalls and shops offered a wide range of goods like porcelain, tea, and dried mushrooms. A central atrium was filled with a dense growth of trees, resembling an urban forest. As soon as we exited the mall, we found ourselves at the entrance of a night market. I wasn't sure if this was a separate market from the one near our apartment or if it was just part of a larger one that extended throughout the city center. Since it was Tuesday evening, I assumed this was a typical scene for the neighborhood every night. Kunming was our third significant city in Yunnan, and it appeared that in this province, it was common for the city center to always be bustling with people late into the night, enjoying food, shopping, and socializing. This lifestyle seemed to have largely faded in Beijing, except for certain designated food streets. Thankfully, we could still experience it here and in cities like Chongqing, but I wondered if it would remain the same in twenty years or if the entire country would tactlessly modernize and Westernize into a bland uniformity.
No matter how many night markets we visit in China, there are always new and unexpected sights. One plaza was lit by a mix of bulb canopies and fiber optic lights designed like stalks of wheat. We also encountered one of the most extensive and varied displays of deep-fried insects we had ever seen, and we had seen plenty. We continued to browse for about another hour, but the day had been tiring with the trip to Xishan and the lengthy hike down the mountain. The next morning, we had to wake up incredibly early for our rescheduled flight to Hanoi. We made our way back to our hotel room through the pedestrianized center, which was bright enough to resemble daylight due to the radiance of the shop windows and the vibrant patterns of the high-rises surrounding us.
The following morning, we quickly got ready and climbed into the taxi that Mei Ling had ordered in advance. Our flight to Hanoi was set for nine in the morning. Everything was proceeding smoothly until check-in when the agent summoned a supervisor to examine Mei Ling's passport. It seemed there was an issue because her maiden name appeared as her middle name, but it was not listed on her Vietnam visa. Curiously, I had noticed this minor discrepancy after submitting the application, but once we received the visa from Vietnam, I thought it was no longer a concern. Mei Ling soon began an animated discussion with the supervisor, and I figured she would work it out. After all, she had gotten us on a flight to Mexico years back when Cleo's passport was expiring on the day of our departure. I have come to think of her as a Jedi. However, this time, she was unable to use her usual persuasion. She returned to us and informed me that they wouldn't permit us to board the flight to Hanoi under any circumstances. I still believe Mei Ling could have managed immigration in Vietnam, but the airline didn't want to take the risk of having to fly us back to China.
I was somewhat taken aback by this turn of events, but I felt a sense of relief that I had decided against booking a customized tour of Vietnam, something I had given serious thought to. Canceling that would have been quite inconvenient at short notice. In fact, I hadn't committed to anything other than our hotel in Hanoi, so we would only lose the cost of one night by canceling. Therefore, there were some positives to focus on, especially considering my concerns about the weather in Vietnam. I decided to completely disregard the frustrating
07/22/2025 - 07/23/2025 View Asia 2025 on zzlangerhans's travel map.
