Yunnan: A Place I Keep Returning To

I first visited Dali and Lijiang in 2003. I liked the climate, and I remember how easy it felt to relax there. What interested me most were the people making things by hand. There was so much to look at—handmade objects, folk art, and artists doing their own work. My impression then was of a place that felt less commercial, where people lived close to nature.

Dali stayed in my thoughts after I left. In 2011, I returned to Yunnan and spent six months volunteering as a teacher in Shangri-La.

I also spent time in Dali during that trip. These photographs are from August 2011.

During that stay, we attended a ceremony at a monastery. I was moved by the devotion of the Tibetan Buddhist community there. Their lives were different from mine, but I felt something familiar in their faith. I left thinking about how belief can give a person a sense of peace, wherever they live.

Two years ago, I returned with my mother for a holiday in Tengchong. She loved the hot springs. I was drawn to the jadeite markets, where I could spend more time looking at jade and learning about the culture around a material I worked with.

I was also fascinated by the local herbs and medicinal traditions. With my interest in Chinese medicine, there was plenty I wanted to learn.

That journey included Xishuangbanna and Ruili, too. I especially enjoyed the markets. There were fruits, vegetables, and herbs I had never seen before. I could happily spend time just looking. Each place had different foods and ways of doing things.

These are the kinds of encounters that give me ideas for Lansattic: seeing what people make, what materials they use, and what they value.

When I remember that holiday, I think of my mother enjoying the hot springs and myself finding another market to explore. We each had something we looked forward to.