I’m now in Yunnan Province, in the southwest corner of China. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas of the country and the most popular with Chinese tourists. My train made it to Kunming after 11.00 in the morning. I was trying to decide whether to meet a friend in a nearby town or to stay here. I took almost an hour trying to figure out where bus #64 was located. In the mean time my friend said he preferred I visit today, so I turned around and got a train ticket to Qujing.
After 1.5 hour train ride, I met him at the train station along with another art student I met in Beijing. I was taken to his home, which was huge by Chinese standards. Six bedrooms and they had seven beds total. My friend, his two parents, and his grandmother live there.
They took me out to see the city a bit and then returned for dinner. We walked past a black, polluted river near his home and I took a photo of it. One local lady got a little upset about me showing this kind of thing to people in America.
For dinner there was a hotpot which plenty of food. Along with the two art students, another friend was invited because she never met a foreigner before. After dinner we had some Pu-er tea that is only used on special occasions since it is the best tea in the house and has been aged at least 20 years.