Real Rural China Road Trip: Baoshan Stone Village and Tiger

Our 2000km road trip through Yunnan, China has been AWESOME! Our itinerary maybe is a little ambitious, but so far we've made it to every destination. And some of them have been unforgettable. In this video we saw Impressions of Lijiang and Blue Moon Valley, both at Yulong Snow Mountain. On any normal road trip, Impressions of Lijiang would've been the highlight of the entire trip. It's a grand performance, put on by 500 local people, with the backdrop of the mountains. It's really special. BUT! China has so much to offer, and Yunnan is such a great road trip destination, that the very next day we found something even more impressive and memorable.<br>Of course we're talking about Baoshan Stone Village. The thing about China is: they do a great job of making tourist attractions out of historic places. The history is everywhere, and they're great at integrated technology and lights to showcase how ancient and important things are. This is what makes Baoshan so special: It's the real deal. No lights, no modern installations, just a ~1200 year old village set on the side of a mountain. Something like 100 families live here and are more or less self-sustaining. Talk about a unique place to live. Walking through the narrow passageways barely big enough to squeeze a donkey through (everything in the village is brought in on a donkey) you really feel like you're in a different world. This is a travel experience that we will remember forever. Next, we went to to Tiger Leaping Gorge, and again, wow! The history (myth?) here is that a tiger leaped 25 meters over the gorge to avoid some hunters, hence the name. It's a beautiful place where the power of the water is unbelievable. They even have escalators on the way down, which was great for us because we are getting tired on this busy trip! The last thing worth mentioning is...