Trip to Kunming - Sept. 16-19,2008

Within 24 hours of landing in Beijing, Rici and I went on a business trip to Kunming. Rici had been invited to take part in a Boeing conference with several airlines and delegates from Boeing, FAA, CAAC, etc. So we moved from the Hilton Hotel, after 1 night, to Green Lake Hotel in Kunming. After arriving and getting settled into the hotel, Rici went to afternoon meetings, and I went to sleep.

The next day Rici had an early 3 am simulator followed by the rest of the day in meetings


I walked through the Green Lake Park and found many people of all ages exercising Ti Che. It was beautiful to watch. People of various ages, some in large, small groups, or alone concentrating on their slow precise movements. After watching a large group of older women, I was invited to join in. So I did. What a wonderful cultural experience. They were smiling and encouraging me the whole time.

After a time, I thanked them and walked on and found a small group of men and women exercising in a similar way using long silver swords with a red tassel. It was so interesting to see their movements so coordinated in an old ritual, their concentration so deep.

Further on I saw a group of women next to a small pagoda exercising using bright red fans. It was delightful.


The most amazing person I saw was an older woman wearing dark pants and a patterned top with a long silver sword with a tassel. She was alone under a tree, just off the pathway.



The was deeply concentrating on the exactness of her slow precise movements. It was almost as if she were doing a ballet in slow motion. I tried to take some pictures of her from a distance, so I wouldn't disrupt her concentration.

Later that evening, Rici and I went to dinner at a wonderful outdoor resturant with Umjad (an Iranian who works for Boeing in Beijing). He is a very smart man and a great friend. He used to be a photographer and he told me he would tutor me in photography when I get my new camera. He has been in China 10 years. An excellent resource for us.

Dad and I will meet back here at the hotel around 4 pm. It feels so weird not to have working cell phones, or any other way to contact each other except to meet somewhere at a certain time. We hope to get some as soon as we get back to Beijing.