Yulong Snow Mountain, located in Lijiang, Southwest China's Yunnan province, is the southernmost glacier in the northern hemisphere. The snow-capped and fog-enveloped peaks look like a jade dragon in the clouds from the old town of Lijiang. [PHOTO BY CHEN MEILING/CHINA DAILY]
Chen Meiling shares her experiences on the road in Lijiang, Yunnan province.
The bar singer at the old town of Lijiang actually thought that I was hurt (either by a breakup, family trouble or getting laid off), or I wouldn't have traveled alone, especially to "the town of romantic affairs" in Southwest China.
But I explained: "No, I was just attracted by the beauty of the place."
He didn't seem to buy it.
The term "solo traveler" is, to some extent, seen as odd in a traditional Chinese context. And there is also concern for the safety of single female travelers.
However, about 59 percent of the Chinese women surveyed have traveled alone between two and five times in their lives, with about half doing long journeys, according to a report by British Airways in October.
The high altitude, thin air and low temperature of the Yulong Snow Mountain make it a challenge for tourists to climb. [PHOTO BY CHEN MEILING/CHINA DAILY]
Also, more than 65 percent of Chinese female travelers said they wanted to feel a sense of freedom and independence, 63 percent said they wanted private space and 48 percent said they wanted to make new friends and experience something unique, the report said.
Zanna Van Dijk, a blogger from London who has more than 70,000 followers on Instagram, was quoted by British Airways that the modern female traveler is changing significantly.
Women now expect to explore and discover new things and not to be bound by the traditional concept of a family trip.
My eight-day journey to the old town of Lijiang, the snow-covered mountain, the rushing canyon and the mysterious Lugu Lake in Yunnan province earlier last month proved the point. And I also experienced the kindness of strangers.
Yulong Snow Mountain, located in Lijiang, Southwest China's Yunnan province, is the southernmost glacier in the northern hemisphere. The snow-capped and fog-enveloped peaks look like a jade dragon in the clouds from the old town of Lijiang. [PHOTO BY CHEN MEILING/CHINA DAILY]
I saw that kindness when the young man from the bed-and-breakfast walked me to the bus station at 7 am; when a female tourist taught me to deal with altitude sickness at the Yulong Snow Mountain and when a woman called Wang Yalan asked whether we can keep each other company after a car crash.
We were on the highway heading for the Tiger Leaping Gorge, one of the country's deepest gorges located between Lijiang city and Shangri-La, in the Dechen Tibet autonomous prefecture in Yunnan.
The Jinsha River jumped among the rocks to form rolling waves and chopping rapids like tigers roaring in the valley.
The driver was answering a question from a passenger when suddenly he saw a truck stopped in the front.
He braked hard but the car turned 180 degrees, hit the guardrail and then the truck with gorges and rivers below.
A tourist takes photo at the Blue Moon Valley, at the foot of Yulong Snow Mountain. The lake looks blue under sunlight. [PHOTO BY CHEN MEILING/CHINA DAILY]
"The road freezes and the vehicle slipped," he said.
Wang sat beside me saying "it's better to have two of us on the trip than one."
She had just completed an entrance exam for postgraduates and was traveling around Yunnan on her own. After the crash, we developed a kind of friendship.
Four women continued the rest of the journey celebrating our escape from a possible disaster.
Speaking about the treacherous route, the driver, who called himself Brother Jun, said: "Twenty years ago, there was no road. We had to drive on four steel tubes to cross the mountains.
"The drivers were often nervous. I used to help them to cross one by one."
We only made him promise to "drive slowly when returning."
Yulong Snow Mountain, located in Lijiang, Southwest China's Yunnan province, is the southernmost glacier in the northern hemisphere. The snow-capped and fog-enveloped peaks look like a jade dragon in the clouds from the old town of Lijiang. [PHOTO BY CHEN MEILING/CHINA DAILY]
Our four-woman team shared bread and yogurt, took photos of each other and laughed when we had to use an open-air toilet in the mountains.
There is a saying, "only when you travel alone can you meet the right partner."
Now, digital tools, such as WeChat or a phone often replace face-to-face communication.
But what you miss between office cubicles can be found by putting trust in fellow strangers and trying to blend in the nature.
It was half past seven in the morning, and there was feeble light on the horizon of the 48.5-square-kilometer Lugu Lake in the deep mountains of Ninglang county, a 4.5-hours' drive from downtown Lijiang.
I was standing on the stone beach waiting for sunrise.
A dog then lay at my feet showing me its belly. "Was I supposed to touch its belly?"
With little experience of dealing with animals, I hesitated.
After a while, it was disappointed and left.
The day before, I got a chance to observe the white wings and red bills of sea gulls while experiencing the waves of the lake on a boat.
We heard the sea gulls, which seemed to tell a story of freedom.
We saw them as they competed for food, a vivid representation of the fight for survival.
