In the late 19th century, the Qing dynasty signed a treaty with France to open Mengzi as a trade center, setting up customs here, the first in Yunnan, and one of the first in China. For a while, foreign people established companies, banks, churches, and post offices in Mengzi, including Britain, France, the US, Germany, and Japan. The little county also built the first telegram office in the province. Foreign presence has long become part of the local legacy.

Noodles for breakfast and coffee for the afternoon. Here in Mengzi, you can still find old people in their eighties and nineties maintaining the habit of drinking a cup of coffee every day. That habit comes from their early days in working in a foreign bank or company. And all that was brought by the railways. Hmm, I wonder when the train will arrive.

The Dianyue railways link Yunnan and Vietnam. It was built in the year 1903 by the French people. “Snaking railways, crawling trains, heroic drivers /train engineers/ and daredevil passengers” --these are the words people use to describe the railway that runs through the mountainous area. In rivalry, the local Chinese business people also managed to build their own railways, which are much narrower, for steam engine locomotives.

I am waiting for a train here.

Half an hour away from Mengzi county sea, Bisezhai is a good witness to that part of history. Just two hundred meters away the little village has two stations, one for the French railways and one for the Chinese railways. The former a tiny village of just more than two dozen families has gradually grown into a major transportation hubbub. But now it’s long gone into decline. You can no longer see the busy scene that once brought the small place high fame.

It seems I am late again. The last train has just left and the next one will not arrive until six thirty. Or, maybe I am early. This little railway station will be part of the bigger railway network in Southeast Asia and by then, it will be just as busy as it once was.

With an average altitude of 1800 meters above sea level, this region in Mile is considered an ideal place to plant wine grapes. It has almost all the elements necessary to bring out best grape wine such as sufficient sunshine, big temperature difference during daytime and night as well as a dry climate. All these are condensed into one of the famous Chinese wine brand, called Yunnan Red Wine.

Blue sky, red soil and strong sunshine. Now let’s try its spirit.

With my poor judgment in wine I can’t tell whether it’s great wine or not, but I can assure you it’s another way to taste the marvels of the wonderland of Yunnan.

In Mile, a visit to the Yi village Keyi is a must on your itinerary.

The village would welcome you in their traditional style, if you let them know in advance when you will arrive. The welcoming ceremony features the typical dance in the Yi people.