Honghe Trip II 

cctv.com 07-08-2005 14:14

Our journey started from Kunming and we made a stop at the ancient city of Jianshui. I can still hear the chirping swallows at Yinghui lou in my ears and the sweet taste of the ancient well water in my mouth. Now we are on our way along the Honghe river to Hehou city.

Hey, welcome to Travelogue. I am Liu Changying, and in this episode of travelogue we continue our journey in Honghe Hani and Yi prefecture, in Yunnan province. And this is my long time companion, my umbrella, my fan, and my hat鈥Our destination is Hekou. Follow me.

We are traveling along the Honghe river, in the southern part of Yunnan province. Honghe in Chinese means a red river and yes, the river does look red. After torrential rains, the rivulets from the mountain come down into the river bringing the red soil, adding a special color to nature. We are now in Kekou, a lovely port city. Over there, across the river, is Vietnam.

The small city harbors an atmosphere that is hard to describe. The humid climate renders a careless, listless feeling and it seems there are lots of possibilities lurking in the air, alluring to a kind of openness and fusion aroused by a border city.

I thought there would be a lot of fruits that I wouldn鈥檛 recognize, but it seems that I know all of them. Lychee, mango, and little bananas鈥what is this? Hey, excuse me, what is this? Can I try it? 鈥 Oh鈥my mouth is all numb. Is this for eating? Can you eat this? It鈥檚 still raw? How come you are selling it here?

It鈥檚 not ripe yet, have to wait a couple more days.

With a borderline of over 193 kilometers and a population of nearly one hundred thousand, Hekou is a major port city in the region. Honghe river and the Nanxihe River joins here. On this side of the China-Vietnam Bridge is Hekou city and on the other side is Lao Cai province of Vietnam.

Everyday, before the official opening of the port, the guards would stage a flag raising ceremony. There is a time difference between Vietnam and China, so at eight o鈥檆lock sharp Beijing time, or seven o鈥檆lock Vietnamese time, the port opens.