Pit Stop at Qiubei

As I read the photocopied materials from some guidebooks, and since I had the flexibility in my itinerary, I decided to go to a small town called Qiubei (丘北) located in Yunnan near to the border of Guangxi. This town would be the pit stop for my plan to visit Puzhehei (普者黑) which is famous for its gorgeous natural karst landscape. Puzhehei is known as backup spot with similar scenery after Guilin and its sibling Yangshuo.

Religious buildings help us to have better understanding on the religion and culture of the locals.

Qiubei is a very small district town (县城), easily walk end to end in just an hour. Besides Han Chinese, you can also find Yi (彝族), Hui (回族) and other minorities in this town. Market is always the best place to encounter the minorities, as they will always make sure they look at their "bestest" best when they are out in town for marketing.

This is the street where the local market is located

I am just a passer by hanging around in the street and market of this town. However, I managed to see minority costumes which is new to me (After visiting many minorities villages in Guizhou and Guangxi in my another trip). I am always excited to explore the minorities in China, simple reason - they are culture rich. Culture is one of the major things I search for besides beautiful scenery in my trips.

I tried many times to ask them which minority ethic they belongs to, but looks like I have difficulty understand their Chinese language (普通话). If not mistaken, they are Yi (彝族).

The ladies are so busy bargaining for good deal. They are selling semi-finished product such as belts, etc which are part of their traditional costumes, or finished products such as full set of costumes)
*The blue color of their costume reminds me on my secondary school uniform. Haha"

She was too shy for me to take her photo. After prompting for few times, only then she looked at my camera.

As I walked towards the other end of the street, a muslim couple was there selling barbeque mutton, beans, beancurd, sprinkle with chilli powder...yummy yummy, how to resist? It reminds me of my trip in Xinjiang years back, where I had eaten so much muttons. Mutton is definitely not my choice of food back in my home country, as it tastes so much different from mutton in Xinjiang...

Her hat is so unique...but regret to say I yet to find out which minority ethic she belongs to..

It is always good to ask for permission before taking portrait shots, and I did, but she still look fierce to me..

Last but not least, this is taken at the share bathroom/washroom of the hotel I stayed in Qiubei. For someone who don't read Chinese character, which one should you follow? The "male/female" sign, or the "women/men" wording? Before I checked out, I informed the receptionist about the mistake, and hope they will amend the signage.