Chapter 01
Twenty-six peoples, one province, no majority
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Destination · China
Yunnan, China
China ends here. Something else begins.
A province that contains more altitude, more peoples, and more culinary logic than most countries — and has always known it.
12 chapters ahead
Climate
Four climates in a single day is not unusual — dress in layers, carry rain, expect the afternoon to contradict the morning.
Best season
October through April: the skies clear after the summer monsoon, the light goes sharp, and the high passes stay open.
Atmosphere
- mountain
- tropical
- remote
- old-world
- colonial-layered
- spiritual
- culinary
- artsy
- rugged
- lush
- alpine
- small-town
The chapters
12 ways to get lost here
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Chapter 02
Altitude builds flavor differently here
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Chapter 03
The light changes four times before noon
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Chapter 04
Laos begins where the pavement ends
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Chapter 05
The sky here has weather with opinions
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Chapter 06
Getting here was always the point
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Chapter 07
Three kingdoms met here and left marks
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Chapter 08
Pu-erh ages the way wine never could
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Chapter 09
The gorge drops three kilometers. Straight down.
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Chapter 10
The old town survived. The question is how.
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Chapter 11
Water festival means everyone gets wet
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Chapter 12
Oaxaca and Yunnan never met. They should.
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Keep wandering
You’ve finished Yunnan. Where next?
Pull a thread at random, fall into the world map, or step back to the front door for the latest dispatches.