the lijiang harvest

the bivou: click on image to go to february harvest page with all the local market produce and recipes

tuesday 21st: another clear spring day so we committed ourselves to going out to the lashihai lake area just west of shuhe. lashihai is the food bowl of ljiang with many citrus farms, extensive vegetable gardens and acres of greenhouses. the lake itself is teeming with fish, and home to wild ducks and at this time of year, the rare long-necked crane. after failing to negotiate a fare in the minibus (a daily battle), we were left stranded on the side of the road for an hour. we picked wild fennel while we waited. the keeping of bees and producing honey is a not-too-secret desire. to our delight just out of shuhe we came across some beehives that had been set up at the edge of the canola (rapeseed) fields to take advantage of the spring flowering. the yellow fields shone against the surrounding barren ground. the hives (97 in total) were being cared for by a couple who will be camping for the next month. the hives boxes are of the traditional type. lots of visits are planned as the workers will be collecting honey from the hives before they leave. they had even brought chickens along with them for fresh eggs. we plan to take lots of photos and hopefully document a whole year of their nomadic life, following the pollen trail around the local area.

while we were at at the lashi hai we visited a alternative christian group who have established a back to basics community, setting up on four acres of farm land. they hope to produce fresh vegetables, raise chickens, make their own jams, fruit wines, ciders and juices, and generally lead a sustainable ecologically balanced lifestyle. they shouted us to a beautiful home-cooked and home grown lunch. an apiary is in the  planning.

thursday 16th: its a blue sky day and the shuhe communal garden is busy, with naxi women weeding, harvesting vegetables for cooking or feeding to chickens and rabbits, as well as planting new crops. the naxi woman pictured below is planting garlic bulbs. water is brought in with buckets, as well as fertiliser which is usually poo, both from pigs and horses as well as human. the smell is sometimes overpowering. the excreta is watered down in large plastic tubs then fed onto the plants using a scooping bowl attached to long stick.

wednesday 15th: today the ham arrived. not any ham, this was the famous little black pig ham from the villages along the banks of the Nujiang River (angry river), in the upper reaches of the Mekong where the gorges are steep and treacherous. here the pigs forage in the steep meadows on wild herbs, mushrooms, and fruits. this makes the meat organic. the pigs are killed at about two or three years old and their meat dry-cured for at least eight months and up to three years. they are hung high in the trees to cure. Half the usual salt is used in the curing process. The flavour of the meat is intense and rich with a smoky taste. The crust is tough and chewy. We are still looking for a knife sharp enough to cut through it.

tuesday 14th: today we started planting out the vegetable garden on the rooftops with the help of xiao li who is the naxi landlord’s daughter. there was much digging and hoeing-in of horse poo and other natural fertilsers. the soil is poor, mostly red clay soil so it needs a lot of building up. the bivou is surrounded by the local communal vegetable garden so we are always reminded of when we should be working. today we planted tomato, bok choy, lettuce, chinese cabbage, chinese yam (dioscorea opposita), sage, common eggplant and ethiopean eggplant.

the other exciting event today was the arrival of our first ten litres of fresh pasturised milk from the new established lijiang milk cooperative.the old factory closed down due to the tight regulations that have now been brought in for milk production. we hope to make fresh yoghurt and cheese from this milk. it tastes creamy and fresh, just like cows milk should be.

another surprise was buying a large fresh golden trout in the shuhe wet market. inside the fish were two large sacs of beautiful fresh roe. we quickly googled ‘what to do with fresh trout roe‘ and ended up with spoonfuls of luxurious orange eggs, popping in the mouth. apparently you can only called it caviar if the roe comes from black sturgeon. heng hao trout roe! the trout was cooked pan-fried in butter, with teriyaki sauce and good old australian mash-potato. all local produce, all fresh.

sunday 12th: we were talking about joseph rock (explorer, linguist and botanist) this morning and we came across this photo from his collection. in the 1920s and 30s while exploring yunnan he lived in yuhu, a village nearby just ten kms north. his courtyard house can still be seen there and is well worth a visit. here is a photo taken by him inside his courtyard.

altar with other ritual objects in the courtyard of joseph rocks house at yuhu

click on image to go to the joseph rock yunnan photos page 

friday 9th: solar term: lichun – beginning of spring
pentad: zhe chong shi zen: hibernating insects

wednesday 7th: lantern festival (china)

tuesday 6-8th: bangbang (stick) festival – lijiang
it’s snowing on yulong xue shan, and the insects are still hibernating, but the major cold of dahan has passed and we are gradually getting into the the warmer blue sky days of lichun. the bangbang festival in lijiang and baisha attracted thousands of locals. the markets were full of orchids, magnolias, and peach and apple trees. there were even a few strawberry trees for sale by the usual suspect vendors. everyone was happy carrying home their lucky ‘stick’ promising good crops and harvests later in the year. here at the bivou we have been planting strawberries and chives on the rooftop garden, as well as snow peach and orchids in the courtyard.