Yunnan & Myanmar
A journey along the Salwen and Ayeyarwady
This itinerary takes us along the Salween and Ayeyarwady rivers. Both rivers originate in Tibet, running from North to South almost in parallel, and finally flowing into different oceans. In Yunnan, the upper Salween Rriver is entrenched in a narrow gorge at Bingzhonglua and Liuku near the Tibetan border. Due to the isolated location of the valley and its surrounding mountains, the cultures of the local Lisu, Nu and Tibetan minorities have largely survived. Near Bhamo and Pagan, the countryside looks rather different: After flowing through the Himalayan valleys, the middle reaches of the Ayeyarwady river now stretch across the wide midland plains.
Yunnan's west has been a traditional trailhead for caravan routes engaging in countertrades between India and Tibet. In the southwest, near the Myanmar border, narrow valleys are replaced by a hilly landscape characterised by volcanic activity near Tengchong and Henshun. In order to get from the river Salween to the Ayeyarwady in the west, one has to get onto the old Burma Road leading through a thick rain forest across a mountain range to Bhamo.
At Bhamo, various types of boats take travellers downstream to Mandalay and onto Yangon. This landscape is in stark contrast with the wild, steep valleys of Yunnan. The rough surroundings have made a lasting impact on the cultural development of local minorities and led to the optimisation of agriculture as a survival strategy. From Bhamo, the boat cruises on, passing numerous pagodas and small villages, and passing the village of Katha, the setting of George Orwell's novel "Burmese Days". Leaving Katha, the river makes its way across the plains of central Burma, and the scenery changes into rain forest and bamboo groves.
The journey continues past Taugaung and Kyauk Myaung to Mingun and Mandalay. Next, we approach the plains of Pagan, the city of a thousand pagodas and the crown jewel of cultural development in Myanmar. Although in this country, too, every day life is shaped by authoritarian forces, Buddhism, as opposed to Buddhism in China, has helped to build bridges ensuring the continuation of cultural development in this region.