Yuanyang - Yi women, Yunnan 1993

These Yi women in Yuanyang, Yunnan were lugging their heavy loads of sticks up the street in their traditional costumes.

There were several different nationalities in this village and surrounding villages had flat roofs, on top of which various plants were left to dry.

Miao minority women in Jinping, Yunnan 1993

Here are some Miao minority women in Jinping, Yunnan near the border at the end of the road. On the way to Jinping our bus had a puncture and we all had to get out of the bus. In Jinping there were Hani, Miao and Yao minorities (at least 2 different styles of clothing) and a fantastic market day when all the people came on tractors and whatever vehicles they could cram onto or on foot from the surrounding villages.

Bulang family in Xishuangbanna

This is a photo of a Bulang family taken in a village in Xishuangbanna in Yunnan in 1993. It's a posed shot but I like it - It's one of my favourite photos from the time in China. We talked to various families in the village in their wooden houses raised off the ground and one woman told us she was planning to build a new house. She wanted a concrete one so the rain wouldn't come in. We took fruit (mango) to give to the children. The next day we saw the woman at the local market but she was a bit embarrassed about waving to us.

Dong child at Fulu, Guangxi 1993

This is a close-up of a Dong child taken in Fulu, Guangxi in 1993. There was a market with people coming from round about to buy and sell things.

There was no bridge across the river and Fulu was at the end of the road. A road alongside the river was under construction but to reach our destination Sanjiang we had to take a slow boat up the river.

We nearly got away without paying as the ticket inspector girl on the boat thought we had already paid. We sat at the front of the boat and watched as the captain guided us slowly upstream against a fairly strong current. Progress was slow. We passed another boat with another "laowai" on it who waved to us. We also bought some fried sticky rice snacks at a stop on the way. When we got near to Sanjiang we saw a boat which had sunk.

Dong woman in Sanjiang

This is a close-up photo of a Dong woman taken in the market in Sanjiang, Guangxi, China in 1993. There were hundreds of women and a few men dressed in traditional costumes who had come from the surrounding villages to the market to buy and sell produce. Some were barefoot and some carried produce in baskets suspended from a pole across their shoulders. In the villages there were no cars and only people on foot.

You can see the beautiful jewellery that the women wore - a silver hairpin and elegant earrings.

In Sanjiang we met a Japanese photographer who was doing a study of the Dong people but he was a bit aggressive with his photo taking and stuck his camera in their faces. Not nice!

Lahu women in Ximeng, Yunnan

At the end of the road we stayed in Ximeng and saw a few women of the Lahu nationality in the local market. There was no toilet in the hotel and the door was locked so I had to use a chamber pot!

Miao woman sitting by roadside in Yunnan, 1993

I snapped this Miao woman (I think) in Yunnan surreptitiously while she was sitting by the roadside selling her wares. When she saw me she spat at me but then burst out laughing. I can`t remember where the photo was taken but I will investigate and see if I can pinpoint it. I normally asked permission to take people's photograph but sometimes candid shots are best.