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Shaping market, Yunnan province, south-west China
Photographed by John Pilkington
China's Yunnan province, 1.8 times the size of the UK, is home to a glorious mix of people, with ‘minorities’ making up more than a quarter of its 45 million inhabitants. One of the largest and most prosperous of these is the Bai, many of whom work the fertile shores of the vast blue Erhai Lake in the west of the province. The nearby Cangshan Mountain is permanently snow-capped, but by the lakeshore the climate is mild. The people make the most of it, working the land intensively to grow rice, wheat and a wide range of vegetables, which they bring to the busy Monday market in the village of Shaping.
Motor transport is still a rarity in the countryside, and most of the crowd arrive on foot, baskets at the ready to carry home their ‘weekly shop’. The basket weavers work at home, using a specially-grown rush fibre, and their handiwork can be found stacked in a prominent corner of the market. Farm workers and produce sellers favour a heavy-duty basket in the shape of a plant pot, often reinforced with wire or bamboo, but for normal use, the delicate bell-shaped model is preferred. Baskets are slung behind the back and supported by a woollen rope or broad woven strap across the forehead, a method which is surprisingly efficient and well suited to Yunnan's hilly terrain.
I still recall Shaping's marketeers with affection. They were curious to meet a foreigner, and keen to sell me anything from a brick of tobacco to a kilo of clams. To liven up the bargaining they laughed, joked, argued, sulked, walked away, introduced me to their grandparents, talked about the weather, and finally, if nothing else worked, lowered the price.
John is giving lectures around the UK about his travels—visit [www.pilk.net/lecturedates.html] for the latest dates and venues.
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