Conversations with Sacred Mountains: A Journey Along Yunnan's Tea Caravan Trail

Himalayan Trilogy #2

by Laurence J. Brahm

What makes a mountain sacred? In his search for the mythical Shangri-la, writer/film-maker Laurence J Brahm travels on the ancient Tea Caravan Trail in Yunnan. His journey takes him across Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Lugu, Zhongdian, and Kawegabo. In these cities that have been developed into popular tourist spots, he learns about the waning cultures of the ethnic minorities such as the Bai, the Dai, the Yi, the Naxi and the Mosu. He meets various individuals, including the famous Chinese dancer Yang Liping, who fight hard against the onslaught of modern development to preserve their ethnic cultures and identities. They share with him stories about the misty mountains that stand majestically in this land 'South of the Clouds' and how they are sacred to all the ethnic minority groups that live in the regions. Follow Laurence's journey and find out how only when one engages in a conversation with a mountain will he truly discover why it is sacred.

Paperback

First published August 1, 2014

About the author

Laurence J. Brahm is a global activist, international mediator, political-economist and author based in Beijing, China and Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. He is the leading advocate of a fresh development paradigm – The Himalayan Consensus – an innovative approach to development. The Himalayan Consensus emphasizes empowering people with local pragmatism in place of broad sweeping globalized ideology and theory. (from Wikipedia)

He resides in Llasa and Beijing.

Reviews

[Liesje Leest · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read through this book in no time. It's partly cause of the limited amount of pages and the huge amount of pictures but it's also because the book is fascinating. The author travels from Kunming to Shangri-La via Dali and Lijiang, a route I'll soon be taking myself but in a different order, so I wanted to know more and more! The book includes a lot of history, something I love, and I think I will enjoy my travels even more now I have some background information. Sometimes the book does get a little to spiritual for my liking, and I've been trying to read an other book by this author that I can't get through because of all the spiritual stuff.. It's just not my thing. But the history and travel tales are really fascinating!