Swallows in Yunnan Province – Jianshui, China

I've been in Jianshui (pronounced jienshway), which is known as one of the places where Confucius (really called Cong Ze) set up a school. It is also close to a cave where thousands of swallows migrate at a certain time of year. My friend, James, arrived and I saw many of them swirling round the bell tower and gate at the entrance to the old town. They nest under the eaves, and the gatekeeper is clearly very proud of them. Jianshui is a three-hour bus ride south of Kunming. The Huaqing Hotel, on Hanlin Lu near the famous Zhu's Garden, is a nice place to stay for 200 yuan, if you bargain. Avoid the drab Lanan Hotel.

We went to the swallows' cave, which is about 40 kilometers away. To get there, we found a photo on a map, and pointed at that, as almost nobody speaks English. We were directed to the long distance bus station, and got a rickety five-yuan bus that took local roads to avoid the tolls on the expressway. We saw peasants working by hand, or occasionally with water buffalo, on tiny squares of land, growing corn, tobacco, cabbages, rice, lotus root and taro.

One of the fun things about China is that since we can't read most of the signs, there are great surprises. When we got to the Swallows Cave Village, we had the choice to walk up the hill, as some were doing, or down the path. We chose the path. That went past beautiful old trees and bushes, and ended at a suspension footbridge over a swirling, cafe au lait river.

To the right a sign said "Entrance" in Chinese and English, so we entered. This led to a huge cave opening, with old Chinese signs hanging from the roof rocks, down stone steps with a strong incense smell and an enormous gold Chinese god ahead. To the right were five or six people chanting to a shrine, as someone banged on a wooden drum. Every few minutes he clanged a pair of cymbals. In a tiny rock hollow on the left were small offerings of important items – pomegranates, pears, salt (or sugar). There were also fried fermented tofu, burning oil, wine, rice and packaged candies – a serene place.

We walked far into the cave. There were mysterious shapes, the sound of swallows, steep steps, swinging bridges over the river, faint lights. I began to wish I had brought a flashlight. Every so often a spotlight would illuminate a spectacular shape, then a sign in English announced "The Smoking and Resting Area", and a hundred yards beyond that, "The Swallows Cave Shopping and Snack Area". Only in China!

So in a damp, cool and wonderfully gloomy cave, we ate hard boiled tea eggs, fried sweet puff pastry, a one-inch hot dog, five French fries seasoned with Szechuan peppercorns, (yum) and sweet rice and bean paste soup (no thank you). This was the day's special. Then we returned to the mouth of the cave in a low boat with a dragon's head on it, and got a ride back into town.

We experienced such kindness – the taxi driver who raced after us when we were walking away from his cab in the wrong direction; the smiles from traders after a supposedly angry bargaining session; the kids who said hello in English, and tried to understand the answer; the smiles from old ladies when we said good morning in Chinese; the candy we were given on the bus by some young musicians on the start of their week's long journey to Beijing. So many others. What an optimistic country!

For our last meal in Jianshui, we chose the Standard Meal at the Old Town Cafe, also on Hanlin Lu. We rejected the fish flavored eggplant with odors. Some of the meals included ground sticky rice made into a sausage, sliced, fried and coated with spices; cabbage stir fried in pork fat with dried chilies and garlic; glass noodles with scallions and mushrooms; eggplant with big slices of ginger; and some green leafy vegetable with ground pork and fresh chilies. All were full of flavor and heat – a great way to end.

Note: there is no Bank of China in Jianshui, as it's not a tourist kind of town, so change your money before you get there.