We climbed up the Thousand Turtle Mountain in the district of pastoral Liming, on a late and wet afternoon after several hours’ drive from Lijiang, Yunnan in late 2009. After our guide selected a live fowl for a home-cooked lunch (& dinner), we set off for this beautiful mountain the resembled the back of a thousand turtles at its peak. The climb itself was exhilarating in a strenous but not terribly prohibitive way, and as evening gathered, it started to rain unremittingly. Returning to the simple village hotel, we were the only guests for our dinner (with the remaining half of the fowl). It became extremely cold after dinner, as we huddled in front of a coal fire watching Yunnan Variety TV. There was no hot water that night, and the room was spartan, but it was a very memorable visit to a beautiful part of China. To read about the Tiger Leaping Gorge at Lijiang, click here.