Yunnan's Honghe: Historic towns, ethnic nationalities and a unique cross-border railway

Kunming-Hekou Railway 1999.  [Photo by Bruce Connolly/chinadaily.com.cn]

From Hekou it was back on the railway to Kunming before continuing onwards, by bus, to Dali alongside stunning Erhai Lake. There I would welcome the new millennium before heading back to Honghe. If I followed that route today, there is an overnight train that connects Hekou directly to Dali via the new standard-gauge lineup to Kunming.

My stay in Hekou suggested Honghe could offer quite unique and at that time little-visited destinations. The full title, Honghe Hani and Yi autonomous prefecture, reflects both the Red River and its two major ethnic groups, the Hani and Yi.

Returning in January 2000, by express bus from Kunming, I headed first to Gejiu. Known as "Tin City" due to extensive deposits of the metal that is mined and smelted there. Silver had been extracted in the area during the Yuan and Ming dynasties while tin really commenced from the mid-18th century. Minerals and metallurgical products were then carried by mule caravans to Manhao on the Red River upstream from Hekou before ferrying down to Haiphong.

A primary reason for building the railway I spoke of earlier concerned tin extraction and transportation. By the 1930s minerals accounted for 80 percent of the traffic exported along the line; in reverse, coal was carried up for Gejiu's smelters. However, reaching the town was problematic due to steep gradients. It was not until 1921 that an ultra-narrow gauge railway, only 0.6 meters wide, finally connected Gejiu with Bisezhai. On the main line to and from Kunming, Bisezhai lies close to Menzi, capital of Honghe Prefecture. In 1889 Menzi opened as a treaty port, with most trade at that time being cross-border.