Silk Road Magazine

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Transcript of Silk Road Magazine

Table of Contents Editors Page 2

Get to know the writers 3 Ancient Chinese Ledged 6

Safe Simple Salar 8 All about the Tea 14

Lets make some dumplings 16

Top Of The World In Bai 19 Extraordinary Ewenki 26

Diverse Dai 32 Translation 38 Thank You 40

Roles 41 Citation 42

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Editors Page

By: Brooke McCawley (Editor in Chief

The Worldly Magazine has 6 divisions, the European division, the North American division, the South American division, the African division, and the Oceanic division. The Silk Road is the Asian division of our company. In this edition four of our prime writers traveled to four very distinct, but unknown Chinese minorities. The writers only had 24 hours to get a feel of the life style, this way they were able to write outstanding pieces of work while remaining objective.

Not only does this edition tell all readers about the 4 minorities, but we also have things like traditional

Chinese recipes, Chinese legends, fun facts, all of which is used to help new travelers get a feel for the place they are planning to visit. To help out even more we have added a translation page at the back of the magazine so that you will enjoy your vacation even more. We all know how difficult it can be to deal with language barriers.

The writers of this magazine really do appreciate your feedbacks so don’t hesitate to email them about things you enjoyed things you think could have been better. All your information could help the next edition be even stronger.

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Meet The Writers

I grew up in Hong Kong, but my dad is from Russia and my mom is from England. We moved to Hong Kong due to their business. But I’ve been traveling around the world since I was a little girl. When I was little, my mother and father brought me around the world and show me different sceneries and cultures. Since we lived in Hong Kong they never found Chinese minorities very interesting. But it’s always been my dream to go to these Chinese minorities. Different cultures and religions have always amazed me, which is why I decided to dedicate my life to traveling.  

 

I am an experienced freelance travel writer that does a lot of work with the Asian division of Worldly magazine called Silk Road. I have An older and younger sister that mean the most to me, every time I visit a new place I send postcards to both of them. It helps us stay close and its nice to know that there are people there for you even when your thousands of miles away. As much as I miss them, there is no better feeling then going on an adventure to an unknown place and experiencing something new.  

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I have been traveling for over 15 years, starting out in Asia before moving to join Silk Road the magazine. The Silk Road is the Asian division of the overall company, the Worldly Magazine. Because of my Japanese origins, I really love traveling around in anywhere in Asia. In my free time, I enjoy reading, watching movies and in particular playing Basketball. I enjoy killing time on Airplanes by listening to music and reading historical fiction and non-fiction books.  

Because of my Dad’s job, I have always been travelling throughout the world. He is a pilot, so I always go on trips with him. I have loved travelling and being a travel writer was a dream since I was a kid. Coming to Worldly Magazine was a dream come true, but coming to the Asian division (Silk Road) was even better. I have always loved Chinese history, but never got the chance to come to China.  

 

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Chinese Legend Long, long ago, 10 unruly suns caused drought and death by all gathering in the skies instead of taking turns roaming the heavens. Houyi, a talented archer, shot down nine of the blazing orbs.

People loved him and wanted to study martial arts with him. Houyi eventually married a beautiful woman called Chang’e.

Houyi then went to Kunlun Mountain, and the god there gave him an immortality pill from Xi Wangmu, the Goddess of the West. Houyi gave it to Chang’e for safekeeping.

While Houyi was away, an evil

disciple, Peng Meng, tried to steal the pill. During the struggle, Chang’e swallowed it and immediately floated to the moon.

Houyi never forgot about his wife. He put an incense table in his yard and put out a laid out Chang’es favorite foods, including moon cakes. People followed his idea because Houyi was his hero. They prayed that goddess Chang’e will bring them happiness and safety.

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Safe Simple Salar By: Brooke McCawley

The crowded streets, laughing people and an abundance of food really welcome you to Salar. You may plan your trips around the scenery and ability to relax, but Salar is a place you should visit to experience something you don't experience on a daily bases. The pure and simplistic way of life something has been lost with modernization and the digital world. Salar is an anomaly in society; it does not fit in with other Chinese minorities. This however is what makes Salar so special.

My name is Brooke McCawley and my entire career as a freelance travel writer has been about sharing the beauty of small countries, cities, minorities and trying to get the world to understand and appreciate them and their differences. Most have not even heard of the Salar (撒拉

族 sa la zu) Minority, if they have they have heard of the ones with greater populations and located

closer to the cities.

The minority I visited is sometimes known as Ili Salar, the Ili is there to differentiate Salar in XinJiang from some of the

other groups of Salar. It is a mystery that I was dying to uncover. As a writer it is not my job to tell a story that will make you fall in love with a particular place or with its people, it is simply my job to

write about what I observe, experience and introduce my reader to the simple beauties in life that we tend to overlook. As you read this article, do not expect this to be about the fantastic views, or the paintings and fabulous architecture. Those things are hard to find in this minority; the beauty I am talking about is not the typical sights one may see as the visit a foreign world but the purity of the minority which is indeed a rare experience. You will experience how all they need is simple things to live and thrive. It is beautiful because it allows you to soak up the sun and leave all your worries behind and just appreciate what is right

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“Progress was a great thing it just went on too long”.  

in front of you.

There is a saying, “progress was a great thing it just went on too long”. This minority has hardly progressed at all and it is refreshing to see that we can and do still live without the need for instant gratification. For any outsider who visits this minority I hope that you open up your mind and heart and allow yourself to except the culture and way these people live, because while it may not look like it, Salar is a treasure that should be valued by all.

Traveling to places that are not very well known can be a bit challenging because there are rarely any direct flights to get there. So as you may imagine getting there was somewhat complicated, it started with a flight that left Beijing to Urumqi, which is city near by, the flight took off at 2:50pm and landed at 7:05pm. I then took a cab to the house I would be staying at. I was pretty exhausted by the time I got there, but I was only there for 24 hours and had to experience everything before I left. No time was to be wasted during this trip.

The family I was staying with prepared me a delicious but simple meal. The Salar people plant chilies and pepper in their gardens, and they grow buckwheat, millet, wheat, and

barley in the larger feilds. I normally live on food with seasonings and colors, but in Salar they cook what they grow making the food taste fresh and delicious. After gaining some energy from the well-cooked meal, I decided to go for a walk through the minority to get a good feel of Salar.

During my walk I noticed that the mountains seamed to protect the people in Salar, guarding them from the outside world that have the power to disrupt their lives. There are only a sparse amount of trees offer little shade against the blazing sun; thankfully I came to Salar in the spring when it was still a bit chilly. Most men were hard at work, but I still was able to notice the clothes these people wore. You see, the three most common religions in China are Communism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Salar on the other hand is primarily Muslim. It sounds strange, Chinese Muslims? However, Salar is located in Xinjiang which borders Pakistan, Pakistan is Muslim hence why Salar people are Muslim. Even their language is vastly different, either they speak a language that is distinct to them called Salar or they speak Turkish.

Muslims are rather conservative and their clothing is very understated. The men and involved women all wear

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primarily black or dull colored clothes that reveal very little.

The single girls on the other hand wear very bright colors making them stand

out in the community. I stood out in the crowd as I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

On my way back to the house I was going to spend the night in, I noticed that all of their homes are made of wood and decorated with hanging corn and chilies. Most people who live in the more “modern” civilizations decorate their houses with flowers; here people decorate them with the same things they grow and eat. Everything is kept simple in Salar and it is refreshing. It’s as if I left the chaos and the noise and finally can take much needed breath to appreciate all that is good.

When I got back to the home, the family I was staying with handed me a set of clothes much like the ones I saw the single women wearing. I quickly donned them on and when I asked why I had to change they

told me that it was the Mawlid Festival and I had to be dressed properly for it. Mawlid Festival is the traditional commemoration of the birth of Muhammad. It is celebrated on the 12th day of the 3rd month on the Islamic calendar. Stepping out the door it was as if the Salar I had just seen, was gone. It looked like a carnival, the streets were crowded, the people were laughing, candles were lit and it was as if the stars had been brought down to earth. Food and money were distributed between friends and family, scholars read out poems, the children were playing; it was a night of magic.

Once the festival was over, we settled back into our homes and had another large feast. By the time dinner was over I was exhausted and ready for bed. As much as I missed my bed, as soon as my head hit the pillow I was fast asleep. I was woken the next day by the light coming in from the window and was greeted by some of the left over dinner from the night before. I knew that I would have to leave soon to get to the airport in time for my flight, but I decided to go outside and offer my services.

The family I was staying with was not young; in fact back home they probably would have retired by now. Instead of lying in bed these people worked day and night just to provide some

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simple food on the table. It is moments like this when I realize how lucky I am not to worry about where my next meal is coming from, but for the people of Salar it is just a way of life. I offered to help, but they insisted that I should just relax and finish getting ready.

By the time my ride had arrived I was feeling very solemn, a family I had only known for 24 hours had accepted me with open arms. Their home became my home for just a day and I could not have

been more grateful. Leaning my head on the window of the car I looked back at Salar and prayed that the modern world would not touch them, that they would stay pure and simple. I boarded the plane that would take me back to Beijing; I knew I was taking away a lesson. We work so hard for things but rarely enjoy the gift of simplicity and the joys that come with it. Although I was excited to be heading home, I knew I would miss Simple and Safe, Salar.

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All About The Tea Chinese tea is made from the leaves of tea plants and is drunk throughout the entire region. There may be different purposes, different tea types and different tea drinking procedures. Most Chinese people drink tea as a substitute for plain drinking water, for health and for simple pleasure. The beverage is considered among the seven necessities of Chinese life along with firewood, oil, rice, salt, soy sauce and vinegar.

There are four major types of tea drank by the Chinese population and those 4 types are Green Tea, Red Tea, Jasmine Tea and Chrysanthemum Tea. The most popular tea in China is Green Tea, the practice of drinking this type of tea has existed for thousands of years starting from the rule of

the Chinese Emperor Shennong around 2737 BCE. Almost 3000 years later in the Song dynasty, tea crops covered 242 counties; furthermore they also began to trade with Southeast Asian and Arab countries.

Black tea is a type of tea that is more oxidized then other teas, it is known as red tea here in China and in surrounding nations of Korea and Japan. It differs from other teas because it can last many years before it loses its own flavor. Normal black tea here in China also known as Pu Erh Tea contains natural sweeteners or additives such as caffeine. Furthermore black tea consumption may be associated with a reduced risk of stroke.

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Chrysanthemum (Cry-san-thee-mum) tea originates from East Asia and the center of its diversity is here in China. The name Chrysanthemum comes from the two Greek words chrysos and anthemon meaning gold and flower respectively. Chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as a flowering herb as far back as the 15th century BC. Then as the popularity of the plant grew it began to travel into western cultures around 1798 via Colonel John Stevens. There are other uses for Chrysanthemum after drinking as a tea, there are also ornamental uses. They can be used like pompons or button plants to be decorative. Another interesting use for the Chrysanthemum flower has been shown that it can reduce indoors air pollution by the NASA clean air study. Chrysanthemum is known as one of the four gentleman of the Chinese culture, the others being the plum blossom, the orchid and bamboo. In China chrysanthemum is almost revered with hundreds of poems written about it and even

an ancient city was named after it. Chrysanthemum tea has an interesting and sweet taste to it making it very popular.

Jasmine Tea is a tea that is scented with the aroma from jasmine blossoms to make a scented tea. Typically Jasmine tea has a green tea as its tea base, but black tea (Red tea here in China) and white tea are also used. The resulting flavor in the Jasmine tea is subtly sweet and highly fragrant, and as a result it is the most famous scented tea in China. Jasmine flowers are grown at high altitudes and so the tea is native to the northern and western parts of China. In those regions some people believe that Jasmine tea is a symbol of welcoming them, and is a customary gesture for guests. In the city of Fuzhou, the local beverage is Jasmine tea and the Jasmine flower is the municipal flower of the city.

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The Secret Recipe of Dumplings

For the Dough

Mix flour and water together

For every cup of flour add ¼ cup of water until you achieve your desired amount of dough.

For the Filling

One cabbage

500 grams of shredded pork

1 cup of star anise

1 cup of spring onions

1 tsp of salt

1 tsp of sesame oil

Mix all the ingredients to the filling together in a large bowl until evenly combined

After combining them together roll out the dough and cut into small flat circles

Add the filling into the center of the dough circle and close it up by folding it in half

Squeeze the ends together to make sure the filling does leak out while cooking

Put these dumplings into boiling water until the dough looks soft.

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Top of the World In Bai By: Brandon Zhang

Glistening lakes and the rivers crisscross the lush green forestry that cover the towering mountains coming close to the elevation of the plane. Glistening lakes and the rivers

crisscrosses the lush green forestry that covers the towering mountains that come close to the elevation of the plane. I was flying in from Shanghai, far away from my home base in San Francisco. With an elevation of over 6740 meters at the highest point Yunnan was a renowned place for high elevation sickness. As I am still awed by the amazing sights below the plane, the message that we were landing in thirty minutes blared over the intercom. Alarm signals blared in my head, currently we were in an airspace above massive valleys and towering hills and mountains, where we could possibly find more then a few hundred meters of flat ground here. Turns out we did find the space, the landing still left me shaking, the plane swooped in between two large mountains to land onto a very modern airstrip. Grabbing my baggage I headed out the door, looking out for a

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sign that labeled my name, Jason Maxwell. I spotted him, dressed in a rather odd looking suit, and wearing a crooked smile as he held up a sign written on a piece of cardboard saying Mr. Maxwell. I was glad that this trip was well planned. I looked around the airport and saw people lining up in massive lines in front of Taxi’s and buses. Luckily my fellow travel writer, John had already planned the entire trip out for me. He had been bugging me for over a year since he returned from what he called the most influential trip he has been on. I was heading out to visit the Bai minority within the Yunnan province. As you could tell from my reaction to the plane landing, I am not the type of person you would describe as brave. The car ride was a whole different story, we drove around sharp turns and skinny roads so thin that I was sure our car did not even fit. In the end, I just closed my eyes and fell to sleep. By the time I arrived into the Bai village it was already late at night, my driver spoke no English so I had assumed that the house that he dropped me in front of was the where I was

going to stay. As soon as my feet touched the ground I noticed something, the village was sloping down! I was too tired to complain as I pulled my luggage and my body up the slope towards the house. As I knocked on the door I came to the slow realization that this house was extremely similar to the ones in the Hu Tongs of Beijing. Before I could get a closer look, the door was pulled open, by a man dressed in a torrent of colors, even in the dark his clothing stood out and I could at least count more then 5

colors. Then he opened his mouth and broken English filtered through a foreign accent came out

“You.. John… Friend?” Pausing at the last word as if the emphasize the statement as the question. I paused and simply gave a nod of the head, scared that just a simple yes may be confused. A smile broke out on his face and he welcomed me inside; he continued to shout in an

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interesting dialect and some young faces poked out of the door. They quickly opened the door and the man switched to English to say “This your room… My name Er Hu” accompanied by a few jabbing movements towards the door. I nodded and whispered “Thank you” softly before walking in the room and falling onto the sleep. The next morning I woke up to one of the clearest blue skies I have ever seen in my life. The Bai people were very hospitable people and did not bother my slumber. It turns out that I woke up very late compared to them as they rushed to prepare breakfast for me. Breakfast was deliciously prepared and amazingly simple, a simple white bread made out of corn covered in sauces made from pickles and vegetables. Er Hu, then appeared on the scene, changed out of the flamboyant attire that he wore last night into a much more plain and utilitarian gear. I took this as a reminder that we were going to be walking a lot today and dressed well while packing light. After finishing changing I met up with Er Hu, who was politely waiting outside my door and followed him down the sloping village. As the light now allowed me to see the village around me, the view was breathtaking; the entire village was build atop of a hillside. After reaching the bottom of the

village I asked Er Hu for stop and give me some time to take some photos. The view was simply breathtaking, something easier here in the tall mountains of Yunnan. The village snaked around this round hill, looking like a constrictor squeezing its prey, sitting proudly atop the hill. Houses were built into the hill at impossible angles, some seemed to be carved out of the hillside itself. After spending enough time gazing at this miracle of architecture we continued on, with Er Hu giving a brief tour with his broken though understandable English. I could pick up that next we were heading to Erhai lake, looks like they like the name Er here. The hiking was hard, however it was pleasantly enjoyable, one of the reasons it was hard because of the elevation we were traveling at. It made it a little more tiring then usual, but the fresh clean air, comfortable climate and amazing scenery more then made up for this. In my bag I packed a lunch, a sweater and a camera, then I looked at Er Hu, he had a water bottle clipped to his belt and a strange looking bag hooked over his shoulder. I asked him what it was for, and he said “Fishing and tea.” I decided not ask any more questions, as it may have even further confused me. We continued to walk down the path, green foliage on each side of us,

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oily and slick as we made our way down the last parts of the path. As we continued on, I could tell that the path was dropping, we were heading downwards more and I welcomed it, my legs were sore after walking for more then an hour. Soon we crested the final hill, and the sight on the other side was simply breathtaking, the light blue of the massive lake spread across the huge landscape, like a mirror reflecting the trees and hills on its shoreline. We headed down towards a small dock where a few flimsy crafts awaited us. He sat down and pulled some tools out of his bag, I was tired and did not take notice of what he was doing until after gulping down my sandwich. A small wooden table was set up, on the side it was engraved and carved with small pictures and scriptures depicting many images and scenes. Atop the table was a tea set, as I have noticed this morning each Bai household had tea sets and from earlier research knew that they drank tea at least twice a day. He was now going to show me what the Bai people knew as the Tea ceremony, he poured the first cup of tea while giving some commentary, telling me that the tea ceremony comprised of three parts, represented by three cups of tea. The three parts of the ceremony also

represents three stages in life, “Youth”, “Middle Age” and “Older Years”. He began chanting while pouring the tea, and motioned for me to drink all three cups in order, the tea tasted wonderful, probably due to the few hundred of years of perfecting it. The tea set was ornate and I suspected that it was passed down for generations, he continued to pour tea, using different motions and orders, spinning the tea cups and creating a somewhat mystical feeling to this ceremony. After drinking all the tea and feeling a bit bloated, he concluded and said it was to connect yourself with your past, present and future. Just after this he quickly got up and packed everything into the pack, apparently we were running low on time. I followed him down to the docks, a few pieces of wood nailed together to form a place where boats could rest for the night. A few fishermen moved quietly, up to this point I had no idea what we were doing here. Until I saw the birds, the birds, sitting atop the wooden sticks. Baskets sat atop the boat on each side of the boat, where it was teeming with fish. He motioned for me to get on another boat, he then switched to his natural dialect and began communicating with the fishermen. The boat was

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abnormally skinny, with no room to sit down and rest my tired legs, however there was a show to watch. I began to understand how these fishermen fished, they used the birds, Cormorants to capture the fish and return to the ship. We began to set out atop the lake, gliding smoothly out of the dock and into the great expanse of water. The cormorants sat atop the wooden pole as still as wooden statues glaring out into the distance. Once we were quite the distance away from the dock, we boats slowed to a stop and I could hear Er Hu yell from the other ship, “Shallow!”. I instantly understood, the water had to be shallow for the cormorants to capture the fish. Soon after the fishermen dropped a small variation of an anchor and put down his paddles. He got up and held the pole horizontally, he shook it once and the birds took off towards the horizon. It was like watching a dance as the two birds entwined their paths as they shot across the water. Soon after they returned to the boat, their mouths bloated as the fishermen took out the fish and tossed them into the basket. Right after that the fisherman clapped twice, threw some prepared fish into the cormorants mouth and they headed out again. This continued for around an hour as the birds continued their dance. In the end with the buckets teeming with

jumping, silver fish, the fishermen slowly placed down the pole and picked up his paddle. As we reached the docks, the sun was beginning to set over the horizon and you could see it reach the horizon. The sight was simply spectacular, the clear orange of the sky blending into the now dark blue lake. Two tall lush green mountains stand on either side of the falling sun, colors juxtaposed. The sun shines bright outlining the silhouette the fishermen, I quickly snapped some shots with my camera before Er Hu decided it was time for us to leave. It took all my willpower to snap my head away from the amazing scene as I head on towards village again. We continued to travel through the winding paths and the hills, on either side, I saw large swathes of cornfields and pens of animals grazing. As we headed towards the village, I could see the houses, scattered randomly around the hillside. All of them were colored white with other colors adorning the doors and windows, as it was built out of stone. Some of the houses also used supports of stone and wood pillars because it was built onto a hillside. As I got closer to the village I could see little dots lighting up each household, little circles of orange and red

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illuminating the house. Er Hu saw my lingering gaze and said in a few words that he could mutter together, “Torch, ugh… Festival.” When I entered the village I could hear and see no people, it seemed as if no one was home. Then I heard the loud music and cheering, it seemed to be radiating from the center of the village, each household had lanterns or shining torches everywhere. Calligraphies were slathered and stuck to the sides of houses and doors. Er Hu told me that the festival was to expel the bugs from the fields for a good harvest and that was why it was celebrated on June 24th, right before they began harvesting. We continued on and we entered the pulsing heart of the village this night, lights flashing as lanterns were swung in part to an intricate dance at the center of the town square. The dance, as I was informed that Er Hu, was called the Hero’s whip and the dance of stick and flower. As the festival continued on into the night I was subjected to many delicious foods, fish caught in the lake, combined with sauces made from the vegetables gathered in the fields were my personal favorite. As the clock slowly ticked to midnight I realized my stay

here was coming to an end, I thanked Er Hu and his family for making my stay so enjoyable and quickly went to my room. The Bai people were so hospitable, even though I was a through and through foreigner who spoke not a word of the language, they treated me the same, laughing in the festival and not giving me special treatment. If I could stay for a bit longer, I was sure I would fit in just fine. I zipped up my last bag and slung it onto my shoulder, gathering my thoughts just as I heard the sound of a range rover pull next to the house. Another ride through hell has begun. As I leaned my head against the window of the Range Rover we quickly made a turn and the village wrapping itself around the hills was whipped out of sight. I began to reflect on my day here, it was only just one day! Time had past really fast then, the village, small in size but intricate and genius in design had been a delight to stay in. Deep valleys and soaring mountains surrounded it on all sides but still with ingenious construction it had transformed into great living conditions. Only certain vegetables could be planted in the rocky soil and beams and stilts supported the buildings. I stared out the window, lost in my own thoughts.

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Extraordinary Ewenki By: Bill King

I couldn’t see anything through the airplane window except the reflection of myself. The window was cold, so I thought it was going to be a cold trip. As the cabin door was opened, a deluge of wind stroked my face. The cold wind felt like it blew straight into my skull.

Walking out of the cabin, all I saw was snow. It covered everything like a blanket. The car was waiting for me outside and my guide helped me with my luggage. He told me the ride to the village was going to take around 2 hours. This gave me plenty of time to prepare myself for a 24-hour encounter with one of China’s most forgotten minorities, the Ewenkis.

I’ve been sent here to a

remote region in northeastern China to the document China’s minorities. Ewenki’s have a self –asserted name, meaning “people living in mountains”. In history, the Ewenki were once named as “Suolun”, “Yakute”, “Tongus”, etc. In 1958, Chinese government authorized a joint name “The Ewenki”. They have a population of 30505 and can be found in the Ewenkis Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang Province, and Russia.

When I arrived at the village, it was already 12 am. I was shocked when I saw how they were living. They live in Zuoluozis (it is called “fairy pillar” in the Ewenki’s’ language) instead of settled houses.

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Zuoluozi is 3 meters tall with a diameter of 4 meters. To build them, people use timbers with forked branches on the top to form a triangle stand, and about 20 rods crosswise on the top, then cover them with some birch barks or hides. My guide told me they live in Zuoluozis because in winter they often need to move every one or two days and during the summer, they can remain in the same place for 4-5 days.

As I walked into the Zuoluozi I would be sleeping in, a guy sitting next to the campfire in the middle greeted me and handed me a cup of some sort of drink. I greeted him back and asked him what his name was. The Ewenkis cannot speak English, but I was fortunate enough to have my guide translate for us.

“My name is Igor,” he said

He told me that it was cold outside and that the drink will warm my body up. I smelled the drink and butterflies were already flapping in my stomach. The pungent smell of expired milk rushed through my nose. I look a sip and wanted to spit it out immediately. There is a weird sour taste combined with a milky taste and some alcohol taste. I didn’t want to be rude, so I forced myself to swallow it. I asked them what it was made of

and they told me it was reindeer milk.

“Reindeer milk?” I asked with an inquisitive tone as to not accuse them.

Igor said that a reindeer has treasures all over its body. Its venison is edible, its milk is drinkable, the deerskin can be made into leather, and the pilose antler and the reproductive organ are valuable medical materials. With the taste still lingering in my mouth, Igor showed me to my bed made out of logs. After such an exhausting day of traveling it didn’t take me more than two minutes before I was out cold.

The next day I awoke bright eyed thinking about what awaits for me. Today is the Ewenki’s traditional festival called “Mikuolu.” I’ll participate in all sorts of activities and the day will end with the slaughtering of sheep and cows. This sounds primitive I realize, but the Ewenki are close to all aspects of nature.

The day started with some reindeer racing. As the reindeer started racing, the mud rushed straight at my face. It’s really surprising to me that they would race reindeer. When I think of reindeer, I think of Christmas, Santa’s reindeers, etc. But they think of reindeer as one of the

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most important parts of their life. I looked hard, but I couldn’t seem to find Rudolph.

After the reindeer racing, we sat down and had some breakfast. The first thing that came to the table was a cup of milk tea. Igor told me that they have milk tea with every meal. For what seemed to be an appetizer, we had deep-fried twisted dough with reindeer cream. This tasted delicious with the first bite. It was really crunchy with the warm soft dough inside. As you get into it there is a little sweetness to it. The cream added an extra layer of taste to the dough itself, making it taste exceptionally delicious. This is unusual for me because usually my appetizer is salty not sweet, but I still liked it because it was not what I would usually eat.

Once we finished this interesting yet delicious breakfast, it was time to get back to the festival. Next we took in some singing and dancing. I truly adored the dancing and singing. They had their native costume on; thick, baggy, fury skirt for the girls and for boys it’s a thick, hanging, fury leather jacket. Both boys and girls have bands wrapped around their head. The songs are melodious, smooth and can express feelings naturally. Their dance was accompanied with songs and shouts as they danced

with a quick rhythm.

Lunch, in my option was the best meal I had during my stay. We had a venison noodle dish with cabbage. For drinks we again had milk tea. The noodle was soft and had a little saltiness to it. The venison was really chewy with a unique taste that only if you tried it you can know what it tastes like. The soup in the dish was spicy. It had the taste of the venison and a little pepper.

Then we continued the celebration. The villagers began to gather for the traditional slaughtering of sheep and cows. I watched as one young boy pulled back the head of a sheep while another slowly sliced its throat. The blood gushed out and was mostly collected in a bright yellow bucket as the sheep became weaker and weaker until it finally collapsed. This was contrasted with elderly villagers giving their grandchildren female lams as gifts. It was incredible to see both of these scenes happing simultaneously.

This part of the festivity continued until sunset when it was time for me to head to the airport. Before I left, Igor invited me back into his home for a final farewell drink. We sat around the fire and he handed me the same drink that I received upon

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my arrival. Twenty-four hours ago I did not enjoy this drink at all, but but as I took my first sip, I actually began to enjoy it. As Igor and I drank in silence, I thought back over my visit to the Ewenki, a nomadic group who relies on whatever is around them and moves every two to three days. They move because they have to feed their sheep and reindeer grass. While the Ewenki may appear to live a

simple, lack of technology like, I learned that their way of life is complex and good at adapting to new places. I would highly recommend this visit to anyone who enjoys nature, likes to try new things, and is interested in a nomadic society.

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Diverse Dai By: Tulia Fargis The splashing sound of water plays through my head and I can still taste the enchanting food of the Dai. For the first time I went to the minority of the Dai. It was one of the best trips I have ever done. It is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve seen so many pictures and now I can finally try it all out and see it for myself. To get to Yun Nan, the main base of the Dai minority, I took a train, this way I could watch the scenery through out the windows of the train. I sat on the train looking out the windows, taking in everything. I watched as the busy city of Hong Kong turned into a small quiet countryside. The color changes slowly, from the grey city colors to the bright blue and green of the fields and streams of Yun Nan. The 7-hour train ride brings me time to think, and it made me wonder what it would be like living away from all the grey buildings and smoky skies would be like. What was the difference between the people who are exposed to the pure fresh air

outside all day, and the people who work all day inside a concealed stuffy building? The view outside keeps my eyes glued to the window, I observe

the diverse scenery. The crops dance to the wind welcoming me to their home. I see the birds flying through the sky, maybe

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singing me a welcoming song. By the time I get to my homestay its already nighttime. They welcomed me with a great big meal. The main food of the Dai is rice. But there are different kinds of rice and the people think it all depends on the season. Also the Dai are fans of fish. Their meals usually contain fish or crabs. My homestay welcomed me with a irresistible homemade fish meal. This fish had so many different spices that overwhelmed my mouth in the best way possible. The fish was carefully made with care and love. And the other dishes that I was welcomed with were also so mouthwatering, the Dai like to make bamboo rice, steaming the rice in a bamboo shell is how it is made, by making the rice like this, the rice has a special taste that is irreplaceable by any other food. The rice is sticky and fresh; the rice melts apart in your mouth as you chew your chewy bites. The Dai also favor pineapples. They like to steam things in it giving the food a sharp tangy taste. I realized this when the mother of the house I was staying at had so many pineapples in her kitchen it was so diverse. After my meal with the Homestay they cleaned up and wouldn’t let me help.

They instead on cleaning up after me, and led me to my room. I was quite dumbfounded. The living of the Dai is fascinating. Because of the weather over where the Dai live in which is in Yun Nan, its very wet and it rains often there for the house are not built on ground level. Usually there are wooden pillars supporting the house and the house is built on a platform on the wooden pillars. The houses are mainly made out of wood and the roofs are straw made. Some other materials that are used while building house are bamboo and tile blocks. The house I lived in was an exact example of a folk house. The house and a most of the furniture were all wooden. It was simple but cultured; it really made me feel like I was at home. The part I loved the most about my room was the bed. It was covered in big colorful quilts, all handmade by the mother of my homestay, they were so warm and soft, by far the best blanket I’ve ever used. Something else that I thought was amazing was the big important temples of the Dai. They are usually made of tile, and the tile in white. With the main base color being white, designing bright colors on the tiles to be colorful paintings and deigns will be very obvious and bright. They’re for catching many peoples attention. The rituals are mainly all preformed

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in front of temples, the dances and the water splashing festival was performed in front of beautiful temples. The religion of the Dai is mainly Buddhism there are some that are Hinduism. Because of these religions, the Dai have some very special rituals in there culture For the Dai there are quite a few festivals. Including the opening door ceremony and the closing door ceremony. But one of the highlights is the water splashing festival. This festival is where all the people of the town come together and spend time with each other. During this festival, the dances that are preformed are outstanding. They are exclusive. It made me want to just dance with them. And in the end I did. My homestay had brought me to the festival; they wanted to show me the true important things of the Dai. Not the good-looking temples or the beautiful sceneries, but the friendships and kindness they possessed in their hearts. By the end of the dance, people hold on to each

other’s shoulders and dance around in a circle, being a foreigner of this ritual I hid from all this action, watching quietly in the corner. But my hostess being so hospitable brought me into the dance and made me apart of it. These small actions made me feel accepted and part of them. In the end we all used buckets to splash water on each other. On one hand, it was very enjoyable; one the other it was to cleanse you of the evil. Another part was the ceremonies of death and weddings. The death of someone is very gloomy; it is that way for everywhere. The Dai wear white and have ceremonies that go on for days after days. Through these actions I could feel the love between people around this minority. For weddings, it’s a bit more complicated than what I thought it would be. First after the two have been dating, the aunt or the uncle of the male has to go ask for the hand of the maiden, after the family has

agreed, they must see the tribal leader and have his blessi

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ng. Like many other places, the woman’s role is usually to work at home and the men go out and earn the money. The woman of the family I had stayed in had made the food and clothes. The mother’s main job was to sew clothes or cook or collect the crops. But the fathers of the family went out to the field and worked. When going to the market the woman usually comes along. I didn’t get to participate with this event due to the water splashing festival. I simply loved the clothes they had. It was so different and cool. The men usually wear fabric clothes that have some distinctive designs on them. The color is always bright but simple. The father of the family I had stayed with always wore a hat and always had a bag with his valuables; the younger boys have brighter colored hats that had feathers of different special things sticking out of them. I thought this was extremely fascinating. The mother often makes the clothes for the children. In the early morning I watched the mother make clothes. Her work was so delicate and fine, she took so much work on it and spent so much time, I was amazed how much work she had put into them. She did her work always with true tenderness and thoughtfulness. Also I found that

the females of the Dai usually wear very bright colors dresses. The clothes warp tightly around the body because the women of Dai are usually very skinny. The girl of the family I had stayed with had such bright colors. And the designs were so unique; you could never find anything like it anywhere else. There was one of her outfits that caught my attention the most, and that was her dance outfit for the “Peacock” dance. This is a very important and special dance of the Dai. It’s been part of their culture for thousands of years. It is one of the most important things in the history of Dai. It use to be just a folk dance and than slowly years over years it transformed into the elegant dance we now know as the Peacock dance. This dance is well known all around china in many schools around china they all have to learn. While I was watching this dance the music brought me back to my sixth grade Chinese school and how I learned it. Its steps are simple but sophisticated. This trip took me back on a path to my childhood leaving me musical memories. In the end, my homestays insisted I bring a dress made by the mother, it was such a pretty dress, it had a light purple base and beautiful blue designs embodied in it. I was and still am so grateful for this gift; I will always treasure

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the true kindness they showed me in my heart. At nightfall I left. They sent me off to the train station with a donkey. I preferred this anyway because I got to watch the scenery of Yun Nan for one last time. Before I left I got uncountable hugs from so many people. These people who only have known me for 24 hours already have made me feel wanted. They gave me a different feeling of home that I had never experienced and I loved it. I watched them as they waved at me with the sunset behind them;. The sky was painted with blue pink and some purple and yellow, sad colors sent me away from my temporary family. I ride on, on the donkey as the moon smiles down at me and the stars twinkled their eyes goodbye.

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Life Well Travelled

Translations Hello-你好 ni hao (knee how) Please-请 qing (ching) Thank you-谢谢 xie xie(shie shie) “How much is this” -这个多少钱 zhe (jhe ) “Could you get me”? -可以帮我拿…. ke yi bang wo na ( keh ey bang wore nah) “What is this”?这是什么 zhe shi shen me (jhe shir shan mah) “How are you ”?你好吗 ni hao ma (knee how mah) “Very well thank you”我很好谢谢 wo hen hao xie xie( wore hen how shie shie) Restaurant 餐厅 can ting (stan ting) “Where is the”在哪儿 zai na er (zi nah er) Restroom 洗手间 xi shou jian (she show jian)

Airport机场 ji chang ( G chaang) Market 市场 shi chang (shi chaang) Taxi 出租车 chu zu che (chu zoo che) Hotel酒店 jiu dian (jeu dian) School 学校 xue xiao (shue shiao) Teacher 老师 lao shi(low shi) Work/job工作 gong zuo (gong zuw) Car车 che (cheh) 1一 yi (Ey) 2二 er (R) 3三 san (sun) 4四 si (se) 5五wu (uw) 6六liu (leo) 7七 qi(che) 8八 ba(bah) 9九jiu (joe) 10十shi (shi) “Will you bring me to”?可以带我去 ke yi dai wo qu (keh E dai wore chur) “How far is”?多远 duo yuan (duo yuan)

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Weather 天气 tian qi (tiane chi) Today 今天 jin tian (jean tian) Tomorrow 明天 ming tian (ming tian) Yesterday 昨天 zuo tian (zow tian) Go 去 qu (chue) Far 远 yuan(yuane) Close 近 jin (jean) Good morning 早上好 zao shang hao (zao shang how) Good afternoon 下午好 xia wu hao (shia uw how) Good night 晚上好 wan shang hao (wane shang how) My name is我的名字是 wo de ming zi shi (wore de ming zi shi) How long 多长 duo chang (duoe chang) Stop停 ting (ting)

Water 水 shui (shuei) Bill 买单 mai dan (my dan) I 我 wo (wore) You 你 ni (knee) Hours 小时 xiao shi (shiao shi) Days 天 tian (tiane) Years年 nian (niane) Months 月yue (yue) Moring 早上 zao shang (zao shang) Afternoon 下午 xia wu (shia uw) Night 晚上 wan shang ( wane shang) Breakfast 早餐 (zao tsan) Lunch 午饭 ( uw fan) Dinner 晚饭 (wane fan) Food 食物 ( shhi uw)

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Dear Readers,

First and foremost, We want to thank you for your loyalty. As you may know, over the past year, the staff here at Silk Road magazine has made it our goal to improve the magazine and focus on quality over quantity.

I hope that you enjoy this issue of the Silk Road magazine, focusing on different minorities in China, next week you will be getting our writers scoop from the southeastern part of Asia ranging from the Skyscrapers of Singapore to the tropical paradise islands of Malaysia.

The magazine is extremely thankful for all the letters that it has received from all you readers. It has really helped us develop our magazine and it has made our magazine better with each issue. Please continue this unwavering support to help us

develop and improve this magazine.

Later this year our magazine will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in print. That edition will be very special in the sense that we will be asking all of you what you want us to write about. We recommend that you start now by sending us suggestions, if we like your suggestion it will be put in the special edition magazine and your name will be listed as a writer.

We look forward another 20 years of fantastic support and help, thanks for being a part of it.

Thank You ,

Brandon Zhang Brooke McCawley

Co Editor in Chief Editor in Chief

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Roles: Brandon Zhang:

Info graphics Bai Article

Tea Thank You

Maps Tulia Fargis: Translations Dai Article

Dumpling Recipe Brooke McCawley:

Editor Front Cover

Contributors Page Maps

Citations Bill King:

Advertisements Chinese Legend Ewenki Article

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Citations: N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. "Astrill." N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. "Canon Camera HD Wallpaper." DesktopWallpapers4. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2015. "Locking Horns over Interests of Hub Airports and Home-base Carriers – Aspire Aviation." Aspire Aviation. N.p., 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 17 May 2015.

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