Picture of Yi woman with colourful dress and black hat (Puge, China)

Yi woman with part of her fantastic dress and hat

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My only goal was to see the Yi people, as I had seen spectacular pictures of their dresses. My search for the Yi in southern Sichuan province ended up in a great adventure.
The bus was driving always higher, and I was getting always colder. I had counted on pleasant temperatures, and was not prepared for cold weather. The Yi woman sitting in front of me, dressed up in traditional clothes that looked very warm, firmly kept her window open, and the mountain air entering through her window was always colder. Every time the bus stopped, I hoped the sun would be on my side, and whenever it was, I loved the warmth coming from its potent rays. But the many turns of the road implied that I was in the shadow half the time. At one moment, I could only think of the warm sweater I would buy myself in Puge, the Yi town that was my destination of the day. At the same time, I wondered if I would be able to find any sweaters, and what they would look like. The Yi woman in her colourful dress tried to spit out of the window, but failed - fortunately, she also missed me. Meanwhile, every town I passed through, I was eagerly looking for Yi people and their dresses. I saw some small markets, and yes, I also saw some colourful dresses, but not the fantastic hats I had seen on the pictures that had triggered me to visit the Yi. When the bus pulled into Puge bus station, I had quickly forgotten about the sweater, as we had been descending from the mountain pass where I had suffered the cold. The sun was shining, and it did not take long before I was getting warm inside - a great feeling. As I walked the main street of Puge, I did not see a large majority of Yi in their traditional dresses, as I had expected. People were watching me, and I realized this town did not get many foreign visitors. I decided to try the market area, assuming that would be the best place to see them. As I walked back, I noticed a group of four women sewing silver decorations onto a high black velvet hat. I watched them for a while, and snyly asked permission if I could take a picture of the hat. Shyly, because the Yi are known not to like pictures very much. They agreed, and once they had finished working on the hat, walked away.
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