He Kou

Nestled in the southwest corner of Yunnan Province, He Kou sprawls on the north bank of the Hong He river, facing Vietnam, one of China's southern neighbors. This small city is the main border crossing with Vietnam, and while not very large by Chinese city standards, He Kou thrives on a brisk border trade. As the sign below states, He Kou has received the status as a "Century City", and its "No. 1" rating gives it a bit of prestige next to many of China's larger metropolitan centers. A generally tropical climate makes He Kou a center for such produce as bananas, pineapples, papayas, and mangoes. The area also supports enormous rubber-tree forests, whose terraces climb the surrounding hillsides. Every day is a busy day in He Kou with produce and other items moving to and from local markets on both sides of the border. He Kou's surrounding mountains actually seem taller than the mountains encircling Yunnan Provinces largest city, Kunming. Even so, He Kou's much lower elevation--80 meters above sea-level--mean these southern mountains never see snow. With very few well-paved roads in this region, most produce makes it to market via smaller vehicles (i.e. motorcycles). As one can see in the photo below, the motuoche line this city's narrow roads and can squeeze in and out of traffic, even when the cars and trucks stand in gridlock. Suli and I took a spin on a relatives motorbike and explored the banks of the Hong He river during our Chun Jie break.

Because He Kou is a major border crossing, many of the local people make their living taking photos of tourists who come to south China just to go visit Vietnam. While Suli's family may not stand out as tourists, anyone with white skin is assumed to be a visitor. However, on this day, the person who approached our family actually hoped to engage me in speaking English. Our photographer was actually home on holiday from University in GuangDong, where he studies Math and English (language). He was so nervous to talk with me that the muscles in his face were twitching. However, his mother prevailed upon him to speak to me, so we did have a short conversation before he used my camera to take our picture free of charge. Suli and I stand on the left of this "mile marker", while Mama, Xiang Lan (the younger of Suli's two older sisters), and Yao Shan (Xiang Lan's husband) stand on the right. And yes, Mama is really that small.
Because the Chinese and Vietnamese governments keep fairly close tabs on all products entering and exiting their respective countries, many vendors find that transporting smaller amounts on smaller vehicles makes getting through customs a bit easier. This "sanlunche" (literally, three-wheeled-vehicle) carries just about as much as it possibly can with out crushing the wheels. In many cases, the tires of these vehicles have been filled with some type of hardening foam, essentially turning the wheels into solid core tires. This allows them to carry greater loads, but pedaling them can be quite bumpy. While I am uncertain what these green bags contain, I do recall two, and sometimes three, grown men hefting them onto this tricycle; so you can imagine the weight bearing down on this vehicle.
On the He Kou side of the border, all these Vietnamese goods find their way to a local Vietnamese market. This cavernous "outdoor" bazarre sells everything from fruits, vegetables, and dog meat to swords, woven baskets, shoes, and children's toys. On this day, Suli and her sister looked at baskets and shoes, while I milled about and checked out the battle axes (seen on the right side of this photo) and swords. There is one other major import from Vietnam that also finds its way into He Kou: prostitution. One result of China's one-child policy is an entire generation of young men who are having a hard time finding a wife; this has lead to an increased traffic of young women from Vietnam seeking out a better life in China. Some get married; some just end up selling themselves. For the latter, the sad part is that they view this as a better life than the one they had in Vietnam.
He Kou, just like all the cities in China, is feeling the prosperity and the difficulties of an expanding population. As many young Chinese people flock to the cities in search of a more prosperous life than the one their parents had, cities like He Kou scramble to accomdate their growth. Old, often historical, buildings and infrastructure are destroyed, making room for more modern systems and highrises. In He Kou, this growth seems to be coming from both sides of the border, and it makes for a very vibrant society. Because this is the city of my in-laws, I will probably be visiting He Kou at least once a year, but I enjoy this small-city. Some day I hope to venture to the Vietnam side of the border, but for now, I will enjoy this Century City and all it has to offer.