Sichuan 4- The village of Songpan 松潘，四川

Different from the National Parks I went to, Songpan was a relaxing village with its colorful minorities and slow pace of life as its best assets. Settled in a mountain valley, most people went to stay there because it is inexpensive and in a central location for seeing other parks or going on a horse trek. I enjoyed meeting the locals, seeing all the animals wander around the street, and hanging out at the hostel.

This was a wedding that I watched...each friend presented the couple with a white scarf and put it around their neck to bind them together...


Being very close to Tibet, dried yak meat and yak butter tea are favorites in the area!


All of the older people sit around and talk all day if they are not playing Chinese chess, wearing straw hats to keep the sun out.


This charming man sat next to me on a bench because he was curious. He wanted to talk to me and see what I was writing in my notebook. We stumbled through the local dialect, but understood each other, and he agreed to a portrait!


Chinese chess. Rules vary according to the province, but very similar to Western chess.


Minority women also watching the wedding.


The streets don't just belong to cars, but to a whole host of animals. There is some patience and a lot of honking.