Yongning, a small town outside of Lugu Lake in Yunnan, seems stuck in the 1990s. Trucks roll through the only street in town, Yongning Lane, throwing a thick layer of dust onto the women in colorful ethnic costumes walking their grandchildren to school. Zhamei Temple, a Tibetan Monastery at the northern edge of the town, houses a beautiful collection of 500-year-old frescos, but there are no tourists, only pigeon calls and the fluttering of prayer flags.
That is until A Lu picks us up and drives us to his family lodge, Dingya Tree House, 2 miles south of the town. There are only three people in the lodge, A Lu, his brother and his mother, but there is a warmth to this place that draws one in. A Lu guides us through a beautifully designed lobby, a small courtyard, up a set of stone stairs, and over a two-foot-tall doorstep to enter “grandma’s house.” It’s like we stepped into a different time. The lights are low, the exposed wall made of wooden logs has turned black from decades of smoke. His mother, in traditional costume, sits between the fire and her bed. To the right of the fire pit is an L-shaped sitting area surrounding a square table filled with steamed ham, beef stew and stir-fried vegetables. It is a warm sanctuary on a chilly winter night.
