JARS v44n2 - Yunnan Exploratory Trip Addendum

Yunnan Exploratory Trip Addendum
Warren Berg
Port Ludlow, Washington

Because of the political upheaval and changes in China during 1989, we should consider whether the remote and restricted areas in western China and southeast Tibet will be open to future plant exploration. During the spring of 1990, Mt. Travel is planning treks into the Namche Barwa area of SE Tibet and another to Mulie, in SW Sichuan. Just how these will turn out, remains to be seen. Even if they are able to get permits from Beijing, the local authorities may still refuse to honor them after arrival. This is what happened to us, preventing our entry into Weixi. Their excuse was "because of the Tibet uprising." I guess we will just have to wait and see and hope for the best. It doesn't look favorable to me, at least in the near future.

Rhododendron exploration in the remote regions of the world is a very exciting hobby and I like to share these experiences with fellow enthusiasts, however, I must admit I really don't enjoy writing about them. So, thank you Gwen Bell for writing about our trip and thank you also to the other hardy souls who accompanied me. Hopefully we will be able to make another trip together someday.