Salopek’s trek through Yunnan has shown him China far removed from the modern metropolises of Beijing and Shanghai. He is careful to “not romanticize poverty” and to “not exoticize underdevelopment” but has marveled at the timeless villages and rugged landscape.

During Lunar New Year, Salopek and his walking partners were often “received like long-lost family” when they arrived in a new mountain village. They moved from one feast to the next and eventually crossed from Yunnan into Sichuan.

The crossing involved a 13,000-foot pass through the eastern Himalayas. Now, Salopek will slowly make his way down from the mountains, towards inner China.