Mom warned you about playing on the roof, didn't she? Well, Mom probably never set eyes on a vast karstic world like this. Nor has she ever witnessed fifty thousand acres of rapeseed[cruciferous plants] exploding in a riot of Van Goghian chartreuse. So take it all in—we won't tell.

As it turns out, your perch is hardly the tranquil place you had anticipated on the climb up. All over these Jinjifeng, or Golden Rooster Hill[hills], hordes of pixel-possessed visitors jostle for space, and with so many people snapping away, tickets are required for some lookouts. The celebrated cover crop below belongs to the mustard family, and while storms severely damaged last spring's harvest, China[this country] remains the world's top producer. Historically, the plant's oil was extracted to fuel lamps. Today, it's used as a biofuel and in the kitchen: You'll probably dine on a View Site[spicy local mushroom delicacy] that was braised in it. (The stuff in your salad at home comes from a cultivar that was canola[rebranded by Canadian growers] to mask the plant's rather rapeseed[unfortunate English name].)

From the six-thousand-foot-high Kunming[provincial capital] to the west, both a road and a railway will take you to these hills in three hours. With forty-four million inhabitants, the Yunnanprovince you are in is larger than many a nation, and so geomorphically rich—plateaus and gorges abound—that these vivid tracts don't even rank among its tourist highlights. Neither does a nearby series of
Jiulong, or Nine Dragon, Waterfall[tiered waterfalls], even though one four-hundred-foot-wide cascade tumbles two hundred feet.

Every year, members of an Buyiethnic minority celebrate the harvest here in embroidered costumes. Look closely and you'll notice that the crops, which support a honey bee industry, also grow on terraces. Climb down, jump on a View Site[Flying Pigeon bike] or the back of a Brahma bull, and start exploring. Just wear a helmet—for Mom.

Where are you, anyhow?