We woke up in Lijiang at 7 in the morning. The night bus was actually pleasant and I slept all the way through the trip with the occasional road bump that would jar me awake. I realized that the further one gets away from westernized China the better the “Chinglish” becomes. I took a few pictures of my favorite signs that I encountered throughout Lijiang, but by far my favorite is the “Grass is napping, please do not disturb.”
The city of Lijiang is just like any other. It has its restaurants, bars, street vendors, etc. All of the normal things every Chinese city has, however, in the town center there is a gated community known as the Old City. The Old City is a preserved Qing Dynasty town that attracts tourists from all over China. The city is lined with paved colorful slabs of stone that give a cobblestone effect throughout the streets. The old irrigation system still remains intact and you can see the villagers washing their clothes in the streams from time to time. The streets are lined with stone houses which also contain beautiful courtyards and water wheels. The restaurants all have fresh meat and vegetables hanging from the walls and you can just go up and pick what you want and they will make it for you on the spot (see pictures). The roads of the Old City weave around in a spider web pattern until you reach the city center. As you enter the city center the shops become more abundant and the town replaces its ancient feel for a Epcot-like experience. In fact, there is a KFC in the town center! However, not even commercialization can destroy the view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, which is the permanent back drop of the city and gives Lijiang its picturesque identity (see picture).
After a self-tour of the Old City we hired a Naxi guide to take us to the villages surrounding Lijiang. We drove about 20 minutes from the Old City and ended up at a 300 year old monastery where we sat and drank tea with an 82 year old monk who was in great health (see picture). The monastery was not as impressive as some of the newer ones, but the fact that it remained intact through the revolution in China made it more impressive (see picture). After the monastery we went to the Naxi School of Embroidery where Naxi women worked on their embroideries and sold them to support the school and their families. I was so impressed with a piece of art that I actually bought it (see picture)! It is an embroidery of a Naxi woman in the streets of Lijiang. The most impressive thing about this piece of art is that it looks like it is painted but, in fact, it is thread! It took a woman with 25 years experience one year to make so I know the quality is good. The only problem was that I would not be able to ship it back home until I reached a post office with that capability, so I would have to wait until I go to a bigger city. This meant I would have to hike with the embroidery, so when you see pictures of a giant purple box sticking out of my bag that is the embroidery. I must say that I really took this thing on quite the adventure, but to alleviate any suspense it made it to the post office OK and is on its way to my house now.
One of the coolest things we did in Lijiang was meet Dr. Hu (see picture). Dr. Hu is a world renowned doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and has a documented case where he helped cure a British man’s Leukemia. This document was confirmed and researched at Mayo Clinic and is seen to be a true case of TCM working. Dr. Hu’s house was filled with articles and cases in which he saved people’s lives, but the most interesting case was his own. When going to school in Dali (4 hour drive from Lijiang) Dr. Hu became very ill. He was forced to return home, but had no way of getting back. He had to hike the distance from Dali to Lijiang and return home on foot. Along the way he collected herbs, roots, and herbal medicines to help treat his ailment. He carefully documented everything and eventually cured himself. This event is what much of his practice is based on now and he continues to help treat people in his late 80’s. Oh, and by the way, he speaks 5 languages!
The day ended with a swim at the local reservoir which gets its water from the melted snow and springs from the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. If you can imagine the coldest water you ever felt, just multiply that by ten. It did not seem like it would be very cold because there was no ice on the surface, but it was absolutely arctic! Our Naxi guide advised against swimming, but I went in anyway. The water is able to remain so cold because it is constantly moving and being refreshed by Jade Dragon’s water sources. The people sitting around the reservoir watched as I swam and splashed around for twenty minutes (see picture). The water was so cold that I started to go numb in the toes and hands so I got out. I could not imagine swimming more than 100 meters in this type of water, but as I thought that to myself I turned around and saw an old Chinese man slowly breast stroking behind me like the water was at 70 degrees F. Old Chinese men never cease to impress me with their skills of drinking Bai Jiu and ability to swim in frigid waters.
After swimming, the Naxi guide took us to Qiaotou or “Bridge-head” where Tiger Leaping Gorge begins (see picture). There we checked into Jane’s Guest House and prepared for the next day, the hike through Tiger Leaping Gorge, which, I must admit, gave me some of the most beautiful pictures I have ever seen.