Blogs from Lijiang, Yunnan, China, Asia - page 2

We stayed in Shuhe by chance. Shuhe is a small village about 15 minutes from Lijiang. It also has a lot of guesthouses, restaurants, and shops but it is on a smaller scale than Lijiang and I thought it was absolutely charming. Probably the highlight of our trip. I had booked a hotel in Lijiang, so I thought. But the hotel I liked was in Shuhe so we ended up in Shuhe by accident and I am so glad that we did. We arrived on a rainy night and couldn’t see much but after a very warm welcome at the hotel were shown to our room and just loved it. The bed was very special, made from tree trunks. There was a sitting area, it was comfortable and cozy. We never spent a long time in ... read more

CHINA: Lijiang...Rectifying my Regret...4 years in the coming. We all have regrets. Why was I so impulsive? I could have handled that better. Wish I hadn't done that. In relationships...finances... shopping...sporting moments...in travel...aspirations. Wish I could go back in time...rectify...do differently. But it's passed...irreversible...opportunity lost. All we are left with is...REGRET...that insidious worm that sucks our confidence. Somehow I had the opportunity "to rectify a regret"...something really major...something that had been eating me up for 4 years...and I received a GOLD MEDAL for doing so...yep...a Gold Medal...crazy!!! We are in Lijiang in Yunnan Provence on my first trip to China...we had New Year in Dali...so this would be early 2003. Staying just outside the old city walls...Dayan Town...home of the Naxi People... read more

On July 26, we flew from Chengdu to Lijiang, in Yunnan Province. Our flight was in the afternoon so we were able to sleep in which was really nice. As soon as we arrived in Lijiang, we knew that life was about to get much better. The sky was blue, the hills were green, and the airport was incredibly cute and clean. Lijiang did not disappoint. It’s the oldest city in China and we were staying in the cobble-stone streets of the old town. Our first night we went wandering through the old city, stopping in random shops and sampling some snack food. We saw the historic waterwheel and the main square. We even saw some dancing! It was really, really nice. An interesting fact about Lijiang is that the old city isn’t walled. The story ... read more

Skip it unless you want to do laundry or buy some souveniers: you're ten years too late. This is especially the case if you are going to Dali or Shangri-La (aka Zhongdian), both of which are similar, but better. I first entered the old town at night and felt like some naive boy from the provences. Literally tens of thousands of Chinese tourists go from one contrived cultural experience to the next -- like photos with llamas, cowboy hat stands, store after store selling yak meat. Every restaurant is about the same, serving western meals to tourists tapping the table in rhythm to cheesy music performances. We thought for sure that we'd never find a hotel, as we could barely even walk through the streets, but most of the Chinese tourists seem to stay outside the ... read more