Old Town Lijiang

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During our time in Lijiang, we stayed at a beautiful guesthouse run by a friend of Jessica’s. Like most of the homes in the area, it was built in the style of rooms surrounding an open courtyard.

We spent the day walking around Lijiang enjoying the warm weather (in the 80’s) and sunshine. Where we were staying was “Old Town,” the traditional area of town that had cobblestone, pedestrian-only streets. (Outside of Old Town is “New Town,” an area that was more modern and resembled other smaller Chinese cities.) Old Town was the first place we had been that looked like the China we’d imagined. There was an earthquake years back the destroyed much of the rest of the town but the traditional style homes of Old Town were largely unscathed.

Lijiang is the home of the Naxi minority. This culture is interesting in that it is matriarchal. It’s the women who do all the labor. We were amazed to happen upon a group of women hauling stacks of bricks - on their backs!

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