Naxi Tribe

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During the waiting time for the Laos visa I went for a visit to Lijiang. This town, about ten hours by sleeper bus away from Kunming is where the Naxi people live. The Naxi are one of the many ethnic minorities in Yunnan and Lijing was once the capital of the ancient Naxi kingdom. What is left from those times is the old city of Lijiang. Unfortunatelly it has been badly damaged by an earthquake in the 90's and after the Chinese goverment financed a rebuild they are now exploiting it as a tourist attraction. This means that nearly all the houses in the old city have been converted to souvenir shops... Early in the morning with no tourists it is still possible to anticipate the beauty and peacefulness the alleys once must have had.
Less spoiled is the so-called 'Black Dragon Pool Park' north of the city, if it where not for the 60 Yuan (about 7.5$) entrance fee. That's bloody expensive by Chinese means. And sure enough the locals don't pay anything. In the early morning hours they do Tai Chi and other exercises in the park.
When I had seen enough of the souvinir shops I climbed a mountain just behind the park, very rewarding with good view at the Dragon mountain and down at the park. Later in the evening I sat in a restaurant by the river. The daughter of the owner's family, a real Naxi girl told me a lot about her town and her history. Many of the local are not too happy about the goverment turning there home town into a tourist attraction but on the other hand are dependent on the money.

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Photos

Naxi Women
One of the tourist attractions are dances performed in traditional clothing on the market square.

Running Water
That's never a problem in the old town of Lijiang. A river is led into a system of small channels that run through all the alleys of Lijiang.

Traditional Clothing
The Naxi traditional clothing includes a sheep skin at the back. This keeps the back warm and makes carrying heavy stocks more comfortable.

Lijiang Old Town
The old houses of Lijiang form a dense and confusing network of alleys.

Comble Stone
At many places the coble stone is already polished from long usage (by tourist feet?!).

Black Dragon Pool Park
A scenic highlight of Lijiang for sure is the Black Dragon Pool Park. In spite of tourists strolling the place you can still find many locals here. In the background you see Dragon Mountain.