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Published: February 15th 2011
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Our bus arrived in Lijiang at around 5:45 am. I thought the ride would be longer, but it was less than 10 so I was pretty confused to arrive so early. I got a breakfast of poor-quality xiao long bao and doujiang - should have waited and not eaten next to the station. I caught bus #8 to 古城口/guchengkou, the entrance to the old town. It was very quiet and peaceful there and as the sun rose I strolled the empty winding cobblestone streets. My pinky toes were totally killing me. I think this is because my feet/legs got really swollen from sitting for ~30 hours and then my hiking boots were too tight. I took off my boots and walked in my socks and then found a supermarket where I purchased bright purple teddy bear slippers.
Finally people started waking up and opening up their shops. I bought a bottle of Yak yogurt which tasted like regular yogurt. I caught my first glimpse of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, an ultra-prominent 5596 meter mountain that towers over the town. The Old Town is a very well-done tourist stop, with so many snacks and other goods marketed as "local specialties" so
that strolling the streets inevitably burns a hole in your wallet. I saw some people hand-making ginger candy so I had to try some of that! It had a nice spicy nutty flavor. Also tried "baba," the local weat-based bread that comes in sweet and savory varieties. Mine was filled with a soft sweet (possibly bean?) paste. There is also an area of the Old Town where Naxi people have been hand-making copper goods for many years.
I was getting tired of my backpack so I tried to find a hostel. The Dongba Guesthouse on Wikitravel was not at its listed address and the phone number didn't work. My second try was Mama Naxi's Guesthouse. it seems to have two locations but one Mama. Mama was at the first place and she brought me to the second (also named Yi Run Inn) where they had dorm-style rooms. She is originally from Shangri-la and has been living in Lijiang for over 20 years. The guesthouse was so cozy and the whole family was there - Mama, Baba, their daughter (?), a baby, ~10 friendly cats and dogs, and a bird. The internet was free, they let me use their laundry
detergent, and they have a coffee machine and offered refills on their freshly-brewed coffee!
Thoughts on the Old Town itself.... It seems that the while the buildings on the largest, most busy streets are just there for tourism, there are many smaller sterets and buildings where real people live. I thought I would maybe hate how touristy Lijiang is, but actually the Old Town had the pleasant feeling of a village in a ski resort. Also the bathrooms were amazing - western toilets with flat screen TVs that you can watch while you do your business. The shops with their clear signs seem to offer a concentrated and packaged version of Naxi culture. Not the most "authentic" place, but it was an easy and enjoyable environment.
After stashing my stuff at Mama's, I walked from the Old Town to the Black Dragon Pool. There is a 80 kuai ticket that you buy once and then it is good for all of the tourist sites. The locals can enter for free. I am really on guard about getting ripped off and I saw all these Chinese people freely entering without showing a ticket, so I argued with the people
at the gate to no avail, then caved and bought a ticket. The pool was quite pleasant and it was a good place to take pictures of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain reflected in the water. As I was strolling around the pool's perimeter, a lady came up to me and said, "Hello?" For every 5 times this happens, 3 times the person wants to sell me something, 1 time they and their friends want to crowd around me, point, laugh and make me feel embarrassed, and 1 time it is a super sweet person who wants to chat. How wonderful that this woman was the latter. Together we climbed the nearby Elephant Hill, named because it looks like a sleeping elephant. She said that they also made her buy the 80 kuai ticket. She is from Kunming and teaches Chinese at Kunming University. Her English was pretty good, thought she wasn't used to using it, so we spoke a mixture of Chinese and English. She is 44 and a much better hiker than me (to be fear I was wearing purple bear slippers!). She said she is good at sports because she grew up in a village, but city
people like her daughter are not good at sports. We exchanged contact information and she said if I ever go back to Kunming, we can drive in her car out to her village and visit with her parents, feed the chickens, and go hiking.
After we parted, I inspected my feet. Thankfully the fluid in my swollen pinky toes had risen to the surface and the bottoms of both toes had become giant blisters. I popped them, bought some iodine and band-aids, and felt a lot better. Back in the Old Town, it was 7 pm - Naxi-dancing-around-a-fire O'clock. Some locals were there leading the tourists. I also walked by the KTV and nightclub area of the Old Town which proves the rule that however far into Western China you travel, you will inevitably hear "Love in This Club" by Usher. There were many performers dressed in traditional minority clothing singing and dancing with lasers, smoke machines, and strobe lights. I found this commercialization of traditional minority cultures fun and entertaining, maybe a sign that I have been in China for too long.
My last stop for the evening was a concert at the Naxi Concert Hall. The
Town Square
With Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the background. tickets were expensive (120 kuai), but the internet said it was worth it. I'm glad I went. The orchestra consisted of around 30 musicians, most of whom were men ages 65 to 88. They played old music pieces from various dynasties. I don't know so much about ancient Chinese music and poetry, but nearly all of the ancient lyrics seemed to be written entirely in nature metaphors. For example one emperor's lament about being overthrown and put in jail was titled something like "Sand and Waves" and seemed to not make any literal reference to his situation. The older musicians often fell asleep when it was not their turn to play. Also one act was a Yunnan Opera piece called "Borrowing a Friend's Wife," which the performer acted out with exaggerated facial expressions.
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