Lijiang

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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 old town. This all being said, there are numerous places to buy trekking gear or to arrange tours into the mountains; still, it doesn't deserve more than a day.

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