Relaxing in Lijiang

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I've just spent the last three days back in Lijiang. To be honest I haven't really done too much whilst back here and have been just taking it easy, catching up a bit with this blog, uploading some photos and taking in a few more sights. So there really isn't a lot to report.

I have been staying at the very nice and friendly 'International Youth Hostel' the one on Jishan Alley and anyone thinking of coming to Lijiang should really consider this as a good place to base yourself. Unlike my previous trip to Lijiang where I stayed just on the outskirts of the old city this time I'm nicely nestled into one of the old town's back streets.

On my first day back here I decided to try and beat the crowds (of which there are many) to get a good view of Yulong Xueshan from the 'Black Dragon Pool Park' (Heilongtan Gongyuan; Xin Dajie) My plan almost worked as I most certainly avoided the crowds and for that matter the people at the ticket entrance but the clouds once again got the better of me. I was therefore denied the opportunity to photograph as the guide book states "the most obligatory photo shoot in south-western China" I will make do with a postcard.

The park itself is lovely and as I said previously it's certainly worth getting up early to get here. Not only are there less people but I was also able to watch the local people go about their daily exercise routines, dancing and was even invited by a very old Chinese man to have a go at playing his flute.

Whilst in the park I did also climb to the top of 'Elephant Hill' (Xiang Shan) Having only completed the Tiger Leaping Gorge the previous day I did quite literally think this would be a walk in the park, how wrong I was to be! I was even sad enough to count the number of steps on the way down, 1186. What made matters worse was that the spectacular view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain that I thought was going to be there once at the top was, you guessed it covered in cloud.

Much of the rest of my time has been spent strolling around the streets of Lijiang. It amazes me that most people just stick to the centre of the old city which to be honest is somewhat of a glorified shopping centre. You can get a lot more out of this place if you're prepared to get a little lost and head off down the numerous back alleys. In many respects it reminds me a little of Venice with it's small canals and bridges. On more than one occasion I followed an alley for a couple of minutes but was then forced to retreat as I met a dead end.

On Sunday night I was thankful to find a small English Bar tucked away in one of the back streets which goes by the name of 'The Frosty Morning' It's run by a great English guy and his charming wife and I was, having previously been starved of English football for 4 weeks, able to watch Manchester United versus Liverpool. Even the result didn't dampened my mood. If you're in Lijiang and need your fix of football then you should head here.

It's been nice to not do a lot having spent the last 4 weeks running from place to place, jumping on buses and trains and sticking to timetables but now I ready to get back out there and do some serious sightseeing.

So today I'm off to Chengdu in Sichuan province. It's the first city for a while so I'm sure it will be a little strange.

Uploading photos has become so slow that I've taken to adding just a few on this blog. Speak to you all soon.

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Photos

Lijiang
Early in the morning, no shops open therefore no tourists!

Black Dragon Pool Park, Lijiang
More clouds!

Comments

[Vivian]

hello.Paul
The pictures are too beautiful.I hope one day I can go there.