We slept in until 08:00 and then wandered down our alleyway to the main street below where roadside markets were busy selling food and other wares.
We purchased yoghurt, pastries and fruit juice and had these for breakfast back in our room.
Lijiang is only 80 km from the border of Myanmar (Burma) and has a backdrop of snow capped mountains, the most prominent being the towering peak of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (approx 6000 m) which is part of the south eastern end of the Himalayan Range. The town of Lijiang is at an altitude of 2400 m.
At 10:00 we started a day of exploring the town commencing at the main square which is dominated by two large water wheels. This is part of the ‘old town’ known as Dayan. The new part of Lijiang is on the other side of a hill and is an uninspiring modern day glass and concrete metropolis typical of China today.
The old town has flourished for centuries as it offered a caravanserai for travellers to and from Tibet. Kublai Khan gave the town its name meaning ‘beautiful river’ in 1253. The town now is a very popular tourist destination for Chinese travellers.
The local inhabitants of Lijiang are the Naxi who are a branch of the Qiang people of Tibet who left the north-west of China some 2000 years ago and settled in this fertile temperate plain. The Naxi is a matriarchal society with women having a dominant role in business, finance, landownership and the raising of children. Their religion is based on Tibetan shamanism.
On our morning’s walk we headed north from Yu He Square in lovely clear blue skies and followed the stream along willow and chestnut lined paths towards Black Dragon Pool Park. The area is home to some architectural treasures from as early as the 17th century but unfortunately, the one we’d hoped to see, the Wufeng Lu Temple (it’s on the front of our “Insight Guide Book”) was partly covered as its restoration is occurring at present. The gardens and small arched bridges around the lake are a sheer delight and the beauty and tranquillity of this locale were in sharp contrast to the recent crowded cities we’d visited and the blue sky was a bonus. Large and colourful fish are plainly visible in the clear waters of the lake.
Dragon Lake
Souvenir shop, Dragon Lake
Eucalypt sign, Dragon Lake
Grandfather & boy, Dragon Lake
Eaves & blue sky, Dragon Lake
After a lunch break in a local food-hall that sold every conceivable meal including silk worms and other insects served as kebabs, we ventured down past Yu He Square to Dayan’s part of the old city.
Pig outside restaurant, Dayan, Lijiang
Food hall, Dayan, Lijiang
This is a network of tiny streets in amongst narrow canals where many of the old Naxi cottages have had their fronts converted into tourist shops. No cars are allowed in this old part. We did a three kilometre loop through Dayan and in the middle of our sight-seeing there was a short but dramatic thunderstorm that lasted a mere ten minutes but was impressive nonetheless. This is the first real rain we’ve had since leaving Melbourne.
reet scene, Dayan, Lijiang
During this very pleasant afternoon’s stroll, Corinne bought some souvenir items for the grand-children while Jak took dozens of photos of the people, the old Naxi buildings and the varied tourist merchandise on sale.
In the mid-afternoon we headed back to our guesthouse via an ATM and a shop and made preparations for the next few days of hiking the Tiger Leaping Gorge. We’ve been warned about the four hour steep climb at altitude that is the start of tomorrow’s seven hour hike. An early night and a high energy meal provided an appropriate finish to a wonderfully relaxing day.