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No.109 Wenzhi Alley, Wuyi Street, Dayan Town, Gucheng District, Lijiang, Yunnan, 674100, China
Stream near market square
Streets before tourists
Gift Shop
Waterfall 1
Cuando llegas a Lijiang te llama la atención que a la puerta de todas las casas tienen faroles rojos que por la noche se encienden y dan un caracter muy especial a la ciudad
When you arrive in Lijiang striking that at the door of every house they have red lanterns that are lit at night and they give a very special character to the city
This bar have very modern and beautiful decorations, located near the entrance of Lijiang Old Town. Only thing I don't like is that they put all the liquor under the light-display, they were all warm when serve, making ice cubes melt quickly, diluted the taste.
SIFANG JIE (Square Market): This is where most people gathered during the olden days for doing business & trading. Today, it`s the place for tourists & locals to gather & enjoy a cup of coffee or beer & shop for local arts & crafts or souvenirs. A place to experience the clean air, clear running water & daily lifestyle of the people of Lijiang.
In the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, brothers Yang Zhaolan and Yang Zhaorong resided in this small lane that lies off the western side of the market place. They both passed the imperial examinations at the provincial level along with their son of Yang Zhaorong. For the purpose of encouraging the forthcoming generations, the local officials built the arch above the street. It burnt down in 1944 but was rebuilt by a donation by local wealthy businessman Xin Wenbo.
-Going here from Kunming on the bus.
No, the bus wasn't dreadful, it was even very comfortable. But the bathroom sure was! (Why are most of my memories in China are about bathrooms?)
See, along the way, the bus passed by a lot of windy roads in high speed. Amazingly, no one in our family got carsick, but other passengers sure did!
And who was unlucky enough to be sitted in the indoor bus bathroom?
Fun-loving cousin, oh...the pits!
She was placed infront of the bathroom and boy did she freak out! So many people stampeded in the bathroom- I pooed in it, someone puke in it and of course, fun-loving cousin saw all the stains of the toilet bowl.
But could you believe it? After all what she saw, she still peed in it. Amazing indeed. (Even mom won't do that!)
-The scenery along the way, just looking at Dali, the mountains, the farms, the Chinese towns and finally the Jade Dragon mountain just makes the journey more exciting!
-Lijiang's town, just stroll around it and even with the crowds, it still feels like a movie set!
-When we arrived Lijiang, hell broke loose! Remember the Sapa Royal Hotel incidence? Well, guess what! The same nasty thing happened again! HERE! Again, we booked a cheap hostel (Lijiang Wisteria Garden Inn) more than 3 months ago, and when mom called now, they said THEY HAD NO RESERVATION FROM US!
How frustrating!! What liars! We did make a reservation! Why do they always treat our advanced reservations from the Internet (We got it from Hostelbookers.com) literally like trash?!
Well, anyway, just like Sapa, everybody just cursed the situation again.
MOM: They're such A*******!
Dad: Just be calm. (Meaning, he was really worried!)
Serious Gifted Cousin: "Oh my G**."
Teenage cousin: .... (Probably happy because she's dying to go back home to her friends in the Philippines!)
Fun-loving cousin: Ay...I wanna go back to Malaysia!
Brother: Mom? When can I go to the bookstore? (Meaning he doesn't even care!)
Me: Dear...get me out of this country!
In the end, we still found a beautiful place to stay with nice ambience. (Boutique hotel, 20 US-30 US a day for double rooms. In the beginning, when we arrived, we paid 30 US. But later on, when Chinese school holiday ended, we paid 20 US. The owners are women and are really nice.)
-Note: Just because these things happen doesn't mean I didn't have a good time in China. That was the fun! And I had a lot of fun here too!
-When you see the Naxi people, putting up a show and dance slowly in circles in squares or hotels, it always livens up the town's atmosphere!
-Getting lost around Lijiang's old quarters! Isn't that the best thing to do here?
-When the girls (All the cousins) fought each other. They literally ignored each other. Oh well, at some point you get sick of each other's faces and fight each other!
-The dogs of Lijiang, who can't forget the Alaskan Huskies?
-When it was school holidays for the Chinese: Lijiang really partied at night! Wow, 80% of the vacationers got drunk, everybody were shouting and shouting, there were fights, well, what can you expect from a party?
Okay! Serious stuff! Kids, you can sleep now!
Whoa...Lijiang, a sad tale indeed. What used to be an idyllic, picturesque Naxi settlement and a magical destination for adventurous travelers (When there was no road, it would take 30 hrs to get here from Kunming! (I read in the previous editions of the Lonely Planet.) had sadly, lost her magic...
Modern hotels have already sprung up around the city, and KFC is no longer a stranger here. (Good thing for us! We never starved.) An airport was erected and more than 3 million (Mostly Chinese) tourists are now using Lijiang as their get-away vacation spot or a hot, honeymooning site. And what about the Naxi's? A lot are now posing like Mickey mouses or Disney characters with their colorful or bizzare costumes! Of course, some of them you already have to pay for a picture. Lijiang indeed, is no longer the exotic, authentic town that so longed intoxicated adventurous travelers.
Lijiang is still picturesque & beautiful! The pictures don't lie!
The beautiful canals, tiled houses, tiny clean streets, make you feel like you're in a true Chinese town you see in the movies! And there's more! Come visit Sifang square (Especially on a holiday (May in particular is so full of festivals here!), Lijiang's heart and soul of action where plenty of tourists, locals & Naxis DISCO, dance, scream, get drunk and go wild
until the sun rises! Lijiang is fun!
Lijiang may no longer be authentic & is really commercialized but hey, beautiful cities like Venice Santorini or Salzburg are commercialized too you know? Take a break from isolating yourself in the forests! Don't be shy! You're getting old! Be a teenager and have fun once in a while in beautiful, disco fevered Lijiang!
Compared to Bacolod- You can't compare! It's much cooler and historical than Bacolod! Although, it doesn't have much malls compared to Bacolod.
Compared to Manila- You also can't compare! They're so different! Though, if you did compare, honestly Lijiang is like paradise compared to Manila, it's much cleaner and it's so beautiful. But I think I like Manila more, I think I'll get bored in Lijiang after a while.
Compared to Kunming- It's a relief from all the smog and the dull architecture!
Compared to Deqin- It's a relief from all the mountains and the freezing weather!
Compared to Dali- It's more touristy than Dali I tell you. But I like Lijiang more- I like the scenery here more and it's more crowded and fun here!
Compared to Sapa- No matter how near they are (only 1 & a half hour by plane) they are world's aparts.
Compared to Venice- Lijiang for me is the Venice of Asia! (But no big canals and row boats!) Yes! I find iLijiang more Venetian than Suzhou (Where the grand canal is, near Shanghai, dubbed the Venice of China.) because the alleys and architecture here are more narrow and striking!
Compared to Jerusalem- It's similar in terms of being a big ancient city that's trapped in a maze. But of course, they're world's aparts!
Compared to Darjeeling, India- It's lower and flatter than Darjeeling. It's more commercialized too! But I don't know, in my opinion, even if the food in Darjeeling was more to die than Lijiang, I like Darjeeling first, then Lijiang.
Family's comments: (Your kids MIGHT (Not will) still like Lijiang, I think.)
Dad: My favorite- nice for photography, and it's lots of fun!
Mom: I like Lijiang more than Dali or Deqin because it's more fun (more crowded). I don't mind staying here for a week! And it's clean too! (Also her favorite)
Serious, gifted 15 yr. old girl cousin: I like Lijiang a lot you know? Even if it's touristy, it's still worth going to. (Her favorite city in the trip)
Fun-loving 13 yr. old girl cousin: I like Lijiang because of the dogs. (She means she adored Lijiang because she was so in love with a very cute and fluffy Alaskan Husky. Lijiang has a lot of beautiful dogs you know?)
Teenage 16 yr. old girl cousin: "...." (Didn't enjoy her stay because she quarreled with the girls.)
Brother: What's so sad about that? (Means about the intro) It's nice Lijiang has become modern! I like Lijiang because of the KFC, that's really it. It's not my favorite city either. I like Kuala Lumpur more because of the malls.
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Q: Yunnan visit "We are planning this leg. We would be coming from Chengdu. I am uncertain as to what is the best approach and whether it is..."
A: "Lijiang is certainly worth the trip. If you are on a tight timetable travel there, unless it is flying, can be quite time consuming. The train from Chengdu to Kunming..."
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