Lijiang, China
I've finally got around to posting photos of the last leg of my 2024 trip to China, Lijiang. We spent three nights in Lijiang and it was my favorite stop on the trip.
On our first day in Lijiang, our guide took us to the Jade Spring Park. We first went through the Dongba Cultural Museum devoted to the Naxi people, the principal cultural minority that were the earliest inhabitants of that area. After that we walked around the Park where the highlights were the Black Dragon Pool and several monuments, one of which was the Longshen temple. Off in the distance you could see Jade Dragon Snow mountain; the dominant geographic feature of the city.
The next day we took a bus up to Jade Dragon Snow mountain. The landscape was what I'd call "Alpine" - dominated by evergreen trees, it wouldn't have looked out of place in Europe or the American north west. It's a very popular spot for wedding photos. We counted at least 60 couples having engagement photos taken. The mountain was impressive for sure, but the Blue-Moon valley was quite spectacular. The lagoon is a very bright turquoise color. The bottom of the lagoon is calcified and is completely white and that along with the clear mountain water causes the bright reflection. This too is a popular wedding photo location.
The Old Town is what Lijiang is most famous for. It represents the oldest section of the city - not sure how many hundreds of years old, but probably a couple of thousand at least. The Old Town is full of shops that line the uneven cobble stoned streets. After a while, all the shops looked the same (mostly selling souvenirs and tea to tourists). I did manage to find a shop that sold antiques and other used items - it was there I picked up a copy of Mao's Li'l Red Book - one that had an English translation. There were also several vendor selling black morel mushrooms. I'v never seen so many black morels in once place. Our guide explained to us that they're able to cultivate them and grow them on farms.
After returning from the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, we stopped to learn a little bit about Dongba culture from a Naxi shaman. I can’t remember the gentleman’s name - nor could I spell it even if I could, but it was a fascinating visit. He explained to us some of history of his people, shared with us books of the history of his people, and we enjoyed a snack of cake, fruit and tea. He explained to us that he’s more of a teacher now than shaman, he’s working hard to keep knowledge of his culture alive in a rapidly changing China.