Lijiang

24th - 25th Mar 2004.

Lijang is a few hours bus ride North of Dali on a windy road that doesn't stop if you are sick or need the toilet. (It does stop to wash the window when you are sick but you can't get out). The town is a maze of cobble stoned streets set along a river which attracts lots and lots of dawdling Chinese tour groups.

You can buy goldfish to plop in the canals that line the streets.  This seems to be quite popular with the Chinese tourists who probably do this to either appear rich or just torture fish.

This is the view from the top of the town, lots of old style buildings.

During our stay we decided to visit the Dragon Park in town. Our guide book promised us too much and we were disappointed that we had paid the extortionate entry fee.

Still we got to see this cheeky monkey in action, posing for pictures with the Chinese tourists.

In town stands this enormous Chairman Mao statue. He appears to be showing the way to the promised land but he is facing West which is either Europe or else he is shipping intellectuals off to Tibet again.

This lady is washing her vegetables in a pool designed in three layers, the top pool is for drinking water, the next your vegetables and finally your laundry.

The Naxi theatre plays every night to tourists. This fantastic group of old men have been playing since the cultural revolution to make sure that Naxi music stays alive. Their instruments were hidden underground whilst Mao was purging the bourgeios. It was a fantastic display of traditional music.

Unfortunately they loose about one man a year now as some of the group are in their nineties. The performance does go on abit, and even the band get fed up of the leader who seemed to like his voice too much. They all nodded off at one stage!

This is us beside the walkways of Lijang. It was beautiful at night, you could even avoid the dawdling Chinese tourists who were all getting beered up in restaurants and yelling at each other.
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