Lijiang Part 1 (2-15)

When I arrived in Jianchuan at 2:30 and asked for a bus ticket to Lijiang, the woman waved and said “no” in Chinese and “tomorrow” in English. I recognized that that meant there were no more buses. The Chinese tourist who had been in the van with me was behind me and spoke to the woman. He confirmed that there were no more buses that day and suggested that I look for a van. The vans were all going to Shaxi, and buses go to Dali. I guess they don’t expect people to go to Lijiang that late in the day. But a few taxis were sitting there waiting for unsuspecting tourists who don’t know the bus schedule. They wanted 300 yuan (about $50). I thought this was too much but didn’t have much choice, as I needed to get to Lijiang and there was no other way to do it. The man suggested to one taxi driver that he could take other people and charge me less. I decided to wait half an hour to see if anyone else showed up. At that time, I was still alone; so I negotiated a 20 yuan discount and got into the car. Probably should have started lower and negotiated harder. Then the driver started talking to two young people who had just arrived. So I got out to let them know that it was OK to join me. The driver told them that I would pay 200 and they would pay 100. I’m not sure how that was determined other than that I am a foreigner and the price I was paying was the special foreigner price. They were probably paying the real price. I don’t know, but, since they were students and it would give me a further discount, I agreed. This turned out to be a good decision when the driver had no idea where to take me once we got to Lijiang and the young man took over finding the location of the guesthouse. The drive to the edge of Lijiang took only an hour on the new highway; I had thought it would take closer to two hours. Then the young man put the address into the car’s GPS and the driver got me to Shuhe, the village the guesthouse is near. He stopped so he and the young man could ask for further directions, but no one could help. I tried to call the phone number I had from the reservation agency, but I got the message saying the number was not in service. I saw a policeman and suggested that they ask him where the guesthouse is. He pointed and gave some directions. The driver drove that way for a few minutes and then stopped again. The young man got out and asked more people who were not able to help. Then I heard him talking on the phone about me. He got a lot of information and the driver proceeded. After a few minutes, we stopped to pick up a woman who turned out to be from the guesthouse and was meeting us so she could take us there. She was the person he was talking to. In the end, I got my money’s worth from the driver, since he was so good about taking so much time—about 40 minutes—driving around and making sure he delivered me. When he gave me my bag, he said he was sorry. I think he meant for taking so long and not knowing where to take me. I was sorry I couldn’t say more than “thank you a lot” in Chinese, since he did a great job taking care of me.

The guesthouse is lovely and the garden looks just like the photos online. From the second floor, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang’s famous mountain, can be seen in the distance, but it was only slightly visible because it was cloudy. I was the only guest. Julie, the woman we picked up, brought me some tea, a cut up apple, and a couple snacks so I could relax and settle in. Then she gave me a map of Shuhe and walked me to town, which takes about ten minutes, to make sure I knew the way there and back.

I walked around for a short time and then found a place to eat. The menu had photos of some dishes; so I was able to identify and point to tofu. At a restaurant across from mine the waitress was carrying her baby. Not something one would see in the U.S.

Saturday morning the owner, Bruce, asked if I wanted a free upgrade to an upstairs room with a balcony because I was the only guest. It seemed rude to not accept his generous offer. While I was out, they moved my things. My new room was twice as large as my original room. The bathroom has a small, wooden tub with a seat that was nice to use when showering. The balcony is on the back side and has a view over neighboring roofs.

My activity Saturday was bicycle riding to Baisha village, another ancient village but one that isn’t as developed as Shuhe and Lijiang. Buce took me to a rental place and showed me on the map how to get to Baisha. I followed the directions. After a while I knew something was wrong and asked a policeman who pointed and told me to go straight ahead and then turn left. I followed his directions for a while but still felt that something wasn’t right. I then stopped to have a look at my map and realized that I’d taken the wrong road out of town and was in the wrong place. So I returned and started over. That error cost me an hour.

As I rode toward Baisha, I stopped in a couple roadside villages and wandered into them for a bit. 

I also stopped at the Naxi Impression Show building which was closed but is a great building. 

Another stop was San Duo Temple, built in the 8^th century and the oldest temple in the area. A favorite stop was a corner store I stopped at to purchase a drink. The woman working there is a very old Naxi woman and another old woman was shopping. A woman with a boy on her back walked past, and the boy was enthralled with me.

I enjoyed views of the mountains 

and the valley as I rode higher up the mountain road.

After I passed the Dongha Culture Theme Park, I looked at the map again and realized that I still wasn’t close to Baisha. The winding curves Bruce had added to the map were just beginning. The road was a gradual uphill climb and I was doing OK with it, but there was a strong wind off and on, making riding challenging. Then the grade increased and I had to stop and walk, as I couldn’t manage that grade in the altitude. I did this three times and then decided that I wasn’t enjoying the ride anymore and I didn’t have to go to Baisha; so I turned around. It was on the way back that I realized that the road had been uphill the whole way, but the first part was so gradual that I hadn’t noticed that it was slanted uphill. 

On the way back, I stopped to buy a snack and noticed a wall with Naxi paintings across the street. So I went down that street to photograph the paintings. At the end of the wall, I realized that it is old building that is being renovated. So the day’s ride was enjoyable even though I didn’t reach my original destination. I rode for three hours, including stops, uphill on the correct road, and it took an hour and a half, including stops, to get back to Shuhe.

Back in Shuhe, I took another wrong turn and ended out in a different part of the village from where I’d started. So I walked around that part and walked along the stream to what is called a lake but is really a pond. In one area, a group of Naxi musicians were playing traditional music, which is rather atonal. 

One bridge, Qinglong Bridge, over the stream is 400 years old. It is the oldest and longest stone arch bridge in Lijiang. 

I learned that the Naxi have three wells: one for drinking, one for washing vegetables, and one for waste water.

It was a relaxing walk after the day’s riding. Then I decided that I wanted to return the bicycle. That was easier decided than done. I wandered around for quite a while enjoying looking at the buildings. In the main square English songs were being played. Then I asked for directions, using the map, because I didn’t know where I was on the map. Not too long after that, I found the rental place and returned the bicycle. Next it was time to eat. I found another place that had a few photos on the menu and ordered the black fungus.

After eating, I took another wrong turn—the theme of the day—and ended out walking around more than I’d planned to, as I was ready to return to the guesthouse. I asked for directions three times. After following the last woman’s directions, I ended out on the road out of the village toward the guesthouse. After all the walking around the village, I was done with Shuhe.

When I arrived at the guesthouse, Julie brought me a cup of tea and pastries. I enjoyed them while sitting in the swinging chair on the balcony. Even though it was dark, it was relaxing to be there.

When he drove me into the village in the morning, Bruce commented on China’s not being accessible to cars. He said that individuals have only been able to own cars since 2009. Prior to that, cars were only owned by agencies for business. When he moved to Shuhe in 2009, his was the only car in the village.

This area is home to Naxi ethnic people. As with the Bai people, the old women wear traditional clothes while the young don’t. 

Houses have a wooden piece hanging from the eaves 

and what I think is a snow lion on top. 

Old houses are made from mud bricks. 

New ones are stone or from cement bricks or blocks that are often stuccoed over. There is a lot of construction going on here, as in other places I’ve visited. All the villages I walked in have new buildings going up. Bruce explained that all the new construction is not for local people. It’s for rich people from other places, especially Sichuan, who want a vacation house in Yunnan.

There are Tibetan Buddhist temples and flags in some places. The ethnic paintings are distinctive in style. Bruce explained that one building in Shuhe was a former “hotel” for those traveling on the Tea Horse Road. It is now an information center.