Lijiang Part 2 The end of the vacation (2-17)

Sunday morning was overcast and the mountains were not visible. I had thought about going to the mountain, but Julie and Bruce had both discouraged me because it is very expensive; total cost, including a car, is about 700 yuan ($115). Bruce added that since I’ve been to Jiuzhaigou, I didn’t need to go to the mountain because one of it’s attractions is a lake similar to those of Juizhaigou and I’ve seen the best. Bruce had suggested the Yuhe village, which is known for its stone houses. Since Sunday was overcast and I’d lost my enthusiasm for the mountain, I decided to hire a driver to go to Yuhu and Baisha villages, since I’d missed Baisha on Saturday. Julie also suggested that I go to Black Dragon Park in Lijiang. Bruce concurred, thinking that I should go there and then walk back through old town Lijiang because I should see it on my first visit. The driver took the road I had started riding out of town on on Saturday. So the policeman was correct in his directions to go straight and turn left. But I wouldn’t have known what to do next; so it’s good that I went back and followed the route on Bruce’s map.

In Yuhu, the driver stopped at Joseph Rock’s house. Bruce had mentioned that and I’d seen his name on a store in Shuhe. He is famous for leadning National Geographic work here in the 1920s. When I entered the courtyard, a young woman visiting the house was called over to talk to me. She explained that I had to pay 40 yuan ($6.50), the foreigner admission price; Chinese pay only 25 yuan. That was the first time I’d seen that difference. It wasn’t really worth that much, but it’s a contribution to the upkeep. 

After visiting the house, I roamed around the village for an hour. All the websites say that Yuhu is not touristic, and it’s not but tourism has begun. There were six other vans in the village and a few small groups of Chinese tourists were walking around. One went by on horses. I wondered what the villagers think of people coming to photograph their houses.

Next we went to Baisha village, since I’d missed it on Saturday. Bruce thought I went too far. First I went to the embroidery school where an English speaking woman showed me around. People can come to the school and learn to do embroidery for no cost. They have pictures embroidered by students and by teachers for sale. I purchased a traditional Naxi picture made by a student. I had, of course, selected a more expensive picture because it is a traditional theme and there aren’t many of those.  The woman had told me that prices would be discounted 40% for the Spring Festival. She reduced the price of my item by 50% since I didn’t want the frame. I was happy because I like folk art and I had liked that picture when I first saw it. The women are spinning.

Baisha is billed as a village that is like Shuhe and Lijiang were in the past. The main street has shops selling items for tourists and several restaurants. Interestingly, the restaurants have their menus posted and printed in English and Chinese, unlike those in Shuhe and the one I ate at in Lijiang. I chose one that advertised Naxi food, and I had an eggplant pie, which was stir-fried pieces of eggplant between two pieces of flat, steamed bread. The man seemed thrilled that I was eating there.

Although the village is set up for tourism on the main street, the buildings are still authentic, not reproductions. 

Many people sell tie dyed table cloths, which the Naxis are known for. Many shops have small, metal items and figures. Others have the same shawls that are everywhere in the area. 

Near the gate several old women were sitting and selling vegetables. 

Highlights of Baisha were two girls who noticed that I was taking a photo from a distance and started posing. They had fun posing for close shots. 

Another was an 86 year-old woman who saw me photographing her house entrance. She was walking home and motioned for me to follow her. In the courtyard, she motioned for me to take photos. 

Then she brought out some oranges and posed with them. After I finished, she gave me four oranges. Then she indicated that she wanted money. I guess she’s done this before. I didn’t have much change; so I gave her the equivalent of a dollar.

Next I was dropped off at Black Dragon Park. When I went to pay the entrance fee, I was told that I had to have the 80 yuan ($13) Lijiang sites ticket in order to enter. I told the woman I was only there for two hours and was leaving the next day; so I didn’t need the ticket for all the sites. I wouldn’t have minded paying if I were going to visit a few sites, but I didn’t want to pay that much just to walk through the park. She called someone else who told me I had to purchase the ticket. So I said I would. Then the woman asked if I was going home and told me I could go in for no fee. This was really nice of her, but I felt a little bad about not paying something.

The park is famous for its clear pool in which Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is reflected. Not on Sunday, as it was overcast and rainy and the mountains were not visible. Some people had their photo taken in the place where the mountain would be in the background and the background was photoshopped in. 

On a clear day (from the Internet)

There are temples and pagodas in the park as well as the lake. It was a lovely way to spend a couple hours.

After the park, I walked through Old Town Lijiang to get to the place where I could get a taxi back to the guesthouse, as no cars are allowed in Old Town. Shortly after entering, I saw a restaurant advertising Yunnan’s famous Across the Bridge noodles, which I had missed in Kunming. Surprisingly, it is a soup. It was OK, but I didn’t think it was delicious; not something I’d go out of my way to have again. I had had a Chinese woman in Kunming tell me that, although they are famous, she didn’t think they were delicious either.

After eating, I enjoyed walking along the river and looking at the buildings for a while. In general, I found Lijiang to be overdone as an Ancient Town. Too many tourist shops. Many people working in the shops and standing outside restaurants were in traditional costume. This can be nice, but the whole setting seemed artificial, especially after being in less reconstructed places like Shaxi and Baisha. Even Shuhe is less touristic and is quiet in the evening, as most tourists go there during the day and return to Lijiang. 

The main square has all the famous Western fast food places—McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut. 

And there were way too many tourists wandering around. Some streets were so crowded that it was an effort to walk through them quickly, as I was trying to do. I was glad I had chosen not to stay there.

I was tired of it and was ready to leave, but I couldn’t find the way out directly. I tried to use the map and knew the general direction—downhill, but I got turned around twice and the streets didn’t go where they seemed like they were going. Eventually, I got onto a main street that clearly on the map goes to the end of Old Town. But it’s a long street. I was happy when I arrived at the main street with cars. I had to negotiate toughly with the taxi driver, as Bruce had told me to pay 30 yuan and he wanted 50 and then 40. After I refused and stood there waiting for another taxi, he called to me and said 30 was OK.

By the time I got to Shuhe, it was raining steadily. But it was a light rain; so it wasn’t too bad. When I arrived at the guesthouse, Julie greeted me and told me that she had turned on my electric blanket. That was great news, as I’d been thinking for a while that I just wanted to sit on my bed with the electric blanket. She also brought me a cup of rice soup—popped rice in ginger broth.

The weather was cold and it drizzled off and on all day. So it was good that I wasn’t doing a lot outdoors. I was glad I had my hat and gloves and umbrella, although Bruce had offered to give me an umbrella when I left. In three weeks of traveling, this was the only day with not nice weather, and it wasn’t really bad weather—just uncomfortable.

Monday morning at 6:30 I went to get into my cab to the airport. Julie greeted me at the bottom of the stairs with an umbrella, as it was drizzling. She made sure the driver knew where to take me. The trip took about an hour, as the driver took the old, winding road instead of the new highway, probably because the latter is a toll road. They will need to increase the fee to include the toll if the highway is to be used.

Thus ended my three-week holiday. Another great traveling experience in China. I enjoyed seeing the minority groups and their villages. I especially enjoyed the nice weather and being able to do so much bicycling and hiking where the sky was blue and the sun was shining. I guess the last couple days of overcast sky prepared me for returning to Wenjiang.