Lijiang

I am beginning to really enjoy having a tour guide to teach, show, guide, interpret and bargain every step of the way. Paul, our tour guide in Lijiang, was waiting of us upon arrival at the airport just as Frankie was in Xi'an.

Our guide is a 22 year old who has been living in Lijiang almost two years post university graduation in Kunming. He grew up in a village not far from Kunming and is very proud of his heritage. Turns out he is fourth generation Christian which is nearly unheard of in China.

Our guide and the boys

He shared about village life, his view of Mao and the Cultural Revolution and how his Grandmother was imprisoned for three months for knowing English when the revolution began (not for being a Christian). He became fast friends with the boys and enjoyed teaching them more Chinese. Taylor was a quick study and has been speaking and translating a little for Robert and I. He's getting good at bargaining too now that he know numbers and key shopping phrases. Awww, makes his mama proud.

He took us all around Old Town Lijiang and our hotel which happened to be right in the center of Old Town and the nicest accommodations yet. I fear I won't be able to capture the spirit of this quaint historic Naxi village as I write. The Naxi are a local people who have lived in the area for over 1000 years.

Picture a labyrinth of narrow cobble stone roads filled with shops, restaurants and homes. No building is over two stories high and all have the traditional Chinese tiled wing-tipped roofs. There is a river that has been routed all through town. As you walk down the cobblestone road the river runs along with you. Building, road, river about 24 inches wide, building. To keep things traditional no vehicles are allowed in Old Town. So what you see is local women with large baskets on their backs filled with fruit, veggies, laundry or whatever else they carry along on their daily errands. At night the town comes alive! In one courtyard we came upon a large group of men and women holding hands, dancing and singing around a large torch. This was no tourist show but real, local people enjoying a beautiful Friday night in their town. Down another street in a small shop four men are playing drums singing a soothing, peaceful song. And around another corner there are people enjoying a variety of local street food.

All five of us agreed (which doesn't happen very often) that Lijiang is the best place we have seen in China yet and we desire to return. Plus, our guide invited us to his village for one of the festivals they hold so we ARE coming back to Lijiang in the Southwest province of Yunnan.