Here comes the tourists

They were out in droves. It is wonderful to see, rather than thinking, Oh my god, crowds.... They are here and are shopping. There are lots of things to buy, souvenirs made by the locals. I think there is a factory somewhere that churns out these kitsch. Every shop seems to sell the same thing. I was watching the news on TV last night. They reported that tourism is down in the Costa Brava area of Spain. Spain is really suffering during this downturn in the world's economy. Not so in China. There's still building projects everywhere and here, for sure, there's no shortage of tourists, albeit these are from other parts of China and Asia.

Sometimes I just sit on the bench in Sifang Square and watched the action. Every day at 3pm, the locals bring in the horses and the square begins to fill to capacity with people. It's a fun way to spend time, watching and observing.

Lijiang is a cute place and these old houses have been fully restored and turned into shops, restaurants and inns.

There are lots of cute things to buy. It's become a shopping mecca. Aren't these shoes cute? They look like artwork.

As I sit and watched, I noticed that the tourists are all wearing the same thing. The shops sell these pretty skirts, shawls, scarves and hats and every tourist whose been out shopping have bought them and are wearing them. I think the crocs are their own.

I saw these 3 wearing the same red canvas shoes. I thought that was cute.

Another girl with the same skirt and scarf or shawl.

More of the same....

It's been a fun afternoon. I love Lijiang. There is so much money being spread around. I took a taxi out of town the next day. My taxi driver, a Naxi woman, committed a traffic infraction and she left me in her taxi while she went to pay her fine. As I sat in her taxi and waited, I noticed she left her stash of cash in the taxi. Wow! It just shows, she's not worried about money, the money just keeps coming in from the tourists. As long as they are nice, the tourists will come and there's plenty of money for everyone. Of courses, I didn't touch her money but the trust was quite overwhelming. Not the trust in me a stranger but the trust in the Chinese government, knowing the government will do right for the people. They've never had it so good. I'm glad.