Lijiang 1

I have exceeded the limit of how many pictures I can post in this blog. I have purchased more space and as I wait for them to increase my allocation, this is all I can show for now. The amazing thing about travel in China as compared with the 80's when it first opened its borders again to travelers is the ease. While trains and buses are cheaper and readily available, nothing beats air travel with regards to time. For the time deficient traveler, it is the greatest thing. China has constructed more than 250 airports all over the country in the last few years and these are modern airports. So in less than an hour I fly from Kunming to Lijiang. It cost me 400 Yuan one way and what a deal that was. Travel in China is still a great bargain, while some things are still primitive, they have improved considerable and is still improving. Even as I write this, things on the ground has changed. I read somewhere that even as you present your guidebook to the printers it needs to be updated! That's how fast things are changing. One can buy plane tickets from any travel agent, most big hotels have a travel agency. Just buy it a day or 2 ahead of time. The only thing about China is, you have to fork over cash. Just make sure you have a huge stash of hard currency and exchange money each time you need to. There are Bank of China everywhere. Hand over your hard currency and they'll give you Yuans.

It was exciting as we flew over Lijiang and was about to land. The plane was pretty full with travelers from other parts of China. They are as curious about their own country as foreigners. There was a huge group of American tourists who signed up on a Globus tour. I spoke to some of them. The Chinese lady sitting next to me was going home to Lijiang from Kunming, she was reading 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus' in Chinese. That's remarkable, you can always trust a Chinese woman, they are always more forward thinking! We exchanged ideas about the book. From the air, Lijiang looked like a sleepy little farming village. It was so beautiful. I know the Nasi minority lives here and everyone I meet seemed to be a Nasi. The Han population is less here. The view from the air is deceiving because Lijiang has been so commercialised since it received the Unesco World Heritage designation. The old town is what everybody came to see. This part has been fully restored and is staffed by souvenir shops and attracts tourists from everywhere. It is still beautiful and there are still some authentic scenes everywhere. The owners have rented out these places and moved to new concrete apartments just outside the old city, they now live in the new city. 'Ku cheng' (old city) as opposed to 'Xin cheng' (new city).

The drive from the airport is spectacular because one passes the old farms and villages then you come into the city and you don't expect to see such a modern city. One can still see the snow on top of the beautiful Jade Dragon Snow mountain, imposing and menacing in the background. It is the stuff a typical Chinese scenery is composed of.

There are lots of family run inns within the old city and cost about 80 Yuan a night. I wished I had known that earlier before I plopped 700 Yuan a night for a fancy hotel that my taxi driver took me to. One just need to roll one's luggage into the old city and look, check out the room and facilities and stay the night. No reservations needed, there are so many rooms in town. I met some people who stayed with local families outside of town and had a great time.

My plane just touched down and the bus loads of tourists has also just arrived and the whole old town is now teeming with people. Everyone in Lijiang now has money to burn. Money from tourism has helped all the natives of Lijiang. This is the goal of China, it is hard to lift up the standard of living of everyone. It is hard to narrow the income gap between the Han majority and the many minorities in its borders. That is one of the reasons for the unrest in Xinjiang province. In Lijiang the minority Nasi are enjoying a success that the Chinese government wants for all their other minorities.

Still with the deluge of all the tourists, Lijiang is an enjoyable place to visit.