There is fresh water everywhere, water from springs like this and water from the snow melt of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. There is fresh waterfalls everywhere and this is such a remarkable place. Fresh water is very important to the Dongba culture, the religion practised by the Naxi minority. Everyone is responsible for keeping the water clean. I saw this old man picking up trash from the canals, on his own. Everywhere, in China, there are huge billboards and TV monitors that spill out propaganda about the individual responsibility to make China great. It is no different in Lijiang even though the Han Chinese population is minimal. By and large people are law abiding and believe in those propaganda.
The water runs throughout the old city, reminds me of Annecy, a little village in France. (Read it in this blog, search for Annecy).
There is this huge lake at one end of the old city. There are paths to take for walking around the lake. It was a really beautiful walk, it is the stuff Chinese lakes are made of, the stuff one sees in Calenders and posters.
This local woman is washing her vegetables in the lake.
Wow, this was the reason I saw a huge crowd, the view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the background. Every one was having their picture taken here and there was a traffic jam of people.
I have seen this picture in some of the books I have about China. This is my picture. The mountain is just some 20 miles away.
Here are some locals collecting drinking water.
I had the most pleasant afternoon walk, around this lake. It is so beautiful. I love Lijiang. The people here are truly blessed and they know it.
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