Lijiang – The Old Town

When planning our trip my friends and I wanted to see the important sites in Southern China. One of the places that kept coming up was the Old Town of Lijiang. My Chinese friends told me all about its beauty and charm. With its proximity to The Tiger Leaping Gorge and numerous small Naxi villages we quickly seized the opportunity to go. Finding a great hostel in the Old Town itself.

Beautiful Chinese Architecture

A Man With a Falcon!

It was so pretty!

When we arrived in Lijiang we were stuck by the clean air and blue sky. The feeling of joy quickly disintegrated as we began walking through the streets. All the shops looked the same, all selling the same dingy touristy things.

A McDonald's? 

However we did stumble upon a rather interesting sight. Here something that looked like a desk drawer was burning in the middle of the square. There was a huge media presence and the fireman watched it burn for a period of time before putting it out. Once the fire was out everyone clapped. I'm still confused by this event.

Genghis Khan was here!

Despite some beautiful sights in the town, I found myself very underwhelmed in Lijiang, seeking instead day trips out of the town. What I did however learn in Lijiang had a lot to do with Chinese culture in general. All the things in the shops were hundreds of yuan overpriced, however few Chinese tourists were haggling. It seems that in China people will at times over pay for things to prove that they can pay for them. This is so different from American culture where we constantly search for deals for fear of over paying.

Some of the best street food ever.