LIJIANG! LIJIANG! (Lijiang)

Deep within my subconscious I held a picture of (medieval) China. Men with beards & ponytails, cruising around in junks. Curvy roofs with green tiles and buildings painted red. Rickshaws dashing madly.

When I arrived in China in 2000 I was quite disgusted to find that this was all gone. Beijing and Shanghai were cities of chrome and glass where people wore jeans and t-shirts, tinting their hair bronze.

Where was the land painted on Mum's China dinner plates at home? I wanted stone-arch bridges over creeks, with willows hanging down, and goldfish swimming happily. Was it all gone?








Happily - it has survived here in Lijiang - Old Town. People here wear jeans and t-shirts but otherwise it is all as I expected.

In all it is a little touristy - but it is easy to get away from that in the backstreets - this place seems to be about 15 km sq. Plus everywhere you look is a picture-perfect view - I love it!