May Holiday at Lijiang

Lugu Lake is very nice. Lijiang is nice too, but must be very crowded. It was very difficult for me to find a place to stay when I visited there in summer a few years ago.

You can visit a small town Su4 He2 (束河），similar to Lijiang, just 20 minutes by bike from Lijiang. The layout of the town is the same, just in a smaller size. It is quiet there with fewer tourists.

I want to send you an email but can't find your email addresss, though I read it before. I failed to open the ABOUT ME. I don't know why.

I want to send you an email but can't find your email addresss, though I read it before. I failed to open the ABOUT ME. I don't know why.

Hi, as a frequent reader of your blog I just found out that it was likely to meet in Lijiang these days ... even I am sure you experienced the mass of tourists during the may holidays.

I am on my way to Lhasa now and will enjoy the good air ... sorry, but living in Shanghai makes someone looking forward to this ;-)

Harald, yes, maybe we have met in Lijiang but we didn't recognize each other. :-) Enjoy you trip to Lhasa. Me? I have returned to Shanghai.

...your pictures are terrific, I am considering a summer holiday there... did you book a airticket+hotel package from some agent, or you arranged everything by yourself ?

Very-very thanks for your profile.

Lijiang has a great natural environment and a peculiar sense of history. The so-called Naxi Ancient Music is really Han Chinese music left over from the Ming Dynasty. Real Naxi music is lilting and very beautiful, but sadly there are no performances of this. There are good performances of Tibetan (those traders who established the Tea and Horse Trade Caravans that created Lijiang in the first place) and Lugu Lake area music and dance at a restaurant and pub called Highland Gale. It is the only remaining ethnic performance in Lijiang, but it is very well done. Sadly, the Naxi "culture" in Lijiang has pretty much turned very commercial, commercial enough to turn the stomache, some would say. You can't even take a photo of someone without having to put up with a demand for ten yuan compensation.

If you think the 6 hour drive to Lugu Lake is a bit much (it will be better in 2010 when the new road is finished), a two or three hour drive to Liming ( the northwest of Lijiang) may suit you better. Liming is an area of red cliffs and very friendly Lisu people. If even that is hard on your stomache, a half hour trip to Wenbifeng peak to hike around Wenfeng Temple will not disappoint. The walls are full of colorful murals, the lamas are friendly and will offer tea, and the hike up the hill behind the main temple is lovely. And the place has terrific views of the Lijiang valley.

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