Lijiang

Lijiang (丽江) 

大家好！ 

The third city we visited was Lijiang (丽江). 丽江 is a city in the northwest of Yunnan Province. 丽江 is famous for its UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Old Town of Lijiang. We were fortunate enough to be staying in a hostel located in the Old Town of Lijiang. Every day here, there has been bright blue skies and the weather has been in the 60s. It is such a beautiful place and is surrounded by mountains and water. There are many local cultures in 丽江 such as the Naxi Culture. Naxi (纳西）has its own language and culture called Dongba (东巴). It’s been really interesting learning more about the Naxi language and Dongba. The Naxi people are known for making paper so many of us on the trip have bought custom made paper. We also got our Chinese names written in them in the Naxi Language. The Naxi Script is the only hieroglyphic language that is still used today and is very reminiscent of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. There are 1,400 characters in the Naxi language.  

On the first day in 丽江 we went to Mu’s Mansion. Tusi Mu was the ruler of Naxi during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. During their reign, the residence was the center of politics, power, and wealth in Naxi. Mu’s Mansion has been described as a mini Forbidden City. During the Qing Dynasty, much of the mansion was destroyed. Fortunately, it was rebuilt from 1996-1999. The location of Mu’s Mansion is beautiful since it is surrounded by mountains and water which makes for good fengshui.  

On the second day in 丽江 we walked around the Old Town of Lijiang and went to the Naxi Museum. On our way to the museum, we met up with these ladies who were on the plane to 丽江 with us. They are from the border between Tibet and Sichuan. They were so happy to see us again and we made sure to get a picture with them. They are some of the sweetest ladies that I’ve met in China. After the museum, we walked around the Old Town some more and went to the music square. I participated in playing the drums. It reminded me of the drums in my African Dance class. I wanted to teach them African dance, but it was satisfying enough to get to play the drums.  

On the third day in 丽江 we went to Yulong Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山). The name Yulong means "Jade Dragon" in English. There are many scenic spots by the mountain like Black Dragon Pool, cascading pools, and the Yulong Snow Mountain waterfall. All of the spots that we visited were beautiful. It is also a common spot for people to take wedding photos. There were lots of couples posing for wedding photos. On top of the mountain, there was very few people. It was very quiet and very breathtaking. We also stopped by a small Buddhist temple that was at the foot of the snow mountain. After visiting the mountain, we had a group dinner. It was very delicious. I don’t know what we ordered but it was authentic Naxi food. We finished all of the food and were satisfied. The next day we took a bus to Dali (大理市). See you there! 

再见 

马乐