Quaint Lijiang

Pretty

Tranquil

Easy going

After the past few days of climb and pant, Lijiang was a refreshing change. No more puff and huff only walk and play. It is what she is known as: charming and cheerful. But tourism has established its reign here. Packed with tourists both local and foreign, Lijiang has groomed herself to receive them in good strife. At every corner you will bump into eateries, shops, cafes, fashion outlets and there is a mixture of old and new. Apparently many older buildings have been demolished to make way for more modern ones. The new has to replace the old in fashion, style and needs.

 The sunny disposition is found at almost all corners of the town. Bright and colourful it escalates one's mood and make you feel happy. When in a happy place, you catch the mood and embrace joy.

 The famous bar street we were informed comes alive in the evenings when the overworked and under-worked gather in company for drinks, chats and letting go. Life is good. Modern music fills the air and Lijiang is contemporary.

Crooning and serenading is prevalent and the casual mood floods the town so not Chinese as seen in the olden days. But it is a commendable change I guess.

 Waterways or man-made canals zig zag across the town. They add beauty and genre to the palace.

The familiar crimson bougainvilleas barrages freely as though endemic here. 

 Hot and scorching, but we snaked in between shades to scour the town. 

How to miss the ins and outs?

Besides, garments and leather products, it is silver here and there. A silverware outlet is found at every other store and the choice is infinite. Prices are haggled to the last cent and vendors let go or lose.The buyer is the king. There are hundreds of articles and choosing is imminent.

The best ever change is this pretty thing. Flower pots dotted along man-made rooftops.

What can it be?

 Toilets.

Unlike those found along highways and byways, the toilets in Lijiang are first class. Clean, neat and immaculate, I could not believe my eyes and cannot not talk about them. World class.

Trudging along lanes and avenues, we found what we aspired for.

Better still getting a chance to meet a famous local artist who has been painting about Lijiang for the last 2 decades. Who could fathom that we found him at a corner where the local council accords his works? Very fortunate indeed. Dad is most crazy about local art works. He never fails to collect an item in all places he travels to. This time he was even more lucky. 

He found the man who drew them.

Hanging at home now are two of the paintings he bought in Lijiang. It was a scene on the old bar street caught way before the new image came up. What a chance.

The walls at home are adorned with paintings picked up in our travels.

Tucked in Lijiang too is a little church. We went into the building and found records of past missionaries serving the community and being part of the society then. That afternoon back home we were informed that mum in the hospital was not so great. We whispered a prayer for God's divine mercy and grace upon her. God is great. She recovered fully. We need peace to travel well.

Lijiang is love.

You will be surprised that Chinese cherry blossoms are found along the streets of Lijiang.

No need to go to Korea or Japan.

So that's the short trip to Lijang and her surrounding spots.

If you are free for a short 5 days, try Lucky Air and fly there.

Be happy.

Shangrila

The Lost Horizon

To me Shangrila is associated with dreams, fantasy and euphoria; a land of freedom and peace. Close to Tibet and Bhutan the culture and practices of the people of Shangrila are similar to them. We were informed that in 2001 a major fire broke out and destroyed a fair bit of the city and today we see a new township being constructed to replace the ruins. 

After the Tiger Gorge climb we were told that we had to conquer a flight of 220 steps to see an overall view of the new township! Again, the advice on the oxygen tank came up and this time we were to drink another tonic to increase our breathing capacity. At an elevation , we heard stories of tourists gasping for breath in the middle of sleep in this city.

To believe or not to believe?

We escaped without a scratch.

The tour guides exaggerated.

In the ancient city, the architecture of the past is still in tact and bright colours adorned the buildings and sculptures. Yellow seems to be the chosen and preferred hue.

Beef and yak meat are local favourites and they are served fresh or preserved. Big slaps of stone lined the streets and add an ethos of nostalgia. It was already late evening when we reached the old part of the town and we did not see many tourists.

Local costumes and attire were attractively sewn but did not whet my appetite.

 The architecture is unique and concorded to local taste.

 This northern city is also acclaimed for its silver industry. Silver is naturally found here and it is not strange to see cutlery and thermos flasks not forgetting earrings, necklaces, bracelets and anklets all displayed and sold at its purest form; 99 % silver. The tour guide went to the extent of claiming that silver has medicinal values and the health of the user can be detected by the colour of the silver after a period of time.The older generation prefers silver to gold; so we were informed.

It is also common to see squares occupying the city. I believe they are the centers of activities during special events and religious celebrations where people meet to participate in dances and songs.

Life is good.

The figurines depicted the livelihood of the indigenous; silversmiths are a stone's throw away and competition is stiff. You can get anything at a preferred price with perseverance. 

Just keep on haggling !

Standing at a square in the newly constructed city after the big fire.

Squares are a part and parcel of their culture. 

 The potala palace at the background is a cultural museum where tourists are brought in to see some cultural practices of the local people. Earlier we were brought to a temple to see the World's Biggest Prayer Wheel. We were not comfortable with the way religion was explained and after that we refrained from visiting prayer alters lest we did not give the due respect and might offend others.

The yak is a revered animal here and appropriately sculptured and given its rightful status at this square. All should be reminded that the locals love the yak for the way it can support their livelihood.

The Dalai Lama has the highest order of religious say here and even the army gives them the reverence?

 Old and rugged. Walking towards the spot where we had to scour 220 steps to reach the summit to see the city of Shangrila. It is not as illusive as I imagined it to be.

Buildings are in blocks and built for the weather here; wintry and parched.
 The needs of different locales vary and adaptations are made.

We cannot deny though that carvings are an integral local must haves. It reflects the artistry and skills of the Tibetans. Beautifully sculptured.  

Another view of the city.

The old and the new.

 Shangrila is rugged and dry.

It is not what I thought it was.

But that's only my illusive imagination; I need to face reality. 

Go visit the lost horizon.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

 28th March 2019

Enroute to illusive Shangrila we had to move via coach for a good 3 to 4 hours.

I have only knowledge about this heavenly connotation through a movie I saw when I was a little girl in my primary years. Our imagination went wild and visioned it as a splendid getaway. It must be picturesque filled with mysteries and euphoria. Shangrila has to be as beautiful as has been depicted in movies.

At a stop we were warned that if we did not ease ourselves we may have to use toilets that were only duct-like features behind a curtain along the route. So we alighted and cleared our system.

This was a foretaste of what Shangrila would look like.

Beautiful. Majestic. Breath taking.

We could not wait to reach our destination.

But that awe-inspiring background was witnessed through a panel of windows in front of toilet cubicles dotted along the rest rooms. Some doors worked; others did not and they were only about 3 feet high doors. Pretty difficult to ease. 

 But the magnificent background kept flashing at us through the windows and it was a great consolation truly.

We were informed that we had to climb over hundreds of steps to reach the gorge; the tiger leaping gorge. Steps again. The tourist centres have never ending solutions to challenges. Very proactive indeed. They told us that if we do not want to use our legs we could render the help of others.

The history of the gorge all written for tourists. Actually it is only a legend that tigers were able to jump across valleys and spurs to reach the other side of the rivers running in between spurs at the narrowest points. To us the geographical feature in the gorge was what caught our attention.

In a nutshell, you can choose your own course of descent but all needed effort; physical and mental.

So, if you do not want to walk, you can be carried in sedans. Two men will carry you up and down the steps for 200 renminbi. Pa said if we cannot make it we will go slow and stop periodically and refused to be carried about. He said it was ridiculous.

Alleys, spurs and mountains. It is geography in place.

The natural setting was bewitching.

God's creation is matchless.

White-waters flowing at higher gradients along rapids.

It is not always we get to see this.

Of course we did not see the tiger. No tigers. But legend has it that this region was the haunt for tigers to leap freely and happily !!! I was glad we had a chance to see geography with our naked eyes.

 To Shangrila soon.