Posted on 09 Feb 2012 by admin | Filled under: china
Lijiang, located in northwest Yunnan Province is rich with cultural
heritage and has one of the best preserved "old towns" in all of China.
The highlight of Lijiang, and the main reason most visitors travel to
the area, is the Ancient Old Town of Lijiang. It is one of the last
places a foreign or domestic visitor can experience the historic culture
and city life of old world China just like in the movies.
The Old Town was constructed in the late Song Dynasty, more than 800
years ago, while "new town" was built around 50 years ago. Old Town
consists of 3.8 square kilometers of beautiful cobblestone streets and
intersecting waterways, and is home to numerous cultural minorities
including the Naxi, Bai, Lisu, Pumi, Yi, Tibetan, and Miao. The Naxi
people, descendents of ethnically Tibetan Qiang tribes, are historically
the majority population and have called Lijiang home for over 1400
years. Naxi had the largest influence over Lijiang's architecture,
unique layout, and cultural heritage and comprise 58% of the city's
current inhabitants. Due to its preservation and long cultural history,
Lijiang's Old Town was listed as a World Cultural Heritage City by
UNESCO in December 1997, becoming China's first cultural heritage city
and possibly its finest.
The entire Old Town is a museum in its own right. Dubbed the "Venice
of the Orient", Lijiang is a complex web of canals and waterways
transversed by cobblestone streets and over 350 marble bridges. The main
water source is Black Dragon Pool (Heilongtan) which extends its
fingers to every corner of Old Town. The cobblestone streets branch out
from Sifang Jie (Old Market Square) in four directions, providing
visitors with a nice jumping off point to explore and possibly get lost
among the narrow and countless networks of streets in Old Town. If you
do find yourself lost in Lijiang, merely follow the water upstream and
you'll find your way back to Sifang Jie. Along the way you'll be able to
gaze at the traditional Naxi wooden houses with sloping tile roofs;
ornately carved wooden doors and archways; the hidden squares and
gardens; and engage with the wonderful people of Lijiang. The main
streets are lined with open air cafes and countless stone benches where
you can sit and enjoy a book or simply people watch. Although the
streets are busy with tourists almost every day of the year, if you
start exploring early or late in the day, you'll be able to find some
peaceful spots. The farther you get from Sifang Jie, the less likely you
will be bombarded with tour groups and their infamous flags.
If wandering along the streets of Old Town isn't your cup of tea,
there are numerous places to see and explore in and around Old Town
Lijiang. Among the highlights are Lion Hill Park's Wanggu Tower, the Mu
Family Mansion, and Black Dragon Pool Park. Wanggu Tower, a recently
built five story wooded pavilion located at the peak of Lion Hill park,
provides the best panoramic views of the peaked homes of Old Town and
the natural surrounding scenery.
To the north of Old Town is Black Dragon Pool Park. You can easily
spend an afternoon there exploring the many pavilions and temples,
wandering amongst the willow trees and beautiful gardens, or relaxing by
the jade green pond. The view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong
Xueshan) from the park is one of the most photographed spots in
southwestern China. Among the most famous pavilions in the park are
Deyue and Five-Phoenix (Wufeng). Not to be missed within the park are
two museums; The Dongba Research Institute and the Museum of Naxi Dongba
Culture both of which house Naxi cultural artifacts.
Within Old Town, one of the most famous spots is the Mu Family
Mansion, the former home of the local chiefdom for 22 generations. The
Mansion is fashioned after a mini Forbidden City and is a maze of
courtyards and residences set among some of the most exquisite gardens
in the region. The Mu Family Mansion is a great place to relax and get
away from the crowded streets of Old Town.
Finding a place to stay in Lijiang is relatively easy as there are
over 700 Naxi guest houses in Old Town alone. The best places to stay
for nighttime action are directly off Sifang Jie. At night Lijiang's
bars and restaurants come alive with boisterous travelers from around
the world. If you aren't interested in spending your night getting drunk
at the local bar, you can enjoy a traditional Naxi concert by the Naxi
Orchestra at the Naxi Music Academy or at the government run Dongba
Palace. Old Town boasts an exhaustive list of cafés and bars serving up
Chinese, Western and Westernized Naxi cuisine. However, if you are
looking for traditional Naxi food, it's best to wander out of Old Town
and find street vendors selling Baba, Lijian's local specialty of wheat
flatbread, served plain or stuffed with meats, vegetables, and anything
you can imagine.
Lijiang's Old Town is a destination not to be missed. The minute you
set eyes on Lijiang you'll feel magically transported back in time with
its whimsical old world beauty. Look past the crowds and you'll feel and
see the old world come alive all around you.
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Posted on 01 Apr 2011 by admin | Filled under: china
Jiuzhaigou National Park is a nature reserve located in northern
Sichuan province famous for its picturesque almost surreal crystal clear
lakes, multi-tier waterfalls and, stunning mountain views. Jiuzhaigou
is home to two of China's most treasured endangered species; the Giant
Panda and the Sichuan Golden Snub-Nose Monkey. It's one of the most
visited sites in China with 5,000 visitors in 1984, 200,000 in 1997 and
2.5 million in 2007.
Jiuzhaigou literally means "Valley of Nine Villages" after the 9
ancient Tibetan villages located within the park. Seven of the villages
are still populated today with a total of around 1000 permanent
residents. Heye, Shuzheng and Zechawa villages located along the main
roads cater to tourists, selling food, drinks and crafts.
Visiting the park takes time and money. Park entrance cost 220 RMB
per person per day and doesn't include the "mandatory" 90 RMB bus fee.
There are two ways to experience the park: the traditional way and the
not-so-traditional way. Most visitors stay at one of the 20,000 hotel
rooms located in the town of Jiuzhaigou and visit the park by day
utilizing the tour bus. The frequent buses are an efficient way to see
the park as you can hop off, take a picture and jump back on. The
non-traditional route is to stay within the park at a Tibetan Village
and hike the 30 km through the park. My friend Liz and I decided to do
the unconventional route as we were in need a bit of adventure. Keep in
mind it's against the law to stay in the park and even travel guides
like Lonely Planet discourage you from doing so. Our plan was to stay
one night in the town of Jiuzhaigou, pack a small backpack for our trip
so we didn't look suspicious to the park authorities, store our large
rucksacks at a hotel, and travel into the park for a 3 day/ 2 night
hiking adventure.
The park is comprised of three main valleys or "arms" in the shape of
a letter Y, the park entrance is at the base of the Y. The lower part
of the park is Shuzheng Valley, at the fork in the road Rize Valley is
to the south west and Zechawa Valley to the south east. The plan for the
trip was to hike the Shuzheng Valley on the first day and secure a room
in Shuzheng village; the second and third day would be spent hiking the
Rize and Zechawa Valleys.
The hike through Shuzheng Valley was more challenging than we had
anticipated but rewarding as we were able to enjoy the tranquility of
the park as the buses whizzed by. As we followed the Zechawa River, we
first came to a beautiful clearing of wild flowers which of course we
had to run. We continued hiking and came across Reed Lake, a 1375-meter
long reed covered marsh. We continued on the main road to Sparkling Lake
and to the crystal clear string of 18 lakes fed by the Shuzheng
waterfalls. We finished off the day with Nuorilang Waterfalls, the
widest highland waterfall in China and its string of 19 lakes.
After all that hiking, we decided to call it a day and find a room in
Shuzheng Village. We secured a room including food for $10 a night, as
long as we didn't tell the park authorities our location and were out of
the park before opening on the third day as we only had a two-day park
pass. We agreed to the rules, not realizing leaving the park before it
opened meant hiding on the floor of a neighbor's car with a tarp over
you as you pass by security.
After the park closed, we joined the family for dinner in their
living room all pretending to watch Chinese soaps together. As we ate
grandma watched us intently over her hand-held Tibetan Prayer Wheel.
Once Liz and I finished eating, grandma proceeded to pry us with bijou.
Every time we got up to leave, she would put her hand up to say "no",
giggle, and point at our tiny cups. The old lady was getting us drunk so
we'd go to bed quietly and quickly. But in the middle of the night we
realized the only working toilet was in the family house, thus we had to
find a natural toilet in the dark of night, without a Tibetan Prayer
Flag blowing above our heads.
The next day, we woke up to a torrential downpour and an almost empty
park. Since there were so few tourists, the buses were not checking
tickets and we used the bus free of charge which was a good thing as we
were a bit tired from the hiking and drinking with Grandma the day
prior. We started with Rize Valley and hit all the picture perfect
sites along the way. Some of the most memorable spots were Swan Lake,
Five Flower Lake, Mirror Lake, Panda Lake and Arrow Bamboo Lake, the
main filming site of the Jet Li movie Hero. We then took the bus through
Zechawa Valley visiting Long Lake, Five Color Pond, and the Zechawa
Village. We returned to Shuzheng Village for our second night and
skipped dinner with the family opting for backpack snacks. At 6 am the
next morning, a stranger knocked on our door and ushered us to the back
seat of his car for our dramatic exit. Luckily we passed the guards
without a problem and the man left us on the side of the street to find
our way back to town.
Jiuzhaigou is by far the most beautiful place I have ever visited.
Exploring the park on foot and staying in a traditional Tibetan Village
within the park made it a memorable experience. We experienced
Jiuzhaigou the proper way, off the beaten track and off the tour bus
(for the most part).
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