Lijiang Luck: In addition to the natural beauty of Southwest China, I also discover that yak jerky is tasty!

According to Lonely Planet, the view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Xueshan) from Lijiang's Black Dragon Pool Park is the "most obligatory photo shoot in Southwestern China." Entry fee cost too much, though (thank goodness for my old student ID...discount!). By the way, I still hate my new camera.

Working my way westward through Yunnan province, I realize that even cheesiest of tourist set-ups (Dress up like a Tibetan Princess! Take a picture with this gussied-up yak!) cannot detract from the great natural beauty of Yunnan. Sure, imperial buildings and the Great Wall in Beijing are impressive, and Shanghai is pretty nifty with its use of neon, but Yunnan (which, because of the high altitude of much of the province, means "South of the Clouds") is simply beautiful. It is in the far southwest of China, bordering Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar, as well as next door to Tibet. The minority presence here is quite strong and definitely makes for an interesting cultural experience. In Lijiang, the most prevalent minorities are the Naxi/Nakhi (their written language is a form of hieroglyphics! Cool!) and the Tibetans. The Naxi and Tibetans, of course, were originally nomadic people dependent on the humble yak for much in their lives. Thus the yak jerky. Yum (although I must admit it doesn't taste terribly different from beef jerky)!

Oooh, old.

Lijiang is famed for its "Old Town", or Gucheng, which is basically a part of town that hasn't changed very much since it was founded (ignore the whole electricity and running water thing, will you?). There is also the "New Town," but it's just your typical modern Chinese city...nothing special! After a big earthquake in 1996, much of the New Town suffered damage, but the Old Town stood up pretty well. The government decided to pour some money into developing tourism in the Old Town, and UNESCO eventually granted the Lijiang Old Town World Heritage status (all right! Another World Heritage Site that I have visited!). Anyhoo, the Old Town is pedestrianized (no cars allowed!) - a good thing, considering that bikes would barely fit in the narrow, winding alleys that are the "streets" of Old Town! It's a twisting maze to get anywhere, but it's sort of fun to get lost in the mix. Other than that, I have to say that Lijiang isn't terribly exciting. Nice, but kinda boring. The exciting part about this place is the nature that surrounds it!

So I took a daytrip out to see Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (by the way, the name sounds so much cooler in Chinese...). At first I was really mad, because package tourist touts kept telling me that I couldn't get to Yak Meadow (Maoniuping, one of the nicest sites from where one can view the mountains and surrounding scenery) by myself and, even if I did manage to get there, I would never be able to finish the trip in time to catch my bus out of Lijiang. So everyone kept telling me the wrong directions as to where to catch the bus to Yak Meadow! Jerks! Finally, the clerk at a camera shop clued me in, and I was able to get there myself. I did have to relent and hire private transport, though. At 80RMB (about US$10) roundtrip to Yak Meadow (which is about a 90 km total trip), I figured it was worth the cost. It was!

Apparently, we are not far enough south of the clouds so that I can actually see the snow peaks of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Bummer.

My driver, Mr. Yang, was actually a really nice Tibetan guy who grew up in Lijiang. He will also remain near and dear to me because he guessed that I looked about 19 or 20 - God bless you, Mr. Yang! Anyhoo, we chatted about differences between China and America (a common topic once people find out I'm a Meiji huaqiao - overseas Chinese living in America), what he thought about minorities in Lijiang, what he thought about China, his wanting to leave the country, and his thoughts about Tibet. Really interesting!

The view from Yak Meadow isn't too bad, wouldn't you say?

Mr. Yang also helped me have a very Chinese experience of zou houmen - "going through the backdoor," so the Chinese say. The only way to get up to Yak Meadow (which is approximately 3,700 meters, or a bit more than 10,000 feet, high up on a hill) is to take a 60 RMB cable car. Mr. Yang said he "knew people," and so he could get me in the cable car for 40RMB. Sweet! This, combined with my sly use of my old University ID in getting a "student" entry ticket, saved me tons on what would have been a really expensive trip. Well, it was still pretty expensive, but it was definitely worth it.

Mr. Yang made a pretty clever observation, too. On the way back from Yak Meadow, he saw me snapping pictures out the car window. "Ah," he says, "I know you are really a foreigner (waiguoren) because you like taking pictures of only the scenery. We Chinese like to take pictures of ourselves, you know."

Yeah, I know!

Local people working on the tourist walkway that runs through Yak Meadow.

Unfortunately, you can't hike too much on the meadow or the surrounding mountains, just walk on a rickety wooden walkway and admire the view all around. Also unfortunately for me, it was a cloudy day, so I couldn't really see the snow peaks of the mountains...which is really the point of a place called Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, right? Still, very lovely. The weather was great for being at such a high altitude.

Just one type of the beautiful little field flowers growing around Yak Meadow.

You're not supposed to stray off the wooden walkway, but at one point I had to because the workmen were rebuilding part of the walkway. Great! Time to prance in the meadow! The meadow is wonderfully green and dotted with so many little wild flowers. There is not much development for miles and miles around (save for touristy kiosks) and, at the time, I was the only tourist in the area. It was so peaceful.

The snow from Jade Dragon Snow Mountain actually melts and flows all the way down to this natural reservoir, which is called Whitewater River (Baishui He) because the water is so incredibly clear. You're not likely to find water so clear in fast-developing (read: fast-polluting) China.

I would love to come back to Yunnan (and Lijiang) again to see the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain on a clear day and also to try hiking Tiger Leaping Gorge. Let me know if you'd like to join me!

Ah, off to Tengchong then, where I will try to hike some local volcanoes (haven't quite kicked that Guatemalan volcano addiction just yet) before crossing into Myanmar. Until next time!