After our morning breakfast (buffet style) we got on the coach and headed down to Lijiang. Yeah so u see... there are not really many things to see in Shangrila. Most backpackers juz stay put for 1 night before heading up to Deqin, where they will go and see the Meili Xue Shan. But that place is not covered in our tour package... so we'll be heading back to Lijiang today. The bus got back onto the same route to get back to Lijiang. Think its the fastest and safest route back to Lijiang... maybe...
A herd of yaks crossing the highway
but anyway, we reached Lijiang around noon?? hahaha... i think i was around that time... coz, by the time we reached Lijiang, it was time for lunch. Oh yeah before i forgot, continuation of toilet stories.... i realised that the more north we head up in Yunnan... the worse of the conditions of the toilets.... hmmm... not juz only there are no doors... but the constant horrible stench coming out from the toilets. hahaha.... in fact i was joking telling my parents that if we need to look for toilets... juz let our nose lead us the way... coz its really really too horrible. and the people here probably has a culture of not flushing the toilet after they have done their business... and they throw soiled papers into a basket not into the toilet bowl. hmmm... anyway its pretty disgusting... and the aunties before they enter the toilets, they will apply lots of 'axe oil' on their noses so as to cover up the horrible stench. hahaha... and btw... u must always be armed with tissue paper when u enter toilets in China. coz they do not provide toilet papers....
ok... enough of toilet stories.... so we met Xiao Deng at the place we departed ways yesterday. And today we'll be visiting the old towns and also do shopping. hahaha... we asked her what are the good things to eat and buy in Lijiang. Coz we need to 1 short do all our shopping as our hotel is pretty far away from shopping districts. So she brought us to the Old Town of Lijiang (丽江古城). This town has been classify as UNESCO World Heritage Site. And when u're there... you'll understand how come it has been classify as a UNESCO site. Its really very nice..... with running streams in the town... and people even use the water to wash, rinsing etc.
Along the way to the old town, we had to pass by a huge statue......hee hee... decided to take a picture of it.
Every Chinese 'idol'. not me lah... i'm talking about Mr Mao Ze Dong
The town has a history going back more than 800 years and was once a confluence for trade along the old tea horse road. The Lijiang old town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. The old town of Lijiang differs from other ancient Chinese cities in architecture, history and the culture of its traditional residents the Nahki (纳西). Naxi people have very interesting culture. The official Chinese government classification classes the Mosuo as part of the Nakhi people. However, despite similar origins and very striking resemblances from a linguistic point of view, the two groups are now culturally distinct, the Nakhi more influenced by Han Chinese culture, the Mosuo more influenced by Tibetan culture.
As the heads of the family, the women gave inheritance to the children either through the mother, or to her nephews through her brothers. This is called matrilinear decent, where one belongs to one's mother's lineage.
A matriline is a line of descent from a female ancestor to a descendant (of either sex) in which the individuals in all intervening generations are female. In Nakhi society, women also acted as the main work-force; thus they were respected at home and in the Nakhi society. Women have to go out to work, take care of families, cook etc. whilst the men juz laze around. U can say that the women are the breadwinners... and they lead very tough lives. The Naxi people are believers of Dongba reiligion.
Entrance of 丽江古城
The 2 huge water wheels u'll see @ Entrance of 丽江古城
Streets of 丽江古城
Old ladies in their traditional costume walking on the streets
Super huge waxed pig. U can sit on it u kno?? hahahaha........
Naxi old lady selling her wares on the streets
Anyway enough about the Naxi people, coz tomorrow we'll be learning more about Naxi culture and the people. So today we visited the ancient town. when u walk on the streets, its as if you in a different world. the streets are made up of cobbled stones and on both sides of the streets u'll see traditional wooden shop houses selling things. and when you're nearing the center of the ancient town, that's when u'll see streams of flowing water and horses there for people to take a ride. By the way, this old town was not juz visited by foreign tourists... to be frank when we were there.... i saw a lot of china people there!!! they are are other parts of China. Yeah so u can see... its a place that is visited not juz by foreigners by locals too!!
Typical sight of Lijiang old town. Flowing stream with weeping willows
At that time when we were there, we saw a lot of old ladies in their Naxi traditional costume. They were all sitting down talking. When i ask Xiao Deng what they were doing, she told me that they were there to do some practices... hmmm... maybe they have some performances coming up.
Naxi Ladies in their traditional costumes
lots of old folks taking a break
People riding horses in the city central area
after walking around the streets, Xiao Deng brought us to view the city from above. as we were climbing the steps to the top of the hill i came across several wooden cards that were hammered into walls or columns to sort of create awareness in people to protect the old town. as i was reading what was written on these wooden cards, i cannot stop laughing... take a look and u'll understand why.
Pretty funny isn't it??
anyway continuing on, we reached the top and got to look down at the city. Hey, this is the famous sight of Lijiang old town. take a look and you'll know what i mean. coz its the typical picture that u'll find in guide books or magazines introducing Yunnan.
A sea of grey roofs. this is the famous sight of Lijiang old town
Family photo with lijiang for background
Yeah so basically today was just to explore the old town. i took this photo at a venue near to the place we had dinner. coz after dinner we went to a local market, coz a few of us wanted to buy some chinese herbs, fruits. whilst we were there, i saw this kid crying... i think he wanted attention from his parents. hahaha... so when i asked him if i can take his picture... he tried to hide behind his mother's legs... and he stoppped crying. when i walked away, he climbed onto the scooter... and that's when i snapped a picture of him. hahaha.. don't he look cute??
Naxi kid on a scooter in a local's market
Tomorrow, we'll be watching a fantastic performance and visiting one of the most beautiful places in the world and taking a flight to Kunming. Till tomorrow then! =D
No comments:
Post a Comment