At the carpark where we alight from the coach
Impression Lijiang performance
The performance stage is specially designed to showcase the mountain as the best backdrop of the show. More than 500 local people from ten ethnic groups have been selected from over 16 towns and villages nearby to take part in the performances which includes folk songs, dances as well as rituals for tourists. when we were there, there were already many tourists. and majority of them had dorn on the red cap that was given. 
Sea of red caps
and when i said many it was really many... to the extend that when we were exiting the place later after the show, we were pushed,. squeezed or could have even falled down with all the constant pushing by those tourists. it was totally horrible!!! and majority of these tourists are China people... and they can be really rude. hiaz...seems like they've still got a lot of decorum to learn. Unlike many other shows which had taken place in the evening with the help of a lot of lighting devices to increase the performance effects while covering up mistakes and blemishes, Impression Lijiang which Zhang Yimou had spent two years for the preparation was innovatively staged in the morning. As an outdoor performance in full daylight, no rooms for mistakes were allowed. Zhang Yimou has become the first person who dares to put an outdoor performance during daytime.
The performance began with more than 400 male performers wearing in their traditional costumes of respective ethnic groups and lineed up accordingly along the mountain path, shouting to the sky “We are farmers, we are stars”.
All the songs and dances performed throughout the show largely portrayed the daily lives of the local people. Perhaps, the tourists might feel surprised by the matriarchal context of the performances which depicted the women going to work while the men are just laze around and get drunk. This culture is different obviously when compared with other ethnics even with the Han Chinese culture. In comparison, the ethnic of Mosuo is practicing a very strict matriarchal culture while ethnic of Naxi is having a relatively substantial matriarchal element.
Scene of the men lazing around
Men performers dancing on horses
On the other hand, there were performances that depicted the well known tea trading culture of Yunnan Province as well. The Ancient Tea Route (茶马古道) was a network of mule caravan paths winding through the mountains of Yunnan Province. It is also referred to as the Southern Silk Road. From around a thousand years ago, the Ancient Tea Route was a trade link from Yunnan, one of the first tea-producing regions: to India via Burma; to Tibet; and to central China via Sichuan Province.
Women performers carrying the huge baskets full of tea
About 500 amateur performers from 10 ethnic minority groups selected from some 16 towns and villages around Lijiang took part in the US$31-million production by acclaimed Chinese director Zhang Yimou. The show takes place inside Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Park at 3500 meters in an outdoor theater specifically designed to showcase the mountain which is used as a breath-taking backdrop.
Performers in their ethnic clothing
after the performance, we got onto trams to get to 3 different parts of the park to view some really really fantastic sceneries. I can't really remember what exactly are the names of the various places that we visited in the Jade Dragon mountain park (Baishui River, Blue Moon Valley). But juz take a look at the pictures that i've uploaded here.. and u'll understand what i mean by fantastic sceneries. u can really swoon when u see the sights.... really beautiful.
mountains at the back whilst in the front are water terraces
Some chinese tourisits were in traditional costume taking pictures at the mini waterfall
With our tour guide, Xiao Deng
relections on a pond
After visiting the various areas... its back to the coach for a short ride to a place called yushuizai (玉水寨). Over here, we had our lunch and also to walked around the premises. as i mentioned in yesterday entry that we'll learn more about the Naxi culture today right? yes... this happen to be the place where we got to have a Naxi crash course... hahaha.
terraces of green patches
Dongba Village is within the Yushui Village Scenic Area that is a Naxi theme park with a museum, gardens, ponds, and a stream. There are a few old Naxi teachers teaching about the ancient Naxi hieroglyphic writing system, the Naxi religious system called Dongba, and Naxi culture and history. The Naxi people in the region lived in a number of towns and participated in the regional and international trade of the Chama Road (茶马古道). In exchange for tea, silk and other products from the Yunnan region and the rest of China, the Chinese imported horses and other things from Tibet. So the trade route was called the Chama Road (茶马古道). In this area, the Naxi people who had their own distinct language developed a complex writing system of their own using hieroglyphics instead of Chinese characters. They used this writing system to transmit their religious beliefs, history, and legends. During this visit to this combination of school, museum and little theme park, visitors can gain an appreciation of this ancient culture that is almost extinct.
Naxi murals on walls depicting some religious stories
The Dongba Village site isn't well known, but it might be one of the best places to go in the Lijiang area to learn about Naxi culture and writing. Naxi culture is special because the people are less modernized and the people developed a writing system, a music style, and a religion different than the majority of Chinese. The Naxi people created a unique and distinctive ethnic culture. Perhaps some of the distinctiveness arose from the wide-ranging contact that the Naxi had with other Asian cultures. The Naxi developed two writing systems. They had a phonetic system called Geba. They also developed a hieroglyphic (pictorial) writing system that is said to be the world's sole surviving hieroglyphic writing system.
A temple in the village
In the worship of the spirits of the nature, the Naxi people created their own religion, Dongba Religion. It was born in Baidi, which lies at the foot of Haba Snow Mountain by the Jinshajiang River. It has developed from the ancient worship for the nature in the period of united tribes. In the long history of its development, Dongba Religion absorbed some ideas of the ancient Tibetan religions and Lamaism and finally formed its own unique ethnic style. Dongba Religion holds that all living things have spirits. It advocates worship of the nature and the ancestors and to keep a harmonious relationship with the nature
That a golden statue with upper body of the Buddha and bottom 1/2 of a snake
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Close up view of the statue
People throwing coins into the water after making a wish
After our visit to the area, we were driven to Lijiang airport, where we'll be boarding China Air Eastern airlines to kunming where we'll meet the dreaded tour guide. Before we headed to the airport, we had a super early dinner. then its bye bye to Xiao Deng. I must say that this tour guide, Xiao Deng had been pretty awesome. She was really nice and shared a lot with us. she is really very informative and friendly. We exchanged contacts with her. Coz u never know, 1 day i may head back to Lijiang again. but more for visiting the Tiger leaping gorge. and today we'll bid farewell to Lijiang. This i must say is 1 of the more interesting and something that will be imprinted in my mind for this entire trip!
Tomorrow we'll be visiting some of the sights in Kunming.
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