Last summer Anna and I escaped the Guangxi heat by heading northwest to our neighboring province of Yunnan, which is famous for great weather and beautiful landscapes. It definitely did not disappoint in either area. The temperatures even in August were in the 20's (70's to low 80's Fahrenheit) and the hiking was amazing.
Our first stop was Lijiang, an ancient city that was once one of the most important stops along the Silk Road. It has a really large old town within the city, which has been massively developed by the tourism industry. As a result, it's packed full of tourists, hotels, souvenir shops, etc., but still worth seeing. The nice thing about Lijiang's old town is that it's big enough that you can wander away from the crowds and find yourself among some cool old buildings, meandering alleyways, and lots of interesting things to discover. One of those discoveries was a temple we walked through, which was very pretty.
Another place worth seeking out was the Naxi museum, dedicated to preserving the culture of the Naxi minority group who are one of the biggest ethnic minorities around Lijiang. At the museum, there are volunteers who can tell you all about the art on display and explain how the Naxi pictographic writing system works. We happened to meet a volunteer there who was really friendly and spoke English well.
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| An elderly Naxi woman selling cakes |
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| Local women washing vegetables |
Lijiang is also surrounded by some incredible natural landmarks, like the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Tiger Leaping Gorge. It's a popular place for backpackers to pass through on their way to and from the Gorge, so there's a lot of good hostels in Lijiang where you can stay cheaply, chat with fellow travelers, and get some help booking buses for the Gorge.
We stayed at the October Inn Hostel and I would definitely recommend it. It was right next to the old town, the host spoke English well and was really helpful sharing hiking information and booking a bus to the Gorge for us, and the beds in the shared rooms were really comfortable. You can find them here if you're interested.
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| October Inn Hostel |
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| October Inn Hostel |
If you visit Lijiang, definitely try and get some of the local dumplings. They're little pork dumplings fried in a skillet with eggs and green onions and they were amazing! I've never seen them anywhere else I've been in China. The yak jerky being sold around the old town was also really tasty.
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| Dumplings fried with eggs |
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| Yak jerky shop |
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| A popular dessert in Lijiang; rice cakes with a nutty filling |
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