| A last minute spur of the moment decision has us in Western China, near the Myanmar border in Lijiang, Yunnan, China. Why? Well, we wanted to get away from the grimy, dusty, nondescript China megatroplis having spent weeks in both Shanghai and Chengdu. Why Lijiang? Well, it's a mere hour flight from Chengdu and is a UNESCO World Heritage site with a lot of ethnic minorities and a well-preserved 800-year old city that used to be a trading stop between Myanmar, India and Tibet. In addition to the charming old villages of Lijiang and its predominantly minority population of Naxhi, Lijiang is also at the base of the Himalayas which offers some incredible natural and quasi-natural (more later) hiking and views. This morning we went up to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain which is supposed to have incredible views akin to Jiu Zhai Gou. Surrounded by mountains, the air on this high plateau (13,000 feet) is very thin. The valleys, steep mountains, green glacier lakes and waterfalls are truly breathtaking, especially in comparison to the urban, concrete jungle of Chengdu. The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain area is very well run and very well planned with nice, natural wood and stone walkways. There is also an efficient network of electric minibuses that drive visitors to the various scenic spots. With two active kids, we preferred to just walk from place to place - about 7 miles traveled in one day. Though beautiful, the scenery was a bit suspiciously similar to JiuZhaiGou and suspiciously perfectly situated and uniform in its dimensions... Nah... couldn't be fake, it had to be real... On the way, back our driver explained to us that much of the lower White Mirror Lake waterfalls and water features were man made!!! Though the water was natural, many of the falls were not. uh... what a disappointment. but then again not surprised.. This is China afterall. |
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