My Lijiang Trip 

I'm not a good writer and don't know the popular ways of writing travel reviews either. Thus, I will make it in a time order and hope you will not blame me if it turns out to be a 'day-to-day account'. Anyway, I hope it will be helpful for you to plan your Lijiang trip.

Day One: We arrived at Lijiang at about 1700. After checking in at the hotel, we strolled to the Square Street and the famous bar street to have dinner. The night in Lijiang was very noisy and you could see tourists everywhere. The main streets were full of shops selling almost the same stuff. This was not what I have imagined and expected- an old town over commercialized and too noisy.

LIjiang at Night

Day Two: We planned to visit the Mu's Residence and the Shuhe Old Town. It seemed that the morning in Lijiang was late. When I heard the cock crow and got up, it was already after 0800. But still there were a few people on the street. Bathed in the sunlight, Lijiang was very tranquil and calm at that time, totally different from the night Lijiang. This was right what I had expected from Lijiang: several old ladies in traditional Naxi dress walking in the street full of Naxi local residences, lazy sleepy dogs on the roadsides and the smokes leisurely rising from the kitchen chimneys... Nothing special about the Mu's Residence, but the flowers there were colorful and beautiful. The real Shuhe Old Town was small but boasting wood houses. The thing impressed me most was the clear and cool water. The local people used it as natural refrigerator to store fruit and vegetable.

A street of Lijiang

Day Three: We went to the Ancient Tea-Horse Road and rode horses there. The place was beautiful with flowers and lots of birds. I was very excited to ride a horse on my own for the first time. But after two hours' bumping and shaking, I was almost tired out and my hip hurt a lot. I couldn't sit down when had meals later. Embarrassing:( Went back to Lijiang at about 1400 and ate the local hot-pot for lunch. In the afternoon, we went to the Black Dragon Pool. The scenery there was amazing. If the weather was good, you could take the picture of water reflecting the snow covered mountains. Unfortunately, my camera was not good and the result was poor.

Day Four: Today's plan was the Jade Dragon Mountain, which I expected the most. It was sunny when we set out. But as we reached the mountain closer and closer, the temp got lower and lower. When finally reached the cable car station, we just felt that the sunshine was not warm at all, hence rented warm clothes. However, as we climbed the mountain, we encountered the young girls in skirts. Surprised! The most boring thing on the site was queuing up to take the cable, for hiking on the mountain was not allowed due to some safety reasons. It was said that the cable line here was the longest and highest in Asia. I didn't know if it was true or not, but the cable ride was really an unforgettable memory for me. We were lucky dogs as it snowed when we reached the mountain peak. Astonishing and breathtaking!

Jade Dragon Mountain

As we had a travel expert in the group, we didn't encounter too many troubles during the trip. But still I have a little more words to say, about the accommodation. Most tourists to Lijiang will choose to live in the old town to embrace the atmosphere. It's OK, but never choose those 'very' close to the Square Street or the bar street; otherwise you will never have a good sleep, for you could even hear the noisy sounds even at 2 o'clock at night.