Daydreaming in Lijiang, Yunnan, China
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by: Guest
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Perhaps before going into the specific facts and details about Lijiang I should first just tell you a little bit about the atmosphere of this magical place, give you a feel for what makes Lijiang so special to Westerners and Chinese alike. The area surrounding Lijiang, on the footsteps into the Himalayas, is generally believed to be the home of that mythical paradise known as "Shangri La" and indeed very near to Lijiang sits a community that goes by the name of Shangri-La (although many would suggest the name was adopted in the pursuit of the almighty tourist dollar). Nonetheless, in his extremely interesting book, The Forgotten Kingdom, about his nine year sojourn in and around Lijiang (written as "Likiang" at the time) in the late 1930's and the 1940's, up to the time of the Communist "liberation" of China, Peter Guoullart says:
"I had always dreamed of finding, and living in that beautiful place, shut off from the world by its great mountains, which years later James Hilton conceived in his novel Lost Horizon (Hardback). His hero found his "Shangri-La" by accident. I found mine, by design and perseverance, in Likiang".
When we came upon the "Old Town" of Lijiang, cocooned by the much larger modern city, my Chinese wife and I both agreed that we understood how Peter Goullart felt, for Lijiang truly has a mystical feeling to it. We too felt it to be our Shangri-La.
At 2,400 meters (7,900 feet) altitude, Lijiang experiences remarkably comfortable weather year round, although typically for such altitudes, one must "make hay while the sun shines". Even in summer once the sun disappears behind the mountains you will feel an instant need for something much warmer than that short sleeved shirt that was more than adequate while basking in Sol's rays. Just the same, during what is proving to be a brutally cold winter throughout China, we've noted that Lijiang has mostly been enjoying days in the mid to high 20's during daylight hours. That seems pretty inviting relative to Hangzhou's frequent days of barely breaking the 0 mark.
Add to the consistent fair weather the sparkling crystal mountain water flowing along almost every street in Old Town, the backdrop of beautiful mountains, the sky as blue as any I've seen (even in Canada) and the complete absence of the usual smog to be found in most Chinese cities, and when you're in Lijiang you feel like maybe you have truly arrived in the Middle Kingdom.
On the level of simple human interaction, Lijiang is truly multi-cultural, as is the entire Province of Yunnan, and while the Naxi people are historically the primary culture in the local area, over 20 different cultures make up the total population, and rather than being the overwhelming majority that they are in most of China the Han are about 50% of the population of Lijiang. Perhaps due to this multiculturalism, Westerners are treated "just like anyone else" as opposed to being the clear "outsiders" that we are in most of China. Perhaps that explains why, on a per capita basis, so many more westerners have located here than in China generally. And it also explains why your cross cultural relationship with your beautiful woman of China seems so much easier to maintain in this very cross-cultural city.
As with the rest of Yunnan, Lijiang has had strong ties to the cultures of South East Asia fairly proportionately to its ties to China, and this again has lead to a more diverse and less conservative cultural backdrop in which to live. On the other hand, their lay back ways and non-aggressive nature has led the Naxi to be relatively easy to surpass economically for the ever entrepreneurial and highly competitive Han, who have tended to take over the economics of the area (much as they have done throughout South East Asia and appear headed to do throughout the world). Just the same, in Lijiang there is a nice balance of China, Asia and the West, bringing out the best of all three.
All of this makes Lijiang a great place to visit, and we believe it would also be a great place to live.
About the Author
Lijiang, China, is a place meant for daydreaming, for relaxing and if you're lucky, for falling in love with that Chinese woman you've been seeking, and for her to fall in love with you. Magical, mystical, beautiful and serene, Lijiang seduces its visitors into sometimes staying days, weeks, months and even lifetimes longer than they had planned on their arrival. For an introduction to Lijiang read this article.
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