Lijiang – China’S Disneyland (Without The Rides)

 everything has its specific house inward the commons Lijiang – China’s Disneyland (Without The Rides)

Have you lot been to Disneyland? I have. It’s quite an interesting place. On ane mitt it is beautiful: Perfectly manicured, everything has its specific house inward the park, lots of colourfully dressed people dancing around for your entertainment. On the other hand, it gives you lot the creeps: Thousands of tourists crawling on top of each other for that perfect photo, that feeling of beingness completely fake, to a greater extent than selfie sticks than you lot tin milkshake a, erm, selfie stick at, too prices thence inflated that you lot necessitate to accept out a minute mortgage just to purchase a bottle of water. This is precisely similar Lijiang inward South West China.

We arrived inward the UNESCO urban essence with a warning from other travellers: If you lot don’t similar likewise many tourists, steer clear of Lijiang. We’ve never actually believed inward that whole ‘traveller vs tourist‘ debate, thence onwards nosotros went to brand upward our ain minds.

Bring It On, Lijiang!

After hitchhiking from the amazing Shaxi, nosotros entered the one-time urban essence too started making our way towards our accommodation. The commencement matter nosotros noticed were 2 beautiful H2O wheels spinning majestically with the cobblestoned walls. Actually, that is a lie. It would get got been the commencement matter nosotros noticed, if at that spot weren’t 15’000 Chinese tourists shoulder charging each other to instruct prime number seat for a photo. Lesh too I pushed through the human cattle too similar a shot got jumped past times salesmen, offering everything you lot could imagine from Equus caballus rides to massage parlous. Heads down, nosotros charged on through towards a serenity alley.

 everything has its specific house inward the commons Lijiang – China’s Disneyland (Without The Rides)
A welcome recess from the mayhem of the one-time city.

We managed to instruct completely lost inward the winding labyrinth of Lijiang. The serial of shops began to expect similar an exact replica of each other. Djembe drums, hippies clothes, jewellery shop, cafe, repeat. Over, too over, too over, too over, too over again. It was similar beingness inward a weird sci-fi flick scene.

Luckily nosotros constitute our Couchsurfing host’s menage too got out of the madness. On the outskirts of the one-time city, it was just similar a typical Chinese town. Busy, lots of dumplings, but at to the lowest degree at that spot was some normality (well, equally normal equally you lot tin instruct inward China). And thankfully, less tourists.

Not into Couchsurfing, no worries. Here are some options for accommodation inward Lijiang.

We decided to pass the side past times side twenty-four hr menses upward at the spectacular Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Waking upward early on to avoid the supposed 2 hr waits at the cable machine nosotros had heard about, nosotros started to operate out how nosotros would instruct there. That’s when our plans had changed. After paying for transport, the ticket for the cable car, the admission fee to the commons too the entrance fee to Lijiang, it was going to laid us dorsum over US$60 each. As beautiful equally the mount was, nosotros couldn’t justify that to become consider some snow. Time for a excogitation B.

 everything has its specific house inward the commons Lijiang – China’s Disneyland (Without The Rides)
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Unfortunately out of our budget.

We had heard almost a serenity hamlet on the outskirts of the urban essence called Baisha. Heralded equally ‘Lijiang without the tourists’ nosotros made our way at that spot instead of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. But commencement nosotros had to battle our way through the masses to the other side of town. Before nosotros had fourth dimension to accept our commencement breath within the one-time city, nosotros were b0marded with selfie stick wielding touts. “Quick Lesh, run!” Past the spitting Chinese men, leaping over the street-pissing kids too dodging the clueless hippie wannabes with coloured braids inward their pilus too pants 17 sizes likewise large, nosotros managed to escape unscathed.

It turns out Baisha was a lot quieter than Lijiang, but silent non equally authentic equally the guidebooks had made it out to be. The commencement matter nosotros wanted to produce was catch a loving cup of tea. Just a elementary light-green tea. The commencement house nosotros walked into did indeed serve light-green tea. At $18 a pot. We decided nosotros didn’t necessitate light-green tea.

One beautiful experience did come upward out of Baisha though, too that was coming together Grandma Liu, who basically kidnapped us. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 sweetness one-time lady, she has been welcoming visitors into her menage for years, offering snacks too tea (YES!) for the elementary toll of a donation. All smiles too positive energy, nosotros spent an hr inward her quaint menage earlier heading dorsum towards Lijiang.

 everything has its specific house inward the commons Lijiang – China’s Disneyland (Without The Rides)
The beautiful grandma Liu inward Baisha village.

We made it dorsum to the gong exhibit that is Lijiang just afterwards lunchtime, too nosotros were hungry. Think it’s slow to instruct a inexpensive seize with teeth to swallow inward the one-time city? Guess again. $7 for some soggy vegetables. Sure, it is inexpensive inward the grand system of things, but nosotros aren’t inward the grand system of things. We are inward China, where soggy vegetables shouldn’t cost $7. We settled on a mediocre fried rice too decided at nowadays was the perfect fourth dimension to become instruct a coffee.

$24 for a coffee.

We would become without our caffeine fix.

It was becoming apparent that this town was getting the improve of us, thence nosotros headed dorsum to our host’s menage for some friendly conversations. Not earlier nosotros passed through the fundamental foursquare however, just inward fourth dimension to experience some traditional dancing. Now admittedly, this was interesting to see; except for the expect of despair on the dancer’s faces equally they performed similar programmed robots for the throngs of flash-happy tourists. Entertainment, perhaps, but it was painful to watch.

 everything has its specific house inward the commons Lijiang – China’s Disneyland (Without The Rides)

We talked to our host, Alan, almost these crazy inflated prices, huge numbers of tourists too relentless touts. He smiled shyly too just said, “Yea, this is Lijiang.”

Now it isn’t all doom too gloom for this town. One matter to proceed inward hear is that yes, it is rattling picturesque. The one-time urban essence is gorgeous with its ancient buildings, intricate temples too meandering canals. In the early on mornings, the house is almost completely empty too good worth setting the alert for. And it’s a bully house to role equally a jumping-off indicate to Tiger Leaping Gorge.

And on the topic of tourist numbers, less than 20 years agone Lijiang was a rattling piteous community. Now, cheers to its UNESCO World Heritage listing, it is a booming destination. While this agency you lot get got to debate with thousands of people at whatever ane time, it also agency the local population is able to improve their lives past times earning a higher income inward a novel industry. You can’t blame them for capitalising on this abrupt influx of visitors.

We didn’t loathe our fourth dimension inward Lijiang. Not at all. We are definitely glad nosotros visited there, too the urban essence surely has its charms. But too thence again, thence does Disneyland – too I’m inward no rush to become dorsum at that spot in ane lawsuit again whatever fourth dimension soon.

 everything has its specific house inward the commons Lijiang – China’s Disneyland (Without The Rides)

 

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 everything has its specific house inward the commons Lijiang – China’s Disneyland (Without The Rides)

 

 

 


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