Nick and I spent 4 days in Lijiang last year after the earthquake in Shangri-La delayed our Tiger Leaping Gorge trek. It may have been more time than we had planned, but we had a wonderful time and felt it was a great start to our adventures in China.
Mu's Residence in Lijiang Old Town- We had prepared for the rain
- We had accepted that our experience is not "authentic" but no less enjoyable for it
- Take a hike
- Work your way outwards
- Don't miss Mu's Residence
- Eat everything!
Lijiang in September gets a lot of rain. Torrential for short periods, but mostly just light and unrelenting. Fortunately, we were armed with Goretex jackets, waterproof boots and warm hats that allowed us to see all the major attractions in (relative) comfort. It also meant we could wander around when most of the other tourists were hiding out indoors. So on many an occasion, we had the place to ourselves!
Black Dragon Pool minus the pool. I guess they drain it in the fall?A lot of the Old Town is actually "fake old" (i.e. newly constructed but in an older style). In fact, this is true of many of the big attractions in China, including parts of the Great Wall, the Forbidden City and Xi'an's City Walls. But it doesn't make the experience any less enjoyable or the surroundings any less beautiful.
Picturesque, regardless of when it was built!Wandering around the streets of Lijiang was a joy in and of itself. The steep, narrow streets are fun to explore and there are picturesque courtyards and bridges around every corner. It was also incredibly green and vibrant. I have never seen so many willows in one place before! And the bougainvilleas and red lanterns provided the perfect pop of colour.
Lijiang in September was unbelievably green!We were surprised by how nice the trails in the Old Town were. There are paths connecting Mu's Residence and the Wangu tower in Lion Hill Park. And a much more extensive network going into the hills beyond the Black Dragon Pool. We really enjoyed this particular trail as there were little gazebos along the way with great views of the city.
A rare glimpse of blue sky!Lijiang has all the usual tourist traps like souvenir shops all selling the same things, overpriced food and drink (seriously, 100 RMB for a cup of tea? That's like $15 USD!), costumed performers etc. And it only gets worse in the evening. Every bar and coffee shop seems to crank up the music and turn on the disco lights - especially some of the places near Square Street and the Waterwheels.
We weren't into that entire scene, so we avoided it - or at least minimized it - by working our way outward during the day. That is, we went to the main squares and central streets in the morning before the hordes descend, and ended the day near the outer edges of the old town where the tea shops are quieter, less crowded and just a lot more pleasant.
This is a mini version of the Forbidden City in Beijing and I definitely think it is worth the price of admission. Having been to both, I actually found Mu's Residence more enjoyable. Except for some unique artifacts (like the crowns and carvings) in the Forbidden City, Mu's Residence offered all the same experiences, but with fewer people and more trees.
The gorgeous gardens in Mu's ResidenceYunnan is famous for a few things that are actually harder (or impossible) to find outside the province. We definitely would have stuffed our faces more if we had known this at the time. Specialties include the flower pastries, Puerh tea, Tibetan butter tea and yak meat (for the non-vegetarians out there).
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