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Friday 2 June 2017

Lost in Lijiang


A Tibetan girl at the Yak meadow on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. 
“I love you!” yells the Tibetan girl as I walk past her souvenir stall at the Yak Meadow. The beautiful meadow is high on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain near Lijiang in China’s Yunnan Province.

“I love you too,” I call back in response to her novel sales pitch. The girl’s friends giggle as I stop to look at the distinctive silver jewellery, prayer wheels and yak’s tails on display. Tibetans believe that brushing your bed down with a yak’s tail keeps nightmares away.
 You can take a ride on these colourful yaks for a few dollars.
But getting a yak’s tail through Australian customs seems like a nightmare itself, a point that I find difficult to explain to the enthusiastic Tibetan salesgirl. I buy some prayer flags instead and walk out onto the meadow.

I am feeling light-headed from the 20-minute chairlift ride that has carried me to an altitude of 3,700 metres. During the ascent we looked out over spectacular valleys and craggy slopes with stands of colourful rhododendrons, azaleas and wildflowers growing beneath towering spruce trees.

Nineteenth-century European plant hunters loved Yunnan because of its 13,000 kinds of plants, half of which can be found on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Wooden walkways on the expansive field lead you to outstanding views of the highest peaks of the majestic 5,500-metre mountain, which remains unconquered by climbers. After taking in the views, I opt for a yak ride to the nearby temple and watch Tibetans in traditional costumes dancing and singing.
There are numerous Naxi villages in the valley below Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is near the ancient city of Lijiang, home to the Naxi (pronounced Na-shi) people. The Naxi are descendants of Tibetan nomads and have lived in the area for over 1,000 years.

On the way back to Lijiang we visit the Yufeng Buddhist monastery, famous for a 500-year-old camellia said to produce 10,000 blossoms every year. The camellia is actually 2 plants grafted together that supposedly represent a pair of lovers who were forbidden to marry and committed suicide rather than live apart.

Today Chinese couples believe that being photographed in front of the camellia will ensure that they will be together in the next lifetime.
The tiled rooftops of the World Heritage Dayan town at Lijiang.
The highlight of any visit to Lijiang is spending time in its old quarter, Dayan Town. This 800 year-old World Heritage site features ancient timber and earth houses with tiled roofs set on delightful canals. No cars are allowed in the narrow, winding streets, which are paved with large stones.
Picturesque canals are a feature of Dayan town.
The idea is to get lost in Dayan’s quaint streets if you really want to discover the place. The old town attracts local artists and artisans, and there is plenty of high quality jewellery, clothing, pottery, paintings and carving on sale. And it’s very pleasant sitting at an outdoor restaurant beside the canal eating a Naxi delicacy such as goat’s cheese sprinkled with sugar.
 The delightful Black Dragon Pool at Lijiang.
At night the old town takes on a different character. Candles floating past on paper lotus flowers make dining alfresco beside the canals an enchanting experience.

The enchantment continues with a concert by the Naxi orchestra, which plays classical Taoist music on traditional instruments. Incredibly, the average age of the musicians is 80, and they still perform to enthusiastic audiences every night.

On the way back to my hotel I notice flames leaping up in the main square. As I get closer I hear music and realise that the crowd gathered around the huge fire is actually moving. This is a traditional Naxi style of dancing, with circles of people holding hands and taking rhythmic steps around the fire.

There is something irresistible about hundreds of Naxi, Chinese and a few tourists dancing around a fire in a historic town in China, so I join in. The dance, part of an ancient but living culture, produces an uncommon sense of harmony as we move together in the flickering light.


When To Go. The best time to visit Lijiang is from April to July to enjoy the temperate spring and summer temperatures. The flowers for which Yunnan is famous are at their peak in late spring, from the middle to the end of May.


Story and photos by John Maddocks

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