Our morning began very early with a flight to Lijiang. We didn’t really have much of an idea of what the place would be like. Our flight touched down in a bright and sunny morning and our first view was of the mountains. We met our local guide (Joanne), who is a member of a minority Chinese people called Naxi, native to this part of China. She said that many people come here and don’t wanted to leave, and after spending the day here (I’m writing from the hotel drinking jasmine tea we bought earlier) we’re considering finding a real estate agent!

We started our morning by checking in to the hotel, it’s like a small beautiful ancient town, the hotel has little court yards for drinking tea with ponds and flowers everywhere. It’s also right in the middle of the Old Town, a collection of old streets with venders and music everywhere. After dropping our bags off and being gobsmacked with how lovely the place is we headed off for a walk around the main Lijiang park. From the park there is a fantastic view over the lake and in the distance the snow mountain, which can be skied in the winter !
We saw Buddhist temples and a massive spring with spaklingly clear water with Koi swimming around. The Naxi are a matriarch society, traditionally the men do nothing but drink and relax while the women do all the work. We saw some Naxi embroadery and met a Shaman, the wise man of the community and the only one who can write the ancient Naxi language. He was a nice guy apparently he knows everything, he didn’t say much.

We finished off the afternoon with a tour of the Old Town where we settled down in a tea shop for several hours. We drank the most incredible tea, only found in the region. We also got to try tea that is 10 years old, quite a rare honour. We only got the chance because the Tea Master was visiting while we were there. Watching the sunset in a Tea house in Lijang is something that will stay with us forever.
Tomorrow we’re off to Tiger Leaping Gorge, this whole place has a wonderfully relaxed atmosphere so I’m sure it will be a great day.