Li Jiang #4There is a high, snow covered mountain north of Li Jiang, and it is the centre of a National Park. A tramtakes tourists to the top to see the glacier, etc. The view was great on Snow Mountain.A word about the food.The cuisine in this area is salty and tasty. Do you know when you are coaxed into having some meat, because it "tastesjust like beef," but never does? Well, I can attest that yak meat, for once, is something that does taste just like beef. We enjoyedit a few times. Every meal was delicious, even up the Yangtze valley where we ate with meat curing just outside the window.
Friday, 18 January 2013
Friday 18 January 2013
Thursday, 17 January 2013
Friday 18 January 2013
There is a high, snow covered mountain north of Li Jiang, and it is the centre of a National Park. A tram
takes tourists to the top to see the glacier, etc. The view from Snow Mountain was great.
A word about the food.
The cuisine in this area is salty and tasty. Do you know when you are coaxed into having some meat, because it "tastes
just like beef," but never does? Well, I can attest that yak meat, for once, is something that does taste just like beef. We enjoyed
it a few times. Every meal was delicious, even up the Yangtze valley where we ate with meat curing just outside the window.
Thursday 17 January 2013
The Old Town of LiJiang is a magical place. The town has never been walled since trade was always welcome. It still is.
There are so many shops lining the narrow, winding alleys. The sound and fragrance of water flowing through the canals lining the streets is
lovely. You can see silversmiths and weavers sitting in the narrow shops. It is fun to see so many colourful and beautiful articles.
One picture shows the rooftops of the Old Town viewed from a pagoda on a hill.
Another is of a silversmith at work.
Then there are the pictures of buying scarves. The Naxi woman was very fun and I thought that her work was even and excellent.
We tried to return the next day to purchase more scarves, but she was closed for the day. Lily, she is the one who made my
new pink scarf look great. Through our guide she said that the colour was too bright for her, at her age. I decided that it wasn't
too bright for me.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Wednesday 16 january 2013
China has, officially, 56 ethnic groups and it was interesting to see a few of these groups close up. Many
live in the province of Yunnan.
The Naxi (or Nahki) live in the foothills of the Himalayas, where Li Jiang is located. Originally it is believed that
they migrated from northwest China and displaced the Tibetan people living along the rivers. Although they
have been influenced by the Han Chinese culture, the Naxi have retained their own religion, language, writing,
music and dress (especially the women). Over the centuries the Naxi women have been important to the economy
since they were the shopkeepers and brokers for the economy. They did most of the work while the men were
away on caravan business.
The Naxi have known wealth and some education, but it seemed to me that they living in a less prosperous
part of modern China. Tourism is a boon to the ethnic groups and Li Jiang Old Town and other Naxi communities
were busy with the tourist trade. It was a shoppers' paradise. You could see remnants of a rugged past with the
birds-of-prey which were displayed by proud owners. And, the Naxi still hunt with falcons, making this a rarity
in modern China.
Below are some interesting pictures.
One is a rack of ethnic dresses for sale.
The second is an authentic elderly Naxi woman.
The next shows Naxi writing, which is the only pictograph writing system that is still used. It resembles the writing of the Maya and ancient Egyptians
Fwd: Tuesday 15 January 2013
Begin forwarded message:
From: Kathleen Wright <kathleen1348@gmail.com>Subject: Tuesday 15 January 2013Date: 14 January, 2013 10:52:53 PM MSTLi Jiang #1 postingDon and I visited the town of Li Jiang last week and I have delayed writing about it because of a cold.We had a condo exchange into this great little town, of 1 million people. It was a magical place, not fullyenjoyed because of my cold.First, try to locate Li Jiang on a map. It is in the province of Yunnan in the southwest corner of China. You willnotice that Tibet is to the northwest of Yunnan. Li Jiang is in the northwest corner of the province.The location of this town has been the reason for its existence at the crossroads of trade and travel for centuries, probablymillennia. Traders have come through the mountains and across the rivers from all four corners. It would be fair to say that Li Jiangis in the "wilderness" of China, in an isolated area which is still populated bydiverse ethnic groups. It is also an area of the world that has great bio diversity in its birds and flowers.bThe old town of Li Jiang is a UNESCO World Heritage site.Li Jiang is located in the UNESCO Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Area Site.In the northwest of Yunnan Province, three major rivers run parallel to each other for 300 kilometres, with mountain ranges separating them.These rivers are the Mekong (which flows to Viet Nam), the Salween (which flows into Burma) and the Yangtze.About 20 miles west of Li Jiang, the Yangtze River makes its first turn to the north, and this eventually allowsthe river to become the might Yangtze River of China. Without this turn, China's development would have been very different.This first turn is celebrated. The river at this point is about the size of our Old Man River, running slowly and smoothly withsand banks lining the river's edge. Then the river runs north for many miles and then turns south and passes on the east of Li Jiang, and then makesanother great loop to the north. Li Jiang is bounded, at a distance, by the Yangtze on the west, the east and the north. OK. I just think rivers are interesting!One of the secrets for the success of Li Jiang has been its pure water source and the irrigation system through the canals in town, and in the country. The spring water isstill so clear it looks like you are looking into glass. Don says that it is like Beazer water, and he is probably right.To get a flavour of the ruggedness and the Tibetan influence, here are a few pictures of the rugged small mountain horses and peoplewith birds of prey.Li Jiang was on the Tea Horse Road, which was a dangerous caravan trail that traded in tea from China and horses from the west.This trail was also the trail that brought goods into Kunming (in Yunnan where the American and British forces were headquartered)during World War 2 when all the other entry points into China were closed. This area has a fascinating history. For more informationread:The Forgotten Kingdom by Peter GoullartBooks by Joseph RockLost Horizon ( A novel that has been made into a movie a few times. The setting for this novel is along the road to the north, and it claims to be Shangra-la).
Monday, 14 January 2013
Tuesday 15 January 2013
Don and I visited the town of Li Jiang last week and I have delayed writing about it because of a cold.
We had a condo exchange into this great little town, of 1 million people. It was a magical place, not fully
enjoyed because of my cold.
First, try to locate Li Jiang on a map. It is in the province of Yunnan in the southwest corner of China. You will
notice that Tibet is to the northwest of Yunnan. Li Jiang is in the northwest corner of the province.
The location of this town has been the reason for its existence at the crossroads of trade and travel for centuries, probably
millennia. Traders have come through the mountains and across the rivers from all four corners. It would be fair to say that Li Jiang
is in the "wilderness" of China, in an isolated area which is still populated by
diverse ethnic groups. It is also an area of the world that has great bio diversity in its birds and flowers.b
The old town of Li Jiang is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Li Jiang is located in the UNESCO Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Area Site.
In the northwest of Yunnan Province, three major rivers run parallel to each other for 300 kilometres, with mountain ranges separating them.
These rivers are the Mekong (which flows to Viet Nam), the Salween (which flows into Burma) and the Yangtze.
About 20 miles west of Li Jiang, the Yangtze River makes its first turn to the north, and this eventually allows
the river to become the might Yangtze River of China. Without this turn, China's development would have been very different.
This first turn is celebrated. The river at this point is about the size of our Old Man River, running slowly and smoothly with
sand banks lining the river's edge. Then the river runs north for many miles and then turns south and passes on the east of Li Jiang, and then makes
another great loop to the north. Li Jiang is bounded, at a distance, by the Yangtze on the west, the east and the north. OK. I just think rivers are interesting!
One of the secrets for the success of Li Jiang has been its pure water source and the irrigation system through the canals in town, and in the country. The spring water is
still so clear it looks like you are looking into glass. Don says that it is like Beazer water, and he is probably right.
To get a flavour of the ruggedness and the Tibetan influence, here are a few pictures of the rugged small mountain horses and people
with birds of prey.
Li Jiang was on the Tea Horse Road, which was a dangerous caravan trail that traded in tea from China and horses from the west.
This trail was also the trail that brought goods into Kunming (in Yunnan where the American and British forces were headquartered)
during World War 2 when all the other entry points into China were closed. This area has a fascinating history. For more information
read:
The Forgotten Kingdom by Peter Goullart
Books by Joseph Rock
Lost Horizon ( A novel that has been made into a movie a few times. The setting for this novel is along the road to the north, and it claims to be Shangra-la).
Thursday, 3 January 2013
Friday 4 January 2013
Don and I returned on January 1 from our BYU Teachers' Tour to Harbin in the northeast of China. We are recovering!
Truly, it was brutally cold even for we Canadians (mini 25-30 degrees, with a constant breeze). Edmonton is twinned with Harbin, and it is a perfect match.
It was a remarkable 3 days.
Harbin is a large city with unique characteristics. It hosts one of the 4 largest ice and snow festivals in the world, Quebec City is one of the main 4. The first night at the ice festival was too cold to enjoy and I wondered how 1 million tourists could ever enjoy it. And yet they were. The next day was better as I put on PJs under my clothes, etc. Don showed me how to tie a scarf so my face was covered. The snow sculptures were truly works of art and amazing. Many were commemorating the Manchu culture of the region. Then we saw the Siberian tigers, and they were simply magnificent. Huge, and prowling around outside of cages. There were dozens. The white tiger was something to behold. There are only 200 left and they are perfectly camouflaged in the snow. Siberian tigers are the largest tiger, but are not man-eaters like the Bengal tiger. They looked like that could easily do the job though.
This will leave a few curious learners wanting to investigate.
Harbin has been called the "Paris of the East," because of its European architecture resulting from great Russian influence. It had a large Russian and Jewish population during the 20th century. This is the end of a Russian railroad and both groups were escaping problems at home. Manchuria was a good place to move to. Rich black soil. Isolated.
The local Manchu culture is making a resurgence. The people of Manchuria (Jurchen people and then called Manchus) ruled China after their conquest of the Ming Dynasty. They were the last dynasty and have largely merged culturally with the Han (Chinese) people. You could see a different gene pool operating in the area. The people were taller, often with a classic long, oval face and a stronger nose. The women were striking, compared to a soft, feminine beauty. I could easily believe that they were, and still are, rugged horsemen and formidable warriors.
Harbin was one of the most interesting places that we have ever visited. Flying back to Beijing was like flying over a vast snow covered plain, like Saskatchewan. Then a mountain range divides Beijing from the northeast.
China is such a fascinating and diverse country.
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