AUTUMN COLORS IN THE HIGHLANDS IN PEAK TOURIST SEASON
Gathering together mainly online, the group of 12 amateur backpackers did not even know each other’s faces and names before setting off. When we were about to board the bus, everyone was shocked to learn that my Chinese level, as the group’s main interpreter, was only at the level of “studying for 2 months 3 years ago”.
Lijiang Ancient Town attracts tourists at first sight with its quiet, nostalgic appearance. (Photo: globalheritagefund.org)
But “the risk is worth the reward”, the whole group still happily got on the bus and headed straight to Huu Nghi Quan border gate. The start was quite favorable when the group soon met a “helper”, a fellow traveler whose fiancee was in Nanning. The helper called and asked her to help us book train tickets from Nanning to Kunming.
So when we arrived in Nanning, we were less rushed and had time to have dinner before boarding the train. Luckily, another noble person appeared. Dong, a tall man from the Northeast of China, happened to be sitting near the Vietnamese backpacking group. Seizing the opportunity, I took the opportunity to practice my Chinese, but Dong's eyes widened when he learned that the Vietnamese group would be spending 9 days on a trip in a country where English is rarely spoken, with only a mediocre Chinese.
The generous Mr. Dong immediately took on the responsibility of helping us buy train tickets from Kunming to Nanning and bus tickets to Lijiang. Upon arriving at Kunming station, with the valuable assistance of Mr. Dong - "translating" from "fast" Chinese to "slow" Chinese which is easier to understand - we quickly bought train and bus tickets for the group to Lijiang. Saying goodbye to Mr. Dong, everyone was moved and grateful for the warm feelings of their new friend.
The "fancy" bus: 2 floors, comfortable seats like on an airplane, modern equipment, "standard" highway, beautiful yellow and red leaves on both sides of the road made the whole group forget all fatigue and compete to take pictures.
Starting point of the famous Apple Road of Lijiang - Shangri-la. Tourist buses often stop here for visitors to get off and admire the fruit-laden apple orchards stretching along the road.
Freshly picked apples sold by locals along the roadside are very delicious. Red apples are crispy and sweet, yellow apples are cool and sweet and very fragrant.
NOSTALGIC WITH "VENICE OF THE ORIENTAL"
The car arrived in Lijiang in the late afternoon, and the group took a taxi straight to the ancient town of Lijiang, not far away. Although they were all in Yunnan province, each tourist destination in the so-called “horizon” journey had its own unique charm. There was the famous wooden waterwheel symbol of the ancient town of Lijiang, but… oh my god, why were there so many people!
Lijiang City includes: New Town, Dayan Ancient Town - also Lijiang Old Town, Shuhe Ancient Town and Baisha Ancient Town.
The roofs of Lijiang ancient town glow beautifully and magically at night.
The wooden waterwheel symbol is a famous check-in spot that attracts tourists to stroll and explore the nightlife at the entrance to the central square of Lijiang Ancient Town.
Lijiang Ancient Town was the ancient capital of the Nanxi Kingdom, built from the end of the Song Dynasty - the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, with an area of 3.8 km2, located at an altitude of 2,400 m on the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau, 500 km from Kunming. Not only attractive for its beautiful scenery like "coming out of a fairy tale", the ancient town of Lijiang is also captivating for its rich history expressed through unique traditional cultural features. This "fairyland" is most famous for its waterway system and 354 bridges spanning the river with a density of 93 bridges/km2, so it is also known as the "Venice of the East" and has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1997.
Lijiang is an ancient town with a population of about 30,000, consisting mainly of Bai, Naxi and Tibetan ethnic groups. 30% of Lijiang's residents still maintain traditional crafts such as bronze casting, silver carving, weaving and embroidery, leather and fur tanning; contributing to the charm of Lijiang's tourist attractions.
A performance in front of the shop, welcoming visitors to explore the nightlife and culinary culture of Lijiang Ancient Town.
Naxi costumes of modern Lijiang women.
The incident of 1/3 of Lijiang ancient town being destroyed in the earthquake in February 1996 is long gone, now this famous tourist destination is always in a state of overload. The peak is in late autumn - early winter with the scenery of yellow leaves - red leaves and pure white snow as beautiful as in a "fairyland" at the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain scenic area.
Different from my previous imagination of peace, antiquity, moss… Lijiang, although still imbued with nostalgia, has been mixed with many modern features with a vibrant atmosphere amidst shimmering colors; streams of tourists flood the small, pretty stone-paved walking paths; both sides of the road are lined with shops, stores, and restaurants…
Any visitor to Lijiang Ancient Town wants to capture the moment of immersing themselves in the fresh air, beside the graceful willow trees dropping clusters of leaves, the tiny curved wooden bridges spanning the small canals with very clear water, clearly seeing clusters of green moss swaying in the waves... Every evening, in front of the shops, there are often performances to welcome guests by beautiful female dancers.
The rare quietness in the early morning when tourists have not yet arrived in Lijiang ancient town.
A Nanxi ethnic woman in Lijiang ancient town poses for a photo with tourists.
The look of excitement immediately lit up on the faces of our Vietnamese backpacking group, everyone was busy taking pictures and posing to check in, marking their conquest of this ancient town, praised as the most beautiful in China.
I also took a few photos and called Ms. Man, the owner of the motel who was introduced by the Vietnamese backpacking group before me, to arrange a room and come out to welcome the group who were lost in the sea of people bustling like a festival on New Year's Eve.
Enjoy hot Gongcha (milk tea) early in the morning, when Lijiang Ancient Town is not crowded with tourists yet.
Take the cable car to see the “snow falling outside…” scene at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain near Lijiang Ancient Town. Right at the foot of the mountain is Shuhe Ancient Town with its magical beauty like a fairyland.
My Chinese has become more fluent after the “transactions” on the train and bus in the style of “a pot with a hole, a pan with a hole… it’s all broken”. Therefore, after 3 minutes of talking on the phone, I was delighted to have booked the last 3 available rooms at Ms. Man’s boarding house, for 25 Yuan (about 90,000 VND)/person.
Loading our luggage onto a rickshaw, we returned to the inn and were immediately captivated by the lovely house, made entirely of stone and wood, with willow trees planted in front of the porch and a stream running through it - typical of houses in the Lijiang region. The warm and romantic feeling followed us throughout the first leg of this “horizon” journey. Lijiang is truly worthy of the title of one of the seven most attractive “Honeymoon Paradises” in the world.
Our first dinner in Lijiang was at a restaurant near the center, a famous hot pot of Yak beef + tofu + mushrooms and fresh mountain vegetables, priced at less than 300 yuan (about 1.1 million VND) for the whole group.
The next destination on the itinerary is Shangri-la, known as “Lost Horizon”, our group moved up 1 day early because the ticket price was cheaper at only 600-700 Yuan (about 2.14 million - 2.5 million VND). If we went later on the weekend, the ticket price would be more expensive.
(to be continued)
