Lijiang

If you were to imagine the China of Kung Fu films, the China of ancient memories, the China of your imagination, you would be dreaming of Lijiang in Yunnan, South China.  It's the land of earthquakes and spicy food, of colourful ancient costumes and wide open spaces. After spending so much time in Shanghai, I didn't imagine that China could be this beautiful. 

Being a teacher and taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award as a trip chaperone and advisor has its perks. This is how I found myself in Lijiang, being led by a group of eight 17-year-olds as they completed their practice 5-day expedition. They planned it all: accommodation, meals, hiking trails. They all spoke varying degrees of Mandarin, and in this way, the city opened up to me in a way that no other Chinese city did. 

Day one and five started and ended in Lijiang proper: 

Stunning rooftops and ancient (although) new architecture:

Bridges:

And photoshoots with people in traditional Yunnanese clothing:

Ukulele and drum shops dotted the pedestrian centre. Apparently the winner of China's version of X-Factor is from Lijiang and since she rocked the ukulele, the city went mad for it:

My students, in an attempt to fulfil DofE's 'cultural understanding' component, took to the drums: 

Canals and narrow lanes dotted the landscape:

Woman in traditional dress:

New meets old:

Traditional decoration:

Everywhere we turned we were greeted with something kitschy in all the right ways:

Alongside the Han Chinese people, four minorities take up residence in Yunnan province. They include the Naxi, Shui, Dai and Yi. The city was dotted with a series of art that I later found out was an ancient Naxi hieroglyph called the dongba script:

The script uses a simplified version of the area's flora and fauna to tell stories and fables of the local people. Thousands of books were published in this way. Sadly, after the Communist Revolution in 1949, the practice was largely put to rest. Lots of good information can be found here. 

The food of the region is known for being some of the best in the country. It's as diverse as the country itself and ranges from guoqiao ('Crossing the Bridge' hand pulled long noodles) to super spicy meats and yak's milk cheese dumplings. The restaurants boasted brilliant Chinglish translations. From 'Self Help Rice Noodle'

to 'It Hot and Spicy'

to my crossing the bridge noodles, all was very tasty. My students navigated my vegetarian ways expertly. 

From the vantage point of my little hotel room and open-air lobby on the last night, I reflected back on an amazing experience. Before the hiking begun, the city was beautiful. After the hiking was done, it became a place of marvellous reflection.

And from the little sitting area in my hotel room, I appreciated the diverse nature of a country as huge as China.