From Dali we went north (map check, anyone?) to Lijiang, which turned out to be my favorite place on the tour. The city was mostly-wrecked by an earthquake in 1996 (7+ on the Richter), but two interesting things came about as a result: (1) the local government realized that the traditional Naxi buildings, which use no nails, fared much better than the more modern concrete ones, and so decided to encourage more construction in the old style, and (2) between the aid workers who came in to help rebuild and media coverage of the damage, a lot of people realized how beautiful the town and surrounding area are, and it became a big tourist destination.
(In case you're wondering whether the same thing will happen in Sichuan, it's unlikely. As I understand it, the town at the epicenter of May's disaster had very little to salvage, and any remaining residents had to be evacuated/moved anyway because of worries about one of the large lakes that had formed as a result of newly-dammed water. The government does, however, plan to turn the town into kind of a memorial to the earthquake victims, so it may yet have tourism, if not similarly joyfully scenic, value.)
Anyway, here's a scene from Lijiang's Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Xueshan). This is about 100 yards from where the yaks hang out. Not bad, eh?
RSS Feed
