We had a thoroughly nice time in Lijiang. Our trip coincided with the ‘Naxi Torch Festival‘ which is an ancient folk custom where fires and torches are lit for three days.
There are many stories about where the festival originated but essentially it’s about driving out evil and giving thanks for the past and forthcoming year.
Trip date
July 2011
Where we stayed
Enjoy Inn Hostel, No.39 Bayi Lower Section, Qiyi Street, Dayan, Gucheng District, Lijiang 674100, China
What we saw and did
Imagine the health and safety furore if we left unattended fires lit on the street in the UK or anywhere else in the Western world for that matter.
I do wonder sometimes if we are far too mollycoddled in the West.
Sometimes you just have to rely on good old-fashioned common sense. As far as I know, no houses burnt down while we were there.
Lijiang is a fantastic place to wander around at any time night or day.
Lijiang was absolutely packed. Obviously the ‘Naxi Torch Festival’ was a big puller but our trip also coincided with the Chinese holiday season.
It’s actually quite a magical place to visit.
The weather wasn’t great when we were there and it was still incredibly humid. It didn’t detract from our enjoyment though.
Black Dragon Pool Park. There are lots of nice outdoor spaces to visit in Lijiang.
I think it’s fair to say I didn’t really fancy anything on the menu, apart from the bacon; but I couldn’t guarantee it was actually from a pig.
It was probably tiger bacon. Apart from a table, the Chinese will generally eat anything with legs (sweeping generalisation there).
It’s a proven scientific fact that when you’re travelling it’s physically impossible to escape Bob Marley and reggae music.
Street food is very cheap and readily available. I do love a bit of corn on the cob, especially when it’s barbecued and massive.
Our take on the Chinese love of posing in daft ways for photographs.
If you are heading off to China try and include a visit to Lijiang if you can (I appreciate China is a massive country). It’s really easy to stick to the beaten path but very often you’ll find that some of your most memorable travel experiences will be had when going to the places that tourists don’t go to.