Yunnan - Day 1: 丽江古城

On arrival at the Lijiang airport that afternoon, we were greeted by our driver sent by our hotel. As you can see, there were a slew of drivers waiting for other tourists.



The hotel we stayed at this first night was called Zen Garden Hotel. They have two locations both near Old Town Lijiang (one smack in the middle - Wuyi Branch - and another up on the hill - Lion Hill Branch). We ended up staying at both and did notice the price difference of 880 RMB (Lion Hill) versus 500 RMB (Wuyi). For example, the water pressure at Wuyi was much weaker probably due to its location in the middle of the Old Town. Both rooms were clean and comfortable.



One advantage of the Lion Hill Branch was that we had a view of the Old Town from just outside the steps of the hotel. We dropped off our stuff and went down the hill to explore the Old Town.



As a late lunch, we sought out the 过桥米线 ("crossing bridge noodles"), which is the hallmark noodles of Yunnan. Frankly, they were okay at best and we opted to try other noodles for our later meals.



This is the famous waterwheel at the north end of the Old Town. There is generally always a throng of tourists clustered around it - lots of tours use it as a meeting place.



On the way through the Old Town we went through 四方街 (Square Market).



A canal runs north-south through Old Town and goes through the edge of the Square Market. It's said if you are lost in Lijiang that you just need to follow the canal upstream to find the Old Town.



Through the streets of Old Town are many stores selling "local" trinkets. One common complaint by our non-Han guides was that the area has turned very commercialized and been invaded by Han Chinese. Thus, the "local" products being sold are not actually made by locals any more.



We headed towards 木府 (Mu's Residence), which is a modern reproduction of the local ruler's home from centuries ago. There are plenty of signs scattered through the Old Town that direct tourists to it.



The buildings were rebuilt in the late 1990s (although I forget why they needed to be rebuilt). I recall there are seven buildings that progress up a hill and from the last building there is quite the view of the city.



After we were done, we grabbed dinner at one of the local restaurants. We were looking for a place that had some sort of a view.



The food was nothing to write home about, but the view wasn't too bad.



As night fell, the streets lit up with lanterns.



And that ended the first day of our trip.