Rainy day in Lijiang--and still beautiful

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain on a sunny day--photo taken on our 2010 trip

lower peaks of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the mist and rain

Yesterday we left Chengdu for Lijiang about noon, flying high up to the Tibetan Plateau.  The flight was very bumpy and, just as we were making our final approach to the Lijiang Airport, set in a deep mountain valley, we pulled up as the pilot announced we were going back to Chengdu.  A thunderstorm had developed right over the Lijiang airport and no planes were able to land.

homes in Lijiang's Old City

Back to Chengdu we went, where we waited 4 hours in the terminal for a new take-off and landing slot.  Brian Kwok, our friend and travel agent, is a techie who has an app on his phone that lets him see where flights are in the air anywhere in the world.  There were hundreds of planes flying the Chengdu/Lijiang/Kunming airspace, so no surprise that we were long delayed.
We finally landed in this beautiful place in time to dump our bags in the stunning Intercontinental Hotel whose back gate leads right into Lijiang's compact and charming Old City and head for a very local restaurant for typical Naxi food, beer and barely drinkable Great Wall wine.

food stalls in Lijiang's main square at night

There are 22 minority groups in Lijiang, with the Naxi making up 30% of the minority population. They are mountain people, farmers and herders, whose traditional crafts used to support them during lean times.  The emperors and warlords bought their embroidery, metalware and woodworking.  But, the Cultural Revolution destroyed that because it was "capitalist", so the mountain tribes were plunged back into poverty.

stone courtyard in traditional Naxi house

During Xiang Jemin's presidency of China, he began to rebuild the crafts, helping the Naxi and other minority groups open schools for teaching their traditional crafts.  Today, the teachers also go to the more remote villages to teach the crafts to women so they can supplement their families' farming incomes.  The work is creative and beautiful.
We spent most of the day on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the 18,500 foot peak that looms over Lijiang.  Given the rain, often heavy, we could only see the lower reaches of the mountain, so we're hoping that tomorrow will bring a glimpse of this stunning peak.  Don and I have been here 3 times before, so have beautiful photos of the mountain on sunny days (which I'll add to this blog once I get home).  Nonetheless, we walked on boardwalks through the woods and around a pretty meadow with yaks grazing and 3 dejected horses, including one very young colt, turning their backs to the chilling rain.

dejected horses in the rain

Then to the Naxi village for lunch at another very local restaurant with windows open and no heat. But a couple of cups of hot tea and some delicious Naxi food warmed us anyway.

pictograph of pregnant woman

The village is a center for teaching crafts, and therefore for tourists, so has many shops and restored homes, cobbled streets and some level of prosperity.
The Naxi writing is pictographs, some that clearly tell you what they mean.  Most young people haven't learned the written language, though they speak the language as a matter of course, so some of the elders are teaching pictographs to them. 

Mufu Mansion buildings

As with so many cultures that have been suppressed, Naxi culture is enjoying a comeback.
Lijiang itself has a wonderful Old City, built about 700 years ago of wood, close-packed traditional homes and shops.  The cobbled alleyways are closed to vehicles, fortunately, since tourists clog the streets when the weather is reasonable.  The Mufu Mansion is one of the tourist highlights, but just wandering through the narrow streets is the best thing to do in Lijiang.