"The Old Town and the New Town" Lijiang by John195123

Lijiang Travel Guide: 567 reviews and 1,869 photos

Lighting the Morning Coal Fire - Lijiang
Lighting the Morning Coal Fire
Old Town

The Old Town, the reason one goes to Lijiang, is quite the picturesque place, if you overlook the rather disgusting nature of all the souvenir shops. I say disgusting because the reality of the "local" goods is that many of them are not, in fact, locally made. You find the same "Naxi" crafts for sale under the name of "Yao" goods and "local Muslim Xi'An" goods. Now, there's more to the place than tourist shops, but they and restaurants dominate the Old Town. This is truly the westernized tourist trap, though the jammed streets are mostly packed with Chinese tour groups moving as herds behind their flag. Many western tours slog through the area as well, and hotels in the area provide great information. English menus, English-speaking hotel staff and clean streets are part of the draw for western tourists.

It's beautiful, it really is. But it's a tourist trap. From the labyrinthine souvenir streets to the water wheels built just for you, Lijiang is, in many ways, what most people think of when they think of Chinese villages. It's not the concrete reality of the new part of the city. It's calm, relaxed and peaceful, aside from the crowds. If you want to see the Old Town, you'll need to walk as no cars are allowed in the Old Town. The streets are old, worn stone, slippery and packed, and, unless you get up early and hit the streets around sunrise, most tour groups get out around 8:30 am and then it can get bad. Take the side streets that parallel the main walkways to avoid much of the congestion.

The people are friendly, and Lijiang is also the starting point for trips to Tiger Leaping Gorge and other villages, such as Baisha and Shuhe. If there are no Shuhe or Baisha pages, I'll write about them here on the Lijiang page.

There are maps around town to guide you.

New Town
China Construction Bank, from the Old Town - Lijiang

China Construction Bank, from the Old Town

Separating the Old and New towns is Shizi Shan (Lion Hill) on which you find the Looking at the Past Pavillion, also known as Wangu Tower, I believe. The New Town, primarily a concrete Han-style mess, is west of said hill, the Old Town is East. But the New Town has also grown around...

There's not much to say about the New Town... it's like any other Chinese city, with lots of small restaurants and plenty of China Mobiles. Like any minority area of China, the small area of minority is hemmed in on all sides by the tides of Chinese that swarm and build, like Mont St. Michel in France, except there's no chance the tide will go out. Once again, it's a sad reality of China. People go to where the money is, and tourism is one of the big providers, regardless of the damages to the land or cultures.

Lijiang's Old Town - Lijiang

Lijiang's Old Town

For many more images of Lijiang's Old Town, see the Travelogues.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Last remnant of Old China
  • Cons:Tourists pack the place.
  • In a nutshell:If you really need to see old China, this is about it.
  • Last visit to Lijiang: Apr 2008
  • Intro Updated May 7, 2008
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Reviews (85)

Coffee Shop Lijiang - Lijiang Coffee Shop/Pizza Restaurants (20)

Well-made, though sparse on toppings, this place has some good pizzas, served hot and not really greasy. If you are... more travel advice

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Again, just walk the city- beware of pick pockets and all, but it's nice out in the evening. Two images. more travel advice

Artwork - Lijiang Artwork Shopping (6)

Buy some interesting artwork in Lijiang. It may not be painted by local artists... something many people don't know is... more travel advice

City Slide - Lijiang Slide... Off The Beaten Path (11)

It's not much, but it keeps the local kids happy. more travel advice

Comments (4)

  • Reply
    angiebabe's Profile Photo
    Jun 29, 2010 at 1:14 AM

    Seeing yr pics here Im thinking Im so overdue a return trip to china!studied mandarin 8yrs and went in 1998 n 1999 then came to europe for a look around but Im still here!My beaut china pics been silently waiting ever since!

  • Reply
    snuggie's Profile Photo
    Sep 22, 2008 at 2:20 AM

    great descriptions on lijiang.Thanks for the info :)

  • Reply
    sachara's Profile Photo
    Jun 24, 2008 at 8:41 AM

    I visited Lijiang two years ago, but didnt find the time yet to build a page. I like your descriptions. Thanks for visiting my Gonder page.

  • Reply
    monina_c's Profile Photo
    May 8, 2008 at 10:25 PM

    i feel like I've gone to Lijiang too! Thanks for sharing these photos with us John. Ok I'll remember, pee only, no poo!

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