This is the last of this series of posts about our trip to China. The others are, in order: Kunming #1 The railroad to Lijiang Lijiang Shuhe Baisha Dali Jinghong, Xishuangbanna The long march #1, Kunming #2 So, I last left you as we arrived in the Kunming apartment. It was clean, comfortable and had … Continue reading The long march #2, Beijing and home
Category: China
The long march #1, Kunming #2
We had a plan: we were to fly from Xishuangbanna to Kunming using Lucky Air*. We'd have a couple of relaxing days in Kunming and then fly home. Anyway... We got to Xishuangbanna airport in plenty of time. We boarded, took off and headed north for what should have been a forty minute flight. We … Continue reading The long march #1, Kunming #2
Jinghong, Xishuangbanna
We got through Dali's smart new airport and flew with Lucky Air to Xishuangbanna's smart new airport. Did I mention the proliferation of smart, new infrastructure? For once the airport wasn't miles out of town and the taxi-driver's universal estimate of "20 minutes" was not a comical underestimate. Which was a good job because it … Continue reading Jinghong, Xishuangbanna
Dali
From Shuhe we caught a 'baker's van' taxi to Lijiang's massive new railway station and retraced our route two hours South to Dali. Dusk was drawing in as we approached, skirting Erhai, the 25 mile long lake just outside the town. Dali is two cities: the ancient town where we stayed and a modern metropolis … Continue reading Dali
Baisha
We had a day trip to Baisha from Shuhe. It's only a short taxi drive away but you do feel as if you're beginning to move away from the theme park-iness of Lijiang and Shuhe old towns (they are not theme parks, but they are pretty full on tourist traps). Which is not to say … Continue reading Baisha
Shuhe
After Lijiang we travelled to a new ancient town. Shuhe is only a couple of miles away and is part of the same UNESCO world heritage site. Traditionally it is associated with the Bai and Naxi people, though the large influx of Han Chinese into Yunnan is reflected here as well. One thing we like … Continue reading Shuhe
Lijiang
This is a picture of me - just to prove I was actually there. There, in this case, being the old town of Lijiang. In the background is the 18,000'+ Jade Dragon Snow Mountain which dominates many of the local views. We stopped in the old town. It's been here for 800 years but was … Continue reading Lijiang
The railroad to Lijiang
We had booked a 'soft sleeper' compartment for the eight hour train journey north-west to Lijiang. This gave the five of us some privacy and space. The following pictures are from the first few hours of the trip. The last two hours (between Dali and Lijiang) were in the dusk and then the dark. That's … Continue reading The railroad to Lijiang
Kunming #1
We've been away to Yunnan Province in Southern China. It's not the sort of thing I usually do. We have had a wonderful time. I've read and heard a lot about China, and we have family out there, but it was still a revelation to be there. It's strange but, on the face of it, … Continue reading Kunming #1
Lance Woodman 