Matt in China - 2012 - Lijiang

[Matt]

Silly me... I had some market photos on my alternate memory card -- just finally got to today

A normal scene, but what matters here is the "propaganda" along the walls. The old village is such an important heritage site, walls of public spaces are covered in information about fire prevention and preparedness.


A basket weaver makes these colorful basket backpacks. They aren't made from plastic in a factory... they are weaved, bought and sold in the alley right in the market.


I hate fish, so I didn't spend much time in the seafood section... here's someone filleting some eels.


Processing taking place right in the middle of the market... notice a bowl for air bladders (a delicacy in soups) and one for gills.


PORK RINDS!!!! ( a street vendor was selling them)


Dragon-fly larvae... the same ones that were served roasted on a stick in the street food market. The larvae are aquatic predators, thus they were right next to the fish.


Back out in the main section, I find some fresh sausage.


And the notorious "cured eggs"...


Look at the disgusting gelatinous inside.


Spiced pickled quail eggs


Getting some knitting done










I'm back on schedule and more Lijiang Old Town pics to come...

[ApproachingLight]

Nice pics Matt. The dragon-fly larvae are hard to stomach.

[Matt]

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[Matt]

Another full day in Lijiang broguht me the realization that I could spend weeks photographing here. Every twist and turn uncovered a mix of multiple cultures, their art, their lifestyles, languages, and their welcoming to this village. I could have snapped megapixels of everything I saw while I was there, everything that astounded me, but as the days went on, I learned to put the camera aside and just enjoy the unrecorded experience as it passed.
Either by planning, or by unfortunate circumstance, I found myself continuously emerged in interesting situations and by no means did I ever regret any turn, other than not staying longer.

The view from my hotel doorway. The grounds were landscaped to resemble the canals of the Lijiang old town.


I came to Lijiang to photograph the superb landscapes I saw in books and online.
One such landscape was the Black Dragon Pool as seen in this photo from a tourism site.
[spoiler][/spoiler]

Easy... it's within walking distance of my hotel and the park is maybe $15 to enter.. not bad. I can spend a morning there, obtaining a classic photo of my own instead of those stock ones that adorn postcards and calendars.

Unfortunately, the global climate had other ideas. The Black Dragon Pool, like many other bodies of water in the mountain, had gone dry. So there I was, at the park entrance, trying to decide if the admission price would be worth it sans the reflective lake, and what other options I had for photographing in the morning.

Flowers in the parking lot.


Hey look... signs of Rochester. (other than a stack of film, they had no other Kodak-branded merchandise)




Back to the streets of the Old Town... to shop, eat, and be entertained by the sights.


Hundreds of shops and restaurants, each with its own personality. are closely packed within the alleys. In traditional style, the entrances to an eatery is an art form.






This is a door leading to the town library, which encourages tourists take a look at all the tourism book and historic records.


Even down seemingly void alleys is at least one welcoming shop awaiting customers.

[Matt]

With tight alleys between historic structures that offer little floor-plan flexibility, vendors do a lot of manual labor right out in the alley.


Of particular interest to me, the Dongba language, written in an ancient pictographic script. Many have taken to colorizing the script as an art form.
A large stone wall was adorned with a story written in colorized Dongba. It was pointless to get a clear photo of it without a girl or two modeling in front of it. Several shops in the area specialized in Dongba calligraphy on scrolls.


Lijiang's rapid change from isolation from modern influence to "model tourism city of China" has mixed those used to the traditional lifestyle with those there for the commerce and nightlife. Nearly every street has a group of young men and women jamming loudly on these drums. When I asked the significance of this, i was told, "This is Lijiang. Where else can someone just go and use a drum all day?"




Watch your step. Nearly every alley has an adjacent canal. Not a railing to be found.


The street at the base of the Golden Hill is lined with bars and restaurants blasting music and personality.




People don't just come here to eat, drink and drum in the streets. Artists from all over China come just capture their impression of the architecture. The visiting artists I saw (pen illustrators mostly), seemed to have found a nice quiet alley or bridge, sat for the better part of they day and drew. Their work was astoundingly detailed.

[Matt]

With canals lining nearly every major alley, getting to some shops and restaurants means crossing these 100+ year-old bridges. No railings, and barely anyone looking as they cross. It's is a daily occurrence for people to fall in.






A big concern here is fire. These old building are irreplaceable. Fire buckets are stacked near the canal.




Plastic dolls adorn handmade traditional costumes from various Chinese ethnic minorities. If you ever wanted a Yi wedding gown for your barbie, this is the place.


Many shops sell fabric scarves which are usually woven right within the store.


Even the old-style Tibetan restaurants have free Wifi.


This amazing woodburning artist had a cornerstone shop with hundreds of beautiful Lijiang street scenes charred into lumber cross-sections. Who cares. Check out that stunning mullet!

[Matt]

More photos from walking around Lijiang. I wanted to see what was on top of the Golden Mountain... so we began working our way through the maze of alleys to get there.



This shop sells bootleg CDs... that is when the owners aren't jamming.


Hundreds of shops, thousands of shoppers.


Naxi horseman.




Making our way up the hill, alleys get smaller, still confusing. This place is packed with businesses.


Some modern buildings built atop ancient foundations.


A central alley near the top serves up spectacular views of the Old Town from above. It is lined with doorways that are just walls with doors. Behind them are steps that lead to to the restaurants below.


A stitched panoramic of the Old Town late in the day. I believe this is facing southeast. (click it to get a large version)


The view to the east (I think)


Near the top.. there are entrance-ways to a park. It's about $12 to get in.

[Matt]

Walking up, this puppy spots me. The streets of Lijiang are filled with wandering puppies.


I sit and watch a B-Ball game taking place in a full court near the park at the top of the hill. Did I mention how much the Chinese people love basketball?



He's not attacking, just yawning. I made a friend for the evening. He followed me to the top park.

I had to pee... this is what a (clean) traditional public men's room (with plumbing) looks like in China. Urinal trough on the left. Squat trough on the right. No paper.


...and he's there waiting for me. Jing's a bit jealous. The dog doesn't care much for her.




Losing light... have a ways to go.


Alleys are getting smaller and tighter.


Some construction in the park...


I ditch Jing, who's too tired to make it the rest of the way. I run up steps to make it to the gateway that leads to the tower up top. I couple warms me to slow down--there are plenty more steps to go.


I made it to the tower, which is stunningly decorated inside and out. It's not a temple, as I would expect, but a recently built monument to harmony in the region.
Wan Gu Tower is a 5-story structure built in the traditional Dougong style. The top story has 13 angles, each representing the 13 peaks of the Jade Dragon Mountain Range (which overlooks Lijiang - and I will climb tomorrow)
Inside, the walls are carved and painted intricately with 23,000 carvings (representing the 23 ethnic groups that live together in Lijiang). The art style is done in the dominant Naxi style.
Here's a view of the Tower at sunset.