Lijiang

The overnight bus to Lijiang was a sleeper - with bunk beds, pillows and duvet included. It felt weird and unsettling thoughts about nasty spinal injures had to be chased away.

I arrived in Lijiang bleary eyed, realising a cold was brewing.

Lijiang, is in effect, a cultural theme park. During a time past, the old town was inhabited by the local Naxi people. Following an earthquake, much was destroyed. The government decided to restore the old buildings and recoup through tourism. Many Naxi sold up and moved on, their homes turned into souvenir shops. Although the winding alleys and canals hold some charm, they are crowded with largely domestic tourists and the stalls number 5 variants, repeated ad nauseum. For a few yuan, you can get your photo taken with a 'real' Naxi, sporting furs and
sitting on a horse.

It becomes even more farcical when you step outside the perimeters into Lijiang proper and are confronted with a buzzing town, teens sporting Duran Duran haircuts and crazy dye jobs. Old town Lijiang soon becomes very distasteful. Overstimulating and tacky. Maybe it was my cold talking, but I wanted out.