Pete & Noel: Yunnan, China - Lijiang & ShuHe

Wow time flies. It’s been 6 months since we arrived in China and it is now time to return to Australia. But before we do, there’s some traveling to do. For two and half weeks we will be travelling southern China in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces.

With suggestions from work friends, friends of friends and lonely planet, we’ve decided to see Lijiang, SuHe, Tiger Leaping Gorge and Shangri-la in Yunnan province.

Our first few days in Lijiiang and SuHe have been very relaxing and just what we expected. Arriving by air, we took out first for a smaller village called SuHe, that for some reason has escaped most English tour book. It might be that hardly anyone speaks English, or that most think Lijiang is the main attraction.

Regardless, I’m very happy that we decided to stay in SuHe. The village is small, surrounded by mountains and has all these canals and waterways running through the town. Everyone is super friendly and you can tell not many westerns go here. The morning I’m wrote this blog, we must have had 5 or 6 mainland tourists take our picture.

Our hotel, actually just a small guest house (田园牧歌 – no English name), has better service and attention to customers that any 5 star hotel I’ve been. Need to book a car, it’s done and at half the price listed in guides, want dinner or lunch – they’ll cook it (for USD$3 per person), need tea – without asking they make a pot and bring it to you. Rooms here were only $24 per night. We meet some very nice Chinese tourists who were patient enough to listen to our beginner Chinese and who also showed us a bit around town. The only down side is you need to know a bit of Chinese and the rooms are small, but it’s the best deal ever.

Our first day was spent looking around town, group dinner at the guesthouse and at night we joined a town dancing event where some 100+ people danced around a small fire to traditional Yunnan music (think Chinese line dancing). Later we went out with our new found friends for inexpensive beer and popular Chinese games like ‘007 and a dice game. We struggled some with the language but I think the message and friendliness definitely got across. That first day, we only saw 1 or 2 other westerns.

Our second day we hired a car ($15 for 5 hours) and hiked up in Jade Dragon Snow Mountain – Yak Meadow. At 12,500’ even light hiking was a bit of effort so it wasn’t a surprise to see oxygen tanks being sold at the travel store. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. Later we took out for a touristy sight called blue moon valley where Noel rode a Yak!

After hiking, we went to the Lijiang old town and strolled through the laneways, canals and shops. The area was a bit packed with Chinese tour groups, kitschy stalls and overpriced food. Still, a very unique place to visit and one I would recommend.

Our third day we hired bikes and set out for Bai Sha a town not far from Lijiang and SuHe. Much smaller than either, it was a typical small village with a very ‘local’ feeling. A good lunch, some light sightseeing and we headed back.