Lijiang Memories

We have just returned from a five day whirlwind trip of Yunnan province. One beautiful spot we visited is Lijiang, right next door to Shangri-La. We were blessed with wonderful weather. The skies were blue with white puffy clouds, which we all appreciated after weeks of gray in Beibei.

Jim and the students went up 15,000 feet to the top of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and enjoyed a gorgeous clear view of the surrounding Qianhu Mountains. Some of the students took the opportunity to have a quick snowball fight.

Because I was having some respiratory problems, I stayed behind and explored the lower altitude of old town Lijiang. Crisscrossed by canals, bridges, and a maze of narrow streets, old town has shop after shop selling special teas, silver, woven cloth, leather, and other local crafts.
Jim later bought me a beautiful silver bracelet, hand-hammered into a dragon and phoenix design. (I have chosen as my Chinese name Long An - meaning peaceful dragon - so this bracelet has special significance to me.)

I also enjoyed seeing more non-Western native dress here than anywhere else in China to date. China has over 50 ethnic minorities. The majority of them live in Yunnan Province. The Naxi minority women wear the blue and black outfits seen here; the seven circles on the back of their blouses represent the stars. The Naxi descend from Tibetan people, but have lived in Lijiang for 1400 years so I think they're here to stay!

They are a matrilineal society. I enjoyed learning about the matriarchal influences in their language. Nouns enlarge their meaning when the word for female is added, and the reverse is true when male is added. So, for example, 'stone' plus female means boulder. 'Stone' plus male means 'pebble'! (Connie)