Jingyixuan Hostel Lijiang

... of the lack of basic facilities in these homes.

Lijiang suffered an earthquake in 1996 and it was found that the traditional buildings withstood the earthquake better than the modern buildings. Money from the World Bank assisted with rebuilding and restoration and helped Lijiang gain World Heritage status.Alongside some impressive stonework and masonry, we see some original mud brick walls in buildings being restored, Shades of Grand Designs! No ...

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... head back but did a short exploration of the bamboo forest trail which leads from near Tina's to Sean's at Walnut Garden. The bamboo forest is lovely, with young trees and rushing waters and birds to view. I went to the wood bridge, which is about 45 min from the main trail. Talking to a couple who has done the trail with their 13 year old son that day before, it was a bit hairy at some sections for which reason they recommend to not to do ...

Got to the leaping tiger gorge via a short bus trip from shangri-la and stayed at Jane's guest house. The gorge is a gorge high in the mountains where there is a stone that is said to of had a tiger leap the entire width of the gorge to get away from its pursuer. it is quite a tourist attraction so the path is well trodden. but it was a very beautiful place ...

... 1514;ה כביש לטרקט 93;רים.
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489;רתי גשר עץ מט לפול מעל נהר גועש והגעת 97; למיני יער במבוק, שליוו 92 ...

... things. Lots of shops repeated stock, but they sold everything from Pashmere scarves, Yak combs, chopsticks, calligraphy and a strange whistle-type instrument. Good prices, but not super cheap. The dominant culture in the city is not Han Chinese, but a minority culture, the Naxi. I bought Rosa some very cute Naxi dolls, although I don't know how they will survive two weeks of being thrown around the bus. There are a couple of million ...

Alright... we made it! at 4:30pm on the 9th of May, Daniel and Eileen entered the Chinese embassy in Hanoi with their fingers crossed. All expectations were halted, as anything could have happened. They could have interviewed us right there and then, or even just handed our passports back and told us that we were denied.... But fortunate for us, nothing was said.... Our passports were there waiting for us, and now weighing the more of 2 Chinese visa's. We ...

What a day. Having delayed our trip to Tiger Leaping Gorge, we decided to take the field trip to Baisha, a small village outside of Lijiang and home to the most admired man. Dr. Ho was imortalized in a book about the botanist Josef Rock by Bruce Chatwin. He's like, the glamorizer of Chinese medicine and perfect humble village doctor all in one. Maybe not humble - he definitely likes all the stories published about him and movies made about ...

... in north-west Yunnan is the way the seasons change during the year. Two things seem to be going on. First, the seasons seem more pronounced. This is particularly the case around Zhongdian or Shangri-la, where from week to week there are noticeable changes in what is happening on the plains at 3300m above sea level. The second thing there seems to be a greater connection with the seasons and the passing of the year. What's more, there are a number of rituals around certain ...

... is extremely steep. After about 45 minutes you are just above the water. Here again to get on the rocks nearest the water another person wants you to pay a fee to get access to the rocks. The water really roars through this area since it is fairly narrow. To return to the low road by Tina's you can either go back up the trail you came down or there is a second trail out that has a ladder on the cliff face that you climb. To use this route you of course ...