Nasty weather had brought most of central China to a standstill. Worried that we would get stuck in the travel chaos we queued for an advance train ticket out of Yunnan. In the 6 days we had before the train left we nipped round the 'must see' sights further north.

 

A day in Dali was enough to wander through the immaculate cobbled streets of the old town. Snowy mountains emerged above the low roofed buildings and tourists filled their cameras with pictures of clean water flowing down channels and over stone steps in the centre of pretty streets. A surprising number of the cobbled lanes were filled with the muffled beats of western music coming from hip looking bars. But we didn't stay to test the sofas, instead we sat on a bumpy bus north to Lijiang.

 

The guide book advised getting up early to see Lijiang's old town before the tourist shops opened and the crowds arrived. As promised the famous stone bridges and goldfish filled streams looked liked paintings in the dawn light. And as promised the narrow streets filled with Chinese and western tourists later in the day. But the magical feel of the sloping alleyways and old wooden buildings didn't disappear. We may have been lucky, it may well be a lot busier in Lijiang in summer months. But I reckon you could cover this place with tourists and it would still stick in your mind as one of the most beautiful old towns on the planet.

 

JL