Lijiang and Lugu Hu

We spent an easy day exploring the village of Baisha near Lijiang, at the base of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, a tiny charming place that is much less overrun with tourists than Lijiang's Old Town. We met this Taoist doctor who has been featured in many articles and books, making him one of the most famous doctors in China. An old, eccentric man who studied Chinese medicine and treats patients with herbs found at the foot of the mountains, he didn't really say much except show us articles about himself and proclaim himself to be famous. It was an interesting experience.

Alice and Fred had to leave that afternoon, so we headed back to Lijiang. After they left for the airport, Xiaoyu and I spent a bit of time walking through parts of the Old Town we had yet to explore en route to the Black Dragon Pool Park. The Old Town, which is lined with cobblestone streets and traditional Naxi-style (one of China's many minority groups) buildings, consists of hundreds of little charming alleys. Although beautiful, it is completely geared for tourists, with hundreds of Naxi-style, hundreds more tourist shops selling beautiful wood carvings, shawls and handicraft, as well as restaurants selling Naxi food (very similar to Chinese - I can't really tell the difference). The most pervasive Naxi food is the "baba," which, depending on where you go, varies between fried dough and something closer to scallion pancake. We tried it at several places and decided it was too greasy.

The Black Dragon Pool Park is a typical Chinese park with a most-likely man-made pond in the middle surrounded by trees and rocks. However, it's claim to fame is it's location. In front of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains, on a clear day, you can see the mountains and the reflection in the water. However, despite many attempts to catch a glimpse of the elusive, snow-capped peaks, we were not lucky enough to see it. Although clear and sunny in Lijiang, the clouds congregated at the tops of the mountains surrounding Lijiang, obscuring the mountaintops.

The next day, Xiaoyu and I left for Lugu Hu. The lake is home of the last matriarchal society in the world supposedly. The Mosuo women practice something called a "walking marriage". Each night, they pick a lover for the night, and in the morning, the men goes home to their mothers house. They named the area Women's Kingdom to make it sound catchy and attract tourists. According to the Lonely Planet, the strategy worked and they are the richest minority group in China.

We arrived at the lake after a brutal 8+ hour bus ride through bumpy, mostly unpaved mountain roads. We passed through beautiful scenery of mountains and valleys. I was beginning to get grumpy until we caught our first glimpse of the lake when we descended the last mountain. The sun was out and the lake literally sparkled. It was breath-takingly beautiful there. When we finally got off the bus, we picked a guesthouse right along the lake in Luoshui, one of the villages along the lake, and then went exploring.

Maybe it's because I've lived in Beijing for too long and don't remember what blue sky should look like, but the sky was absolutely incredible - a brillant, rich blue color dotted by huge patches of cotton candy-like clouds that varies between pure white and stormy gray in the blink of an eye. I was mesmerized.

We had dinner with some people who came on the same bus as us before calling it a night.

The next day, we walked part way to Lige, another town around the lake before two of the guys from our bus found us. We hopped in their car, drove to Lige with them, where we had the opportunity to go inside a local family's home for tea since one of the guys, Lulu, is half Mosuo (on his mother's side, his dad is another minority). After that, we went to a Tibetan Monastery where Lulu's grandfather, a "living Buddha" of the Tibetan religion, resides whenever he is back at Lugu Lake. It was a truly unique experience. Since he resides in Lijiang, we hope to meet him before we leave Yunnan.

After lunch, we rowed out to the middle of the lake. We were joined by Lulu's childhood friend and a hard-core Taiwanese outdoorsman who brought his own kayak, mountain bike and ATV with hime. We grabbed a cup of coffee at a guesthouse before jumping into the water for a swim. Apparently it's not allowed according to all the signs posted around the lake, but the locals do it so we jumped in with them.

We grabbed dinner at a fish restaurant by yet another village. After we got back to Lige, we explored the village by foot, walking along the banks of the lake. And then we went to the performance and sort of learned some Mosuo dances. It was fun.

We left for Lijiang early the next day. The ride was truly bone-jarring, and I thought wistfully of seatbelts. The driver did not slept the night before (he told us this as we got into the bus) and then proceeded to speed up and down the mountains. I flew out of my seat many times. It was absolutely crazy. I was relieved when we finally got back to Lijiang.

Today, we are heading up to Shangrila, formerly known as Zhongdian (not as catchy as Shangrila - they renamed it to attract tourists a few years ago). Unfortunately we do not have enough time to head up to Meili Snow Mountains, which is supposed to put the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains to shame (well, we still haven't seen any snow!), near Deqin due to time restraints, but I'm still looking forward to seeing some Tibetan villages.