For our five nights in Lijiang County, we stayed at a delightful guesthouse in Shuhe Old Town, four kilometers from Lijiang Old Town. Like Shangri-la in the north, Shuhe was a stop on the Tea Horse Road over which Tibetan horses and Chinese tea were traded for centuries. Today that heritage is still in evidence, with […]
UNESCO
Baisha Village and China’s Famous Medicine Man
The Yunnanese ethnic diversity and character that old town Lijiang lacked, we found a few kilometers away in ancient Baisha village. Still a part of the Lijiang UNESCO World Heritage Site, Baisha is far enough removed that only a few tourists on bikes wander down its sleepy, dusty lanes. The Naxi first settled in Baisha […]
Lijiang, China: Is Beauty Only Skin Deep?
We recently spent two days exploring the ancient city of Lijiang, China, a UNESCO World Heritage Site highly praised for its beauty and well-preserved architecture. Of the three cities we visited in Yunnan, we were expecting Lijiang to be our favorite. The whitewashed walls, sloping slate roofs and tinkling canals were certainly lovely, but once […]
A Hike Through China’s Tiger Leaping Gorge
I have seen few landscapes in China as breathtaking as Tiger Leaping Gorge. Formed over millennia by the eroding power of gushing water, the canyon stretches 15 kilometers through China’s southwestern Yunnan Province. The name comes from a legendary tiger that is said to have jumped across the gorge long ago. On the day of […]
Palaces of Seoul: Gyeongbokgung and Changdeokgung
Before the Japanese annexed Korea in the early 20th century, the Joseon dynasty ruled the country for some 500 years after King Taejo ascended the throne in 1392. The new king established his capital in Seoul – moving it south from Kaesong, a city located in modern-day North Korea – and established a grand palace […]