(English version from the text posted in Jun/2014)
While in Dalí dominates the grey stone, in Lijiang the brown of the wood stands out. Larger and more touristy, with a large number of bars and restaurants, an endless number of souvenir shops. The narrow streets, arranged in an intricate mesh, fill up throughout the day, making a walking through the old part of the city in a test of patience.
With the small streams running gently through the narrow canals that run along the main streets, the shade of the trees whose green scatters with the fuchsia of bougainvillea, the squares where groups of women gather to dance to the sound of folk music and with the intricate wood carving which decorates the buildings, the ancient city of Lijiang is the place of choice for Chinese tourism which found here the ideal setting for photos with elaborate poses, sometimes wearing the colourful traditional costumes of the various ethnic minorities that can be rented in the shops.
Like Dali, Lijiang’s sinfulness and lack of spontaneity are not expected in an ancient city, where the buildings appear to be new, with some still under construction, where the pavement of the streets is impeccably arranged, where the temples are painted new, where everything was thought to be safe, functional and pleasing to the eye… one might say, with a bit of irony: a modern old town!!!
Population: 1200.000 (Old town e New town)
Elevation: 2400 m
