Visit to the middle kingdom

I have to admit that even though I am Chinese, I was in no great hurry to see the country of my ancestors. I used to 'pooh pooh' the idea of China and thought it had nothing much to offer.

My first experience in China was Shanghai. I was very disappointed as it looked a lot like Singapore with the high rise buildings and condos. The traffic was worse than Bangkok (if that was possible) with drivers honking like their lives depended on it. On top of that, the people were aggressive and loud. In my 5 days there, I saw 3 arguments (ie they just started yelling at each other). All in all, I didn't like it.

Lijiang

My brother-in-law has been extolling the beauty and serenity of Lijiang (situated in the Yunnan province). We decided to see what the fuss was about. When we arrived, I felt like I had walked onto a set for Chinese period drama with it's cobbled walk ways, old fashioned houses (they are built without a single nail) and clear stream with salmon swimming lazily.

We went in winter and it was cold (about 0 - 5 degrees). I was worried that Sean would not be able to withstand the cold but he loved it! I was the one who had one 5 layers oof pants and was still shivering.

The main attraction there is the ancient city. It is a huge place where houses there have been converted to hotels, shops and restaurants. You do have some locals living in the ancient city but not many. A clear water stream (can't call it a drain as it's too clean) runs through the entire city and locals use it to wash their clothes, vegetables etc. You can also find fish (mainly salmon) swimming in it.

If you are going there in the hopes of adreneline pumping adventure, forget it. I found it a place to relax. People don't rush, because there isn't anywhere to rush to. The locals are friendly and willing to chat. I find it hard to understand them because their Yunnan accent is very strong. That, coupled with my Secondary school Mandarin, makes it hard to hold long conversations.

Street in the ancient city. No cars allowed. Only horses!

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On a cold winter's night, nothing beats a hot pot. We have had donkey meat hot pot. I didn't eat it but was told the meat was like lamb. This particular hot pot just had a whole bowl of live fish (still wriggling and bits of gut hanging out) poured into the boiling soup. The whole hot pot trembled as the fish flopped around before being boiled. If like me you are not adventurous, there is always vegetables which are wonderfully fresh and crisp. The soup is fantastic! Rich, flavourful and warms you to your toes.

Food is not a problem as there are many shops selling noodles and western food. If you still feel the need for fast food, outside the ancient city is a KFC.

The other attraction is the Snow Mountain. It is 4,500 m above sea level which means you could get altitude sickness. Our guide carried a small cannister of oxygen. It came in handy when Sean felt sick after he was running and sliding around the snow.

Lijiang is a wonderful place to relax and just enjoy the surroundings. We spent our days explooring the ancient city, drinking copious cups of hot chocolate/coffee/tea and just 'chilling'. We've been back twice already and would like to go again for the third time.