To China... and Beyond!
Lijiang (丽江), Yunnan Province
Lijiang is a quintessential example of my least-favorite trend in Chinese tourism: a genuinely old town or monument that has been glossed over to make it "suitable" for tourists. This tends to bring with it rows of shops selling identical, machine-made replicas of traditional handicrafts, overpriced noodle stands, and incredible crowds. Lijiang has all this and more, especially if you make the mistake of visiting during one of China's "Golden Weeks," when the entire country is on the move. It's much lovelier at 7 a.m., when the local market is bustling but tourist restaurants and shops are just beginning to open their doors. I wouldn't make Lijiang a major stop on your itinerary, but if you are passing through (say, to the fabulous Wenhai Ecolodge), it's a good place to do your souvenir shopping. There are beautiful scarves hidden in with the schlock. Tiger Leaping Gorge trekkers will also probably pass through Lijiang.
Getting There
Lijiang is accessible by air and bus. Long-distance buses from Kunming take between eight and twelve hours. You can choose between day buses and sleeper buses. Our overnight bus (approximately 170 RMB) left Kunming around 10 p.m. and arrived in Lijiang before 7 a.m. We bought our tickets to Lijiang through the Cloudland Hostel in Kunming, and bought our tickets back to Kunming at the Lijiang bus station when we arrived there. To our surprise, the bus did have real bunks, and given the circumstances, we slept reasonably comfortably.
Warning: We had one bad experience on the bus to Lijiang. After we boarded the bus, a manager came on and came straight over to the two foreigners, waving his badge. At first, he wanted us to get off the bus — specifically, for us to pay him more money and take a bus the next day. When we refused, he asked about the weight of our luggage and claimed that it was too heavy, and that we would have to pay a fine. The situation devolved into him yelling, "Give me Chinese money!" as we just as stubbornly refused. Finally, the sight of our student IDs seemed to shut him up. We held onto our bunks and our luggage, so no harm was done. But watch out for crooked bus company "managers"!