Baisha

We are on our way to Lijiang, a UNESCO preserved village, but have some wonderful sights and stops along the way. This is a roadside market - note the "fresh" chickens in hand - that I shot out the window.We were not sure what these rolled greens are. A beautiful arrangement, though.
Baisha, a wonderful village we stopped by that retains much of its original charm, without the added tourist factor.
The old cobblestone streets made havoc with the wheels of Storey's transportation. We had a little pit-stop for pumping the tire, and some picture taking.
The town was like this woman: beautiful, old and original.
Our guide, David, had arranged for us to go into a local home. Through the arch, over the ghost door and
down a narrow passageway showing the mud brick of the homes in this village and in the area.
When we arrived to the courtyard of the home - where now several families live - we saw this funny cage. It turns out that this home is part of a film being shot in the village and through China. We met the American editor later who was working on the film in an open doorway of a wonderful old hotel. We also ran into the film crew, which you will see in a bit.
The door into the kitchen area had a big chain and lock on it. The woman unlocked it for us to go in and see this kitchen courtyard.
The open space of the kitchen held this still used well.
This is the view from the upper story of the house. Stunning.
Looking from the second floor down to the kitchen area. The stairs up were extremely steep and narrow. All steps in China are far too narrow for my big American foot! I usually have to go down sideways. Grandma Susie and Storey waited below - wisely.
We bought books about the house and the generations of this man's family who had lived here. He took the books from us and signed them - wrote long paragraphs of we are not sure what!
The sweet woman with keys to the kingdom! They just wanted to talk and talk and talk. They were wonderful and genuine. We felt so privileged to have visited them.
After we left to explore more of the village, we came upon the old market place. Still stunning. They were filming right around the corner and some of the extras were awaiting their turn.
Filming - hurry up and wait!
Locals hanging around and chatting. They are so colorful.
This room was filled with men smoking and chatting. I grabbed a quick photo before they turned away.
Making our way down the back alleys of town - Grandma Susie in the lead, Christophe and Dad and Paige.
Buildings were a bit run down but gorgeous. Hopefully they will keep them up for future generations. The town is certainly getting more attention with film crews discovering it.
Corn drying.
We walked around the outside of the village and found the gardens next to the mud walls of town. A river was just behind us.
Havesting, drying basket and a beautiful building.
Our driver buying fish for dinner tonight! He threw it in the back with all our luggage!
This was one of our favorite stops as it really hasn't been touristed yet. The stores were all local and people took us by the hand to find things. Perfect day.