Back on the China road

After a long hiatus from the blog (busy with many other travels, which you will see, packing to head home, and then China closed access to the blog for awhile surrounding the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square) I am back, and I will continue where I left off in the middle of our trip to Lijiang with my parents and France and Christophe.We made a nice leg stretcher stop at the first bend of the Yangtze River which begins in Tibet and runs all the way to the ocean by Shanghai. A stunning view.
We were greeted at our hotel in Lijiang by lovely traditional music. The hotel was in the middle of old Lijiang, which required navigating cobbled, windy streets - down hill to get in, which means UP hill to get out. This is a Unesco protected town now. Very picturesque. The picture below shows how we managed to get Storey in and out of town as the wheel chair was impossible to push.
We made quite a little parade as we entered and exited! Some streets were so narrow that Storey's cart was just able to pass.


Of course nothing can stop a young girl from riding a horse, even if it is led the whole way! Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is in the background, and our planned adventure this day was to ride horses to the huge lake that is in the background, then take a traditional canoe out for a spin and come right back in. That was not very appealing to any of us. The poor horses could barely hold the adults, so most of us walked while the girls rode, bored to tears that they couldn't control the horses themselves. When we reached the water's edge, the boat they wanted us to get into was so wet, dirty and small. There was no way Storey could have gotten in without tipping the whole contraption, the wind was roaring creating little white caps, and nothing seemed less appealing than to row out and back. We have all had this experience before, for goodness sake!
The next tourist target was an old monastery in the countryside. One of the largest in the region. It was great fun seeing it and seeing the young monks walk around. As you can see, endless color and endless courtyards. China is filled with a zillion courtyards.

Some of the younger monks playing hackey sack. It is very special for a family to have a son who goes to a monastery.
Storey finding her inner peace.
This gang waited in one of the sunlit courtyards while the rest of us toured through the monastery and got more of the history.

Another lovely town to check out. We love these stops in more locals towns where the tourists hadn't quite gotten to yet.

Setting up shop out front.
Clothes washing done at the town water source.
We were invited into another typical home by a woman on the street. She just grabbed us and had us follow her to her home. This is the kitchen.
My dad looking very busy cooking over the fire!
Grass drying in the courtyard for the animals.
More of the kitchen and their meager supplies.
A bedroom that we snuck a peak into, overflowing with clothes hastily tossed in.
The matron of the house who wouldn't let us leave without stuffing our pockets with peanuts. She was literally throwing them into my purse and the girls bags, making us take something with us. The never ending hospitality of the Chinese continues to amaze us.
This is a covering that the women of this area wear to protect their backs when they are hauling things on their backs. We saw it often, huge loads on these women's backs. Very attractive without the goods, also. Dad and Susie in a familiar pose.
A courtyard where a movie was being filmed. Sandbags piled up on the right and extras milling about in their period costumes.
Dad and Susie exploring the town. The mountains are visible in the background. This was really a stunning village. I don't think the photos have properly captured the historic essence or beauty. Oh well!