Lijiang City sits where the Yunnan-Guizhou and Qinghai-Tibet Plateaus converge in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. The Old Town of Lijiang, a listed world cultural heritage site, has 900 years of history preserved along its narrow streets.

To me, though this was not my first visit, Lijiang and its environs are shrouded in mystery. More than just an ancient city with winding alleyways and old houses, its unique customs and legends fill outsiders with fascination. The locals still enjoy the old ways of living and thinking. To the north, high hills rise up above the fields towards Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the holy incarnation of the local Naxi people’s patron god.

Returning to Lijiang, I found that still holds the same ease and grace, and time here seems frozen.

The Old Town of Lijiang

My girlfriend and I took the night train from provincial capital Kunming and arrived in Lijiang the next morning. We were pleased to see dozens of buses waiting to depart for the Old Town after our long journey. Once onboard, we forked over the RMB 10 for the ride and were soon winding our way to our destination.

In Lijiang’s downtown area, no wall separates the Old Town, also known as Dayan Guzhen, from the more recently built city. Meandering rivers intertwine with streets of smooth gray flagstones and their hand-built timber-framed houses in stark contrast with the surrounding modern metropolitan life.

Hostels can be seen everywhere; there must be hundreds scattered throughout the Old Town. Even in July, the peak tourist season, you can find a good room without a reservation. Locals have converted their homes into hostels, and though on the outside they look like they have been pulled out of history, inside they have modern facilities, including clean bathrooms, central heating, and even computers and the Internet.