Lijiang's Old Town was a well-preserved old city that can be traced to the Warring
States Period (476-221 BC). During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Lijiang's
economy peaked with the development of the Ancient Tea Horse Road. During
that time, the town was an important trade centre between Sichuan, Yunnan, and
Tibet due to its location at the junction of the Southern Silk Road and the Ancient
Tea Horse Road.
Old Lijiang was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the most visited
old town in China and, understandably, crowded. I understood the city received
eight million visitors a year. The ensuing two days were spent exploring the
ancient town and its maze of cobbled streets and canals. Becoming lost and
finding my way back to the popular budget Ma-Ma's Naxi Guest House was part
of the fun.
Ma-Ma's was a great place to hang out. Besides the cosy courtyard, Ma-Ma
looked after each guest and fed us fruit and copious amounts of tea (all free of
charge).
I decided to play backpacker/tourist and take the bus north to the highland town
of Shangri-La (formerly Zhongdian) and, on the way, hike the Tiger Leaping
Gorge. After that, the plan was to return to Lijiang as no roads ran from Shangri-
La to Lugu Lake, our next destination.