Luscious Lijiang

Arrived in the dark. However, it was clear from the pristine planting of shrubs and trees alongside the road beautifully highlighted by ornate lights that adorned the route to the hotel, the Intercontinental, that Lijiang was picturesque. We woke to a stunning view of the snow topped Snow Dragon Mountain and the rooftops of the old ancient city.

The next morning, we set off to the mountain with our wonderful guide, Ali, taking a cable car to the alpine meadow that sat at the foot of the mountain. Despite there being quite a number of local tourists, there was a freedom of space as we walked through the woods to reach the meadow and the great views. What was interesting was the incredible number of 'wedding couples' having pictures taken. Pre marriage, Chinese couples will have a day where photographs are taken of them in wedding garb, usually at picturesque locations. We must have seen at least 50 couples today, all in their finest, posing for the camera. Must admit, it all looked like something out of a bizarre movie, couple upon couple gazing romantically into a camera lens, pretty much side-by-side.

Even saw today a group of older gentlemen all dressed in their Red Army fatigues, proudly wearing their medals; all on a reunion apparently. We finally visited Yuhu village and Baisha town, both with great examples of Naxi architecture. In Baisha, we visited an embroidery institute, where ladies can spend up to one year creating handmade embroidery works of art.

Back to our fantastic hotel and lovely room - we always feel at home when staying at an Intercontinental hotel.