OPERATION CHINA: The Naxi People of Lijiang
Black Dragon Pool is one of the few spots left in Lijiang where, in the late afternoons, you can escape the tourist hordes. Nov. 6, 2007.
by Wendy Perrin
Yunnan Province in China's southwest -- land of traditional ethnic-minority people who wear colorful headdresses and have water-splashing festivals -- was the highlight of my last trip to China nine years ago. Even though the village of Lijiang has been overrun by the rampant commercialism that has infected so many heretofore charming spots in China, it remains worth visiting because of the ancient and incredibly friendly Naxi people whom you can still find in the villages nearby . . . if you know where to look.
The Naxi people have the world's only complete pictographic language. The sentence you see above, written by this Naxi shaman, translates as "Happy birthday." Nov. 7, 2007.
On the road from Lijiang to Tibet, at the first bend of the Yangtze -- where the river makes a 180-degree turn -- sits the village of Shigu (meaning "Stone Drum"). Nov. 7, 2007.
In Shigu this Naxi band plays haunting music on traditional instruments. Nov. 7, 2007.
They play to Naxi musical scores that look like this.
Another place to find traditional Naxi culture is in the village of Bai Sha.
This Bai Sha tie-dye shop makes traditional Naxi handicrafts.
At the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Chinese Herbal Medicine Clinic in Bai Sha, Dr. Ho Shi-Xiu promises to cure whatever ails you. Nov. 6, 2007.
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