Last Day in Lijiang and First Day in Xi’an

(Max)

On our last day in Lijiang we got an early start with our guide Evan and set out to visit the Black Dragon Pools. It was quite nice to have an activity close enough to our hotel that we could just walk. The pools were amazingly clear and the scenery of the overall park was picturesque. A bridge stretched over one of the pools and we had an absolutely beautiful view of Lijiang’s snow mountain, which we had ascended a day earlier. Oh, and before I forget, on our walk to the pools we passed by a kind gentleman with a monkey, with whom Timmy and I took our picture. I’m really not sure of the type of monkey, but the little thing was dressed up like a tiny bellhop and as the picture was taken he was sitting in my hand, rubbing his cheek against mine; it was adorable.

The Mu palace was our next stop that day. Mu was the family name of one of the most wealthy and powerful families of the Naxi minority people in Lijiang; the palace is essentially a Naxi version of the Forbidden City in Beijing. The architecture of many of these buildings is not only remarkable but also incredibly intriguing. When you think of religious tolerance about 600 years ago, well tolerant isn’t exactly the word that comes to mind. In fact, I believed that most cultures were anything but lenient with the religions and customs of other peoples. What was so interesting about the structures in the Mu palace was that in or on almost every building there was a depiction of multiple religions and groups of people, referencing everyone from the Naxi to the Tibetans. When we were finished, and after a dinner including yak meat, we headed to the airport where we flew to Xi’an.

At about 10:30 AM we gathered in the lobby after having arrived the previous night off of a flight from Lijiang. We started the day with a large breakfast at the hotel knowing that a bit of a bike ride awaited us later that morning. Once finished with breakfast, we headed off to the Xi’an city wall with the help of our tour guide Alicia and our driver Mr. Wu. It was about twenty or so minutes away.

The Xi’an city wall is no ordinary wall, as it was used during the warring states period to fend off attacks from entire armies. Originally much longer but now “only” thirteen kilometers around, the wall is twenty meters wide at the base and about thirteen meters wide at the top. There are look-out stations every half kilometer or so on the top of the wall that, as you look out from them, make you really feel as though you could be there fending off the enemy yourself. We biked the circumference of the wall while on top of it. It took about an hour, which impressed Alicia. She said that with all her other tour groups it takes an hour and a half or longer. After finishing the bike ride we had lunch and basically spent the rest of the day exploring the Muslim quarter of the city, rightfully known as Muslim street.

Added by Mr Viz: Another tourist's video!