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Enchanting Lugu Lake
Black Dragon Pool Park Lijiang
Tiger Leaping Gorge Lijiang
Dayan Town Lijiang
domestic and international connections to Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei and Kuala Lumpur. There’s also the Sanya Phoenix International Airport (www.sanyaairport. com) in Sanya with domestic and international connections.
LIJIANG AND LUGU LAKE, YUNNAN
Located in Yunnan in Southwest China, Lijiang, like the rest of the province, is famed for its ethnic minority population. The Naxi people call this area home – home being the UNESCO heritage listed old town. Each year, more than five million tourists descend on this charming maze
of rustic wooden buildings set in narrow, cobblestone alleys.
The picturesque town might seem crowded at times, so it’s worth starting your day early. Wander the streets and poke around souvenir shops and when you get hungry, make a beeline for the Sakura Good Food Square (Qiyi Street), an open- air food market where you can sample
Meiqianbao / Shutterstock.com
Naxi cuisine such as potato pancakes and stuffed rice balls.
When it gets crowded, pick up a map and hire a bicycle (from SGD7 per day)
to explore the neighboring countryside. There are a few monasteries and temples within 10km of the old town: Puji Monastery is the easiest to access. The Shuhe Old Town, four kilometers north of Lijiang, is a mini, lesser visited version of Lijiang’s old town and worth spending a day or two looking around.
Also in Yunnan is the remote alpine Lugu Lake (Lugu Hu in Chinese) right on the border with the Sichuan province and 200km north of Lijiang. Located almost three kilometers above sea level, this lake is an enchanting 50-square-kilometer body of water set against a backdrop of lush forest.
Buses will drop you at Luoshui where you can find further transport to villages around the lake’s circumference. Lige – nine kilometers from Luoshui – is a one of the more popular towns. The Tibetans, Li and Moso people make their home here
and can take you out on canoe tours of the lake. The unspoilt scenery and fresh air make Lugu Lake a good spot for respite from the pollution that plagues most Chinese cities.
Lijiang is accessed by its eponymous airport (www.lijiang-airport.com), 25km south of the Old Town. It has domestic flights to major cities in China. Airport buses (SGD6) take you to and from the airport and old town. To get to Lugu Lake, take a direct bus from the Lijiang bus station (fares costs approximately SGD20 each and the journey takes seven hours, departing at 9am and 10am daily – although these times are subject to change).
These sights are just the tip of the proverbial ‘Exotic China’ iceberg: there
are literally thousands of towns, temples, villages, mountains and lakes well worth exploring. China is truly a country of diverse sights so start packing your bags and learning how to say Ni Hao (hello) and Xie Xie (thank you).
14 OCTOBER 2014