Kashgar

With limited time and vast distances to cover, we knew that we would not be able to only travel overland, as we had originally intended. We decided to fly out to Kashgar,Xinjiang, and make our way back to Kunming from there. A hastily-purchased but far-from-direct flight from Lijiang, with overnight stops in Chengdu then Urumqi, had us in Kashgar in fifty short hours.

Xinjiang has long been on our list of must-see destinations. Both of us were drawn to see that province's huge mountains and deserts and to explore some of the old Silk Road sites. One of us is far more cultured than the other, and wanted to understand first-hand how the people of Xinjiang, with culture and religion unique from the rest of China, are able to reconcile their traditions with those of their new Chinese landlords. I wanted to go and eat mutton and flatbread. Neither of us was disappointed.

Kashgar's bazaar was noisy and bustling, with items on offer ranging from used boots to fur hats to livestock to food of highly dubious origin. We had read that at any time, one could expect to hear over fifty languages or dialects being spoken in the market. Sounds about right.

Baisha

A two hour walk down a quiet highway from Lijiang took us to the village of Baisha, which lies in the shadow of the 5596m Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Not much to do there besides enjoy a pleasant lunch, shop for some Naxi handicrafts, and breathe some very fresh mountain air.

Around town

Lijiang is the traditional home of the Naxi people, who evidently loved waterways, narrow cobblestoned roads, raptors, and picturesque rooftops.

Another old city

You know you have a rightful claim to being an "ancient city" when a great Tatar warlord stopped by the local watering hole for some frosty milk of Paradise.

With gratitude

The yak gives us much...aforementioned sticks of grilled flesh, hours of toil humping loads up mountain trails, and bottles of creamy yogurty deliciousness. Thank you, yak, for all that you do.

Lijiang

Tourists, like us, flock to Lijiang for a few reasons: to walk around the old town, a UNESCO World Heritage site; for the spectacular view of YuLongXueShan [Jade Dragon Snow Mountain] from Black Dragon Pool; and to eat yak meat kebabs.

One-speed pace

We rented bikes in Dali to go for a ride around Erhai [Ear-shaped] Lake. The villages down by the river made for a very tranquil day of cycling. The lake itself is huge, with a surface area of over 250 sq.km, and we did not much more than 25km out and back. The pace was leisurely, the lake was clean, the air was fresh, and the people smiled warmly…a very pleasant way to spend the day.