Lijiang
After lunch the waitresses helped the tourists don their costumes.
"Lijiang" means Beautiful River. Just outside of town, there was a toll booth entering the highway (see below).
One of the most curious things that I saw was an all-purpose truck widely used around this area.
The truck has no hood for the engine, and the engine's flywheel is mounted perpendicular to the direction of travel. It hauls dirt, farm produce, people, and almost everything, and it is not fast but can manage the hills and curvy roads. It is quite versatile and made in China, and I am sure it is made affordable for the local farmers.
I took a closer shot at a new one being washed at a "water station". It looked so simple without a catalytic converter that even I could probably work on it. The "water station" is an area next to the gas station for cars and truck to fill up with, what else, water! Due to the terrain. the brakes are used frequently when going down hill thus overheating the braking system. The drivers use water to cool it off. They don't use low-gear braking, perhaps to reduce the wear and tear on the engine.
Our tour bus was also being serviced and washed. I was wondering how much did the washers make.
.The distant hill was a victim to deforestation, or mining operation. It left a scar in the otherwise pristine environment.
As we were approaching Lijiang, the distant snowy mountain beckoned.
This city also has traffic circle. At the middle of which is a metallic molding of a prancing horse atop a globe. The icon is from the Terra Cotta Museum in Xian. I think it is now used as symbol for tourism. It invites people to ride a "horse" and see the world; be it a classical horse, iron horse, horse with rubber tires, or flying horse, or even swimming one.
Dali is very close to the mountains and has a new "city" and old "town", with a combined population of over half a million. The Bai people is the prominent minority group here.
We had a nice dinner after a 5-hour trip. We were delayed due to an accident on the highway, luckily nobody got hurt. The meals in our tour were balanced with soup, rice, fresh vegetables, tufo, and roasted duck for the most honorable tourists.
The American "icon" is easily recognizable in any language. Such is the power of branding. It is pronounced as "Ko Kuo Ko Lok", meaning "Pleasant to the mouth with happiness" (loosely translated). Beside it is a popular local beer "Shan Sui" (Mountain Water). Notice the NBA symbol on the beer neck label.
We stayed at an elegant hotel with hundred of years of history but renovated.
It looked like a previous house of a noble family. Dali is windy, but the rooms were not drafty. We had a pleasant stay; cold, yes, but not drafty.
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