Jade Dragon Snow Mountain or Yulong Xueshan consists of 13 peaks, the tallest of which is 18,360 feet. According to the legends of Lijiang, this fog-shrouded mountain looks like a jade dragon lying in the clouds, hence, the name. In addition to living under it's shadow while hiking through Tiger Leaping Gorge, we decided to visit the National Park about 40 minutes outside Lijiang.
We shared a minivan with an Israeli mother and daughter from our hostel for 80CNY ($12).
The Chinese love spectacles, and the show we saw at the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was no exception. Many of you recall the Bejing Olympics opening ceremonies extravaganza show that was masterminded by Zhang Yimou. Well, he has created three "Impressions" shows in China that represent the culture and geography of each particular area. The three cities are Yangshuo, Lijiang and Hangzhou. The show in Lijiang is set in an open air arena inside the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain with mighty peaks as backdrop. At the start of the show they announce that they are "real people" from the area rather than professionally trained dancers/singers. This particular show is a song & dance story about a tea caravan that passes through Lijiang. Historically, this region has long been a trading center along the silk road and tea routes through China and Tibet.
Set to the tune of gallopping horses, banging drums, chanting and dancing, the scenarios portrayed your usual real-life scenarios --young brides leaving their families to go off with new husbands, women toiling in the fields, men drinking in taverns, a saddle dance, religious incantations, love stories, etc. I really can't describe what it was like to witness this show, but suffice to say that it was a world class, emotionally charged inspiring event mainly because of the innovative staging, choreography and number of performers.
China is just beginning to establish National Parks and entrance fees are steep. After the show we bought cable car tickets to Yak Meadow. It was a 40 minute bus ride to a 22 minute cable car lift up the mountain. The ride up was spectacular - the slopes were blooming with something pink that could have been rhododenron or azalea, growing very tall, like trees. Evergreens were draped with Spanish Moss, and we could see the emerging buds on deciduous trees as well. But the meadow up at the top was bone dry and yellowed.
We had a nice walk around the boardwalk, enjoying magnificant panoramic views of mountains in all direction.
To be continued.
No comments:
Post a Comment