Dali
When I went to Dali 10 years ago the only place for a backpacker to stay was the appropriately communist Guesthouse Number 2. Don't ask what happened to Number 1. The town was a great place to kick back with a cup of Yunnan coffee and a yak cheese pizza and absorb some local color.
When I got off the bus at Old Dali's South Gate last month I was shocked to find streets swarming with tour groups and "traditional" architecture renovated to a Disnified characture of itself. The once run-down town is now spotless. Armies of little old ladies in bright yellow jackets scour the streets, sweeping even the drainage canals that run down either side of the street. Huguo Lu, a.k.a. "Foreigner Street," is crawling with backpackers, bars, cafes, handcraft shops, and hippie boutiques specializing clothing made from hemp. Ten years ago there was Guesthouse No. 2, the Tibetan Cafe and the Yunnan Cafe. Now there are more guesthouses and cafes than any guidebook woud even attempt to list. Guesthouse No. 2 and the Yunnan are long gone. The Tibetan moved to nearby Renmin Lu in search of lower rent. One shop owner told me she used to pay 200 RMB (USD$ 25) a month to rent on Huguo Lu. Now the rents are as much as 5,000 RMB (USD$625) a month.
Not just for backpackers anymore. A nearby airport and better roads have opened Dali up to a major tourism boom.
Despite the influx of tourism Dali is still a great place to hang out. Off the main tourist strips parts of the old town still retain some of the original charm. Walk in any direction and you quickly leave town behind.
The streets of Xizhou, about 20 min north of Dali by minibus, are mostly empty duiring the day as all able bodies are out in the fields.
Bai minority woman out in the fields. Either spreading fertilizer or pesticide. hopefully not too toxic because everyone I saw was handling it with bare hands.
Bai women in Xizhou.
Bai woman taking veggies to market.
I met Yang Guo Du in the town square of Xizhou. He said "hello," as many rural Chinese do when they see a Westerner. But then he started speaking English in complete sentences. Nearly made me drop my wantons. Yang is an 84-year-old retired teacher. He told me about the American army in Xizhou to fight the Japanese during World War II.
When I got off the bus at Old Dali's South Gate last month I was shocked to find streets swarming with tour groups and "traditional" architecture renovated to a Disnified characture of itself. The once run-down town is now spotless. Armies of little old ladies in bright yellow jackets scour the streets, sweeping even the drainage canals that run down either side of the street. Huguo Lu, a.k.a. "Foreigner Street," is crawling with backpackers, bars, cafes, handcraft shops, and hippie boutiques specializing clothing made from hemp. Ten years ago there was Guesthouse No. 2, the Tibetan Cafe and the Yunnan Cafe. Now there are more guesthouses and cafes than any guidebook woud even attempt to list. Guesthouse No. 2 and the Yunnan are long gone. The Tibetan moved to nearby Renmin Lu in search of lower rent. One shop owner told me she used to pay 200 RMB (USD$ 25) a month to rent on Huguo Lu. Now the rents are as much as 5,000 RMB (USD$625) a month.
Not just for backpackers anymore. A nearby airport and better roads have opened Dali up to a major tourism boom.Despite the influx of tourism Dali is still a great place to hang out. Off the main tourist strips parts of the old town still retain some of the original charm. Walk in any direction and you quickly leave town behind.
The streets of Xizhou, about 20 min north of Dali by minibus, are mostly empty duiring the day as all able bodies are out in the fields.
Bai minority woman out in the fields. Either spreading fertilizer or pesticide. hopefully not too toxic because everyone I saw was handling it with bare hands.
Bai women in Xizhou.
Bai woman taking veggies to market.
I met Yang Guo Du in the town square of Xizhou. He said "hello," as many rural Chinese do when they see a Westerner. But then he started speaking English in complete sentences. Nearly made me drop my wantons. Yang is an 84-year-old retired teacher. He told me about the American army in Xizhou to fight the Japanese during World War II.
posted by TRippe at 5:57 AM
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