China 2

Entering our new place - 4 floors from the highest floor in the building. And...we have our own elevator...sort of!

The clubhouse is amazing. There is a wave pool, a sand beach, a bar inside and a restaurant. Amazing design and incredible views of the cityline! Dave likes it especially because of the TV in the bathroom. (I may never see him)

The next series of photos is from my trip to Lijiang. I can't describe everything no matter how much I want to...but the place is amazing. Its a very popular place for the Chinese tourist as it's very relaxing, allowing them to get back to nature.

It's inhabited by about a million people now, and about 300 thousand of them are from the Naxi (nah-shee) tribe. They have a very proud culture. They share an amazing story of how their lives started on this earth...a flood destroyed the land as far as the eye could see. A man from the tribe went up into the mountain and received from the gods a Golden Key. With this key he opened the door to wisdom, the door to happiness, the door to fortune, the door to nature, and the door to love. He had a wife, and together they recreated the world, and all the plants and animals in it.

I was given a copy of the key and a card with the story in it. It's amazing. And how similar to other religious stories of the creation of the world?

I was in the Treasure Harbor International Hotel. It's a beautiful place. We walked to the old "Old Town" and had beers that were cooled by the mountain snow creek that runs through the whole village. The naxi are craftsmen, artisans and farmers. I bought a bracelet from the woman you see hammering wildly. She hand-makes silver jewelry. (And I'm a sucker for anything I see the artists actually making)

The town is 6000 feet above sea level. We visited the Jade Dragon Snow mountain, and I climbed the steps to the highest point - 15, 444 feet. (Somewhere about the same elevation as the base camp on Mt. Everest) Note: I only signed up for the local city tour...I did not know that included a cable car trip and a walk which requires an oxygen tank. (which they gave us along with a bottle of water and a set of basic rules...stop whey you're tired. Don't pass out...) There is a glacier there...breathtaking. The reason it's called Jade Dragon...there are 13 peaks (a lucky number in chinese) over 15K feet above sea level.


After that, we went to the White River. It's a beautiful mountain river that is made from snow and glacier water melting. The water is so cold and clear that it reflects the sky and landscape perfectly - causing it to be teal in the area where it pools. The locals use Yaks (yeah, I know) and so for the tourists...they keep a few around for funny photos. (those pix will come later...my battery died so I need some from friends...)

They farm by hand. Seriously. They wake up with the sun, they walk their cows everywhere, they harvest the rice, sunflowers and corn into baskets they carry on their backs. What amazing work ethic - they live in a beautiful, remote place, love life and are proud people. They eat what they grow and hand-make most of what they use. It's a good lesson in real needs...and understanding how even when we think we've got it hard...it's all relative.

There is a great fun atmosphere too...they like to have fun, and have catered heavily to the Chinese tourists who apparently like to play dice when they drink and have "spirit" type fights from bars across the street. They have girls standing in the balconies dressed in traditional naxi costumes singing...and cheering "Ya Zo! Ya Zo! Ya Ya Ya Zo!" which means..."One More!" (I think it's our equivalent of ...we've got spirit, yes we do)

There is a photo of the hills behind my hotel...I loved waking up to that every morning. The weather out here is amazing...it was like fall already.

We'll add more as we go...I can't wait to share more....we'll try to put up some 'everyday' stuff...we love it here, and miss you all back at home. Please keep sending us pictures and try to call when you can...Dave has found us some cheap movies to watch...so we're off for some fun!