I am just back from weeklong trip to Lijiang and Dali. I have been to Dali 3 times and just love everything about it. Please tell me i totally missed something as i found Lijiang not so great. Old city was packed with people, i could not find decent western food, most things expensive, lunch at mcdonalds cost me 34 rmb compared to same meal for 18 here in kunming My chinese wife who lived in Lijiang for ten years almost ten years ago said it has changed. All the parks and attractions they wanted over 100 rmb for each of us to visit because we were not local. Some kind of tax on outsiders. One attraction i could not get into because i did not have a certificate showing i had paid the Lijiang visitor maintenance tax? I am not cheap but even my wife was confused about the fees and she refused to pay to see the parks.Spent 1 night in Lijiang old town and then went to Shuhe last 2 nights. I liked Shuhe much better as we found a nice hotel for reasonable price, except beds were still very hard. Not sure can find a softer bed in Lijiang area. Started out for Tiger leaping gorge and so many trucks, buses, on older highway that it took 45 minutes to go 10 km and where so many close call accidents that we turned back. Will have to admit air was very clean in Lijiang as has always been when in Dali.
I agree - LiJiang is fast turning Disney. I fear Dali may not be too far behind, either. A pity and they both had real (ie genuine) character 10-15 years ago...
The problem is the growth of tourism due to increased car ownership.
I think the trick is to find places that are away from other main tourist areas. I say this as the pattern for most Chinese tourists is cramming in as many places in the shortest time. This could be why development in Dali is slower. It is further away.
@Dazzer, you are so right Shuhe was great, many good food options and much more layed back than Lijiang. My wife has friends in Dali government and they have no desire to grow like Kunming or Lijiang. Dali is expanding but they are trying to keep to eastside near new airport. tigertiger, you are right about cars. I was also amazed at how many expensive cars were on road between Kunming and Lijiang. I saw more Land Cruisers last week than i usually see in an entire year in the usa. My wife pointed out to me that several of them were Military vehicles that did not have Yunnan plates. Entire families piled out of these vehicles. Have to admit driving in Lijiang and Dali is wonderful compared to Kunming. Roads seem better with less traffic.
Have to agree with OP. I have never understood the attraction of Lijiang and yet every Chinese I've spoken to (including the wife) loves the place??
Sorry I just don't get it.
My Chinese wife is not a fan.
I future we will be heading out towards Guizhou. As yet it has underdeveloped tourism industry.
Appreciate comments so far, i thought something was wrong with me i had heard so much good about Lijiang. One thing that cannot be argued about is weather however. Except for rainy season weather is really wonderful here in kunming, Dali and Lijiang. I have spent extended periods of time in wuhan which is very hot and humid in summer and very polluted, Luizhou, Nanning, Beihai, and Shenzen are very hot and have oppresive humidity from April until November, and then Sun does not shine from December until April.
Not sure I understand quite clearly. The first point OP raised is Old Town being packed with people, but I'm not sure how one can complain about something that one directly contributes to. OP is one of those that created that heavy crowd, crowds are created by individual interests.
For MCD, it is unethical to charge more in this circumstance unless logistics fees were a lot more. I'm not sure why the heavy increase, or if it is verified.
Tax for outsides is common not only in Yunnan but many ethnic areas with tourist encroachment. If you were opening your house or village to massive amounts of tourists, naturally your sacrifice would need some sort of compensation. And trust me, there is sacrifice.
And yes, things have changed in Lijiang. Not because of the locals, but in fact because the "crowd", people like yourself and I. It is impossible for things to be the same in Old Town when there are so many external pressures.
Furthermore, "maintenance tax" must refer to the the negative impact when throngs of people visit an area; inevitably the area needs maintenance ie. trash pickup, infrastructure refurbishing etc. Why would the local villagers cover it when it is the direct consequence of visitors?
Now, I'm not saying everything is fair and right — just that I have also listened to the other side of the story and would like to share it. Food for thought.
Centre of Lijiang old town is no longer populated by locals. It is owned by people from richer provinces in the East, and Taiwan. Something the locals complain about.
@LouieK - Yes you can complain about overcrowding. To say you cannot complain about something you contribute to is not a reasonable argument. It is like saying you cannot complain about pollution, noise, food prices, the rising cost of rent, etc. etc.
