Three Pagodas 三塔寺 @ Yunnan

Date: 28/12/2008
City: Dali, Yunnan
Remarks: Day 6, Three Pagodas


聚影池 reflection pond reflecting the image of the Three Pagodas

If you have had enough with the old towns in Yunnan, the Three Pagodas is a nice place to get away from the bustling life in town. The Three Pagodas is near the Dali Old Town and is visible from the Dali Old Town. It took us around 30 minutes to walk from the Dali Old Town to the Three Pagodas, which was a bit longer than what we had expected, but one can always take the bus, trishaw or taxi there.

The Three Pagodas is a tranquil park with little tourists, suitable to those who are not interested in praying and burning incense. Entrance fee is RMB120/person, RMB60 for students. The Three Pagodas, as its name implies, comprises three independent pagodas made by brick and covered with white mud. The pagodas are beautiful and balanced, and uncommon in the ancient Buddhist architecture in China. The three pagodas form a symmetric triangle with one of the pagoda leans toward one side.

We should have stayed in the park for around 2-3 hours. Though we were very tired when we left the Three Pagodas, we found it expensive to take a trishaw. The driver asked for RMB10, and that was only a trishaw! He had asked for way too much and we just did not like being overcharged. So we, irrationally, decided to walk from the Three Pagodas back to Dali Old Town, and the driver followed us half the journey, for like 15 minutes! I guess the driver could hardly understand why these people were so stubborn. Obviously were tired to dead, but still, refused to pay 10 bucks for the ride. As soon as the driver gave up, we stopped at the nearby bus station and took a bus back to Dali Old Town (RMB1 per person). We were way to tired to continue walk back!!

Shuhe Ancient Town 束河古鎮 @ Yunnan

Date: 27 Dec 2008
City: Lijiang, Yunnan, China
Remarks: Day 5

Shuhe Ancient Town 束河古鎮 was indeed the third old town in our Yunnan Trip. Never thought of going that many old towns in one go, but once again, plan never catches up with changes.

We planned to go Jade Dragon Snow Mountain 玉龍雪山 but the wind was too strong that the whole glacier was shut down. Our driver suggested this place so here we were. in Shuhe Ancient Town 束河古鎮.

The Old Town of Lijiang was usually referring to the bustling Dayan Town,  but in fact the nearby Shuhe Ancient Town and Baisha Ancient Town are also included in the UNESCO World Heritage. Shuhe Ancient Town was one of the earliest settlement of Naxi ethnic group in Lijiang, a well-preserved market town on the Cha Ma Road. It only took about 10 min drive from Dayan Town to Shuhe Ancient Town.

Shuhe Ancient Town charged entry fee of RMB 30 and Old Town maintenance fee of RMB 80, but we have escaped from it by entering via the side door as suggested by our driver. wakaka

It was quite a nice old town, kind of like the commonly referred Old Town of Lijiang (Dayan Town), but in a smaller scale and in a better version. Better in a sense that the Shuhe Ancient Town has less tourist, and has still remain a certain degree of authenticity. There were beautiful traditional Naxi houses and cobbled streets. Many old Naxi houses are now cafe, guesthouses, restaurants and souvenir shops, but the houses are well preserved with its authenticity than those in the Old Town of Lijiang.

There were many horses for tourist ride in the town. You can almost saw it everywhere in town and people kept asking like every 5 minutes. And since there were so many horses in the town, you have to be careful while wandering around, be careful if the horses, as well as be careful if the horse shits on the streets!!

I heard from a tour guide in a museum in Shuhe Ancient Town regarding the "sky burial". Turn out the Naxi ethnic group also has the customs of sky burial. The dead was incised and the first knife was exercised by the the family member of the dead!!

Dali Old Town 大理古城 @ Yunnan

Date: 28 Dec 2008
City: Dali, Yunnan
Remarks: Day 6, Dali Old Town 大理古城


Dali old town is located in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture (大理白族自治州) in northwest Yunnan, 13 km from the New City of Dali, at the foot of Cangshan Mountain. It was the home of the Bai ethnic minority, an ancient Chinese city with history dated back to the Ming Dynasty. The bus from Lijiang to Dali took us around 3 hours.

I like the Dali Old Town more than the Old Town of Lijiang. Although the Dali Old Town is again another major tourist spot with lots of tourists, I noticed that the town has made its effort in maintaining its authenticity comparing to the Old Town of Lijiang. It feels less touristy and more comfy walking around the Dali Old Town. The Dali Old Town is a pleasant ancient town with well-preserved traditional houses and cobble paved streets. The town is laid out on a typical north-south, east-west axis with four main city gates and ancient city walls.

You can have a gentle walk within the Old Town. The town isn't a big one and a walk wouldn't take long. There are food stalls, antique shops, travel agents, guesthouses, bars and restaurants for the tourists for sure, but also flower stalls on the streets, banks, supermarkets, and some other local shops as well for the locals.

You can as well get up to the city wall for the overview of Dali Old Town. You got to admire the mainlanders. They can charge you anytime anywhere. There was even a counter on the city wall and you had to pay to walk around the walls. The counter did not look like an official one at all. It was just a table which seemed to be run by a random local. You got to pay RMB2 before you can walk around the city wall.

PS1. Notice there are many stalls/ hawkers selling strawberries on the street. Seems like strawberry is the local specialty in Dali.

PS2. It was very enjoyable to sit at the outdoor table of one of the bars in the Foreigners Street, a street full of bars and restaurants, to catch the vibe. We sat there for hours just to lay back. There was a group of Bai people passed by our bar, seemed like having some kind of traditional wedding ceremony. Very interesting to get a glimpse, and very glad to know that the Dali Old Town is still alive, with people living inside, telling stories, at the same time creating their own stories.

Ganden Sumtseling Monastery (松贊林寺) @ Shangri-la

Date: 24/12/2008
County: Shangri-la, China
Remarks: Day 2, Ganden Sumtseling Monastery (松赞林寺)

Ganden Sumtseling Monastery is one of the most important Tibetan monasteries in  Southwest China. It is situated 5km from the city of Zhongdian and is more than 300 years old. Built by the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ganden Sumtseling Monastery had undergone a massive restoration after the extensive damage it had in the Cultural Revolution. It is now the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan with around 600-700 monks living inside, and is regarded as one of the main attraction in Shangri-la.

 It is a huge complex and one have to walk up hundreds of stoned steps from the entrance gate before reaching the main temple. I guess it was because of the high altitude, I had already panted after walking a few stairs. It took me quite some time to finally reach the main temple. On the way up, there were a lot of Tibetan children in Ganden Sumtseling Monastery asking for money, following you throughout the walk. And they only asked the girls, but not boys!! I understand it is commonly found in many places, but I don't like it at all. They should be in school, having their education instead of begging for money. Gods know what their parents are thinking.

Ganden Sumtseling Monastery is huge and magnificent, spreading along the hill scope. It is also known as the Little Potala Palace since it is modeled on Lhasa's Potala Palace. There are Tibetan prayer wheels along the way. Remember to give the prayer wheels a spin (spin clockwise). Each spin represents you have chanted scriptures once. Like many other temples in China, photos are not allowed inside the temple. You can get a nice panorama view of Ganden Sumtseling Monaster in Gulong Village nearby.

PS1. Ganden Sumtseling Monastery don't have discount for students (Disappointed).