Lovely Waterway Scenery at Lijiang Ancient Town 丽江古城

I just couldn’t get enough of the beauty of Lijiang Ancient Town. It was probably one of the most picturesque ancient towns I have visited in China and the ones I have been are no slouches either. I think that distinguishes Lijiang from the other wannabe ancient town is the presence of water here. Much water flows throughout the ancient town and the locals are quite careful in maintaining the purity of the water here. Okay, maybe not good enough for drinking for good enough for other purposes. I think that if you take out the tourists, it would be good enough to drink. I would see some tourists throw stuff into the waterways like it was a rubbish bin or something. Even tourists who unintentionally drop something light enough and end up polluting the waters here.

So far the waters are still clear enough to see right to the bottom. I take the presence of plants in the water as a good sign that the water is still of acceptable quality. At least it isn’t much muck flowing through the town. I have seen the Yangtze River up close and it is basically brown in color. This might be due to the onset of the rainy season as I have seen photos of a blue Yangtze River. It is not surprising what Lijiang Ancient Town continues to draw hordes of Chinese tourists and a handful of foreign tourists to its old looking streets. Over-touristed it may be, but it is still a must visit place.

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