Roaming around Yunnan I visited most of the obvious tourist destinations, starting from Kunming, then Dali, and finally Lijiang. What I didn’t plan, but found a delightful surprise, was an ancient water town about 30 minutes north-west of Lijiang called Shuhe which I visited to escape the endless tourist crowds visiting the very same destinations. Just needed a bit of peace and quiet and I found that in Shuhe. Long winding alleys with small water canals, lots of shops, lovely cafes and small bars, leading all the way to the highlight with the oldest area near the mountains, which some nice views of the town from above.
To give you a taste of what a more laid back “ancient water town” looks like in China, here are my visions of Shuhe in Yunnan China …
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