Old Town of Lijiang City, Yunnan, China.

It was a great privilege to be part of the RSCM trip to China during the school break. We were there on a serious, and sometimes, heart-breaking business. That aside, I'm truly in love with the old town of Lijiang City that is deeply rooted in ancient chinese culture. 

Man, it was great immersing oneself in rows after rows of weeping willows. I have been listening to piano and classical music about weeping willows since kindergarten and they are nowhere that sad or emotional in real life. In fact, it felt so magical and fantastical! I was walking in such overwhelming peace!

The wolves dogs there are really one of a kind. In the village, most dogs growled and barked away at every opportunity... but those in the city were so friendly that I wished I could carry them home!

 Cats are a rarity in China. Totally opposite from Singapore!

The McDonald's sign was really misleading. My friends and I were shouting for joy when we thought we saw McDonald's! Only to find out that it was actually just the ice-cream kiosk.

Here's one of our comrades on the trip! Ain really does make good use of shopping time, teehehe.

I was so glad that we chanced upon a food court where they were selling authentic Chinese food! This wasn't really a touristy area, since China's tourism only attract their own people. They're really brilliant in the sense that their economy will not be affected when there is a downturn worldwide. I used to think that all people from China are the same, but now I can't stress how different each county and province is!

 There were so much food that I wish I could try them all... of course, there were a few items that I would never try. Never.

 I'll never eat the bugs and the grubs. It's not one of my list for adventure, though many of my friends have boldly tried them and thought of them as a lovely snack. Somehow, I am living on Dr. Leslie Tay (ieatishootipost.com)'s quote on "Never waste your calories on yucky food!" Though I don't know if these bugs taste yucky or not, their presentation is horrifying enough for me. I guess I'll only eat them if I was on fear factor waiting to win that million dollars.

 What are those? I don't know. Most of their mandarin are too high-level for me to understand. However, I know the white translucent dumplings actually contained shrimps, meat and tasted a little like xiaolongbao. They were much more delicious though!

 For a variety of 7 items, it only costs 9 Yuan. This translates to SGD1.80. I tried everything and I think everything except the white roll tasted the delicious.

 One particular drink that I really loved in Lijiang is the "Li Jiang Ying Xiang (Lijiang Impression)" drink. It's actually sour milk (locally we call it Yoghurt), and can cost from 8 Yuan to 10 Yuan. I didn't dare try the coffee because a friend saw the drink staff digging her nose, hahaha.

This sticky buns contained a variety of black sesame, red bean or yam. It was yummy when it was hot, but the stickiness grows on you when the buns cool down. For Singaporeans, it is better to order this as a dessert rather than as a main dish.

Photo Credit: Dr Sonny Rosenthal :)

Stay tune to my future posts for the village and the climb up a -5.5°C mountain in China!