36 Hours in Lijiang, China

The word “breathtaking” when applied to a Chinese city too often refers to respiratory-attack-inducing smog. But in the case of Lijiang, population 1.2 million, in the southwestern province of Yunnan, the word takes on its slack-jaw-in-awe meaning. The horizon here is Himalayan, and the blue sky above the city’s stone streets, willow-lined canals and black-tiled roofs is reliably visible. This unusual troika of culture, history and natural beauty is why Lijiang’s Old Town — a Unesco World Heritage site and a center of the Naxi people, one of China’s most vibrant ethnic minorities — is a top destination for Chinese tourists and a new favorite of the passport-carrying crowd.

“激动到无法呼吸”这个词组在形容中国城市时，常常指的是伤害呼吸道的尘雾。但对于丽江来说，这个词组恢复了它表达惊艳的本义。丽江位于中国西南省份云南，有120万人口。站在这里，远方是隐约的喜马拉雅山脉，砖石街道上方，碧蓝的天空、柳枝拂岸的河流和铺着黑瓦的屋顶都清晰可见。这种自然、历史和文化的完美结合在中国并不多，所以丽江古城就成了中国游客最喜欢的城市之一和外国游客的新宠。丽江是联合国教科文组织认定的世界文化遗产所在地，也是中国最有活力的少数民族之一纳西族的生活中心。

Friday

4 p.m.

BEYOND YAK MEAT  牦牛肉及其他

Lijiang was built for commerce about 800 years ago, and a commercial city it remains. Once a crucial trading post on the ancient Tea and Horse Caravan Road connecting Yunnan Province and Tibet, it now caters, in large part, to tourists from Beijing and Hong Kong. The main thing to know about shopping in the pedestrian-only Old Town is that many stores, like those selling hammered silver jewelry and tea bricks, repeat themselves on nearly every street, like the scrolling background in a “Tom and Jerry” chase scene. Browse a few hours through the Mao kitsch. You’ll find there are many Donga Paper Workshops, a chain that sells paper lampshades and books of locally made paper, but head to the one at Lower Xinyuan Lane, Guangyi Street, where you can make your own sheet in the traditional way. Bunong Bells sells stylized bells like those worn by horses on the caravan trail.

拥有800历史的丽江当年因商业的发展而出现，现在也仍然是个商业城市。丽江是古时连接云南和西藏之间的贸易要道茶马古道上的一个重要隘口。现在，造访丽江的人大都来自北京、香港和国外。在古城步行街购物，你需要知道的事实是，这里的店铺与其他街道基本没什么区别，许多店铺都出售银首饰、茶砖等物品，不少店铺的电视都以循环播放的《猫和老鼠》做背景。穿行在大量以毛主席为创作元素的粗糙商品中，你会发现这里有很多“东巴纸坊”。东巴纸坊是一家用当地纸品制作出售灯罩、书本的连锁店，最值得推荐的是光义街新源下段的那家。在那里，你可以用传统方法亲自制作纸张纸品。布农铃出售漂亮的铃铛，模样与当茶马古道上当年的马铃很像。

7 p.m.

ABOVE IT ALL  超越一切

In Square Market, Old Town’s main plaza, visitors snake around horsemen trying to attract paying riders. Naxi dance groups bend, clap and spin. To take all this in, rise above it. The second-floor Bells Restaurant and Bar offers a fine selection of New Zealand red wines by the bottle in the 300-renminbi range and a view of the action below.

在丽江古城的中心广场四方街，旅行者小心地绕过那些四处招徕生意的牵马人。跳纳西舞的人们集体弯腰，拍手，转身。若想欣赏跳舞的全景，请到楼上。位于二楼的贝尔斯茶餐厅提供多种质量不错的新西兰红酒，每瓶价格300元以下。窗户可以俯视四方街。

8 p.m.

DRAGONFLY DINNER  蜻蜓晚宴

In the front window of 88 Snack a woman slices strips of pea jelly made from black beans. Behind this unassuming facade is the best restaurant in town for Naxi fare. The Dongba spicy chicken lives up to its name, and the roasted eggplant salad is garlic heaven. The adventurous can try deep-fried dragonflies, which taste like especially crunchy seaweed. 

在88 Snack饭店的窗前，一名妇女正在将黑豆凉粉切成细条。这家朴实无华的饭店是古城内品尝纳西美食的最佳地点。东巴辣子鸡名不虚传，烤茄子对大蒜爱好者来说简直是天堂美味。爱冒险的人可以尝试油炸蜻蜓，口味松脆有点像海苔。

10 p.m.

GET FRESH  酒吧区的新鲜空气

The antidote to “Bar Street”, where nightclubs feature skull-thumping music and where boy bands with high hair dance in spotlights, is Freshnam Cafe, on a quiet strip across town. People come to Freshnam, run by a Korean impresario, Nam Jiwoo, for the simple setting, the international beers and the music, which runs toward the folk-rock vein, though with any luck you’ll catch a belly-dance number.

以丰富夜生活著称的“酒吧街”上，音乐嘈杂得让人头皮发麻，留着长发的男歌手在镁光灯下卖力热舞。而位于古城另一侧的万子小坊餐吧安静清幽，堪称喧闹场景的解毒剂。咖啡馆的韩国老板Nam Jiwoo是个演出经纪人。人们喜欢这家酒吧的原因是简洁的装修、来自各国的啤酒和音乐表演。音乐风格以民谣摇滚为主，运气好的话你能看到一场肚皮舞演出。

Saturday

9 a.m.

TAKEOUT, NAXI STYLE  外卖早餐，纳西风格

Morning is the ideal time to wander through the Old Town. Without the crush of other tourists, the arching stone bridges over the three branches of the Yuhe River that flow through town, the ivied walls and the flowering trees sheltering koi-filled canals seem even lovelier. Getting lost in a serpentine alley is the best way to appreciate Naxi architecture — white stucco walls, heavy wood doors, beams and shutters, and sweeping roofs with ridgelines that bend up at the ends, like yogis in a cobra pose. The perfect breakfast can be found on a section of Qiyi Street with food vendors offering boiled eggs on a stick, shredded potato pancakes, grilled dumplings and what looks like a Chinese version of a breakfast taco. 

早晨是古城漫步的最佳时段。没有了游客扰攘，玉河三条支流上的拱形石桥、爬满常青藤的墙壁、繁花盛开的绿树和树荫下游满锦鲤的运河顿时美丽了许多。在蜿蜒迂回的小巷中迷失是欣赏纳西建筑的最好方式——白灰墙、沉重的木门、房梁、百叶窗，在屋脊处对接成山尖形状的宽大屋檐仿佛练习“蟒蛇式”的瑜伽大师。早餐到七一街去吃，那里的早餐摊点出售竹签穿起来的煮鸡蛋、土豆丝煎饼、煎饺和鸡蛋煎饼。

11:30 a.m.

BAISHA BOUND  到白沙去

About six miles north of the Old Town is the one-street village of Baisha. The original capital of the Naxi people, before it moved to Lijiang, Baisha sits at the base of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The scenic way to get to Baisha is by bike; rent one for 200 renminbi a day from Ali Baba Cafe. You’ll ride past the dramatic Black Dragon Pool and the Qing Xi Shui Ku reservoir. The ratio of impressive cafes and shops per square foot is higher than in Lijiang; for instance, Miliang sells exuberantly painted linen bags. Still the feel here is more relaxed — unless you’re one of the Naxi elders who play a fierce game of mah-jongg on the street corner.

丽江古城向北6英里，就是只有一条街的白沙古镇。白沙古镇位于玉龙雪山的脚下，以前是纳西王国的首都，后来他们将首都迁到了丽江。从丽江去白沙，最养眼的方式是骑车。阿里巴巴咖啡馆有自行车出租，每天200元。途中会路过漂亮的黑龙潭和清溪水库。白沙村每平方英里内好玩酒吧和商店的数量，比丽江要高。比如，米粮出售种类丰富的喷绘亚麻包袋。这里的氛围更加放松——除非你是街角起劲打麻将的纳西老人。

2 p.m.

PASTA AND PIZZA  意大利面和披萨 

The restaurant at the Here features elegant pastas, wood-fired pizzas and cats. The house cats are called Pasta and Pizza, and when you order one of those dishes, the Here will donate 1 renminbi to a cat rescue fund. The pasta plates — especially the mushroom ravioli and the gnocchi with Gorgonzola sauce — rise far above the norm in China.

Here饭店有精致的意大利面、木柴火烤比萨饼和分别叫做“意面”和“披萨”的两只懒猫。每次顾客点到这两种美食中的一种，Here就会向一家救助流浪猫的组织捐款1元。店里提供意大利美食，比如蘑菇馅小方饺和加了戈尔根朱勒芝士的土豆团，口味远远远超过中国西餐馆的平均水准。

3:30 p.m.

THEY CALL HIM DR. HO  大家叫他和医生

You can’t come to Baisha and miss out on Dr. Ho Shixiu, who runs the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Chinese Medicine Clinic. Dr. Ho, 90, will diagnose ailments and talk herbs, health and happiness.

去白沙，不能不拜见玉龙雪山中医诊所的和士秀医生。和医生今年90岁，负责给病人切脉看病，并谈论草药、健康和幸福的关系。

7 p.m.

SINO-SLAVIA?  中国式波西米亚？

Back in Lijiang, the apparent logic behind the Prague Cafe’s name is its bohemian sensibility: a jazz sound track, colorful pillows on the wood booths and walls lined with books. The food is a multinational mix, from sirloin steaks and plump burgers to chicken curry and Chinese standards to Japanese dishes like katsudon.

回到丽江，布拉格咖啡光看名字就能知道它走的是波西米亚路线：爵士乐、木头包间里的彩色靠垫，还有摆满书籍的围墙。食物融合了多国风味，从西冷牛排、大号汉堡、咖喱鸡到中国典型餐品和猪排胜丼之类日本美食，什么都有。

9 p.m.

FLOAT YOUR BOAT  放河灯

When you step out of the Prague Cafe, turn to the left and you’ll find a stall selling candle boats made from Styrofoam egg cartons to look like lotus blooms. Walk down the stairs to the canal and make a wish as you place the candle in the water. Then mosey down the street beside the canal, to the Old Stone Bridge, where you can watch your boat approach in a sparkling flotilla.

走出布拉格咖啡向左转，就会看到一个卖河灯的摊档。河灯用超市里装鸡蛋的泡沫盒子做成，形状像一朵盛开的莲花。沿着台阶走到河边，将河灯放进水里时许个心愿。接下来沿着河边的街道走上老石桥，你可以看到自己那只河灯正与其他河灯一起组成一条闪闪发光的河灯舰队。

9:30 p.m.

CROW ABOUT THIS  让你自我感觉不错的酒吧

John McSweeney advertises his bar, Stone the Crows, as an “Irish-run pub.” Furnishings are few beyond the small bar, a pool table, a dart board and an incongruous punching bag, but the drinks are the main attraction anyway — mojitos, tequilas, absinthe and beer, including, of course, Guinness.

约翰·麦克斯维尼将自己的酒吧Stone the Crows描述为一间“爱尔兰人经营的酒吧”。室内空间有限，家具也不多，有一张台球案、一个飞镖板和一只不太协调的拳击沙袋。但这里最吸引人的是饮品——莫吉托、龙舌兰、苦艾酒以及包括吉尼斯黑啤在内的各种啤酒。

Sunday

10 a.m.

YELLOW STAIRS  黄色楼梯

To find N’s Kitchen, look for the bright yellow stairs; each step extols a restaurant highlight, including “Home Made Bread” and “Nice Coffee.” Upstairs, ferns, bike helmets hanging from the ceiling and a fake Christmas tree give the place a hippie vibe.

想找N’s Kitchen饭店，请留意明黄色的楼梯。楼梯的每级台阶都强调店里的一道美食，包括“家常面包”和“醇美咖啡”。走到楼上，天花板上挂着蕨类植物和自行车头盔，一棵假圣诞树给这里平添一种嬉皮士气氛。

Noon

PALACE WITH A VIEW  有风景的宫殿

Many tourists head to Mu’s Residence because this former home of Lijiang’s ruling family looks like a downsized Forbidden City. But after a quick look, follow the path that winds up the hill past a Taoist temple. Partway up, you’ll enter Lion Hill Park, where you can wander among 800-year-old cypress trees, with an expansive view of rooftops below and mountains beyond. At the top of the hill by the five-story-high Wangu Tower, you’ll find a large “Peace Bell.” Ring it and break the silence far above the bustle below.

木府是以前丽江统治者木氏家族的府邸，许多游客造访这里的原因是它像一座小型故宫。在院子里快速走一遍，沿着小径上坡会看到一座道观。半山腰的狮子山公园里，你可以在800年的古柏下漫步，还可以俯瞰整个丽江古城的屋顶。山顶五层高的万古楼上有只“和平钟”。敲一记和平钟，打破笼罩在繁忙古都上空的阒寂。