LiJiang has a tradition as the place where soul-bruised women came to heal, where lonely men went for temporary flings, but for us, this visit was nothing more than a journey to relax, or more precisely, a break to the routines.

      I remembered many years ago when the first time I went to Lijiang, I just got to know my husband, and inviting him along in a long distance journey was improper in my opinion, so I ended going there with my co-workers. This time, though I invited him furiously, he couldn’t manage to leave his work---perhaps this city was supposed not to be our place. Therefore again I went to Lijiang with my co-workers. Slightly difference: not with the same co-workers and this time I took my son with me.

     Lijiang has undergone dramatic changes in these years. Ancient city has expanded, swallowing more people and spitting more noises, and the water in the rill was no longer as clear as that in my memory. Still, Lijiang had greeted us with its three famous: Club Life, Ancient Road, and the Slowness of Time.

      I’ve never been a party animal, and club life has lost its appeals for me, besides no way could I bring a four-year-old to a bar. So after C and S went out for a drink, I was happily left in the hostel with my son. I planned to be cooped up with a new book after Yu felt asleep. Soon to my dismay I found that in Lijiang, club life didn’t exist only in clubs, but almost every corner. When the night fell, the hostel owner, a zealous young woman, entertained all the guests in the yard with beers, music, and aimless chitchats. Unfortunately we stayed at the first floor, and the thin wall of our room provided almost no sound-proofs.

     It took me three made-up Zombie-vs-Plant stories to send Yu to sleep. It’s already 11 o’clock, so much for my wonderful plan. An hour later, to my surprise C and S came back. C immediately fed me with the juicy story of their encounter in the club. As soon as they sat down, a group of five young fellows immediately made obvious move to S. Several glasses of wine combined with S’s smooth sophisticates still couldn’t help them against such blatant come-on. They finally found an excuse and took off. The next day, we met one of those fellows on the street. He already found a new target and seemed to succeed this time. Wow, Lijiang and its affair!

 To be continued.....