Week 11 – Election in Lijiang!

"To all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright, tonight we have proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms, or the scale of our wealth but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope!"
Obama’s first speech as President-elect

Our small group of thirteen has, fortunately, been quite politically aware. Despite the fact that we are in China, we were NOT going to let that keep us TOO out of the loop. We knew we were going to be in Lijiang during the elections; we had it calculated (even with the time change) and gotten a discussion section moved back so we could sit at an internet café and obsessively refresh our browsers as the results came in. It was compulsive. Even after we knew Obama had won (lots of hugs and excited yelling) we still kept watching to see how the unconfirmed states, like North Carolina, were doing.

Obama Victory!
(Mom I think I'm still skyping with you as this picture was taken)

So that’s probably how I’ll always remember Lijiang, as the place that I was for the 2008 election.

HeiLong Lake (Black Dragon Lake)

Statue of Mao right next to our hotel

Though the other stuff that will remain as well. We did have a discussion we had with the Chinese millionaire. He’s a 79 year old Naxi (the local minority nationality) who spent 21 years in jail and is one of the strangest, most self-absorbed individuals I have ever met. He was put in jail because he’s a musical “genius” (by his own humble assessment) and had conducted numerous Western orchestras, including one of the best in Beijing (maybe Shanghai, idk). However, after jail he timed the tourism development of Lijiang correctly, sold his house and bought a huge piece of property and opened up two theaters, one in Lijiang to contribute to his millions and one on his property. He REPEATEDLY reminded us that he was the “only man in all of China to have a theater on his property,” in which he gave free concerts.

Xuan Ke's Personal Theater

Lijiang is essentially like the epitome of Yunnan province Chinese tourist culture. It has made many people (like Xuan Ke, the odd Chinese millionaire) very wealthy, however, it has also had a huge impact on the local culture. Much of the Naxi minority culture has become commodified, and many Naxis have moved out of the old town because it was more financially lucrative to rent out their houses. Others have had to leave because of the noise and crowds. Most of the “Naxi” people in Lijiang’s Old Town are now actually just Han Chinese dressed up as Naxi ren for the tourists.

Lijiang Old Town at Night

Oh yeah, and apparently we started my birthday celebration month, because before the group split up to go on their separate ISP adventures I got a Chinese cake! Complete with an icing rabbit (because I'm the year of the rabbit).