At the foot of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain protects a small Naxi village, which is quiet and beautiful, unique in China

Number of days: 1 day
Time: May
Average cost: 200 yuan
With whom: With friends
Tour kinds: photography, humanities, free travel, hiking
The author went to these places: Lijiang Ancient City Yulong Snow Mountain Yuhu Village Lijiang Yuhu Naxi Courtyard Locke's house
Updated: 2020-06-05 12:25

More than ten kilometers north of the ancient city of Lijiang, there is a village called "Wuluken" at the southern foot of the Yulong Snow Mountain, which means the village at the foot of the snow mountain, and this is Yuhu Village.

Yuhu Village is located at the foot of Yulong Snow Mountain, and the entire village houses are built of stones on the mountain, and Yuhu Village is not only the water source of Lijiang, but also the source of the Naxi ethnic group and the source of Lijiang culture. The ancestors of the Naxi people, the ancient Qiang people, migrated thousands of miles to the foot of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and settled there. This is the earliest origin of Yuhu Village.

Yuhu Village is 2760m above sea level, with a pleasant climate, warm winters and cool summers, beautiful snow-capped mountains, and crystal snow-capped peaks, providing a spectacular backdrop for the village.

Yuhu Village is a large village, consisting of three small villages: Yuhu Upper Village, Yuhu Lower Village and Wenhua Village, of which the upper and lower villages are closely connected, and Wenhua Village is one kilometer away. Most of the villagers are Naxi, but there are also Han, Bai, Tibetan, Lisu, Pumi and Mosuo people who married in from outside.

Walking into Yuhu Village, Yulong County, Lijiang, rows of stone houses, residential buildings with unique style, are typical Naxi traditional buildings, tiled houses, cornices and paintings, mostly "three squares and one wall, four in five courtyards" or "one into two courtyards" and "front and rear courtyards", the walls are mostly made of local special folded glacier stones, which is unique in China.

The village roads are paved with small stones, and the stone culture is strong. The interior decoration and layout are also unique, with a humble appearance and a luxurious interior.

Yuhu Lake is located directly north of the village, 200 meters long and more than 40 meters wide, with water in all seasons, and the amount of water changes with the seasons. This lake is an artificial lake built by the Mu Tusi before the Ming Dynasty, and the name of the Jade Lake is because the snow peaks and forests of Yulong Mountain are reflected in the lake, and the white snow and the green shade of the forest reflect each other, very much like green and white jade, which is one of the twelve views of Yulong Snow Mountain.

Legend has it that after Mu Tusi built this lake, he could not store water due to leakage at the bottom of the lake, and later buried a jade pot at the bottom of the lake to store water into a lake, so the jade lake is also called the jade pot. Later, because there was a natural lake on the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, known as Yuhu Lake in ancient times, Mu Tusi later used this name as the name of this artificial lake.

In the jade lake, the snow water is clear, the aquatic plants are swaying, the blue sky and white clouds set off the tall jade dragon snow peaks reflected in the lake, and nature seems to settle at the bottom of the lake. Here, the people in the village are leisurely and calm, riding snow-capped mountains during the day, and coming to the stargazing platform at night, living a small life without rushing.

It was in such a quiet and charming village that an Austrian scholar of America began his study of Naxi Dongba culture alone. Yuhu Village has become an important post station in his life journey, a home for his soul to watch. Here, he left his youth, his joy and sorrow, and deep attachment. He is Joseph, who is known as the "father of Naxi studies" in the West. Dr. Locke.

Because of Locke, Yuhu was known to more people. Decades after leaving here, the Naxi courtyard where he lived was opened as the Locke House Exhibition Hall, which displays pictures and preserved objects that he used during the turbulent times. His former office and bedroom were also restored to their original state. It was here that he wrote about the beauty and mystery of the Naxi people.

If you stay in Yuhu Lake for a day, going up to the snowy mountain is a good choice to observe the snowy mountains more closely and from different angles. Climbing from Yuhu Lake is only a few side peaks of the snow-capped mountains, Yuhu Lake is located higher, and you can overlook the entire beautiful village of Lijiang Bazi from the hillside on a sunny day.