Lijiang: Part III

- Shopping is interesting. After wandering around the area, everything starts to look the same. Also, some of the shopkeepers can be very pushy sales-people. One way to deal with this is to only go into shops that are crowded, as this keeps the shopkeeper from focusing on you too exclusively. However, most shopkeepers understand if you tell them “Wo zhi kan kan” (I’m just looking).

- If you decided there is something you want, comparison shopping for almost everything is not only possible, but a good idea. Dylan and I decided that we wanted to buy a wood plaque, and we looked into several shops before making a purchase. Though on the surface, they may all look quite similar, as with anything handmade, there is a perceivable difference in quality which is worth looking for. There is also generally a correlating difference in price.

- Bargaining. Unless there is a sign stating otherwise, always bargain. My general practice has been to start by offering half of what they demand and then working in from there. The wood carving we bought, for example, started at 200 yuan and we got it down to 140 yuan. Dylan thinks the price may have started higher because we’re foreigners. This may be true. ON the other hand, it is quite possible that to a Naxi person, even Chinese people are perceived as outsiders, and those who travel to Lijiang for vacation are probably substantially wealthier than the Naxi who live here. Also foreign tourists (mostly the backpacker crowd) have been coming to Lijiang much longer than domestic tourists, so in a way, Western tourists are more old-school. I don’t know if that would result in a different price, but it certainly makes the situation more complex.

- A cool place to check out (and which is not listed in the Lonely Planet or marked on any of the maps) is the copper workshop. Dylan and I stumbled upon this place by accident, and I’m not sure we could find it again if we went back, but I’m very glad we did find it. The man was selling really cool stuff, all of which he made himself, and it turned out his prices were quite good. He didn’t really bargain much, because I think there were some limitations on how much he was allowed to sell. In Lijiang Old Town, there are certain houses designated for craftsmen to come and do their work for people to see, and they are paid to do this. They are allowed to sell the things they make, but I’m guessing there are certain limitations, which I think the guy tried to explain, but that I didn’t really understand.

- This leads me to my next tip: wander. Don’t spend too much time pouring over guidebooks and maps looking for specific, recommended locations. Go where your fancy takes you and you’ll probably find a lot more cool stuff. The “Lonely Planet phenomenon” is strong in areas like these. Something place gets their name into a popular guidebook, and as a result it sees an enormous increase in business. This is good, but it also causes said business to raise its prices and perhaps change its style somewhat, thus altering the reasons why it was chosen in the first place. Ergo, if you see something listed in a guidebook, chances are that no matter how recent this guidebook is, by the time you get to that place, it will have changed, and maybe not for the better.