Lijiang, formerly the Kingdom of Naxi (Nakhi), borders Tibet and is home to the Naxi ethnic minority. Lijiang provides a unique location in which to examine the relationship between the ethnic minorities of China1 and the dominant Han Chinese and furthermore, to examine Chinese culture as seen through the "Master narration" of the Western outsider, both past and present.

Lijiang has, for at least a thousand years, been a site of constant invasion and attempts at colonization. The Naxi have managed to retain their power as well as their land, retaining a certain control and resistance to hegemony, a preservation of their way of life, through their willingness to surrender to certain exercises of power.

It was in Lijiang in the 13th Century that Kubla Khan chanted Ancestral voices prophesying war, while leading his Mongols across the Yangzi River, floating on balloons made of sheep stomachs. Somewhat similarly, in 1935 Commander He Long's Red Army crossed the Yangzhi River on boats made of door panels.

The Stone Drum on the bank of Yangzi River, which Ezra Pound has written about3, is an old town that has witnessed profound historical events, among them the passage of the Red Army. Tourists to the site are entertained by the locals' dance of 'Ten Farewells to the Red Army' which is considered exotic and odd by visitors from the more developed East Coast of China. Perhaps bordering on kitch, the tradition of these dance performances has been largely forgotten by the modernized city-dwellers.

Today the Lijiang people enjoy the fame generated through tourism. They are proud of their reputation as people who have maintained genuine/authentic Han Chinese culture better than the Han themselves. They are equally and certainly somewhat paradoxically, proud of their 'remoteness' and 'isolation' and do not dissuade the portrayal of the 'exoticism' of themselves. There are many points of interest for a visit to Lijiang: The ancient city; the Dongba shaman culture and its text of pictographs; the mysterious custom of sacrificial suicide; even the devastating earthquake of February 1996 has turned into an example of the extraordinary experiences Lijiang has witnessed. Lijiang has become a symbol of China's past, albeit the beautified version. It's crowning glory, the United Nations, World Cultural Heritage banner, proclaiming Lijiang to be the most internationally famous, remote town in China.

Lijiang's myth was also constructed by the foreigners who visited there. The Austro-American, Joseph Rock4, of the National Geographic Society, and his record of images and text from 1922 to 1949 helped to create the concept of Lijiang as a kind of Shangri-La. The Russian, Peter Goulart, who was there on World Bank business in the 40s, also contributed to the aura of Lijiang as a lost paradise in his book The Forgotten Kingdom.5¡¡ British contributors to Lijiang's myth include the legendary travel writer Bruce Chatwin and Channel Four's Beyond the Clouds, award-winning documentary by Phil Agland.

But today's Lijiang is most well-known for its 'three eccentrics,' a term the locals proudly use to promote their town. The first 'eccentric' is Xuan Ke, who spent 20 years in a labor camp, but who now tours internationally with his Naxi Ancient Music Performance Group. Comprised of performers who are mostly between 60 and 90 years old, the group glorifies the preservation of ancient Han Chinese music which over time, has been lost. The second 'eccentric' is Doctor He, an herbal doctor who claims he has the ability to cure all kinds of diseases with his homemade herbal teas. Since Bruce Chatwin paid his visit to the doctor many years ago, the doctor's fame has spread - culminating with his own listing in the Lonely Planet guidebook - and his clinic is constantly packed with foreign tourists. The walls of his clinic are testament to his many patients and among the namecards and photos to be found pasted to his walls are those of Deng Xiaoping's son and Princess Diana, although she never intended to visit him. The third 'eccentric' is He Zhigang, a disabled calligrapher who writes poetry by holding the brush in his mouth. Everyday he can be found in the park performing his art for the public, along with the photo of him receiving a visit from Prince Charles.

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Qiu Zhijie, "The West," CD-Rom, (Power Point),
2000-present

2. Black Dragon Lake's Lijiang Gender Study Institute - this is one of the rare institutes devoted to gender study within China.

3. The Stone Drum town and Red Army Museum on the bank of Yangzhi River, where the dance of 'Ten Farewells to the Red Army' is performed by the locals.

4. The airport of the Flying Tiger - During WWII, the American Volunteer Group led by the legendary pilot, Claire Lee Chennault used this airport as one of its bases.6¡ It is currently used as a practice field where the newly rich Chinese learn how to drive their private cars. Chennault's role in WWII, when China and America were allies, elevated him to the status of a "most-loved American." Hundreds of thousands of Chinese filled the streets to say good-bye to him when he left the town inspiring his driver to turn off the ignition and allow the throng to push the car to the airport. During the Cold War, Chennault's love for China turned to hatred and he tried but failed to organize a volunteer group to fight the Chinese Communists.

Fei Hu, The Story of the Flying Tigers

John Wayne as the hero of the Flying Tigers

Claire Lee Chennault

AVG P-40

5. Interview with the 'Three Eccentrics'

2 "..It flung up momentarily the sacred river.

And 'mid this tumult Kubla heard from far

4 The Ancient Nakhi Kingdom of Southwest China, Harvard University Press, 1947

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