There’s a road in Shangri-La that winds through narrow mountain passes from the city of Lijiang to the very first bend on Yangtze river. The Yangtze is the 4th longest river in the world, dividing China north and south. This bend a place you can see from the moon, or on any world map.
(Houses north of the Yangtze have central heating. Houses south of the Yangtze don’t.)
The road to Shigu is populated with blue transports, taxis, rickshaws, pickup trucks that belch like tractors, and the occasional donkey cart.
As you wind up and down through mountain passes, you look across contoured green terraces of farmland on either side of this winding river.
Laura and I and the three boys took a ride on this road to Shigu, the town on the famous bend in the river. They stooped on the banks of the river and picked up stones and practiced their slingshots for hours.
Shangri-La is not a mythical place, it’s real. It’s the place where I am right now. Greetings from Lijiang China. I’m sitting in the hotel courtyard outside my hotel room, and it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.
For all world travelers and aspiring world travelers out there, Shangri-La belongs on your bucket list.
One of the best reasons to go to Lijiang is, you get the lap of luxury for the price of an ordinary hotel in the US. I stayed at a Westin in Cleveland a month ago and it cost about the same as the Chateau L’Act (“Fuguo” in Chinese).
Wanna see this place? It’s mouth watering. Here’s a video I shot:
If it looks this good on Youtube, you can only imagine what the real deal is like.
Ever heard of a book called “The Five Love Languages?” It’s about how different people receive love in different ways. Some people are “physical touch” people; some “words of affirmation”; some are “acts of service.” I think Laura’s love language is nice hotels :^>
I brought my daughter here in 2004 and we stayed at a guest house. It was a sort of a “Lonely Planet” type of place. It cost a whopping eight bucks a night. It’s probably $25 now, but still, if you like the low-rent backpacking approach to travel, Lijiang will suit you just fine.
Lijiang is China’s best-kept secret. Not many westerners here, but there’s a bridge in Old Town that was here in 1200AD. It’s home to an ethnic group called the Naxi, a dark-skinned people with distinctive food and dress.
This is in the foothills of the Himalayas, a few hundred miles north of Thailand and East of Tibet. 8,000 feet elevation. This is Southwest China, a part you rarely hear about. It’s the clearest blue sky you’ve ever seen with a laid back, almost hippie-like groove.
It never gets below 30 degrees F and never gets above 80. Today is December 3, it’s 55 degrees (13 degrees C) and I’m typing this in the outdoor courtyard next to a waterfall. The Chinese know this as a deluxe vacation spot, a serene escape from the relentless drive of China’s east coast.
Bryan moved here in 2000 to teach English. A year later I wanted to come visit him. I still worked at my Dilbert Cube job and we had a lot of debt and not much money. A company engaged me for some client work and we took it as a sign to just go.
Laura has always actively encouraged me to do stuff like this, even though she doesn’t have the kind of wanderlust that I have.
The client gig fell through but I went anyway. (My first-time travelogue is online in case you’re interested.) On the way there I passed through Taipei Taiwan then to Hong Kong before going to China.
I’ll NEVER forget my first trip to Asia; it was one of the most intense experiences I’ve ever had. I’ll never forget getting off the plane, taking the bus to the middle of Taipei and just walking around. I had to pinch myself. “DANG. I AM IN TAIWAN!!!”
My buddy Jim Cleary once told me, “Perry, you always take the scenic route.” He was right. When I got invited to speak in Australia a long time ago the travel agent said, “If you’re willing to stop in a bunch of strange places, you can go all the way around the world without paying a penny more.”
I didn’t just go to Brisbane. I stopped in Fiji first. Then after Brisbane, I went to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, Singapore, and Dubai. Then Nairobi and London.
Dang, what a friggin’ head rush that was.
We started traveling long before we could “afford” or justify it. The saving grace is, if you go to the less famous parts of the world, everything costs 1/3 as much and you can squeak by. I stayed at a Youth Hostel in Hong Kong. Bryan got me a free hotel room in Lijiang the first time, but had I need to pay, could have found a place for ten bucks a night.
Oh, and also, my 2nd trip to China was mostly paid for by a magazine. I did some factory write-ups for ’em. If you gotta go, there’s always a way….
Our first such trip was Brazil in 1999. If you have the stomach for international travel, if you have any inclination whatsoever, I think you should travel to strange and bizarre places. Here’s why:
IT HUGELY STRETCHES YOUR BRAIN. Every time I went on those trips, I could feel my brain cells struggling to absorb the experience. Occasionally you’d hear them squeaking and grinding. The time changes, the culture shock, the food, the customs, the strangeness of absolutely everything. Especially the first few times, it’s a radical experience.
Even after I came home I could feel my mind processing the experience for weeks afterwards.
You can never know how much it will broaden your horizons and your perspective. I can only promise you that when you come back, you’ll know your own inner world has become so much bigger. I never saw the world the same way again. These experiences color everything I see and do.
When I first visited Bryan I was downright jealous. Here’s a guy who gets paid $200 a month by the hotel he works for; he works about 20 hours a week; two hundred bucks a month was twice as much as any reasonable single guy could possibly spend in southwestern China. He had nary a care in the world. (At least that’s how it appeared to me.)
I was the sales manager of an ambitious little company; I had three kids; I was in the “early 30’s compression zone” of having a growing family, carrying the world on your shoulders and fighting like mad to prove yourself; I had all sorts of debts, pressures and obligations. The thought of escaping to a place like this was tantalizing.
I remember meeting an Italian girl in Kunming, she’d been backpacking through China for 5 months, living on her wits, taking odd jobs and living off the generosity of peasants.
A permanent escape would not have been a good idea. I was in a crucible then and I needed to earn my stripes. But that one week escape was a taste of heaven.
You only have to take a trip like this once, and nobody will ever be able to take your pictures or memories away from you. You can take a 1-minute vacation to Shanrgri-La any time you want.
OK, so what’s going on here in Lijiang?
Bryan has come to join us. Tomorrow we pick up our new daughter Zoe, and since he speaks fluent Mandarin, he can translate. He’s gotta ask the person questions like “Is she potty trained” and “what does she like to eat” and all that. We’re doing a few days of sightseeing before the adoption stuff gets into full swing.
Laura and the kids are here for the first time and they’re doing mighty well with the food and the strangeness of everything. Laura’s a tad anxious; doing an adoption is like giving birth, it’s reaching into the box of chocolates and pulling out…. another box of chocolates.
What kind of box did we get? The waiting is hard.
China is a different world. Everything is Chinese characters; the English translations are crude and often hilarious. The store called “Yak Meat Naxi Girl” sits right next to another store called “Yak Meat Fat Girl.” The two places sell the exact same thing: Yak meat.
Yak meat is tasty, by the way. This morning I got some Yak Butter Tea. It comes in two flavors: Sweet and Salty. Yak Butter Sweet Tea tastes, well, like milky tea. Yak Butter Salty Tea tastes like tea mixed with milk sea water. You might like it… you might not.
By the way I think tea is awesome. Most people start their day with coffee. I start mine with black tea.
There’s this joke in China – it goes like this: Three guys get on a bus, an American, a Japanese, and a Chinese.
The bus is rolling down the road and the American rolls down his window and starts throwing $100 bills into the wind.
The bus driver says, “What are you doing????!!!”
The American replies, “Heck, we’ve got so much money in America, what’s the big deal if I waste some of it?”
Then the Japanese guy rolls down his window and he reaches into his bag and starts pulling out cameras, video screens and watches and throws them out the window. They smash on the pavement below.
The bus driver replies, “What are you doing????!!!”
The Japanese says, “Heck, we’ve got so much consumer electronics, what’s the big deal if I waste some of it?”
Then the Chinese guy pops open his window, grabs a couple of passengers and throws them out the window.
The bus driver says, “What are you doing????!!!”
The Chinese guy replies, “Heck, we’ve got so many people in China, what’s the big deal if I waste a few of ’em?”
Well, on Sunday afternoon Chinese time, we’re taking one of those Chinese people to be our daughter and live in the United States. By the time our American friends wake up, we’ll be a family of 7 instead of 6. Will share. Stay tuned!
Perry Marshall
P.S.: Laura’s got quite a few more great pictures at her blog – be sure and check ’em out!
P.P.S.: If you’d like to be on my notification list, join it here.
Share This Post
About the Author
Perry Marshall has launched two revolutions in sales and marketing. In Pay-Per-Click advertising, he pioneered best practices and wrote the world's best selling book on Google advertising. And he's driven the 80/20 Principle deeper than any other author, creating a new movement in business.
He is referenced across the Internet and by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, INC and Forbes Magazine.
21 Comments on “A glimpse at the most beautiful place on earth”
We have a similar joke in Mexico: people on a cruise ship have to abandon ship and get on a lifeboat. The Cuban pulls out a very expensive cigar, takes a few puffs and pitches it into the sea, to the consternation of the other men; the Russian does the same with a couple of swigs from the most expensive Vodka, and so on, until finally the Mexican, having observed all this carefully, suddenly reaches over and pitches one of the passengers into the sea. Everyone exclaims with horror, “what are you doing, that’s a human being you’re throwing out!” “It’s a Canadian,”replies the Mexican, “we have plenty of them in Mexico.” This used to circulate in Cabo, back when Americans were flush and the Canadians got a reputation for being skinflints who always moaned about how their currency was worth less than the dollar, and who didn’t tip nearly as well as the Americans. Times have certainly changed.
Hi Perry,
Just wanted to congratulate you. Thanks for sharing this. My son married a Chinese American girl and we have a beautiful granddaughter by them (plus one coming). Her family is wonderful and we’ve gained an appreciation for their values and culture as well.
Wishing you all the best.
Joe
Love it. Love it. Perry, congrats! What an amazing gift for Zoe, and what a precious gift for you, Laura, and the kids. I was thinking about you all weekend, especially as I drove past your house Sunday. (Bethany was playing basketball at the Park District on 31st the past 2 weekends). Godspeed on the rest of your journey. Can’t wait to meet Zoe and see you again.
Thanks Bian for the exscursion. Wish there was no racizem and every one just be happy and visit differant country’s like this and smile and be friendly.
Hi Perry,
Not that you need parenting advice, but as I was telling my wife about your adoption she said if you’re smart, you’ll hire a Chinese speaking nanny. My wife is Korean and adopted when she was four and a half. She spoke Korean and now knows none of it. A big regret!
Safe travels and enjoy the new addition to your family!
Tim
She only babbles (19 mos old) and she’s used to a local dialect. Great idea for an older kid tho!
So beatiful place.Thank you for sharing us your fascinating experience in China.
Thanks for posting this Perry, congratulations on your new family member!
Congratulations Perry & Laura! Thank you so much for sharing your lives so openly with us – we very much feel like part of your family. I’ve been thinking of you all weekend, knowing that you are meeting Zoe for the first time – and pray God’s blessings on you & your new little gift from Heaven!
Fabulous and enticing! Perry, you’re fantastic! For panoramic splendor closer to home, sometime spend a long weekend at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada, and go for a long lunch to the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise Hotel about an hour’s drive from there. About an hour and a half drive from Calgary, where it is easy to find air connections. Unbelievable.
Thanks again Perry it makes you want to visit China. Hope the rest of the trip is pleasant and you get home safe. God Bless
Thanks for sharing Perry. It sure sounds like you and your family are having an amazing trip. Keep sending those photos. I hope I can retrace your steps and visit those places in China one day.
Very awesome! All this great stuff is well deserved and couldn’t happen to a nicer couple!
You know a blog post is going to be good when it starts with “The road to Shangri-La”. I was not disappointed.
Hi Perry ..I rarely comment on blogs, I like to listen and learn, which I have been doing on your blog for some time now, and know that one day soon I will be sat in your office doing Bob, I look forward to it. However your post touches me in many ways ..
1. I too am in China right now, in Jiangsu, for work for a month again, quite a dull place to look at but the people pretty much everywhere as you know are so welcoming and literally brothers and sisters are born every moment you engage. So I understand your reflections.
2. I was adopted at birth and it has never made any difference to the life I have lead, have no regrets and in this world of over population we need to share the love.
?? Laura ?????????
It’s a damn shame I can’t watch your YouTube vid here in China, but Lijiang is on my bucket list for sure. This is certain to be a wonderful new chapter in your life, thoughts are with you.
Paul – Perth Australia
Paul,
I looked up Jiangsu. Closest I’ve been to where you are is Ningbo and Suzhou. Great to hear from ya!
Perry
Thanks for the update(s) and the (mental) expansions to carry it by. Thanks for forging a path and be a genuine leader
Congratulations on the new addition to the family I celebrate the journey with you and pray God’s continued blessings with each step on life’s journey
Hi Perry,
Absolutely a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing the wonders of your trip.
I’ll be praying for you and your family as you go through the end of your adoption process and can bring your new daughter home to America.
When she is older, she will know how blessed she is to be a member of your family.
Delores
Perry… I’ve only been to South China.. and I concur about the beauty of the counter which takes your breath away…
Funny thing their name for America is:
“Mei Guo” which means Beautiful Country…
Awwwwwww Thank you for sharing those so beautiful, Thank you Perry,And have a great trip. See you soon!
P.S. Say Hollo to your Family
God bless
Your sincerely
Henry Hwang
On 12/03/2011 At: 18:00
Perry,
As the owner of a company that sells fireworks and related products, I’ve been fortunate enough to take half a dozen trips to China, Hong Kong, etc. and you are absolutely right: everyone in a biz should take trips like this. The “mind stretch” is profound, and has been entirely positive. But the relationships created, even as a 12,000 mile distance, will be with me forever. Thanks for this post. Thoroughly enjoyed it.–Harry