View of Sifang Street 四方街 in Lijiang Ancient Town 丽江古城
Sifang Street in Lijiang Ancient Town is basically a square in the middle of town. It was a welcome landmark in a place where almost all the houses here look identical. Sifang Street is also a natural meeting point since this is where a lot of streets converge. At the same time, it also makes the place quite confusing as I could never remember which way was the way to my hostel. There are naturally a lot of people waiting here in Sifang Street or just hanging around to see what happens. When I managed to reach Sifang Street there wasn’t really anything interesting happening. I would imagine there would be cultural shows where local Naxi women would some and perform their ethnic dances. Maybe not that night, anyway there seemed to be a totally different kind of dancing happning, not on Sifang STreet itself but somewhere nearby.
Some Establishments Along Sifang Street 四方街
How do I know? It was not difficult to know since I could here them all the way across the square. The seemed to be a restaurant or bar where music was playing extremely loudly. It was Chinese pop but it was unbearably loud and I was already outside the establishment. Maybe it was just me but some of the people there seemed to enjoy it. I could never derive pleasure from such noise. I feel sorry for the occupants of hostels or inn near that restaurant as it was really unbearably loud. It is kind of sad that such rowdiness is allowed in a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I really hope the authorities can put a stop to this as it ruins the atmosphere of the town. I’m sure the nearby hostels would agree that it would be better for business without the loud music.
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