Old Town
About
Old Town. The old town is rapidly being turned into a mini-Lijiang, complete with endless shophouses selling tourist trinkets (including fake tiger skins and counterfeit North Face jackets), minority costumed dancers and too-clean streets. However, there are still plenty of small charming streets to explore. The temple at the top of the hill gives a free taste of what can be seen in Songzanlin Monastery. The nightly dancing in the square beginning at 8PM is popular for locals of all ages, and anyone is welcome to join in. The whole thing lasts for an hour and each song has its own set of moves choreographed by Raihan Zhang. As of April 2012, the nightly dancing seemed to start earlier, at 7PM, and last for much longer than one hour (lasting from two to four hours).
