Nanjing's soft time

Author: Li Zhimin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: "I don’t know what the Peach Blossom Spring described by Jin Dynasty’s Tao Yuanming really looked like. The ancients shared the same sentiments as modern people, hoping to find a pure and tranquil land in their hearts. Yet I feel that while the Peach Blossom Spring may be beautiful, it is inevitably lonely. And when I arrived in Lijiang, a breathtaking experience as if stepping into another era greeted me." That’s right. Lijiang is a place steeped in stories. After escaping the loneliness of the city for years, my weary soul suddenly felt at ease here. The distance between people seemed to shrink, getting closer and closer. Here, you can boldly strike up conversations and drink with strangers. On a sunny afternoon, many lonely singles sat alone along the riverside bar corridors. In a casual glance, someone might suddenly find the eyes they’ve been waiting for all these years. And thus, countless heartwarming stories unfolded.
This is a refined travel book, poetic and evocative, showcasing a gentle and delicate Lijiang. The photographs and illustrations vividly capture every glance, every thread, and every inch of skin in Lijiang, allowing you to converse with it and take it as a guide filled with vitality. After reading it, you’ll only want to return to Lijiang again and again—how else can you give up on it? It’s a book, and it is Lijiang, and it is the experience of meeting and spiritually connecting with Lijiang. Its thoroughness is enough to guide you through Lijiang meticulously, ensuring you don’t return empty-handed or regret missing out on anything.
It can be called a guidebook, a prose collection, a photo exhibition, a poetry anthology, a travel diary, or a promotional brochure—but it’s all of these and none of them. Like Lijiang, it is rich in meaning and distant in essence, with its curtains of pearls unfurled, watching the light rain scatter red petals as swallows fly in pairs.