This day trip started with a visit to a number of monastaries close to Lijiang, which were originally Tibetan; here is the entrance to one of them.  The temples are noted for their frescoes on the interior walls, painted five hundred years ago by Tibetan, Naxi, and Bai minority artists as well as Han artists.  However, many of the frescoes were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution; and those that remain are not allowed to be photographed.

Naxi women dance for tourists near the temple.  Supposedly performing a traditional dance, these women simply stepped sideways in a circular pattern, unsmilingly going through the motions, while hawkers encouraged contributions for the spectacle.

A Tibetan horseman gallops across the grass.  Many Tibetans inhabit this far northwestern area of Yunnan province, which borders Tibet.

More Tibetan horsemen in front of the cloud-shrouded Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.  They were a rough, hard-edged bunch, and gave me a bit of a difficult time as I walked around the restaurant where the bus stopped for lunch - an indication of things to come in Tibet.

A very-wide-angle shot of a glacier near the top of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, spilling down the entire mountainside.  A very, very long lift ride brings visitors to an elevation of nearly 5,000 meters - three miles - near the top of the mountain.  With little walking and climbing to be done, the lack of air at this altitude was fortunately no problem.  Note the glacier’s blue coloration in spots, indicating the old age and coldness of the ice.

Ice, rock, cloud, sky.  An other-worldly view of the glacier, with clouds rapidly blowing through the landscape, changing its look every few seconds.