No, it's not the first line of a poem, although I am told of a Chinese novel with a similar title. It's a pub that we chanced upon when we wandered away from the guest house on the first evening in Lijian. From the street, we saw and heard a girl singing her heart out, accompanied by a guitarist, and went in. In the end, I returned to the pub four more times.
I don't visit pubs; they are noisy and smoke filled. But this was a pub with a difference. The customers sat in comfortable chairs, chatted or played cards quietly, and drank moderately. The songs, usually by a guitarist, was soft and lovely, and customers would sometimes go up to the open mike. The young owner was welcoming and made room around the charcoal brazier. Of course, I didn't understand what was being sung in Chinese (though they always sang an English song for me) but the music and the atmosphere was thoroughly enjoyable. I would sip a beer or share a bottle of wine, and that would last me till 11pm when the pub closed.
The pub is on quiet Zhong Yi Lane off Guang Yi Street. The owner, whose English name is Bingo, is from Jiangsu Provice. He had met his wife, who is from Hunnan, in Lijiang. He, another dreamer, left his family's lucrative business in heavy equipment for the life of a pub and guest house owner.
I liked the pub so much that I took a room there for my last night in Lijiang.
Unfortunately, I have to end with a sour note here. The beer and a shot of whiskey, which cost only Yuan 28 when I first visited the pub, had been jacked up to Yuan 38 on my last evening. Most visitors o the bar are college students on a tight budget and these prices would be a rip off.
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