Qingxi Reservoir

This guide to Qingxi Reservoir in Lijiang starts with the one sign every visitor reads on its stone bridge: no swimming. From there it explains why, tracing the quiet work of the city's water-source protection office as they fence shorelines and patrol a lake that feeds Lijiang's taps. Alongside that, you'll meet the students, retirees and photographers who treat the jade-green water and its mirrored view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain as an ordinary afternoon backdrop. Stand on the bridge and watch the ducks nobody chases off, and notice how easily infrastructure can pass for scenery.