Life needs Yunnan rice noodles: American Denis

“I am dying for a good Mixian（rice noodles）！” said Denis from the United States. He regards Yunnan rice noodles rather than coffee a necessity of his life.

 Denis is from Seattle. Several years ago, he came to China and worked in Qingdao of Shandong Province. When he finished his work, he was reluctant to leave and had the strong wish to learn more about Chinese culture.

“I don’t want to go to big cities and I like small cities. Right at that time, I learned about the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang from an advertisement," said Denis. He soon decided to come to Lijiang though he knew nothing about the city before. There he found a job online and started to teach French.

Having lived in the city in northwest Yunnan for years, Denis says that he is a Lijiang local now. He is especially crazy about the rice noodles and is able to name more than ten of the best rice noodle restaurants in Lijiang. He can also tell the tastes of different restaurants and is even quite clear about the temper of the owners.

Denis has many friends in Lijiang. "The people here are sincere. They lead lives with passion and devote themselves to what they do.” He said that he likes to make local friends and intends to write a book about the plants in Lijiang in the future. What he asks for is not much: chocolate, whiskey and, of course, rice noodles.