“Where are all the skyscrapers?”, we ask ourselves on arrival in Lijiang (Yunnan). The city in the mountains is known for its beautiful old town and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Snow Mountain), which is over 5,500 meters high. Although Lijiang is around 2,400 meters above sea level, it even has palm trees here and we can walk around in shorts in October.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Yulong Snow Mountain is a mountain massif in the north of Lijiang. The highest peak is 5,500 meters above sea level. There are three cable cars that take tourists up the mountain. If you want to go to the Glacier Park, you have to book your tickets two days in advance because they sell out quickly! However, tickets for the other cable cars (Spruce Meadow and Yak Meadow) should still be available locally. A visit to the blue lakes (Blue Moon Valley) is included in the ticket, as the bus stops there on the return journey. It is important to allow enough time and set off early in the morning. For example, it took us 3.5 hours to get from Lijiang to Yak Meadow.
At 9.30 am we took bus no. 101 to the Tourist Center (1 h ride for 15 RMB), where we got our tickets. Another bus then takes 40 minutes to the valley station of the cable car. Because the cable car is old and slow, we waited for an hour until our number was called and we could go up the mountain. The view at Yak Meadow is spectacular with the best view of the top of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain! We spent two hours there. Afterwards, we queued for an hour for the gondola ride down to the valley. We took the bus back to the tourist center, stopping at the Spruce Meadow valley station and Blue Moon Valley.
Ticket price for the park: 100 RMB (collected on the bus during the journey)
Ticket price for Spruce Meadow: 60 RMB (approx. 15 min drive from the Tourist Center)
Ticket price for Yak Meadow: 65 RMB (approx. 40 min drive from the Tourist Center)
Old Town of Lijiang
There is a lot to see in the old town! As usual in China, we’re not talking about a few streets here, but several kilometers of beautifully decorated houses and countless specialty stores. If you want some peace and quiet, walk through the streets in the morning and try the famous Rose Flower Cake. Around lunchtime, the number of people increases. And in the evening, when all the houses and flowers are illuminated, Lijiang is full of life.
If you like climbing stairs, you can walk up Elephant Hill from the Black Dragon Pool (Heilong Tan). The high tower (Wangu Luo) in Lion Hill Park also offers a beautiful view of the city of Lijiang. For those with a sweet tooth, you can buy fresh fruit and vegetables at the local market. There are fresh mangoes, kiwis, mandarins, pomelos and mangosteen. Everything your heart desires. “Zhongyi Market” is located south of the old town and is the largest fresh produce market in the city.
Ticket price Black Dragon Pool: 50 RMB
Ticket price Lion Hill Park (Wangu Luo): 35 RMB
Tiger Leaping Gorge
If you are active and like mountains, we recommend a two-day hike in the Tiger Leaping Gorge. As there is already a lot to see in the city of Lijiang with the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, we would only do this hike if you are staying for more than four days. A public bus goes to “Hutiaoxia” to the north of Lijiang. From there, it takes about 8 hours to walk to Tina’s Guesthouse (Tina’s Youth Hostel), where there is a bus back to Lijiang at 2.30 pm and 3.30 pm. You can stay overnight in the hotels along the way, which you can find on Trip.com or in Amap.
How to get to Lijiang
By public transport: South of Lijiang is Sanyi Airport and the train station for express trains. As our last stop was Zhangye, one train journey seemed far too long. We therefore planned two days for the route: First we traveled 3.5 h by train from Zhangye to Lanzhou (Gansu) and the next day by plane from Lanzhou Zhongchuan to Lijiang (2 h).
After our stay in Lijiang, we continued by train to Guilin (10.5 h journey time) and Yangshuo.