Lijiang

Best time to visit

1. Jan
2. Feb
3. Mar
4. Apr
5. May
6. Jun
7. Jul
8. Aug
9. Sep
10. Oct
11. Nov
12. Dec

From the airport or station to the city

Where you land, the ways into the city centre, how long each takes and what it costs.

Getting around

The Old Town is walk-only; wheel your bag in or ask your inn to meet you at a gate. Taxis and DiDi are cheap for Shuhe, Baisha and Black Dragon Pool. For Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Tiger Leaping Gorge, most visitors book a day tour or hire a car with driver through their inn. Lijiang sits at about 2,400 m, so take it easy on day one.

Book these before you fly

These sights need a reservation with your passport. Walk-ups are usually turned away.

• Jade Dragon Snow MountainReal-name, capped tickets with no walk-in sales. The official channel is the Lijiang Tourism Group (丽江旅游集团) WeChat mini-program; big cable car tickets are released the evening before (reported at 20:00) and sell out fast in peak season. Many foreigners book through Trip.com or their inn, which can use agency allocations. Bring the same passport you booked with; entry is by passport and face scan.
• Blue Moon ValleyPart of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain ticket: book the park entry in advance with your passport (official mini-program, Trip.com or your inn). You do not need a cable car ticket to visit the valley.
• Spruce Meadow (Yunshanping)Real-name tickets, released up to 7 days ahead through the Lijiang Tourism Group (丽江旅游集团) WeChat mini-program or the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain WeChat account; Trip.com and inns also sell them. Bring the passport you booked with.

Top sights

丽江古城（大研古城）Lijiang Old Town (Dayan)A UNESCO-listed Naxi market town of cobbled lanes, canals and wooden houses.Half a day, plus evenings黑龙潭公园Black Dragon PoolA spring-fed pool with a marble bridge and pavilion, framed by Jade Dragon Snow Mountain on clear days.1–2 hours木府Mu PalaceThe rebuilt residence of the Mu family, the Naxi chieftains who ruled Lijiang for centuries.1–1.5 hours玉龙雪山Jade Dragon Snow MountainA glaciated 5,596 m massif; the Glacier Park cable car lifts you to about 4,500 m.Booking requiredFull day蓝月谷Blue Moon ValleyTerraced turquoise pools of glacier meltwater at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, at about 2,900 m.Booking required1.5–2 hours《印象丽江》Impression Lijiang showZhang Yimou’s open-air show with hundreds of local performers, staged at 3,100 m with the snow peaks behind.Booking recommended1.5 hours incl. seating束河古镇Shuhe Old TownA smaller, calmer Naxi old town on the Tea Horse Road, 4 km north-west of Lijiang.2–3 hours白沙古镇Baisha village and muralsThe old Naxi capital, a quiet village with Ming-era temple murals mixing Buddhist, Taoist and Naxi art.2 hours虎跳峡Tiger Leaping GorgeOne of the world’s deepest gorges, where the Jinsha (upper Yangtze) roars between two 5,000 m peaks.Full day trip (2 hours each way by road); 2 days for the high trail狮子山万古楼Lion Hill and Wangu TowerA 33 m five-tiered wooden tower on the hill above the Old Town, with the best view over its rooftops to the snow peaks.1 hour丽江市博物院（东巴文化博物馆）Lijiang Museum (Dongba Culture Museum)A free museum on Naxi life and the Dongba pictographic script, the only picture writing still used in religious rites.1–1.5 hours玉峰寺Yufeng TempleA small Tibetan Buddhist monastery on the slopes of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, famous for a 500-year-old camellia that blooms by the thousand.1 hour玉湖村（洛克故居）Yuhu village and Joseph Rock’s houseA stone-built Naxi village right under the snow peaks, where the explorer Joseph Rock lived for years; his house is now a small museum.1.5–2 hours拉市海湿地公园Lashi Lake (Lashihai wetland)A highland lake and nature reserve 10 km west of town, known for winter birdlife, boat rides and horse treks on an old Tea Horse Road trail.Half a day云杉坪Spruce Meadow (Yunshanping)An alpine meadow at about 3,200 m on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, ringed by spruce forest, reached by a short chairlift-style cable car and boardwalks.Booking required2–3 hours玉水寨Yushuizhai (Jade Water Village)A spring-fed park at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, revered as a holy site of Naxi Dongba culture, with waterfalls, trout ponds, Dongba shrines and folk-craft courtyards.1.5–2 hours长江第一湾（石鼓镇）First Bend of the Yangtze (Shigu)The spot where the upper Yangtze (Jinsha River) makes a sharp U-turn to the north-east, seen from the old riverside town of Shigu with its stone drum and iron-chain bridge.Half a day with the drive忠义市场Zhongyi MarketThe big local farmers’ market just south of the Old Town: wild mushrooms, cured meats, Naxi snacks and breakfast stalls, where Lijiang residents actually shop.1 hour指云寺Zhiyun TempleA quiet Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Karma Kagyu school, founded in 1727 on the hillside above Lashi Lake, mixing Han, Tibetan, Bai and Naxi building styles.1 hour大研纳西古乐会Naxi Ancient Music concert (Dayan Naxi Orchestra)An evening concert in the Old Town where Naxi musicians, some of them elderly, play Taoist ritual and court tunes handed down for centuries on traditional instruments.Booking recommendedAbout 1 hour

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