Things to do in Lijiang
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lijiang
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, March to May and late September to early November. Dry, clear, mountain views most reliable.
Winter, best snow mountain and emptiest towns, coldest nights. Lashihai birding peaks. Chinese New Year week is crowded and expensive.
Summer, wettest, greenest and busiest. Gorge trails most closure prone, longest cable car queues, but wild mushroom season and flower seas.
What's on
- Sanduo Festival 8th day of the 2nd lunar month, usually March
Major Naxi festival honouring protector Sanduo, gatherings at Sanduo Temple with a trade fair atmosphere.
- Bangbang / Rod Festival March, lunar dates shift
Traditional Naxi trade fair. Confirm locally.
- Dongba Fair 5th day of the 3rd lunar month, usually April
Dongba ritual and culture gatherings.
- Torch Festival 24th/25th day of the 6th lunar month, usually late July / August
Torches at every doorway, village parades, singing, dancing, wrestling and horse racing. Book everything.
- July Mule and Horse Fair July
Tea Horse heritage, horse trading and events.
- Zhuanshan / Holy Mountain Festival September
Mountain worship festival.
Best things to do in Lijiang
Dayan Old Town
UNESCO canal town of cobbled lanes and Naxi houses, best walked at dawn and again after the lanterns come on.
Black Dragon Pool
Spring fed pool where Jade Dragon Snow Mountain reflects on calm mornings, with the Dongba Culture Museum inside.
Mu Family Mansion
Mu clan mansion plus the Lion Hill climb to Wangu Tower for the best panorama over old town roofs to the mountain.
Shuhe Old Town
Calmer Tea Horse Road town with broader squares, clearer water and artisan workshops, best from afternoon into evening.
Baisha Old Town
Earliest Naxi town, closest to the mountain, with working artisans, rooftop cafes and the multi tradition Baisha Murals.
Blue Moon Valley
Terraced milky turquoise pools fed by glacial meltwater on the Baishui River, with snow peaks behind the boardwalks.
Impression Lijiang
Large cast open air show at about 3,100 metres with the snow mountain as backdrop, built on Naxi and Yi traditions.
Naxi Ancient Music
Evening concert of Tang and Song era music on old instruments, paired in the prose with Dongba culture and workshops.
Where to stay in Lijiang
Just outside Dayan South or North Gate
first trip, best balance
Five minutes to the canals and night atmosphere, with a car able to reach your door for early departures.
Shuhe
calm, space and families
Larger resorts, broader streets, parking and pools, with a 15 to 20 minute ride to Dayan when you want it.
Baisha
culture, photographers and a second visit
Quietest base and closest to the mountain, with best morning light and fewest facilities. Eat early, it shuts early.
Jade Dragon foothills, Ganhaizi and Yulong side
mountain splurge and honeymoon
Design and luxury properties facing the snow peaks, 30 plus minutes from Dayan. Book the view, pair with town nights.
Think twice about
- Dayan Bar Street and around Sifang Street
Competing bar music until late, touting and crowds under your window, at the highest prices for the worst sleep.
- Deep inside Dayan pedestrian lanes
Not unsafe, impractical. Cobbles, steps and no car access make luggage and early gorge or mountain departures miserable.
- Modern New Town far from any gate and around the main bus and train slabs
Cheaper chain hotels with nothing to walk to, built for transit. You spend your savings on DiDis and empty evenings.
- Unnamed snow mountain view properties on the road toward Yulong sold without a map pin
The view may be true from one rooftop corner only, and the location can strand you without restaurants or transport.
Best restaurants in Lijiang
Man Yi Xuan
Refined Yunnan and Naxi tasting in a Naxi styled room at Amandayan, the one formal splurge dinner of a Lijiang trip.
Xue Jing Ge
Yunnan specialities in the foothills at Jinmao Pureal Mountain, the dinner to pair with a foothills night.
InterContinental Lijiang Yunnan Restaurant
Polished Yunnan in a resort setting with mountain backdrop, good for families and groups needing one menu for everyone.
Cured Pork Rib Hotpot, Shuhe
Salt cured pork ribs simmered into a rich hotpot with vegetables and potatoes, the one local speciality to eat in Lijiang.
Yongxia Xiaochi
Hard to find home style Naxi cooking by Zhongyi Market, with sour spicy fish and braised beef at market prices.
Yi Canting
Reliable Shuhe sit down by the Great Stone Bridge for Naxi and Yunnan dishes when you do not want hotpot.
Naxi Grilled Fish, Dayan
Crisp skinned grilled and beer braised river fish in quieter Dayan side lanes, away from bar street picture menus.
Wild Mushroom Hotpot, Lijiang
Seasonal wild mushroom hotpot cooked through at the table, only in season and only in a busy reputable room.
Outdoor things to do in Lijiang
Tiger Leaping Gorge
One of the deepest gorges in the world, best on the two day High Trail via the 28 Bends and Halfway Guesthouse.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Glacier Park cableway to about 4,506 metres, with Spruce Meadow and Yak Meadow as gentler alternatives on the same day.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club
Snow mountain golf at about 3,100 metres on an 8,548 yard par 72 billed as the world longest, where balls fly further.
Lijiang Ancient Town Lakefront Golf Club
More playable 18 hole par 72 by Wenbihai Lake, front nine mountain style and back nine lakeside with water hazards.
Lashihai Lake
Plateau wetland for boardwalks, cycling and December to February birding, best independently not via a tout horse package.
Cycling the Baisha Yuhu Shuhe Loop
Low cost country cycling loop linking Baisha, Yuhu and Shuhe on flat to rolling roads with the mountain ahead.
Tea Horse Road Horse Riding, Lashihai
Guided one to two hour ride on a Tea Horse Road section on sure footed Yunnan horses, booked at a fixed all in price.
Lugu Lake
High alpine lake of Mosuo communities, pig trough boats and Lige Peninsula, worth it only as an overnight extension.
Best hotels in Lijiang
Amandayan
Aman Naxi courtyard suites on Lion Hill above Dayan, car accessible at its edge with the old town spread below.
Banyan Tree Lijiang
Private Naxi style villas near Shuhe, many with mountain views and some with private jet pools and gardens.
InterContinental Lijiang Ancient Town Resort
Large polished resort just south of Dayan with mountain views and indoor and outdoor pools, easiest luxury family logistics.
Hylla Vintage Hotel
Design led vintage collection luxury hotel on the Baisha side, with the snow mountain as its whole proposition.
Jinmao Pureal Mountain Lijiang
Design Hotels property on the snow mountain scenic side, waking at altitude to panoramic peaks and sunset views.
Pullman Lijiang Resort & Spa
Low rise villa resort with gardens, lake, spa and pools near Shuhe, often better family value than Banyan Tree.
Hotel Indigo Lijiang Ancient Town
Design brand hotel at the old town edge with modern rooms, local styling, car access and walk in sightseeing.
LUX* Tea Horse Road Lijiang
Boutique heritage styled property in the old town orbit, trading resort facilities for atmosphere and location.
Is Lijiang expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | CN¥280 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | CN¥650 a person |
| Splurge | CN¥2,200 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Impression Lijiang: weeks ahead
- Tiger Leaping Gorge: a few days ahead
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: weeks ahead
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Lijiang Ancient Town Lakefront Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Tea Horse Road Horse Riding, Lashihai: a few days ahead
- Lugu Lake: weeks ahead
- Amandayan: weeks ahead
- Glacier Park cable car via the official scenic area mini program as soon as dates are fixed, days ahead in peak season.
- Book Impression Lijiang with the mountain day, and Halfway and Tea Horse guesthouse beds ahead in peak season.
- Luxury hotels and Shuhe courtyard favourites, plus holiday trains to Dali and Kunming, book ahead. Most town sights and restaurants are walk in, early.
Is Lijiang safe?
- Lijiang town is about 2,400 metres. Go easy day one. At Glacier Park 4,506 to 4,680 metres, descend if headache, nausea or dizziness build.
- Low crime overall. Watch pickpockets in Sifang Street crowds and markets, take care on wet cobbles and unlit village lanes at night.
- Road safety is the real risk. Insist on a rested driver for gorge and Lugu roads and wear the seatbelt. Drink bottled or boiled water.
Lijiang travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Lashihai horse packages from street touts add extras for routes, photos and lake access. Book hotel arranged, all in, agreed before you go.
- Dayan main street silver, tea and jade near Sifang Street is aggressively priced. Buy crafts in Shuhe and Baisha workshops instead.
- Bar street restaurants and yak meat picture menus charge for location. Walk five minutes. Also resist oxygen and coat rental hard sells on the mountain road.
Getting around Lijiang: public transport and more
- Airport is 28 to 35 km south, 45 to 60 minutes. Use the airport bus plus taxi or a pre booked transfer, not arrivals touts.
- DiDi is the default in town, cheap and tracked, picking up at old town gates. Inside all three old towns you walk.
- Buses serve the mountain, Shuhe, Baisha and Lashihai, but a hotel arranged shared car is worth it for mountain and gorge days.
Who Lijiang suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Lijiang your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store