Lijiang travel guide

The railway from Kunming to Lijiang is now complete, making train travel the most convenient way to reach Lijiang, with the route passing through Dali. The railway linking Lijiang with Shangri-La is under active construction.

Lijiang Sanyi Airport is about 30 km from the city centre. A civil aviation shuttle bus runs between the airport and the urban area, with the terminus at the courtyard of the Lijiang Civil Aviation Blue Sky Hotel in New Town. The journey takes about 50 minutes and the fare is ¥20.

Lijiang has two main long-distance bus stations: Lijiang Passenger Station (New Station) and Lijiang Express Bus Station.

Buses within Lijiang mainly serve the major sights, and the fare is usually ¥1.

Lijiang's main taxi stands are near Yulong Bridge, at the junction of the Old Town and New Town, and around the Dongba Cultural International Exchange Center. Some taxis also offer charter services to sights such as Yunshanping and Yufeng Temple.

The Old Town now has more silver shops than anything else, but nine or ten out of ten of the sellers are from Heqing in Dali, because Lijiang's traditional craft is copperware, not silverware. Copperware can be bought at Zhongyi Market in the Old Town.

In ancient Tibet, the local population relied mainly on farming and herding, eating plenty of meat and dairy but few vegetables, so tea, rich in vitamins, became a necessity for highland residents. On the steep mountain roads of northwest Yunnan, horses were the only means of transport, and they carved out the Tea-Horse Ancient Road, which crosses the Hengduan, Gangdise and Himalayan mountain ranges and fords the Jinsha, Nu, Lancang and Yarlung Tsangpo rivers. It is the longest-distance ancient trade route in the world, with a total length of over 10,000 li (about 5,000 km). The Tea-Horse Road has two main routes. One starts from the Pu'er tea-producing areas of Yunnan and runs through Xiaguan (Dali), Lijiang, Diqing and Deqen to Mangkang, Qamdo, Bomi and Lhasa in Tibet, then branches out to Zedang, Gyantse and Yadong in southern Tibet, and on to Myanmar and India. The other starts from Dajianlu (Ya'an) in Sichuan and runs through Luding, Kangding, Batang and Qamdo to Lhasa, then to Shigatse in southern Tibet, and on to Nepal and India. Lijiang was the most important market town on the Yunnan–Tibet Tea-Horse Road.

On 4 December 1997, Lijiang Old Town was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Old Town charges visitors a maintenance fee. Within the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain scenic area, there are checkpoints where tickets are checked and top-ups sold, and tickets can also be bought at the Old Town scenic area, Black Dragon Pool and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

“Lijiang baba and butter tea” are widely enjoyed across Yunnan, while pipa pork and chicken-bean jelly are also signature Lijiang dishes. “Three-layer water” is the Naxi people's answer to the Manchu-Han Feast.

Rong Po Restaurant on Shuangshi Duan, Xinhua Street, Old Town, is famous for its “three-layer water.” A small shop near Mufu Mansion specialises in Lijiang baba and is well known locally. Near Baisui Archway there is a small shop that wins repeat customers with its chicken-bean jelly. Xinyi Street is a short street that people call the “Snack Street,” with a concentration of many kinds of snacks. “Mama Fu” and “97” are large restaurants with many Chinese and foreign regulars.

In this small town, hotels, guesthouses, inns and residences are all available, from the five-star Lijiang Guanfang Hotel to guesthouses at ¥20 a night. Many visitors choose to stay on Sifang Square in order to experience the daily life of Naxi families in the Old Town's residences.

Many visitors like to buy the carved wooden plates sold by street-side shops as gifts. In fact, spirulina is a plant unique to Chenghai Lake near Lijiang, and Dongba tie-dyeing and handwoven cloth are also truly homegrown, so they are worth a try.

Lijiang's large day-night temperature gaps make shawls a favourite among young women. Shops often claim their shawls are handwoven, but most are machine-woven, and few people can tell the difference, so there is no need to overspend chasing a handwoven one. You can usually bargain the price down to ¥20–40. Shawls are also a little cheaper at the visitor centre in Shuhe.

The Old Town has many shops selling bells, and two are the most famous. One is the “Bunong bell” sold at the shop beside the large stone. It is said to have been inspired by the author's hiking along the Tea-Horse Ancient Road. Because it conveys the loneliness, drifting and solitude of the modern wanderer's dream, it has become a famous Lijiang souvenir. The other uses wooden bells to express Dongba culture. The antique-looking wooden bell has been named the “muyu bell” (wooden fish bell) by its owner.

Naxi ancient music concerts and bars are the main components of Lijiang's nightlife. Sifang Square has many Naxi ancient music ensembles (Naxi ancient music concerts: A-grade ticket ¥160, B-grade ¥140, C-grade ¥120). You can also enjoy the large-scale ethnic song-and-dance evening show “Lishui Jinsha” (Golden Sands of Lijiang) at the International Ethnic Culture Exchange Center (adult ticket ¥280, child ticket ¥200).