Dongba Valley

The Buddhist murals here reflect a fusion of both Han Chinese and Tibetan painting techniques with Naxi cultural traditions.

Baisha Town was once Lijiang's political, economic and cultural center. It is the original settlement of the Naxi people who came to the greater Lijiang Valley over a thousand years ago. Made up of at least 12 smaller villages, the main village is Sanyuan (三元村), which has one main stone street called of course, Baisha Street. Have a drink some Yunnan coffee eat a Naxi Pie. Good for a half day visit. A quiet town which makes a nice break from the packed Lijiang Old Town. People are more friendly, stores are seldom throwing ridiculous tourist price. You will see elderly peddlers, some in their traditional Naxi outfit, selling honey, fruits, nuts and other stuff. Support these elders by buying their goods, since they offer fair price even though don't have many visitors. You should consider staying a few nights, in a Naxi family’s courtyard, no hotels or hostels here. Even though almost everything costs you a ticket price to do in China these days you can do many things here for free. Visit some of the temples or traditional Naxi houses of the area before they are gone.

The Baisha Naxi Embroidery Institute. It is a typical Naxi courtyard with a very nice surroundings. The mission of the institute is to save, protect, inherit and promote the Naxi traditional hand-made embroidery. It occupies 800 m² and there are many embroidery masters and students. You can try how to do hand-made embroidery there if you have time. Also you can buy some very nice embroideries there if you like.

One of the main attractions in Shuhe Old Town. The museum is housed in a former Buddhist temple, which was historically known as the Dajue Temple (大觉宫) and dates back to the late Ming Dynasty. So besides the exhibitions on the Old Tea Horse Road, one can also view some old Buddhist murals. More murals from the same time period may be seen at Baisha Old Town (see below).

Better than Lijiang if you want a place less commercialized; a horse ride in the town is an attraction.

A mountain massif (also identified as a small mountain range) visible from Lijiang and snow-capped all year round. Its highest peak is Shanzidou (扇子陡; Shānzidǒu) at 5,596 m. The view of the massif from the gardens at the Black Dragon Pool in Lijiang is one of China's finest views. The far side of the mountain forms one side of Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡; Hǔtiàoxiá).
To reach the mountain area, you have to take a private mini van from the Hongtaiyang square in front of the Mao statue. The mini van costs ¥20 and will wait until it is full before it will leave. There is no official city bus, but the mini vans have adopted the #7 name so people can recognise where they are going. Some cable cars can be cancelled due to wind, but there is plenty to see without going up the mountain.
The mountain area is part of a national park, which has a ticket gate where you will have to buy a ¥130 entry ticket, this ticket does not include any cable cars or other transportation, which is required to visit anything. The mini van will drop you off here at the ticket gates and visitor center. You can't walk anywhere from here (closest stop is 6 km), and must buy a ¥20 ticket for a shuttle bus, that makes a loop and stops at all the important viewpoints. The bus ticket gives you access to this route and you can get on and off as you please, and can also return back to ticket gate in the end. The ticket itself has a tiny map showing the stops the bus goes to, but is in Chinese.
To find the shuttle bus in the visitor center, follow the signs to "Blue moon valley bus waiting area".
The first stop is the Blue moon valley where you can see the White water river and artificially made waterfalls. It is worth getting off here. You might be asked to purchase tickets for the electrical bus, which they call the "Little green frog". It's not worth it. You would miss the 20-minute walk on a wood trail, which is very enjoyable. The walking trail goes parallel to the electric bus route, so if you can't find it, follow the small bus at first. Walking trail is very nice and goes in different directions. It is paved and well marked with signs.
It is possible to take a short cable car to Spruce meadow, or get on the shuttle bus and continue to the next stop, where you can see the white water river dammed up and turned into mini reservoirs. From this stop, you can also get back to the park entrance, you can ask somebody if the bus will go back or continue further to the next stop, which is Yak meadow.
If you take the cable car up the mountain to high altitudes, renting a coat is not necessary during the late spring and summer season. You would find it a big burden later. Watch out for altitude sickness in the thin air.