Lijiang

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

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.

A popular area for bird-watching, particularly during the winter months when thousands of migratory birds flock here from distant lands. You can also go horse-riding around the lake. Boating activities, however, have been banned since October 2018.

A Tibetan Buddhist monastery. Unlike many other sights in Lijiang, the monastery has so far resisted commercialisation and sees relatively few tourists.

Built between 1876 and 1880, this iron chain suspension bridge spans the Jinsha River, a tributary of the Yangtze. It is said to be the oldest bridge on the Yangtze still in use today.

Enjoy the traditional Naxi music Culture Show performed by the Naxi Orchestra, which includes some 70-90 year old men. The music itself is a combination of traditional Chinese music dating back to the Tang dynasty and local instruments and flavours. The music is well performed, however be prepared for long explanations of its musical history in Mandarin between each piece and the sometimes self-serving comments of Xuan Ke the Director. While the Naxi Ancient Music group of Lijiang is famous and well promoted, there are other excellent classical Chinese music groups playing in Lijiang's parks (for ¥10) or at weddings or housewarmings all over Yunnan.

Along the main streams are girls selling candles that float on delicate flower-shaped styrofoam boats. Tourists can purchase one, make a wish, and send their candle down the waterways. Late in the evening after groups have had significant amounts of alcohol you can see many floating candles sailing down the waterways. If you are environmentally conscious and have reservations about sending styrofoam downstream do not worry. There is a net, far down the waterway, that catches the boats. The girls just go down, pick the boats up, and re-sell them the next night.

Rent a bike downtown, e.g. at Ali Baba's near Mao Zedong's statue, and see the sights. Ali Baba's will give you a handmade map of smaller surrounding towns that capture the quaint styles of Lijiang without the heavy tourism and the tacky souvenir shops. There are at least three towns, ranging from converted hippy communes to remote farming villages. There is a beautiful remote Buddhist monastery at Puji Mountain which is worth the 30 minute hike. There is also a Tibetan village labeled on the map but is hard to find, so ask Ali Baba for directions. Most of the terrain around Lijiang is level and the roads have only light traffic. These small, non-touristy towns and other sightseeing destinations can be reached within a 20-minute ride.

To get to the Black Dragon Pool you can walk the canal path north near the main water wheel. It will take you to the south entrance of the park. The north part of the park is free and you can get there by walking around the south entrance and keep heading north. You should reach a street with the main entrance to the park. Keep going north and you will see a small bridge that leads to a large white building. The white building is the Dongba Museum, everything north of that is free. If the guards bother you at the gate, just walk back to the street and keep walking north and there will be another path to get in to the free part with no gates or guards to bother you. Further north of the park is a local college, and northwest of that is a small reservoir. The reservoir is a good place to take photos of the snow mountain when it is visible. On hot sunny days in the summer there will be lots of locals swimming there in the afternoon. At the local college you can find students to help you. The English building is the large pink one just right after you enter the south entrance. There is a student run café that is open in the evening from 18:30-22:00 in the "butterfly" building, which is opposite of the English building. As of 2007 the school had an English corner every Thursday after lunch (~13:00), and after dinner at ~17:40. The English corner is so-so, but it is a great chance to ask students about where to go, and cheap transportation. Many of them are from other places in Yunnan.

If you would like to visit some of the Naxi villages in the hills surrounding Lijiang, you can rent a small van to take you around for ¥100-300, depending on the driver and how much Chinese you speak. There are regular minivans on Shangrila Road, the main road on the west side of town, which take locals to and from the villages. Sometimes it can be difficult to find a mini-van to go back to Lijiang after 17:00 if you do not make arrangements with the driver who took you there. The regular one way mini-van fee is ¥2 to Shuhe, and ¥3-5 for villages farther north (2007). It is highly recommended to ask a student at the local college on where to find the mini-buses and the prices of the village you want to go. Many drivers will try to rip you off if you do not speak Chinese, and the buses are not always easy to find as they look the same as the private "3-8" buses that travel inside the city.

A cultural show demonstrating the traditions and lifestyles of the Naxi, Yi and Bai peoples of the area. The show takes place inside Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Park at 3500 m in an outdoor theater specifically designed to showcase the mountain which is used as a backdrop. The production itself was designed by Zhang Yimou (director of Hero, House of Flying Daggers), Fan Yue and Wang Chaoge, a cast of over 500 people, and a number of horses. However, the show does not have a plot. Tickets cost ¥190 and can be bought from the ticket booth in the Old Town (make a right at the water wheels and walk down the main street, the booth will be on your left). The ticket price does not include transportation to and from the theater (approx 1-hour drive) or the entrance fee for the park (¥80). There is also an Old Town Preservation fee that the park tries to charge as well, however, this can be avoided by claiming to have already paid at you hotel (and showing your hotel key). Bus 7 will take you to the theater for ¥10 and can be caught across from the Mao Zedong statue, but be sure to find out what time the last bus leaves the park.

The closest chair lift up the mountain to Lijiang. It transports visitors to a large meadow located at 3050 m.

From the reception centre which is next to Impression Lijiang on the Lijiang-Daju road a fleet of buses transports visitors to a cable car. Both bus transfer and cable car costs a total of ¥110 for a return trip. From the upper terminus of the cable car a vehicle takes you to the Cloud Fir Meadow for ¥50. The view is not very spectacular which makes this trip highly overpriced.

The furtherest from Lijiang at a distance of 60 km, this cable car, costs ¥60 for a round-trip. At an elevation of 3,500 m and the least-visited of the three chair lifts this area offers grazing yaks, a Tibetan temple and a number of hiking possibilities. On the way to the chairlift’s lower terminus the road drips down and crosses a river. A number of yaks are located here where for a fee you can sit on one. Their owners seem to have no objection to visitors taking photos for no fee of the yaks standing in the river with awesome Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the background. You can also access Yak Meadow by hopping aboard bus 7 across from the Mao Zedong statue which will take you to the Impression Lijiang Theater for ¥10. At the theater there is a ticket booth to the left of the show entrance which sells tickets to both Spruce Meadow and Yak Meadow (¥80) and provides a tour bus to and from the cable cars and a cable car ticket. Be sure to find out what time the last bus passes the Impression Lijiang theater or you may find yourself calling a taxi which could be expensive. Also see "Impression Lijiang" info for entrance fees to the park.

Get out of Lijiang and discover the real place, by hiking in the Lijiang valley or in the hills to temples, lakes, villages and scenic lookouts. Agencies like Lijiang Guides can arrange trips to remote villages, as well as Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lugu Lake and Baoshan stone village.