A good friend of mine reached out to us in April telling us she had the opportunity to be in China for 6 months. She had booked a trip to Lijiang (“one of my favourite cities”), and was inviting us to join her and “chill in the cafes by the mountains.”
Although our travel schedules are often crazy, we were thrilled that we were available to fly to Lijiang in June and spend a long weekend with her.
Lijiang is a stunningly well-preserved ancient town located in China’s Yunnan Province. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is known for its well-preserved rich heritage from the Naxi ethnic minority group and stunning surrounding landscapes – the most famous of which is the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Lijiang has an airport, and there are direct flights there from Shenzhen. The airport is tiny, and it’s a breeze to get out one you land.
Our friend found a little bed and breakfast on Agoda called Yuetu House, which was in an excellent location right at the doorstep of Lijiang Old Town. The only caveat was . . . . we had to climb a flight of stairs to get to the ROAD on which our hotel was located.
Yes, the taxi dropped us off at the foot of these stairs and we had to climb up, with our luggage in tow. Definitely not ADA friendly!
However, the views from our little inn were beautiful, and it’s hard to beat being able to walk into the old town just by walking up this cobblestone path.
Lijiang Old Town
The old town in Lijiang is a UNESCO heritage site and has many extremely well preserved buildings. There are numerous cute and cozy coffee shops, restaurants, food stalls, and gift shops.
Some might argue that the shops are getting more and more tourist-oriented, but it’s still hard to deny the beauty of the old town in general.
The best way to enjoy Lijiang is actually to explore the ancient cobblestone streets of the old city. The name “Lijiang” literally means beautiful rivers, and Lijiang lives up to this description. The city is filled with rivers and has been built up around these rivers. Multiple bridges span across the city, and there are numerous stunning photo ops around the city.
The city has an ancient canal system that’s pretty impressive. According to UNESCO, Lijiang “possesses an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that still functions effectively today.”
There are networks of bridges crossing these canals, and you even see water wheels.
Sifang Street Square is the center of action. At night it’s crazy vibrant full of love music, food stalls, and lots of people. Bar Street is a street along a river where each place has a show that’s bigger and louder than the next. We saw multiple music concerts occurring simultaneously along the canal. Nighttime in the old city can be quite bustling!
Blue Moon Valley 藍月谷
The next morning we hopped into a car to go to The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Recreational Area. It is about a 30-40 minute drive from Lijiang Old Town and is one of the most popular excursions to take when visiting Lijiang.
Within the park, we visited the calm and placid Blue Moon Valley, where we enjoyed stunning views of the aquamarine lake. At the end of the lake hike, we rented costumes and even took photos with a yak.
Full post coming soon!
A Rainy Simple Lunch
Within the Jade Mountain Recreational area private cars are not allowed, so we hopped into one of their shuttle buses to get to the next village.
And then it started POURING . . . . we ran into the shuttle bus, but then the shuttle bus couldn’t move because the rains were just so big.
Big rains seem to be a theme in my travels in 2024 . . . which is a bit disconcerting, to say the least.
We sat helplessly in the rain as we watched the parking lot fill up with water.
Eventually we were allowed to go to our destination, but many of the restaurants were closed. Thankfully, we found a small noodle shop that was open.
We were starving at this point, so we just asked them to cook us whatever they had.
They served us rice noodles and ground pork in a rich, fragrant broth (with a side of intense, flavorful chili sauce!).
Despite being simple, it just tasted so satisfying. Perhaps it’s because we were so hungry. Perhaps because it was raining outside. Whatever the case, we were just so happy to finally eat.
玉湖村 Yu Hu Village (Jade Lake Village)
After lunch we went to Yu Hu Village (literally “Jade Lake Village”), the closest Naxi village to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The views from the rooftops were stunning, and I just loved the overall relaxed feel of the place.
We explored the village by foot, hiked up to see Jade Lake, and also chilled in one of the many boutique artisanal coffee shops in the village.
Full post coming soon!
Baisha Village 白沙村
Our friends highly recommended Baisha Village (白沙村), another Naxi village that’s closer to Lijiang Old Town. It was our second stop after Yu Hu Village (玉湖村). Here, we sampled Tibetan food, wandered the streets, and found a lovely rooftop coffee shop where we enjoyed the sunset.
Full post coming soon!
Food – Mushroom Hot Pot
One of Lijiang’s most famous foods is the wild mushroom hot pot. This is because this region of China has a larger diversity of mushrooms than anywhere in the country. The area has hallucinogenic mushrooms that need to be cooked for at least 20 minutes (to make them safe to eat, i.e., destroy the hallucinogen).
It was fascinating to see how the professional restaurants handle serving these “poisonous” mushrooms. We were particularly impressed with the safety measures, including not giving you utensils until the mushrooms were cooked, and keeping a detailed record (and sample!) of every hot pot served.
In our short 3 day trip, we had at least 3 different mushroom hot pot meals (!), and we learned a lot about Yunnan mushrooms! I’ve dedicated a whole separate post to talk in detail about the food.
Full post coming soon!
Up Next
I’ll be publishing detailed posts about all these places we visited, as well as one dedicated to the mushroom hot pot!
Stay tuned!
Posts in this Lijiang Series (links to be added once published)
Lijiang China Trip Report: Lijiang Old Town
Blue Moon Valley of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang, China
Yu Hu Village in Lijiang, China 玉湖村
Baisha Village in Lijiang, China 白沙村
Lijiang Food: Mushroom Hot Pot 野生菌火鍋