丽江
Lijiang
Lijiang is three Naxi towns on a plain under Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Dayan, the famous one, is beautiful and overrun; Shuhe and Baisha next door are the same architecture at a fraction of the volume.
At a glance
- Stay
- 2–3 days
- Best seasons
- Mar–May, Sep–Nov
- Airports
- Rail or road access
- Region
- Southwest China
China Unhurried editorial team · Owner-authored
Places to begin
Make the city tangible.
白沙古镇
Baisha village
The Naxi capital before Dayan, still a farming village with Ming temple murals.
黑龙潭
Black Dragon Pool
The spring that feeds the town, with the postcard view of the snow mountain over the water.
大研古城
Dayan Old Town
Canals, cobbles and tiled roofs. Go at seven in the morning and again after ten at night.
束河古镇
Shuhe old town
Dayan's quieter sibling, with a spring pool, a tea-horse-road museum and horses in the square.
虎跳峡
Tiger Leaping Gorge
A two-day walk along a gorge 3,000 metres deep. The high trail, not the road.
泸沽湖
Lugu Lake
Lugu Lake is a high plateau lake shared by Yunnan and Sichuan, surrounded by peninsulas, forested ridges and Mosuo and other communities. Its cultural significance cannot be reduced to simplified claims about matrilineal life: local households, rituals and tourism economies are diverse. Long road access, altitude and jurisdictional differences make it a separate multi-day destination from Lijiang city.
白沙古镇与白沙壁画
Baisha Village and Murals
Baisha, an earlier settlement component of the World Heritage property, retains a village layout below Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Its religious halls preserve murals developed from the thirteenth century onward, combining Buddhist, Daoist, Naxi and other regional imagery. The paintings demonstrate cultural exchange, while surrounding homes and fields retain a smaller-scale settlement pattern than Dayan.
玉龙雪山
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
A 5,596-metre massif with a cable car to 4,506 metres. Book, and mind the altitude.
Local snacks
Taste the city, one dish at a time.
These cards describe dishes, not restaurants. Images are added only after their license and attribution are verified.
Flaky, wheaty; sweet or savoury
Naxi Flatbread
纳西粑粑
A layered wheat flatbread is griddled or baked with sweet or savoury fillings, creating a portable staple associated with Naxi households and Tea Horse Road travel.
Eat warm and confirm meat, lard and filling type when dietary restrictions matter.
Earthy, tangy and optionally spicy
Lijiang Chickpea Jelly
鸡豆凉粉
Starch from local chickpeas is set into a firm jelly, sliced and served cold with vinegar and chilli or pan-fried until crisp outside. The same ingredient produces distinctly different textures.
Choose cold or fried preparation and specify chilli; confirm shared cooking oil if needed.
Salty, smoky, rich and warming
Lijiang Cured Pork Rib Hotpot
腊排骨火锅
Salt-cured pork ribs are simmered with vegetables, potatoes, fungi or local greens, producing a robust communal hotpot suited to cool highland evenings.
This is salty and usually shared; confirm portion size and ensure wild fungi, if offered, are fully cooked.
Salty, buttery and strongly tea-scented
Butter Tea
酥油茶
Strong tea is churned with butter and salt into a hot, energy-dense drink found across Tibetan-influenced highland communities. Local versions vary in strength, dairy source and saltiness.
Try a small cup first and ask about dairy source; it contains milk fat and may be quite salty.
City essentials
The practical details, when you need them.
Places and local food come first. Open these notes for context, arrival and neighbourhood advice.
Overview+
GUANGXIHAINANCHONGQINGSICHUANLijiang
The Naxi built Dayan without walls, on canals fed by the Black Dragon Pool, and its lanes of grey tile and timber are a World Heritage site that now holds mostly bars and souvenir shops. See it early in the morning, when the water runs clear and the shutters are still closed, then base yourself somewhere calmer.
Shuhe, four kilometres north, is a smaller version with room to breathe. Baisha, further up the plain, is still a village, with Ming murals in its temple and the mountain filling the end of every street.
You are at 2,400 metres, so take the first day slowly. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain needs a booking; Tiger Leaping Gorge, two hours north, is the best walk in the province and worth an overnight.
Getting there+
**Sanyi (LJG)** airport is 30 kilometres south with flights from Kunming, Chengdu and the big cities; the shuttle takes about 40 minutes. Trains from Kunming take about three hours and from Dali under two, arriving at **Lijiang** station south of town, a short taxi from any of the old towns.
**Rail tip.** Your passport is your ticket. Book on 12306 or [Trip.com](/go/trip?to=trains&from=city-rail), then go straight to the gate. See [Getting around](/guides/getting-around). The Trip.com link earns us a small commission at no cost to you ([how that works](/about#affiliate)).
**Stay online.** Google, WhatsApp and Instagram are blocked on Chinese networks; a travel eSIM that roams gets around it. Install one before you fly — [Saily](/go/saily?from=city-esim) takes US$5 off a first plan with the code **CHINA**. See [Staying online](/guides/staying-online). The code earns us the same amount in Saily credits, at no cost to you ([how that works](/about#affiliate)).
Where to stay+
Shuhe
束河
A smaller old town with the same canals and half the crowd. The best base.
Courtyard inns, many with a view of the mountain. Twenty minutes to Dayan by taxi or an hour on foot along the fields.
first visitquietcourtyards
Baisha
白沙
A Naxi village at the foot of the mountain. Fields, murals, silence.
A handful of guesthouses and cafés on one street. You will need taxis, and you will not mind.
quietwalkingmountain views
Dayan old town
大研古城
The famous one. Gorgeous, loud, and best visited rather than slept in.
Hundreds of inns. If you stay, choose a courtyard up the hill near Wangu Tower or in the Wuyi Street lanes, away from the bar street.
nightlifeconvenience
**Booking.** Compare hotels in Lijiang on [Trip.com](/go/trip?to=hotels&city=lijiang&from=city-stay), filtered to its China travel essentials list: English-speaking staff, foreign cards, guest rating 8 or higher. See [Where to stay](/guides/where-to-stay). Booking through this link earns us a small commission at no cost to you ([how that works](/about#affiliate)).
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