Lijiang, located in Yunnan Province, has a population of more than one million, of which there are more than 700,000 local Naxi people, due to this, the city has a deep ethnic feeling, the hearty Naxi people can be seen everywhere. It is a place where many people want to relieve pressure, beautiful and scenic. Yunnan has a white cloud, especially clean water, if you decide to come here and travel to visit Lijiang and surrounding attractions in a short time, planning a trip is very necessary, let's get ready for Lijiang!
Best time to travel to Lijiang
Lijiang has various characteristics seasons throughout the year, spring and summer are cooler and rain a lot. Although the high Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, or the Magnificent Tiger Leaping Gorge, or the beautiful Lugu Lake, like a paradise, is a unique charm, is also the most dynamic scenery, this is the hot tourist season, the tourism atmosphere is very strong, but also quite noisy, everywhere is full of tourists , then the travel costs will be higher. Lijiang is located at a high altitude, has relatively warm weather throughout the year, and the landscape rarely changes with the seasons. It is no exaggeration to say, in fact, Lijiang is suitable for travel throughout the year, each season also has its own charm, which also constitutes the reasons for the design of Lijiang Tourist City. In winter, it is better to go to the high Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, you can see the snow-covered, unique charm, the lowest temperature is almost 0-1 degrees, but also because of the high altitude, so you must prepare well to prevent the cold.
The most suitable mode of transportation to travel around Lijiang city
If you are a foreign traveler, then you can fly to Beijing on an international flight, and then make a transfer on domestic routes, the country has direct flights to Lijiang from the following cities: Kunming, Xishuangbanna, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xi'an, Chongqing, Nanjing, Guiyang, Xiamen and other cities (but in fact, direct flights only take off from the cities of Shenzhen, Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming and Xishuangbanna; flights from other cities need to make a transfer in Kunming).
We advise you to book tickets to get discount tickets if you do not want to fly directly to Lijiang City from Kunming City, the trip from Kunming City to Lijiang City takes about 45 minutes. In addition, if you want to take a train or other means of transport, you need to make preparations for a long journey, but you also need to make a transfer in Kunming. In other words, in China you can book tickets 20 days before departure, if you just booked tickets 1-2 days before departure, then it may be difficult to buy tickets. In addition to Dayan Lijiang Ancient City, near Lijiang City there are also Lugu Lake, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lashin Lake and many other attractions, the natural landscapes are very rich, but there is some distance from ancient city, so the car is the freest mode of transport. There are many travel agencies and local hotels in Lijiang City offering rental car services, and there are also many private taxis, we suggest you find a normalized rental car establishment, and can also ask the hotel to arrange to pick you up at the airport, and you can immediately relax at the hotel after the route.
Nomenclature (list) of the required range of items (this is necessary to remind)
Firstly, important items accompanying you:
Accompanying important items are the most important travel items, should be placed in their own small personal bags, these items include:
- Cash (don't put too much in your bag, if you have companions, can be kept separately)
- Credit card ( credit card should be centrally stored in the wallet)
- Passport (we recommend keeping it inside separately)
- Maps (a map about a destination is very important for a free traveler)
- Notepad and pen (A small notepad is necessary for some notes)
Secondly, important items accompanying the trunk
- Cosmetics, sunscreens for girls, mask, basic skin care is necessary, ultra-violet rays in Lijiang city are very strong, travelers with a history of allergies should be very careful.
- Electronic products (electronic products must not be placed in luggage, including electrical appliances, Cell phones and chargers, headsets and data cables, MP4 and data cables, etc.);
- Photographic equipment (digital cameras, video cameras, data cable, Charger, spare batteries, memory cards, waterproof plastic bag);
- Medicines(you need to bring some mandatory medicines, such as motion sickness pills, cold medicines, berberine, anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics, first aid kits, Yunanbeyao, bandages, eye drops, sterile water, etc.);
- Glass and drinking water;
- Food (prepare travel food items such as chocolate, and for traveling around Lijiang city, local beef jerky and rose cake are good);
Third, items that may be placed in checked luggage or the back box of a car
- Toiletries ( Toothbrush, toothpaste, face wash, towels, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizing spray, laundry detergent, convenient soap, nail clippers, plastic bags, etc.);
- Clothes (laundry, outerwear, warm clothes or summer clothes, slippers, swimsuit, T-shirts, jeans, etc.)
- Sun protection and waterproof items (sunscreen, sunglasses, umbrellas, raincoats, plastic bags, sleeping bags, etc.);
Special attention:
First of all, remember, book a hotel or hotel in advance, during the hot tourism season, it is difficult to book hotel rooms, especially in good hotels, a good hotel owner in Lijiang city as a free good guide, can help in many ways, such as planning customized tours, bringing you to good local shops where you can buy local delicacies and favorite souvenirs, because there are many shops in Lijiang Ancient City, there are a lot of goods, the quality is uneven.
Another point should be reminded when you travel to Yunnan, such as hats, thin gloves, sunglasses, a large scarf, a light backpack, light walking shoes, a portable glass, but also need to pay attention to the charge, in addition to this, a good trunk is also very is important because basically in Lijiang city there are stone roads everywhere, it is very inconvenient to walk with a suitcase.
In addition, it is better to apply for a visa in advance, with a large number of essential medicines, pack your clothes, make sure your trip to Lijiang will not be cramped. If you can't speak Chinese, it's better to prepare a few short Chinese phrases and type some that contain the name of the hotel and attractions, as well as the name of iconic buildings.
But if you have doubts about traveling to Lijiang city, but also want you to book your own flights and hotels, and then you can find travel companies to organize short-term or long-term travel itineraries, because if you are traveling on your own, and with with a few companions, you can take a hired car, but it’s more expensive, there is no guarantee, and if you booked tours with a travel company, even if just for one day, they will also send a guide with you and help you explore the sights of Lijiang, including expenses for insurance to protect the personal safety of tourists. If you are traveling with your family, then be sure to find a professional regular travel agency.
Stay overnight in Lijiang:
Hotels in Lijiang city are mainly rebuilt from old houses, which is different from hotels, so in these hotels we can feel free and can cook our own food, just like at home. This house has a patio, mainly composed two-story houses, prices for accommodation vary depending on the tourist season, it is better not to live on the main street but to live in the border areas, where the interior is relatively cheap and quiet, and can provide a bath and Internet service. The rooms have their own characteristics, there is a family room, couples room, standard rooms, suites, you can choose according to your favorite! And you can also live in the ancient city of Dayan, you can live in the ancient city of Shuhei, they are basically similar, but have their own characteristics, there are relatively few tourists. You can pay close attention to the landscape.
Lijiang is divided into two parts: the Old Town (inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997) and the New Town. The urban architecture of the new city compared to other modern cities does not have any difference, but there are relatively large restaurants that can eat very fresh local products, so even if we live in the ancient city area, sometimes the restaurant can send a car to pick us up. But when we reached the new city from the ancient city, the difference in architectural style and atmosphere is difficult to imagine. The streets of Lijiang old town are built next to the mountain and water, built in red breccia, Lijiang street is also not so dirty during the rainy season, the natural stone patterns are elegant. Shifan Street constitutes the ancient representative of Lijiang Street. In the city you can see fresh fruits and vegetables being peddled everywhere, and in the evening you can enjoy a variety of snacks and drinks in local corners. Narrow streets surrounded by tourists, sometimes dressed in national costumes, are a special landscape in the city of Lijiang.
After staying in Lijiang City, where we can plan a sightseeing route to other attractions, there is Lijiang Moon Prefecture, Shuhei Ancient City, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Lashin Lake, you can go further to Lugu Lake, Shangri-la, You can inquire about the trip from hostess of a hotel, where the price is not expensive, at least more practical. There are many tour companies on the streets in Lijiang, but from our experience, although the list price is relatively cheap, but on the road there will usually be an additional tariff, and even higher than the necessary costs, so it is recommended that at the beginning choose the whole route with no additional costs .
Food in Lijiang:
The people of Lijiang are generally lazy and laid back, and this pace of life determines their lax eating style. The city of Lijiang actually has no famous dishes, but its cold food culture will never be inferior to the cities of Guangzhou and Chengdu. Some snacks are worth trying, such as liangfen, gray or yellow, cut into pieces, fried, then add spices, soy sauce, red radish, onion and the like, then add vinegar, sesame oil, salt and weijing. Liangfen is cheap from 4-5 yuan to more than ten yuan.
There are local famous foods - Lijiang Baba, must go to the store to eat only authentic snacks, there are sweet, salty, the main raw materials are exquisite wheat flour, as well as ham, butter, sugar and other seasonings, to mix thoroughly, rub in layers , then made like a round pie. Lijiang Baba costs about 8 yuan, is a local specialty.
The most common is Lijiang baked potato, at a roadside stand, with golden yellow color, sprinkle with cumin powder, it is really delicious! The price is not expensive, 10 yuan can buy two pieces.
The old town looks small, but you can't carefully walk through it in one day, primarily because many of the shops all look the same, it's easy to get lost. In addition, there are many attractive places along the way that can stop you, such as music on the street, young musicians with drums, handmade worth stopping and enjoying.
There are a lot of people in the old city, especially in the evening, but living in Lijiang ancient city is still very comfortable when it's 7-8 o'clock in the morning, there are few people on the streets, the main shops open until almost 10:00, and this feeling is quite other miscellaneous in Lijiang, standing in the morning at 7-8 o'clock on the street.
Cultural Lijiang:
Lijiang is an area of compact (settled) minority residence, the special Dongba culture attracts different people from the world. Dongba culture comes from the Dongba religion. Dongba culture, including hieroglyphs, Dongba writing, Dongba, Dongba painting, music and dance, hieroglyphic writing is preserved in the world. Thus, it has aroused great interest and attention among scientists all over the world. In Lijiang, you can see Dongba characters on the walls everywhere.
The beauty of Lijiang is not only the beauty of scenery, but also with a rich cultural heritage, so that we can be closer to the original world, let your mind and body relax temporarily, thinking about our life, what is most important, Lijiang, is much more than just one Once we get there, she’s just there, not waiting for us!
Lijang, Lidzian... whatever they call it. That's right - Lijiang. It is a city in the northwest of the Chinese province of Yunnan. A large city with more than a million inhabitants. In Chinese it is written like this, easy to remember: 丽江. In the first hieroglyph there are two columns and a roof on them, it was this one that was perfectly etched in my memory, I instantly highlighted the word “Lijiang” on all the road signs.
Lijiang is divided into two parts: the old city (included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997) and the new one. The modern quarters of the city are nothing special - an ordinary large Chinese city. At every step there are food shops and shops with various small things, markets with a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits, in the evenings on every corner something is fried, steamed, boiled, eaten, drunk. The avenues are wide, people look completely urban, and there are tons of fake cell phones covered in rhinestones for sale. In a word, nothing special.
Although no, one thing is still worth mentioning. You can try it at the local market unusual thing- fried bean jelly. It is gray or dirty yellow, it is cut into pieces, fried, then spices, soy sauce, and some herb leaves are added and eaten. Tasty! Even in Lijiang (in the old city) something like fried puff pancakes is common, called baba, the guidebook writes that this is a local dish, but for some reason I didn’t see it at the market.
New town On the Sunset. In the mornings and evenings (and, if you're lucky, even during the day), Yulong Xueshan, the jade dragon mountain, can be seen. I suspect it’s cool at the top, after all, 5596 meters. It’s good that I looked at her from below and from afar, and not as usually happens to us
However, the new neighborhoods are not worth going to Lijiang for. Here's the old town (that's what they say on the signs - old town) - it's something. It is quite small in size, but you can walk there for more than one day. Firstly, in alleys and streets (or better yet, labyrinths) you will most likely get lost, and it will take time to get out. Secondly, it is very beautiful, colorful and interesting. Thirdly, there are countless shops, shops and stalls, which are not so easy to pass by, even if you are firmly convinced that you are not going to buy anything.
The houses in the old town are charming. Lijiang is the most beautiful city, which I saw in China. By the way, due to the fact that it is included in the UNESCO list, they charge money for entry, 80 yuan. There is no need to pay them. There are notices all over the city that all tourists must pay 80 yuan to preserve China's cultural heritage, but most do not pay. There’s just a catch: some places that require a ticket to enter will not be allowed in without an additional ticket to pay the 80 yuan. However, personally we could easily do without such places 
Lonely Planet writes that Lijiang and Dali (I’ll write about it when I get around to it, it’s also very cool there) are terribly touristic places, disgustingly so. There are really a lot of people, especially in the evening, but despite this, the old town of Lijiang is very pleasant. Especially if you come early in the morning, around 7 or 8, when the shops haven’t even opened yet. But it’s not so easy to force yourself to get up so early 
Paved streets. And along the cafes and shops there are pots of flowers. 
Everything is decorated in red paper lanterns, they are common in China and are now used more to attract attention than as a symbol of anything 
It is difficult to navigate the old city, we first used GPS. As one of the landmarks, you can take the river and the canal system, which, meandering, pass through almost the entire old city. Moreover, usually in cities, water canals are used for washing or for quickly transporting slops to the nearest river. But in Lijiang, local residents are prohibited from polluting the water, so it is very clean, and there are even fish living in it (they mostly hang out next to cafes, from where bread and leftover half-eaten noodles are periodically thrown to them) 
The whole “old town” consists of cute details 
And such, for example 
In the most touristy part there are some wooden figurines hanging, and everyone takes pictures with them. It's funny to watch from the outside 
Locals in Lijiang seem to be tired of being photographed all the time, so they are not enthusiastic about it. But sometimes you can click quietly, as long as no one sees. Here is a young mother wearing the popular Mao cap. Just look how bright everything is around! 
The houses themselves, in my opinion, are succinctly stylish: they combine white - gray - black - red (well, and wood), nothing superfluous 
Each house has its own courtyard, the houses are mostly two-story, the structure is like in this photo. By the way, this is a guesthouse (with an unknown name, we don’t read Chinese) where we lived. The situation with housing is this: within the old city, prices start from about 50 yuan per room (you have to look for it), but usually not less than 60-70. The main thing is not to settle right on the main streets, it’s expensive there, it’s better to move towards the hill. We lived just outside the old city, for 45 yuan for two, in a giant room with three beds and a hot shower. Open Wi-Fi networks were not caught, but the hosts of the guest house had their own private Wi-Fi, we asked for the password and they told us it 
There are a lot of dogs in Lijiang, and there are even such unusual breeds for China (at least for the places we visited) as huskies. But when I see the huskies, I lose control of myself and can’t take a picture of anything, so here’s another dog 
Lions guard the Lijiang river 
Charming city, really 
There are cafes at every turn, but there are also street tables selling all sorts of goodies. There are always a lot of people milling around there 
Sweet steamed rice cakes 
A salesman in a tea shop is resting. By the way, an incredible amount is sold in Lijiang Puer tea(post-fermented tea), and no wonder, because they make it in Yunnan. By the way, there is such a city in Yunnan - Puer, it’s a pity that we weren’t there 
There's no escape from Jade Dragon Mountain 
Lijiang boasts that it is the center of the Naxi people, who are the living embodiment of the idea of matriarchy. Nasi do not marry; they remain in their parents' house for the rest of their lives. When a girl turns 13, she gets a separate room and can invite gentlemen. A man comes to her at night, and leaves in the morning (returns to his home), and so on all his life, and they do not marry each other and can choose other lovers, easily resigning their current passions. Now these traditions are dying out (if they have not completely disappeared). In the photo there are Naxi women in partially national costumes (many wear them, I don’t know whether with the support of the administration or of their own free will). Sweatshirts and caps, of course, are not original, but blue aprons and special capes on the back, tied at the front with white ribbons, are quite 
Grandpa was very interested in me, willingly posed, and then, smiling, looked at the photographs 
There are a lot of such alleys in Lijiang 
I really love tiled roofs 
Market in the south of the old city 
At night the old town is beautifully illuminated 
In this place there is an exit from the old town to the new city, this is where there are always the most people 
Naxi have (it would be more accurate to say “had”) their own language - Dongba. For recording, they use pictograms like in the picture, in Lijiang there are many inscriptions in this language, but all this is to attract tourists 
We must pay tribute to the Chinese - in those areas where ethnic groups with a pronounced architectural identity live (for example, in the Tibetan and Nasish regions), new apartment buildings partially convey the stylistic features of traditional dwellings. In Lijiang, the emphasis is on roofs and the combination of white, gray and black colors, and these buildings look much better than ordinary ones 
Old and new combine, in my opinion, quite organically 
Here it is, the old city in all its glory 
In a word, if you are in China, don’t pass it by!
Lijiang is a city in southwestern China in the Yunnan province, located in the foothills of the Himalayas. Even in ancient times, the city lay on the Silk and Tea routes, travelers and traders stopped here, settled, started families, and thus it became a trade and cultural center.
To be more precise, Lijiang is a large center with a population of 1 million 200 thousand people, and a small ancient city inside a large one is Dayan, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Unfortunately, the Chinese do not see the difference between old and new; they easily demolish old buildings and erect copies in their place. The same thing happened to Lijiang, and on a city-wide scale. So when you walk along the streets of the old city, remember that this is a fake, although it looks beautiful :-)
Old city
River in the center
The city is simply wildly popular with Chinese tourists; we didn’t meet a single foreigner, but the streets were crowded like rush hour on the subway. However, despite such popularity, it is quite cozy here, it is very pleasant to stroll along the narrow streets.
You can find food courts like this with all sorts of fried delicacies - goodbye waistlines!
It was especially cool when we just arrived at 7 am and walked through the labyrinths of the old city to the guesthouse - the city was just waking up, all the shops were still closed, and the dawn sun illuminated the roofs and paved streets.
Yak meat and other yak products are popular in Lijiang. For example, yak meat candies and dried yak meat.
Yak products stall
Cookies with rose filling
Yunnan is the birthplace of Pu-erh tea, which has now become very popular in Russia. There are simply heaps of pu-erh here - so-called “pancakes” and even trees made from it are sold. True, such a tree will cost around several thousand dollars.
Article on the topic:
Pu'er pancakes
In the old town, almost all houses are either a guesthouse or a souvenir shop. Moreover, there are several types of shops: jewelry, musical instruments, clothes and food. Oh, and travel agents offering trips around the area. All this is aimed exclusively at local tourists; they themselves looked at us with surprise.
Souvenir shops
Ukulele and drums. What else do you need?
The atmosphere of Lijiang reminded us that there are also many tourists there who, after dark, go to bars to relax and listen to live music.
Lijiang is a great example of how to make money from domestic tourism. We won’t go into details whether such a number of tourists is good or bad for the ancient city and whether the atmosphere has been lost, the fact remains that 5 million people come here every year.
These places are home Naxi people who live in the foothills of the Himalayas in the provinces of Yunnan and Sichuan and have preserved their original way of life to this day.
Grandmothers are talking about something
Surprisingly, matriarchy flourishes in Naxi: since ancient times there has been a custom of “coming husbands”, when people are calm about the fact that a man spends the night with his beloved and returns to his home the next morning. While they “lived” together, the man provided support to the children; as soon as he left, the support ended. And the children were always in the care of their mother.
Some other local peoples
The Naxi people still use the endangered Dongba pictographic script, which was used in ancient times to read ritual texts by priests. Essentially it looks like cave paintings.
Locals still live here ordinary life, play mahjong, carry baskets with vegetables and herbs, wash clothes in the river. After all, as a rule, tourists gather in certain places, so even here you can be alone with the ancient city, or you can imagine it like that, because everything was built here 5 years ago :-)
If you climb somewhere higher, you can see how the city is covered with a continuous carpet of tiled roofs
Lijiang Attractions
The attractions of Lijiang are, first of all, itself Old city, which officially costs 80 yuan to enter. We didn’t buy a ticket when we went to the guesthouse, somehow we didn’t intentionally pass by the ticket office (or they weren’t open yet). Once they asked us about the ticket, we had to lie that we had left it at the hotel, showing the key...Chinese attractions are very expensive!
In the north of the city is Black Dragon Pond Park, which offers a beautiful view of Yulong Xueshan Mountain (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain).
View of Jade Dragon Mountain from the city
In the vicinity of Lijiang there is Baixa village, where the famous doctor Ho Chi Xiu lives throughout China, who heals with herbs collected on the slopes of nearby mountains. Can also be visited on a day trip Shuhe town, which has a more relaxed atmosphere than its larger brother.
Travel agencies offer trips to the snow Mount Yulong Xueshan, but they are astronomically expensive, or Lake Lugu Hu, which is on the border with the province
But perhaps the most beautiful place near the city is Tiger Leaping Gorge, which I managed to go to. Details will be in the next article.
And finally, here’s a greeting from carefree Chinese animals.
How to get to Lijiang China?
The city can be reached from Kunming by plane, train and bus.
Lijiang Airport is located 28 km east of the city and receives flights from Kunming, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shanghai. The ticket search form is at the bottom of the post, you can use it to find cheap air tickets to Lijiang.
Bus station is located south of the old town and to get here, take buses 8 or 11 (double-decker, 1 yuan) from the stop along Minzhu Lu. I can’t say about the cost of buses to different cities, but I know that they are more expensive than the train. You can go to Kunming, Qiaotou (Tiger Leaping Gorge), Shangri-Lu, Chengdu.
Railway station located far in the south, one might say on the very outskirts of the city. There are 7 trains a day from Lijiang. There are no direct routes to Beijing. The cost of tickets for seats is 89 yuan, for a reserved seat - 152 yuan, for a compartment - 226 yuan. The train travels from 7 to 10 hours; there are night flights, so it’s better to take them.
To get to the train station from the center, take bus number 18 at the southern gate of the old town.
The beautiful old city is Lijiang. China
The picturesque ancient city of Lijiang is located in the northwest of the Chinese province of Yunnan (Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China). It must be said that Lijiang is divided into two parts: the old city (in 1997 it was included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites) and the new one. The new city is nothing special, but the old one is simply charming!
The main feature of Lijiang is that "the city exists because of water, and water exists because of the city." The Yuquanhe River, split into three branches, flows through Lijiang, with countless graceful bridges spanning the clear waters of numerous streams. The city consists of dozens of narrow streets paved with cobblestones, intertwined with each other, and along these same streets there are canals with water. In Lijiang, local residents are prohibited from polluting the water, so it is very clean, and even fish live in it. This is a simple old corner where you can feel the naturalness of life and the harmony of man with nature.
Houses in the town rise and fall with the terrain. These beautiful, practical houses are built from wood, stone and clay, thus continuing the proud tradition of Han, Bai and Tibetan folk houses. At the same time, they form a unique local style of construction. The Sanheyuan courtyards are very popular, in which there is always a main building, an outbuilding and a stone screen in front of the entrance. The main building, facing south, is where the elders live, and the younger members of the family live in the outbuilding. The main building must have six doors and windows; flowers, birds and animals are carved in the center of the windows, symbolizing well-being and prosperity in the family.
In the north of this quiet ancient city rises Mount Xiangyashan, at its foot is the transparent Heilongtan Lake. The blue sky, its wonderful reflection in the water, the greenery on the shore, the murmur of springs and the singing of birds have an intoxicating effect. And in the southeast there is an open area, here warm winter and cool summers. To the north of the old city there is the Black Dragon Pool Park, where there is a magnificent view of the Jade Dragon Mountain and the Black Dragon Pond, from which the river flows, which then divides into many canals piercing old Lijiang.
The Lijiang region is home to a compact population of Nasians, as well as Hans, Lisuans, Yians, Bai, Tibetans and Pumi. The Naxi people's Dongba script is even preserved on shop signs. "Dunba" is the only written language in the world that uses pictography. For tourists who come here, the morals and customs of the Nasi people are of great interest.
