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Voykit pocket guide · China
Lijiang
丽江
Give Lijiang 2 nights: one full day in Dayan Old Town and Mu Palace, one for Shuhe or Baisha. Skip it as a base for Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Lijiang is a UNESCO-listed Naxi old town at 2,400 m in northwestern Yunnan, once the seat of a small kingdom and now a busy tourist town of cobbled lanes, canals and wooden courtyards. It works as a 2-night stop between Dali and Shangri-La, or as a base for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the villages of the Lijiang Valley. The altitude is the first thing to plan around, the crowds the second.
- Country
- China
- Local name
- 丽江
- Best months
- Mar–May, Oct–Nov
- Avoid
- Jul–Aug (rainy season), Chinese public holidays
- Stay
- 2 nights
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- CNY
- Money
- Alipay and WeChat Pay accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Amex cards; single payments over ¥200 carry a fee of about 3% on a foreign card (smaller ones are free), and per-payment and yearly caps apply — check the app. Keep a second way to pay.
- Daily spend
- Budget ¥200–350 excl. bed · Mid ¥350–700 excl. bed · High ¥700+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- A roaming eSIM from outside China routes traffic through its home network, so Google, WhatsApp and Instagram work without a VPN — the simplest setup.
- Emergency
- Police 110 · Fire 119 · Ambulance 120
- Plugs
- Types A, C, I · 220 V · 50 Hz · Many sockets take flat two-pin (A), round two-pin (C) and angled three-pin (I) plugs; UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurants: No tip; upmarket hotels add 10–15% service.; Taxis and DiDi: No tip.; Tour guides and drivers: Expected on organised tours: about ¥100–200 a day for a guide, ¥50–100 for a driver.; Hotel porters: Not expected; ¥10–20 in luxury hotels.
- Water
- Not for drinking from the tap; bottled water ¥2–5, and kettles and free bottles in hotel rooms. Restaurants serve hot water or tea.
- Toilets
- Public toilets are frequent and free; squat toilets outside hotels and malls. Carry tissues — many have no paper.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee or tea in the old town | ¥20–40 |
| Noodle soup or Naxi pie | ¥15–35 |
| Beer: draught in a bar / can at a shop | ¥25–40 / ¥5–10 |
| Taxi, city ride | ¥9–20 |
| Mu Palace entry | ¥40 (check) |
| Black Dragon Pool entry | ¥50 (check) |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | ¥50–120 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- LJG · Lijiang Sanyi International Airport
- About 40 min from the city; official fixed taxi fare ¥100, airport bus ¥20 to the Blue Skies Hotel area, then a short taxi.
Typical fares
- LJG airport → city, taxi
- ¥100 fixed, about 40 min
- LJG airport → Blue Skies Hotel, airport bus
- ¥20, then ¥7–10 taxi to the old town
- Lijiang → Kunming, bullet train
- ¥210–220 second class, 3–3.5 h
- Lijiang → Dali, K-class train
- ¥34 hard seat, about 2 h
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
Walking is the only way inside the old town. Taxis cover the rest of the city, meter from about ¥9; drivers often do not know small addresses, so have the location in Chinese. Public buses run within the city, and shared mini-vans serve nearby villages for ¥1–5 — village fares are separate from city bus fares. For a day of outlying sights, hiring a taxi or mini-van runs roughly ¥100–300 depending on your Chinese and bargaining.
See and do
Known for
- Dayan Old Town (UNESCO)
- Naxi culture and Dongba script
- Mu Palace
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
- Shuhe and Baisha old towns
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Shuhe Old Town | Bus 5a/5b from the old town, bus 6 from Xiangshan Market or bus 11 from the bus station | About 30 min |
| Baisha Ancient Town | Bus 6 from near the north entrance of Black Dragon Pool, or about 40 min by rented bike | About 40 min |
| Jade Dragon Snow Mountain | Mini-van from Hongtaiyang square (¥20, waits until full), then park shuttle | About 1–1.5 h |
| Shangri-La | Bus from Lijiang Bus Station, or continue by road | About 4 h (check) |
| Tiger Leaping Gorge | Bus or hired van toward Qiaotou, then local transport to the trailheads | About 2–2.5 h |
Sleep
- Dayan Old Town (Gucheng)
- The classic stay: Naxi courtyards, canals and lanes. Taxis cannot enter, so you carry bags from a gate or ask the guesthouse to send a cart.
- Shuhe Old Town
- About 8 km (5 mi) north, quieter and less commercial; bus 5a/5b or 11 from town, roughly 30 min.About 5 mi (8 km) north, quieter and less commercial; bus 5a/5b or 11 from town, roughly 30 min.
- New town (around the old town gates)
- Cheaper, easier for taxis and luggage; a 10–20 min walk to the old town.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | 你好nǐ hǎo |
| Thank you | 谢谢xièxie |
| How much is it? | 多少钱？duōshao qián |
| Can I pay by card? | 可以刷卡吗？kěyǐ shuākǎ ma |
| Where is the toilet? | 洗手间在哪里？xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ |
| I don't understand | 我听不懂wǒ tīngbudǒng |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Handshake and a nod; use surnames with a title; avoid: Hugs and cheek kisses
- Face: Disagree privately and indirectly; avoid: Correcting or embarrassing someone in front of others
- Gifts: Give with two hands; expect the gift to be refused once or twice and opened later; avoid: Clocks, umbrellas, white flowers, sets of four
- Business cards: Present and receive with both hands, read it, keep it on the table; avoid: Writing on it or pocketing it at once
- Queues and crowds: Hold your ground politely in scrums at buses and lifts; avoid: Taking pushing personally
- Temples: Walk clockwise around Tibetan stupas and prayer wheels; remove hats; avoid: Touching statues or photographing where signs forbid
- Politics: Listen; follow your host's lead; avoid: Raising Tibet, Taiwan, Xinjiang, 1989 or the party leadership
- Numbers and colour: Red and 8 are lucky; red envelopes carry money gifts; avoid: Writing names in red; the number 4
Scams and watch-outs
- Altitude: Lijiang sits at about 2,400 m. Take the first day or two easy, especially if you flew in from sea level.
- Cobblestones are slippery when wet and many canal-side walkways and bridges have no handrails.
- Old Town entry is free; the maintenance fee was abolished in 2017, but some sights inside still charge.
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain cable cars can be cancelled in high wind; the park entry ticket does not include cable cars or shuttle.
- Taxis at the railway station often refuse the meter and ask ¥30–40; ¥15 may be possible with bargaining.
Lijiang is a safe tourist town; the real risks are altitude on arrival, slippery cobblestones and canal edges without handrails, and tourist shops with no posted prices — ask before you buy.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Lijiang yet. Suggested stay: 2 nights. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Dayan Old Town (UNESCO)
- Naxi culture and Dongba script
- Mu Palace
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
- Shuhe and Baisha old towns
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Wikivoyage: Lijiang, revision 5236561 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5236561
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Lijiang丽江
请到这个地址
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No US or UK embassy in Lijiang; the US embassy and UK embassy are in Beijing, with consulates-general in Chengdu, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Check before you travel.
Old town lanes are pedestrian-only; taxis stop at the gates.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/lijiang). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.