Located in the conjunction of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Lijiang is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan province and covers an area of 21,219 square km. It is about 150kms from Burma and about 20kms from Tibet. There are all together 12 ethnic minority group people inhabited in Lijiang from the ancient time, such as Naxi, Dai and Shuli and so on.
When travel in Lijiang, you can experience the Naxi culture, visit Lijiang Ancient Town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lugu Lake, Black Dragon Pool and so on.
Lijiang Ancient Town was built in the Southern Song Dynasty, dated back to more than eight hundred years ago. It covers an area of 3.8 aquare kilometers. It’s a place of combination of Chinese culture and Western culture, ancient culture and modern culture. When in Lijiang ancient town, you will not only experience the ancient Naxi Culture, but also can enjoy in the modern bar at you leisure. Except the unique building style, Lijiang ancient town also has a special water system, and its main water source is come from Black Dragon Pool. Lijiang Ancient Town designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997 after an earthquake and reconstruction in 1996.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is located 15 kilometers north of Lijiang, is a national-level scenic area. It has 13 peaks, stretching 35 kilometers from north to south and the highest peak named Shanzidou with 5,596 meters. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is the southernmost with snow-capped all year around in the northern Hmeisphere and has rich vegetation coverage, featuring distinct and complete alpine vertical ecosystem from subtropical zone to Frigid Zone.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is a sacred mountain in the heart of Naxi and other ethnic group people. It’s famous of its vicious, wonderful and odd. It’s a nice place for sightseeing, climbing, adventuring and on vacation and so on.
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Tiger Leaping Gorge is 60km away from Lijiang city, overall length is 16km, which is eastward Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and westward Baha Snow Mountain in a series of rapids under steep 2000 meter cliffs. It’s one of the deepest gorges in the world. It is one of the finest treks through some of the most naturally beautiful and diverse landscapes China has to offer. You can witness an incredibly loud, churning, foaming river relentlessly pounding giant boulders in its path.
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Lugu Lake is about 200kms away from Lijiang city, links Ninglang County of Yunnan and Yanyuan County of Sichuan. It is an incredibly beautiful lake, nestled high in the Himalayan Mountains (at about 2，680 meters about sea level). There are many villages lie around the Lake, and the most famous and best known village is Luoshui Village which is the main tourists’ center of Lugu Lake area. Tourists also can have a cruise by pig-trough boat.
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Black Dragon Pool located at the foot of Elephant hill north of Lijiang city. Black Dragon Pool is the main headwater of the Yushui River which goes through the Old Town of Lijiang. It is just like the bright eyes of the town, shining with the wisdom. For many locals, it’s a place to relax, to enjoy the view and the sun, to play games, to practice the famous Naxi orchestra.
Most of tourists getting in Lijiang choose to by air because it’s the most convenient way. It just needs about 45 minutes from Kunming to Lijiang by air. You also can choose to by bus or by train to get in Lijiang.
At present, Lijiang Airport put into operation of many routes, such as:
Another popular way to get in Lijiang is by express bus or overnight bus. From Lijiang bus station, its routes reached:
If you are not in hurry for your tour, take train is also a good chance to experience the beautiful of Yunnan. From Lijiang railway station, you can take train to Dali and Kunming.
>>read more about Lijiang Railway Station…
