Lijiang Trip Recommendations?

[Slavsky]

Hello,

I will be heading Lijiang for a week in beginning of April. Any suggestions on places of interests, trips outside of a city as well as trips to nearby cities?

Best regards.

[Kerong Chen]

Hey there,

which lijiang u wanna go? There is one in Yunnan, another one in Guangxi.

Both of them are worthy of being visited. Personally, prefer the one in Guangxi, in a city called Guilin.

Let me know your concerns. Good luck!

Kerong Chen

[Slavsky]

Hey, Kerong.
I’m going to Yunnan

[Kerong Chen]

Well, personally I think if u go to Lijiang in Yunnan,  you definitely cannot miss Yulong Snow Mountain. it will take a while to get there from actual Lijiang, but there are some other places to check during the trip to the mountain. Lijiang is famous for it’s bars. So it is more commercial nowadays. If u can spend longer in Yunnan, Dali and Kunming are also great place to go. But It will take half a day from Dali or Kunming to Lijiang by bus.

[Justintochina]

I’ve been to Lijiang in Yunnan several times; if crowds aren’t your thing, you can all but skip old town in center of the city proper and head up to Su She Old Town (gu cheng) about 5km north of city center; quieter, cheaper (a bit), but still some great architecture, a river, hiking out your back door (if you can ask around), etc.

Outside the city, I’d recommend the Snow Mtn. aforementioned, and also get a day or two at the Tiger Leaping Gorge; twice I’ve hiked through it. Though it’s become a bit more commercialized than I’d like (okay, it’s China, I get it…), the scenery and solitude are hard to beat. A challenging hike if hiking isn’t something you’re used to; some language skills will go a long way in negotiating travels to and from Lijiang, so if you don’t speak Mandarin I’d recommend staying at a hostel where they speak English and can help get you set up with a driver or bus tickets and logistics.  I’ve stayed at the (real) Maple Leaf Inn in Su She old town (there are counterfeits to the real one just a few hundred meters inside the main gate of Su She as they’re ranked #1 lodging in LJG and, go figure, copycat lodges have popped up w/the same name. Great food, competitive rates, and fluent in English.

Dali just a 1.5-2  hour train ride to the south also has an old town. If you want to experience some Myanmar culture, look at going to Luxi Shi (Mangshi city) in Dehong county or Ruili, both of which are a night’s bus ride S/SW from Kunming, but are quaint towns with lots of diversity, tourist attractions, and the best food in China, IMO.

[Charlie]

Check out Shuhe, which is just outside Lijiang Old Town. It’s a large network of small cobblestone streets build around a collection of small streams. There are a lot of restaurants, shops, and a few guest houses in the area. One to check out in particular is called Green Horse (绿马).

[Author]

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