Planning a Trip

When planning a trip to Southwest China, Lijiang is on most tourists’ “must-see” places and with good reason. It is very pleasant small city in a lovely setting, with a well-protected Old Town area as its centerpiece, as well as a good variety of other activities to keep the visitor occupied. Some characteristics useful to know when planning a trip:

a) This is a popular year-round destination for Chinese tourists so the town is never empty of tourists. However, the November through March period (with exception of Chinese New Year which is very busy) is the lower season and is not too crowded. There is a bit of pattern to how the Chinese tour bus crowds tend to move, and one can use this to advantage to avoid getting caught up in the worst of the throng, even during crowded seasons. Do avoid Chinese major national holiday periods though.

b) As with much of Yunnan province, probably the worst weather season is summer (especially July-August) as this is the rainy season. Much of the Lijiang area’s best attractions require being in the Great Outdoors, and significant rainfall can really put a damper on enjoyment as well as make some endeavors such as hiking, outright hazardous. While going in summer and praying for decent weather is better than not going at all, if you have a choice between visiting Yunnan/Lijiang in midsummer versus any other time, pick “any other time.” Winter does get a bit cold and particularly after dark, but it is not as bitter as a Beijing or a Xi’an, therefore quite manageable.

c) Being primarily a tourist city, expect prices for accommodation and food to be higher than for comparables in other Chinese cities of similar size. In general, the closer you get to Lijiang Old Town, the more expensive these tend to be. One large budget-snarfing item in the Lijiang area are ENTRY FEES, which seem to be everywhere you turn. Entry fees in this area for attractions and shows are high-priced and together can add up to a very expensive chunk of budget, so some understanding of the setup and also prioritization of what you want to see/do according to your personal interests, will help manage this aspect of a trip.

d) There is absolutely no need to engage a “tour” or a guide for attractions within Lijiang City itself or for the nearby villages such as Shuhe and Baisha (more later about this). You can wander about on your own quite successfully with guidebook and map, and dispense with the annoyance of somebody yammering in your ear or rushing you around per their preset schedule, so you can enjoy and savor. Lijiang can be very relaxing, well for China anyway. For sights outside Lijiang City such as Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Park, First Bend of the Yangtze, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and exploration of more distant villages, the most useful thing to have at your disposal is transportation (car with driver)—possibly a guide if your language skills aren’t up to communicating directly with driver. It is certainly possible to do all of these things independently using public transportation for significantly less money, but you will have to accept some time inefficiencies and less convenience in return for the savings. It is also possible to join-in to small or large tours (usually can arrange in Lijiang the day before you want to go somewhere). These will have bus and guide and can be cost-effective, but you will be on the tour’s set schedule rather than your own.

e) In recent years, Lijiang has received disparaging comments—particularly from a subset of visiting foreigners—about being a “tourist trap.” Lijiang is prone to having crowds of tourists and yes, the Old Town is full of shops selling schlocky souvenir merchandise, but IMO that does not make the city a “trap.” (And believe me, as a Florida, USA native, I can spot a real tourist trap blindfolded at a thousand paces.) I think for the foreseeable future, it is well worth visiting. In some aspects, Lijiang Old Town has gotten a bit too cute for its own good, and the “Ye Olde China” bit can grate on some visitors. But, under UNESCO protection, the preservation (and parts reconstructed after the 1996 earthquake damage) has been done very well, and the Old Town is lively and vibrant rather than a dead museum.

The City: Old Town

The core of Lijiang is the Old Town, also known as Dayan. This is a pedestrian-only zone and it is fairly sizeable. Most visitors tend to gravitate here for at least certain parts of their stay in the Lijiang area. The cobblestone streets form a literal maze that you can easily get enjoyably lost in, exploring for a few hours. The main square and the streets leading to it are normally the most active and crowded, but if you just walk away from that area (particularly to the eastern half of the Old Town), things get much less active and more peaceful. The eastern half also tends to be the part of the Old Town that escaped the 1996 earthquake with little damage, whereas the part around the West, especially near the Mu Family Mansion, had to be heavily repaired and reconstructed. So if you look carefully, you’ll see more truly old architecture on some of these back streets. For those of you who have been to other old preserved towns, such as Pingyao in Shanxi province or Hongcun/Xidi in Anhui, this one is quite different in appearance and feeling, as Dayan is in the traditional building style of the Naxi minority not the Han Chinese.

Similar to other old preserved towns that get a lot of tourists, if you roll out of bed early and then wander around from about sunrise to 8-9 am in the morning, before the tour groups get going, you will see the natives going about their business in peace and quiet, and have the towns to yourself. And it’s easier to imagine away the tourist-oriented souvenir shops since they are closed and shuttered at that time of morning. However, Old Lijiang is a bit different from the aforementioned towns because it is packed with restaurants and clubs, which come alive in the late afternoon and evening. During my visit the second week of November, the Old Town was actually much more crowded and busy with Chinese tour groups from about 5 – 8 pm. And some clubs go on until way late in the evening. This is a plus if you are looking for that sort of activity, or a negative for many other tourists. Tip: If you intend to stay in Old Town accommodation, ferret out the location in advance and look for reviews and comments on whether you are about to locate yourself in the noisy club zone or in a quieter part of the Old Town.

The Old Town of Lijiang itself is free—you can just walk in and while at the most-used entries there are Visitor Information booths, there is no gate/checkpoint or ticket-takers. There are quite a number of streets and alleys that lead into the Old Town. You will see mention of an “Old Town Preservation Fee” (OTPF) which is currently RMB 80. You may purchase one of these at a Visitor Booth though it isn’t a ticket per se. In theory, hotels are supposed to levy this fee on all visitors, but in practice, it seems they don’t and leave you to your own devices. Caveat: This little item becomes very important to have if you want to see pretty much any of the famous sites in the Lijiang area: Black Dragon Pool, Naxi Orchestra, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Baisha Frescoes, etc. This is how they get you! As most visitors plan to do at least one of these other items, not just see Lijiang Old Town then go away, all the ticket booths at these other attractions will ask to see your receipt for this OTPF and if you cannot produce it, will levy RMB 80 charge on the spot for you to purchase it, in addition to their own standard entry fee. So...if/when you purchase this OTPF, put your name on the receipt you are given, in the spot provided, and keep it handy and ready to show upon demand, until you are completely out of the Lijiang area.

The City: New Town

Lijiang’s New Town is really new, as during the 1996 earthquake, it was the then-New Town that suffered the brunt of the destruction and much of it was flattened. So most New Town buildings date from that time. There has been a lot of development in Lijiang in the last few years, with the town spreading outward in most directions. Most of the New Town is north, west, and south of the Old Town, and contains the bulk of the hotel rooms, as well as all the things normal residents of a city would want: restaurants, supermarkets, shops, banks, hospital, police, etc. Many visitors (I am one) actually prefer to stay in the less-charming but more modern New Town—specifically the part of the New Town within about a 20-minute walk of the Old Town—where quality of accommodation tends to be better, is quieter in the evening, and is more convenient to essential services and transport in/out of city. One rationale for this is that during an average multi-day stay in Lijiang, you end up spending much more of your time outside the city (villages, Gorge, Jade Dragon Mountain, etc.) so it’s easier to just commute to the Old Town when you specifically want to be there. Another rationale is that it’s just too congested in the Old Town, the guesthouses may not have the best quality heat or hot water, and it’s a bit too much fishbowl and noisy atmosphere. It’s really horses for courses on this one. With a few exceptions of international-branded hotels that are at a distance (i.e. Banyan Tree which is up in Shuhe village), hotels in the New Town that are the closest walking distance to Old Town have higher rates than hotels in the New Town that are farther away and require motorized transport. Lijiang does have accommodation in all price ranges, and except maybe in winter low season when a walk-in is doable just about anywhere, it’s a good idea to have an advance booking to ensure your preferred accommodation.

Lijiang seems to have plenty of taxis and they are pretty cheap: flagfall RMB 7, no fuel surcharge right now, distances are short enough that it would be difficult to run up an RMB 20 in-town fare. Flat fares usually charged for longer trips such as to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (RMB 100 current standard) or for a block of time for a few hours. Lijiang City also has a decent bus system but few visitors use it. The locals also flag down minibuses that also serve as share taxis. There are two very useful and cheap services that the visitor might make use of:
1) Minibuses to Shuhe village, about 6 km north of Lijiang. These shuttle constantly throughout the day and leave/return from the New Town parking lot next to the Likelong Supermarket on Xianggelila Street, north of intersection of Fuhui Road. Usually one is leaving every 5-10 minutes when full up. Take along the Chinese characters with you for Lijiang and Shuhe—signs are in the front window. RMB 2 per person in a 7-seater van. RMB 15 for the entire van if you want to go alone and not wait for anybody. Same deal on the return. (This supermarket is the best place I found to stock up on snacks, water, etc. at good prices.)

2) Minibus #7 to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. These are actually private minibuses and leave from a lot just south of the Mao Statue/Square, about 5 minutes’ walk from the main (water wheel) entrance to the Old Town. Big red sign out front by the sidewalk in front of the lot. RMB 15. If traveling alone or as a couple, the price beats the RMB 100 asking price a taxi wants. Minibus will leave when full (or you are willing to pay the extra empty seats) and takes about 30-40 minutes to get to ticket gate of JDSM. May have to wait a few minutes for other travelers to show up, but outbound from Lijiang best chance is between 7-10 in morning. Return to Lijiang best from 15:00 – 18:00.