Lijiang Story: If Haizi’s lines described Lijiang, they’d be: ‘Sun strong, water gentle.’

If you need a place to park your noisy heart,

if you’re looking for a city to find your soul, weathered by the world’s clamour;

if I had just one plane ticket,

I’d still choose this plateau town that stunned time’s first light

—Lijiang.

The Naxi people’s sun-darkened faces

come from the wind that sweeps across snow-capped mountains and open wilderness.

The breathtaking beauty here

comes from glaciers and lakes at the junction of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

And within such scenery they built a water-woven ancient city,

the Naxi people’s thousand-year contemplation and craft at the foot of the snow mountains.

The Jinsha River was anciently called Lishui, so this plateau basin embraced by the river—

the city where I rest my soul and observe my heart

is named Lijiang.

Getting there: Direct flights from Nanjing to Lijiang (no need to transit via Kunming, very convenient)

Top sights: Lijiang Ancient Town, Shuhe Ancient Town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Wenhai, Baisha Ancient Village, Lijiang Eternal Love show

Accommodation: Dayan Ancient Town

Local food: wild mushrooms, snow-mountain cold-water fish, free-range chicken hotpot, cured spare ribs hotpot

—Dayan Ancient Town—

“A utopia for dreamy living: doing nothing,

just gazing at rooftops and sky is enchanting.”

We arrived in Lijiang to surprisingly cool temperatures—while the rest of the country sweltered in summer, it was just 25°C, with not a trace of heat. The moist air of the rainy season greeted us right outside the airport, mingled with the scent of earth and plants. We chose to stay inside Dayan Ancient Town, near the north gate. The lanes are tricky, so be sure to follow GPS closely. We didn’t trouble the hostel’s young staff; we lugged our own bags, checked in, freshened up, rested a while, then headed out.

At night, the old town is lovelier than by day: warm yellow light strips run along every rooftop, making it wonderfully cozy and lively. We’d done our homework and went to Wenchang Palace before dark to overlook the town at dusk. After snapping photos, we wandered the nighttime lanes.

If you love photography, you must check in at this spot!

In the evening, you can stroll along the bar street; whether you go in is up to you. We’re not big drinkers, so we just soaked up Lijiang’s “bar culture” outside the door. It felt like a utopia where everyone lets go of their usual tensions—unwinding and letting loose is the theme here.

By day, the old town lacks the night’s romance, but gains a leisure and lucidity.

In every alley, a patch of blue sky is framed by upturned eaves; with fresh flowers at every doorstep, the whole city, laced with flowing water, exudes a unique Lijiang aesthetic.

Near the south gate, waterside houses all hang colourful camel bells. I think it’s only when you live long in such a place that you develop a love for beauty. Thinking of morning subway rushes back home, I felt only time here deserves to be slowed by the gods.

-Jade Dragon Snow Mountain-

“Some gods must bathe beneath these valleys,

here the water becomes a sacred blue.”

I’d long heard that Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is the love mountain and sacred mountain of the Naxi people, an ethnic group mainly living in Lijiang who, over centuries, built the World Heritage site we know: Lijiang Ancient Town.

Lijiang Ancient Town comprises three parts: Dayan Ancient Town where we stayed, Shuhe Ancient Town and Baisha Ancient Village, both closer to the mountain. Lijiang is small; the three are near each other, a 20-yuan taxi ride apart. The whole city has no high-rises, so wherever you stay, you can see Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

We set off from Dayan in the morning; the mountain isn’t far from Lijiang city, a day trip doable in one go. We were lucky that day: Blue Moon Valley’s water was a brilliant blue, with many couples taking wedding photos. We marvelled at how beautiful it was, and later a local told us this is the Blue Moon Valley depicted in Lost Horizon, and the lovely “Shangri-La” comes from that novel. The valley lies within the scenic area; on sunny days, the lake is a crystalline blue, clear to the bottom, and at its far end stands the main massif of the snow mountain.

Remember strong sun protection—the altitude is over 4,000m, UV rays are much more intense, and girls should definitely bring sunglasses. Also, many people have never been to such high elevations and worry about altitude sickness, so be sure to have oxygen and warm clothing ready.

-Shuhe & Baisha-

“This is what Lijiang looked like in the beginning.”

Locals urged us to explore Shuhe Ancient Town and Baisha Ancient Village, saying they’re the least commercialised parts of Lijiang—especially Baisha, where most residents are still Naxi.

Baisha is tiny, you can stroll through it in half an hour. There are quaint vintage shops, cafés, and many foreigners. Sometimes, honestly, foreigners know how to have a good time; they love such raw, unspoiled places. That’s why Lijiang’s Tiger Leaping Gorge and Baisha Ancient Town are more famous in overseas travel guides.

To me, Baisha is a quiet little village, with an elderly local granny sitting roadside selling vegetables and fruit at the centre. Street-front shops are retro, run by nostalgic ‘old Lijiang’ folk with real love for the place.

Because it’s barely commercialised, there aren’t many restaurants, so we went back to Dayan Old Town for dinner. It’s the rainy season, the best time for foodies to visit Lijiang—this is when the famed Yunnan wild mushrooms hit the shelves.

We picked a larger restaurant after checking several; there was a crowd at the door, the lighting was warm, seats had a local feel, and the dining hall was airy and full of a lively, communal atmosphere.

It was called Stone Pot Fisher Mountain Delicacies Restaurant, and we were there for Yunnan’s ‘mountain treasures.’ Despite the ‘fish’ in the name, this season it operates as a wild mushroom restaurant!

Many Yunnan wild mushrooms require special preparation, or they can be poisonous—so we didn’t risk buying from local grandpas and grandmas at Zhongyi Market, though the colourful, weird-looking fungi are said to be astonishingly delicious. Choosing a professional mushroom restaurant is safer, and this one is conveniently near Zhongyi Market inside the old town.

As soon as we entered, staff let us choose our favourite seats. Because of the pandemic, the town wasn’t too crowded, but the hall was already nearly full.

The décor is simple, with a nicely designed entrance. We ordered a mushroom hotpot and fried bamboo worms. The broth is chicken-based, enriched with several wild mushrooms—creamy milk mushrooms, boletes (the legendary ‘see-you-tomorrow’ stain), and bamboo fungus—incredibly savory and fragrant.

You have to simmer it patiently for 20 minutes, but that first mouthful after the wait blew me away. The rich chicken broth combined with the bolete’s umami—it suddenly made sense why Yunnan people are so devoted to wild mushrooms. I didn’t want to go back to Nanjing; where else can you get such fresh little mushrooms? The most satisfying meal of the trip; I’ll definitely come back next time.

“Lijiang’s hidden back garden

—a lakeside pasture; take a photo shoot while leading a horse.”

On our last day, with a night flight, we drove to Wenhai in the morning—a place few tourists know.

Hidden behind the mountains between Shuhe and Baisha, a small lake nourishes a meadow, which the village uses as a natural pasture. Cattle and horses graze freely, living unburdened lives among the hills and waters.

The horses here are gentle, not alarmed by our presence, calmly munching grass. No tickets, no fences, no warning signs. Encountering an original, rustic Lijiang is just that simple. The mountain breeze swept across the meadow; calves nuzzled their mothers. We picked wildflowers and tucked them into our pockets. Holding a horse’s lead, we spotted a few white stupas across the lake on the far shore.

Surely, divine protection keeps this pure land preserved, unchanged to this day.

In the afternoon, we squeezed in the essence of Lijiang culture—the show Lijiang Eternal Love. Nearly an hour long, it tells through performance the caravan culture, the Mosuo people of Lugu Lake, and love sacrifices on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain… You need this full experience to glimpse Lijiang’s cultural beauty.

The performers gave it their all; the staging alone was worth the trip. In the final scene, seeing Naxi men and women sacrifice for love, I understood the generations’ inheritance of courage and sincerity.

-Life itself is a journey of farewells-

From the day we’re born,

we learn to grow and part with our younger selves.

What fades away besides time is our clear soul.

Haizi’s verse is how many people’s dream—

facing the sea, with spring blossoms.

Yet living in the steel forest,

we face targets, livelihoods, competition every day…

Time becomes a devil pushing us forward; once you enter the arena, it’s hard to withdraw gracefully. Noisy subway stations, jammed crossroads, cramped cubicles… they squeeze not just time but our soul.

So this small city named Lijiang becomes a utopia.

The only difference: here the fierce sun and gentle water are utterly real every day. Countless people are healed by it; countless others, after twists and turns, still marvel at its soul transmitted through millennia.