Self-Drive Yunnan: Lijiang

Dali Lotus Water Rhyme Seaview Inn is right next to Erhai Lake, with beautiful surroundings, clean and tidy. There's a restaurant next door, and on the rooftop, a sky mirror for guests to take photos. The owner is very nice, and breakfast is provided with a reservation.

From Dali Lotus Water Rhyme Seaview Inn to Lijiang Feifan Chengpin Hotel, the distance is over 150 kilometers, all on expressway, reachable in two hours.

Feifan Chengpin Hotel is also a 7 Days Inn franchise, located at the intersection of Xueshan Road and Changshui Road in Lijiang's new district, with convenient transportation and parking. The hotel environment is great, clean and tidy. The owner even upgraded us to a more expensive room for free to make our stay easier.

After checking in, we drove around the main streets of the new district and got a general idea of Lijiang city.

In the evening, we started exploring Lijiang Ancient Town.

Lijiang Ancient Town is located in the Gucheng District of Lijiang City, Yunnan Province, also known as Dayan Town. It lies in the middle of the Lijiang basin, first built at the end of the Song and beginning of the Yuan dynasty (late 13th century AD). Situated on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, it covers an area of 7.279 square kilometers.

The streets inside Lijiang Ancient Town are built along the mountains and rivers, paved with red breccia. It features Sifang Street, Mu's Residence, Wufeng Tower, Heilongtan Pool, Wenchang Palace, Wang Pichen Memorial Hall, Xueshan Academy, Wangjiazhuang Christian Church, Former Residence of Fang Guoyu, Baima Longtan Temple, Gubide Former Residence, Jinglian Temple, Puxian Temple, Jiefeng Pavilion, October Literature Museum, Red Army Long March Lijiang Command Memorial Hall, Lijiang Ancient Town History and Culture Exhibition Hall, Lijiang Ancient Town Xu Xiake Memorial Hall, and other attractions.

Lijiang is one of the second batch of Chinese Historical and Cultural Cities approved, and one of the two ancient cities in China that have successfully obtained World Cultural Heritage status for the entire old town. Lijiang Ancient Town embodies the achievements of ancient Chinese urban construction and represents a distinct type of Chinese residential architecture with unique characteristics and style.

At Lashihai, you can ride a horse along the Tea Horse Road and experience the caravan life of the ancient horse teams, or take a boat out on the lake. At our age and in this season, we couldn't really enjoy these activities.

Online rumors said that Lashihai Sunshine Coast has a thousand-acre flower sea, with the largest flowers as big as a face. We set the navigation and headed straight there.

Perhaps we went to the wrong place, or perhaps we came at the wrong time. There was land, but no flowers.

So we headed directly to the Wetland Park.

Lashihai National Wetland Park: Located in the middle of Lashi Ba, 10 kilometers west of Lijiang county town, it is Yunnan's first nature reserve named after 'wetland'. The lake surface is at an altitude of 2,437 meters. The wetland's lush water plants, fresh fish and shrimp, and safe natural environment make it an ideal stopover for migratory birds on their north-south journeys.

Shuhe Ancient Town: Shuhe is one of the earliest settlements of the Naxi people in the Lijiang basin, a well-preserved important market town on the Tea Horse Road, a living specimen of the transition from agricultural to commercial civilization among the Naxi ancestors, and a model of market town construction shaped by openness and caravan activities.

Shuhe is an important part of the World Heritage Lijiang Ancient Town and was selected as a 'Charming Town of China' by CCTV in 2005.

Shuhe Ancient Town occupies a core position among all Lijiang scenic spots, serving as a hub for visiting Lijiang Ancient Town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lugu Lake, the First Bend of the Yangtze River, and the Three Parallel Rivers scenic area.

I especially recommend the cured spare rib hotpot here, especially the radish cooked in the broth—really delicious!

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Scenic Area in Lijiang is a 5A-level national scenic spot officially approved by the National Tourism Administration. Located in Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, it is the southernmost snow mountain in the Northern Hemisphere, with its main peak, Shanzidou, at an altitude of 5,596 meters. The alpine snow scenery lies above 4,000 meters, featuring precipitous, fantastic, beautiful, and graceful views.

Main attractions: Shanzidou, Ganhaizi, Impression Lijiang, Yunshanping, Glacier Park, Blue Moon Valley, Maoniu Ping.

Due to limited time, our route was: Lijiang City – Ganhaizi – Yunshanping – Blue Moon Valley – Impression Lijiang – Lijiang City.

Tiger Leaping Gorge is a world-famous grand canyon, renowned for its magnificent and perilous scenery. It is divided into Upper Tiger Leaping, Middle Tiger Leaping, and Lower Tiger Leaping, with numerous rapids. The river rushes forward under the towering Jade Dragon and Haba snow mountains, with extraordinary momentum. Upper Tiger Leaping, 9 kilometers from Tiger Leaping Gorge Town, is the narrowest section, with the river surface over a hundred meters wide. In the middle of the river stands a huge rock called Tiger Leaping Rock, and when the current crashes against it, the roaring sound fills the valley.

In late autumn, temperatures are low, with high mountains on both sides. The sun is slow to reach the scenic area, and the river wind makes you shiver with cold.

First Bend of the Yangtze River: At Shigu Town in Lijiang County, about 50 kilometers from Lijiang city, the surging river is blocked by Hailuo Mountain cliffs and forced to make a sharp V-shaped turn, then flows northeast. This V-turn is the famous First Bend of the Yangtze River.

Due to time constraints, we missed several spots on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and didn't see the flower sea at Sunshine Coast. Where there are regrets, there is hope – Lijiang, I will come back again.

Travelogue Directory: 1. DAY12: Dali – Lijiang – Lijiang Ancient Town; 2. DAY13: Lashihai National Wetland Park – Shuhe Ancient Town; 3. DAY14: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain; 4. DAY15: Tiger Leaping Gorge – First Bend of the Yangtze River

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