Poetry and Distant Lands: Lijiang, Shangri-La, Lugu Lake (2021)

📍 Lijiang · 👁 3 reads · ❤️ 203 likes

I did some homework before heading to Lijiang, following the Yunnan Disease Control updates, and mapped out the route, hotels, and transportation I wanted.

Luckily I didn’t agree to Mr. Cong’s idea of renting a car and self-driving. The road from Shangri-La to Pudacuo was under construction (reportedly for years already) and extremely rough—a vehicle with high ground clearance would be better if you do rent. The drive from Lijiang to Lugu Lake has endless sharp bends, too. Hiring a private car was so much more comfortable, and we still had total freedom over our schedule. (If you prefer ride-sharing, you can easily arrange it after arriving in Lijiang—traveling without a set plan has its own charm.) To experience as much as possible in the limited time, I booked a guide through Ctrip in advance with Wang Pingrong’s team. Her route basically covers all the must-see attractions. Under the pandemic, tourism is really struggling: five days with a private car cost only 2,500 yuan, with no extra tolls or fuel fees to pay, the driver paid for his own accommodation, and they even included free airport and train station transfers. (I was pleasantly surprised to see an Audi A6 pulling up at the train station.) Our driver, Master He, is a Naxi local who speaks clear Mandarin. Along the way, he shared stories about Lijiang’s customs and life, and took us to eat all the local specialties I wanted to try—the Tibetan meal in Shangri-La, the stone-pot fish at Lugu Lake, and Lijiang’s wild mushroom hot pot were all excellent. Five stars for the car service and guide.

Day 0: Arrived in Lijiang, stayed in Shuhe Ancient Town.

Day 1: Lashihai – Baisha Ancient Town – Shuhe Ancient Town (used Didi car-hailing that day). Stayed at Yunjian Resort Hotel near Shuhe.

Day 2: Headed to Shangri-La: Tiger Leaping Gorge – Napa Lake – Songzanlin Monastery. Stayed at Ganlu Inn in Dukezong Ancient Town. (From this day on, we used the private car.)

Day 3: Pudacuo National Park, then back to Lijiang. Stayed at Fuyi Baika B&B in Shuhe.

Day 4: Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Impression Lijiang show. Stayed at Fuyi Baika B&B.

Day 5: Lugu Lake, stayed at Shilili Hotel in Daluoshui Village.

Day 6: Returned to Lijiang, explored Lijiang Old Town, stayed at Yisheng Yisu Guesthouse.

Day 7: Lion Hill, Mu’s Residence, then returned to Kunming.

And now, here’s our Lijiang travel diary~~

The Lashihai experience wasn’t great. The first Didi driver didn’t follow my destination—I’d pinned West Lake (following a recommendation I’d seen on Dianping, where the photo scenery is beautiful), but Driver #1 dropped me off at the entrance of a travel company near Lashihai, trying to sell me on horseback riding. They also sold plain entrance tickets ± shuttle tickets. The travel company’s gate was quite far from the scenic area, so you still had to buy the shuttle ticket. After buying a ticket and entering, there wasn’t much substantial scenery inside Lashihai; all the best viewpoints were taken over by so-called Instagram-popular photo spots. It wasn’t cold yet, so the wintering birds hadn’t arrived—just a few resident wild ducks on the water. Part of the area was still under construction, so we just strolled along the boardwalk. The sky was gorgeous, with mountains in the distance, so all the photos turned out beautiful anyway. After Lashihai, I called a Didi to Baisha Ancient Town. Along the road, I saw local courtyards with whole fields of sunflowers and orchards of apples and snow peaches—my mood lifted right away. Yunnan’s fruit is incredibly diverse; there’s basically more local fruit than you can eat. The apples around Lijiang and Lugu Lake, plus the bananas, dragon fruit, and pomegranates from Honghe Prefecture, are absolutely great value and delicious.

In Baisha, we first ate at a spot recommended by Didi Driver #2—a free-spirited young man from Shandong—the kind of place locals go: mixed stew pot. Even though I normally dislike greasy pig trotters, I ate them happily. The broth was savory and clear, the trotters rich but not greasy, and underneath were all kinds of vegetables soaking up that tasty soup—the perfect blend of delicious and healthy, haha. A small pot was only 68 yuan, enough for two people with some rice.

After the meal, we wandered around Baisha. It was really quiet, just a few casual tourists, shops open here and there, and the townspeople going about their lives. Any random street snap could catch the snow mountain as backdrop.

Before arriving in Lijiang, I’d already made a coffee shop list, weeding out the ones that only push atmosphere and those with dessert-heavy recommendation lists. My first pick was MAO Coffee. The owner probably has the surname Mao, and there were cat photos in the shop. The menu was seriously professional, with a long list of both espresso drinks and pour-over coffees. The owner was so cool there was zero small talk, and the shop even had a sign saying “please no photography,” so I obediently just drank my coffee. I chose a latte and a pour-over made with sun-dried beans from Yunnan Pu’er. (At any new café, I usually try these two to gauge the espresso technique and bean quality.) The Pu’er beans were indeed more complex and richer in flavor than those from Baoshan. Compared with the other Lijiang coffee shops I visited later, MAO ranked first in bean quality, pour-over flavor, and latte art.

From Baisha we headed straight to Shuhe Ancient Town. Its size and liveliness fall right between Baisha and Lijiang Old Town. It’s much bigger than Baisha, with a few more tourists. By afternoon, the bar street was already humming with music. Mr. Cong, being “shy,” turned down a travel photo shoot, so we found a leather workshop (Mian Wu) to make a travel keepsake: a “tile cat” fridge magnet for our cat Qiuqiu back home, and a leather bell. (Even after we removed the noisy clapper inside, Qiuqiu still refused to have it anywhere near her neck, all grumpy—I’m going to hang it on my laptop bag instead.) The workshop’s owners are a couple from Zhejiang who left the city noise to settle in Lijiang. The wife, Xiao Yu, is very outgoing; she added me on WeChat and recommended her favorite fire-pit restaurants and coffee shops. For dinner we went to one she suggested—Lishuihui Original Ecolife Restaurant—just a walk away from my hotel, Yunjian.

(I’ll dedicate a separate section later to introduce this trip’s hotels and restaurants in detail.)

Day 2 kicked off the real journey. We checked out from Yunjian and set off for Shangri-La. As we entered Tibetan areas, white stupas, herds of cattle and sheep, and Tibetan mansions started appearing along the road.

First stop: Tiger Leaping Gorge. The rapids were thunderous, absolutely awe-inspiring. A boardwalk leads to the viewing platform; if you have trouble walking, there’s also an elevator option. I wanted to upload a video but found the format wasn’t compatible—I’ll look into that later…

The afternoon weather was fine, so we went to Napa Lake to ride horses—yes, today I wanted to ride. Before seeing Napa Lake, I’d thought it was a lake, like Erhai. In reality, it’s a marshy meadow. Because the rainy season brings plenty of water, the grasslands are dotted with water reflecting blue sky and white clouds—a view you can only see in the wet season. There were three ride durations to choose from, and I picked the shortest (about an hour, photo time included). When the horse stepped into the water, my heart skipped: worried the water might be deep and I’d end up in it, worried the horse might get fussy and throw me off—haha. In the end, none of those fears came true, but later I discovered the skin over my tailbone had gotten chafed.

The last stop of Day 2 was Songzanlin Monastery. The young Tibetan guide there gave an excellent explanation—he was truly mastering the topic, not just reciting a script for a tour-guide exam. He covered everything from the origins and development of Tibetan Buddhism, the history of the monastery, where to take the best panorama shots, the birds circling the rooftops, to sky-burial rituals. So we ended up staying a bit longer than planned. Many people were doing Tibetan-costume photo shoots. There were rentals at the monastery gate, but comparing them, the ones in Dukezong Ancient Town looked more refined.

That evening we returned to Dukezong Ancient Town in Shangri-La. It was the night before Mid-Autumn Festival. We found the most heartwarming guesthouse of the whole trip (Ganlu Inn), where all guests were invited into the living room to watch TV, eat mooncakes, drink tea, and pet the cat. It felt so good to gather with people from all over and just chat.

Originally, we’d planned to set off for Pudacuo National Park right after checkout the next morning, but waking up to the sound of chanting from the Grand Buddha Temple, and with the guesthouse so close by, we went to Guishan Park first to take in the full view of Dukezong Ancient Town and turn the giant prayer wheel.

In September, Pudacuo hadn’t entered autumn yet, so there were no fall colors. That’s travel for you—you can’t always see every postcard-perfect view. Even so, Pudacuo was breathtaking. “Pudacuo” means “boat lake”: “Puda” is “boat” and “cuo” is “lake.” Tibetan families live inside the park; they receive salaries as compensation for protecting the environment, and they can still raise cattle, sheep, and horses. At lower elevations in the Tibetan areas, bright red Stellera flowers bloomed. On distant hills, the plateau willows were so different from southern willows. Little squirrels would dart out right by your feet. Pudacuo is an ideal park for hiking. After entering the scenic area, we boarded a tourist bus. A volunteer introduced the park—it takes 20–30 minutes by bus to reach both Shudu Lake and Bita Lake. Trekking around Shudu Lake takes about 1.5 hours; if you have more time, you can walk there too. We were lucky: Bita Lake, which had been closed for a long time, had just reopened for a short section.

On the way back from Shangri-La, I felt a twinge of regret—Yubeng must be even more beautiful.

After a night recovering in Lijiang, Day 4’s itinerary was Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. My guide originally had it scheduled for the last day, but I suggested putting it before Lugu Lake, mainly worried we’d run out of energy by trip’s end. The driver booked tickets through his company for us. Lucky again—the Impression Lijiang show had just resumed, perfect to cap off the mountain visit. Worries about altitude sickness turned out to be completely unfounded: Shangri-La is over 3,000 meters, Lijiang around 2,000, and we felt nothing at night—I even showered normally, and Mr. Cong even had a little drink that evening in Shangri-La without any issue. We still prepared oxygen tanks before heading up the mountain; it’s pricier on the mountain, so stocking up in advance is smart. While climbing, I indeed saw many girls without makeup whose lips had a purplish tinge, and quite a few older folks struggling a bit. There were no glaciers to see—tourism development has been reducing Lijiang’s snow cover more and more.

The climb wasn’t arduous at all, so we came down quickly and took a bus to Blue Moon Valley. We saw lots of soon-to-be-wed couples doing bridal shoots there—blessings to them all.

Last activity at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: the Impression Lijiang show. They said it was the very first performance after the pause, so we were extra lucky. Before it started, everyone got a raincoat—umbrellas weren’t recommended because they’d block others’ views. During the show, it really rained quite hard, but the raincoats were great quality and kept us dry. The driver said the performers are all Lijiang locals. With the snow mountain as their backdrop, they introduced their own names and ethnic groups, acting out horse riding, drinking, working, and wedding customs. Even in the rain, the actors were fully committed—that was truly impressive.

Day 5: Lugu Lake. The drive from Lijiang took about four hours. Once you buy your ticket and enter the scenic area, you get a high vantage point overlooking the lake—no exaggeration, the beauty makes your heart flutter.

First, we took a boat to Liwubi Island. To protect the environment, all boats are human-powered; each carries at most 10–12 people with only two boatmen, usually a husband-and-wife team. The wife did the commentary, sharing about Lugu Lake. A direct island ticket was 70 yuan per person—30 yuan more if you wanted to circle the island once. Since the water was so unbelievably clear and lovely, of course we paid extra to circle around and stay a bit longer! At the top of Liwubi Island is a temple.

We spent the night in Daluoshui Village. Room rates were higher than in Lijiang, but the room itself was just so-so. The bonfire party was cancelled due to pandemic controls, so I picked a café to watch the sunset—right on the lakefront with a perfect view, but the coffee was deeply ordinary. By comparison, I still preferred Lijiang and Shangri-La.

By the time we returned from Lugu Lake, we’d been playing for a full week. Not too tired, and still wanting more. Back in Lijiang Old Town, I knew the trip was winding down. Choosing the lively old town as our last stop, I wanted to soak up some everyday bustle before going home. The old town is huge—a full walk-around takes a very long time. So we did the representative evening stroll past the Big Waterwheel and snacked on street food. Early next morning, we went to Mu’s Residence and Lion Hill. People say Lion Hill offers the best panoramic view of the old town, especially for free. That’s not right: Lion Hill charges admission, and the photo angle isn’t as good as from Mu’s Residence. Both charge entry fees, but Mu’s Residence has much more to see, with free guided tours, and the highest point has a wide-open vista.

Travelogue Table of Contents

1. Opening Thoughts

2. Lashihai Scenic Area—traps to avoid

3. Lijiang’s laid-back charm in Baisha Ancient Town

4. Shuhe—the perfect blend of quiet and buzz

5. Shangri-La, the sun and moon in my heart

6. Pudacuo is beautiful in every season

7. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain—you must reach 4,680 meters!

8. Lugu Lake, stunningly breathtaking

9. Goodbye, bustling Lijiang Old Town