纳西烤鱼 / 粑粑
Naxi grilled fish or baba
Baba is a wheat flatbread, plain or stuffed. The grill stalls in Dayan are uneven. Eat where a local queue is, not where a dancer is.
丽江 · 3 to 4 days
Lijiang
Dayan is the old town everyone photographs, and it is louder than the photograph. The mountain is a cable car and an altitude problem. Tiger Leaping Gorge is the hike, and it is not a half day. Sleep where you can hear water and not a bar.
The sky
Today and the next few days
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This is the city forecast, in Celsius. A mountain, gorge, or dune an hour away can be a different day. Data comes from Open-Meteo and is refreshed on this site.
Stay near
A lane off the Dayan square, or Shuhe
Give it
Three nights, four if you hike the gorge
Book first
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Watch for
Altitude, and a bar street sold as heritage
Walk Dayan in the morning before the shops fully perform. Black Dragon Pool is the view of the mountain if the cloud allows it. Jade Dragon is a reserved cable-car day, not a stroll. Tiger Leaping Gorge needs a night in a trail guesthouse or a very honest look at the distance.
The airport is a ride from town. Trains from Kunming arrive at Lijiang Station, outside the old town. Take a taxi and save the guesthouse name in Chinese. Dali is a separate stop on the way, not a lunch.
Across-the-bridge noodles show up here too. Yak, mushrooms, and barley flatbreads are the local plate. The Naxi kitchens are not the same as the Yunnan bowl you had in Kunming.
Getting around
How you actually move.
Taxis and a local bus between the station, Dayan, Shuhe, and Black Dragon Pool. The old town is pedestrian once you are in it. Agree the gate you will be picked up at, because cars cannot follow you to the square.
Jade Dragon is a ride north. Tiger Leaping Gorge starts at Qiaotou, about two hours toward Shangri-La. A day trip that promises the whole high trail and a return to Dayan for dinner is not telling the truth.
Where to sleep
A neighborhood, not a booking ad.
Inside Dayan, a lane off the main square, if you want the morning canals. The square itself is bars. Shuhe is quieter and a short ride away.
A guesthouse on the Tiger Leaping high trail is the right bed for the hike. It is the wrong base for the old town. Split the nights.
Eat this, not a poster of it
What Lijiang actually tastes like
牦牛肉
Yak meat
Lean, often hotpot or dried. A clear hotpot is easier to judge than a chili one at this altitude.
过桥米线
Crossing-the-bridge noodles
The Yunnan bowl, here too. Hot broth, rice noodles, and things you slide in. Egg is common.
The sights
Where to go, and whether you can just show up.
No old-town ticket
Dayan Old Town
Historic sites 历史古迹
The Naxi old town. The entry fee is gone. Some courtyards still charge.
Park ticket
Black Dragon Pool
Natural scenery 自然风景
The pool that borrows Jade Dragon Snow Mountain for a backdrop.
Passport reservation
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Natural scenery 自然风景
The snow peak north of town. Cable cars, altitude, and a reservation.
Gorge ticket, then the trail
Tiger Leaping Gorge
Natural scenery 自然风景Hiking and trails 徒步越野
The deep gorge toward Shangri-La. The high trail is a real hike.
Free to walk
Shuhe
Cultural landscapes 人文风光
The smaller old village north of Dayan. Quieter, still commercial, easier to like.