Lijiang Ancient Town – Discover the “Venice” of the East

Lijiang (Lijiang/丽江) is a peaceful place through the years in China, likened to Venice. Let’s find out everything with Focus Asia Travel in this article before travel to Lijiang.

Table of Contents

What is Lijiang?

Lijiang (Chinese: 丽江) is one of the most famous ancient towns in China, its reputation has spread throughout the world, and it is often praised as the “Venice of the East”.

Popular activities: walking around the old town; visiting historical sites; learning about ethnic cultures (Lijiang is an area with many ethnic groups living. You can visit the snow mountain 30km from Lijiang and the “gateway to Tibet” – Shangrila 180km away (3.5 hours by car)

Reasonable time for a Lijiang Tour: about more than 1 day for the old town area. 1 – 2 days for neighboring areas (Yulong Snow Mountain, other ancient towns) and 1 – 2 days to visit Shangrila.

Venice of the East

How to get to Lijiang ancient town?

Lijiang is located in Yunnan Province, China. This location is about 500km from the capital of Yunnan Province – Kunming City. Lijiang is a famous destination so the means of transportation are quite diverse, there are many ways to get there by plane, high-speed train, bus…

Lijiang is located in Yunnan Province, China.

What season is beautiful in Lijiang?

Lijiang Ancient Town is located at an altitude of about 2,400m above sea level, so the climate is cool all year round. However, because it is so high, the air is quite thin, if you are not used to it or have a weak body, you will experience plateau reactions (altitude sickness), headaches, and difficulty breathing.

Which season is Lijiang most beautiful?

The temperature difference during the day is quite clear from early morning, between day and night. The best time to visit Lijiang is April-May: flowers bloom everywhere, snow falls on the mountains and the flower fields give off a fragrant scent. Or October-November: the most beautiful season of the year when the trees change leaves to poetic yellow and red.

The beauty of Lijiang?

Lijiang Ancient Town is located in Yunnan Province, China, and consists of three ancient towns: Dayan, Shuhe and Baisha. Of these, Dayan Ancient Town, also known as Lijiang Ancient Town, is the most visited by tourists.

Lijiang Ancient Town was built in the late Song Dynasty more than 800 years ago. The buildings here blend the architectural imprints of Dongba culture with the diversity of many ethnic minorities.

Lijiang ancient town is known as the Venice of the East because of its picturesque scenery.

This place has a nostalgic atmosphere emanating from each house close together, the willow shade hanging down the steps, the small canals, the curved bridges. All of these blend together to create a cultural identity that Lijiang is still preserving and promoting.

Walking on the old brick road, looking at the colorful umbrellas hanging high above, it feels like being lost in a scene from a movie. The shops next to each other sell everything like a real food paradise.

Walking on the old brick road, looking at the colorful umbrellas hanging high above.

Lijiang is divided into two parts: the modern town and the old town. To visit the old town, you no longer have to pay the 80 yuan entrance fee, but if you visit the Black Dragon Pond Park near the old town, you still need to!

Lijiang is divided into two parts: the modern town and the old town.

If during the day the ancient town looks peaceful and rustic with canals spreading throughout the town, then when night falls the ancient town becomes vibrant and bustling, the light from thousands of lanterns shines. Sitting down to eat at a riverside restaurant or listening to live music at a coffee shop is so chill.

So chill.

What are the tourist attractions in Lijiang ancient town?

Black Dragon Pond Park.

Black Dragon Pond Park was built in 1737 with sophisticated architecture in the Chinese style. Located right at the foot of the majestic Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, it receives clear water flowing into Black Dragon Lake. The park area is extremely large, with beautiful landscapes. In the past, this park was built for kings and mandarins to walk, admire flowers and enjoy tea, so there are many types of flowers, temples and attics.

Black Dragon Pond Park.

Dayan Ancient Town.

Dai Nghien means big inkstone, this can be considered a poetic but very accurate comparison of the ancients because this place is like a giant inkstone, water from the center flows through small canals to everywhere in the ancient city, creating a unique ancient town in China as well as the whole world.

Dayan Ancient Town.

Shuhe Ancient Town.

Shuhe Ancient Town, or Longquan Town (the village with the dragon spring), is located north of the ancient city of Lijiang. In the ancient Naxi language, Shuhe means village at the foot of the mountain. There is also a river system running through the town like Dayan Ancient Town. Shuhe is considered a smaller, more peaceful, less populated version of Lijiang Ancient Town.

Shuhe Ancient Town.

Baisha Ancient Town.

Once the political, economic and cultural center of Lijiang. It is also the original settlement of the Naxi people in Lijiang, still preserving the original Naxi culture. Tourists to Lijiang are fascinated by this ancient town because of its pristine beauty, not yet exploited commercially, and quieter than Dayan and Shuhe ancient towns. From this small town you can also see the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Baisha Ancient Town

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

This is a snowy mountain range near Lijiang, with a total of 12 peaks over 5000m high covered in snow all year round. The 12 undulating, white mountains cover a large area, reflecting the silvery sunlight like a silver-white dragon in the sky, so it is called “Jade Dragon”. To have the best experience of admiring the majestic mountains here, visitors will be able to take the highest cable cars in Asia.