trip report - Lijiang, TLG, Jade dragon snow mountain
just came back from Lijiang area and thought I'd share some of my experiences there!
Lijiang:
I am sorry but the Lijiang map on LP China needs a little work. Given the massive coverage in the China edition i don't expect detailed maps for every single town, but Lijiang is one of the biggest highlights in china i expect a little more. when we got off the bus at the new bus terminal we had no idea how to get to the old town. i don't think LP marks the long distance bus station correctly on the Lijiang map (p.710). there's no sign indicating the direction of old town, if i didn't speak chinese i would be really lost. here is the (rough) direction to get to old town: turn right after exiting the bus station, turn left at the first street, it looks a lit deserted, with some run-down small restaurants. keep walking and cross a really wide avenue and keep walking. soon you'll see a narrow street with some kind of street markets on your right. from there you can enter the old town. once you enter old town there are maps carved in wood panels at major intersections, or you can buy a map for about RMB5~6.
tiger leaping gorge:
we weren't sure we were up for the full fledge 2 or 3 days hike so we opted for a one day trip. The scenery in TLG is simply fantastic and we are so glad we went! We took a bus from Lijiang (from the new bus terminal, take the bus going to Shangri-la and got off at Qiaotou). As soon as we got off in Qiaotou we were met by touts. LP says there are ubiquitous microbuses but we didn't see any, maybe because it's low season and it was late morning. We partnered up with 2 girls from Kunming and paid RMB100 total for the driver to take us to the middle rapid, waited for us to take the 3-hour hike and take us back (bargained REALLY hard, the Kunming girls did most of the work using their dialect). The hike was awesone although just as LP pointed out, we had to pay RMB10 to the person who maintains the trail, another RMB10 to get to tiger leaping stone when we reached the bottom (which we bargained again and finally paid RMB10 total for the 4 of us. those Kunming girls are awesome!). We had the choice to go back up the same way or paid another RMB10 for a different route, which has a vertical ladder called sky ladder. we took the different route, it was fun and the ladder is not as scary as it looks from below. on the way up we bought some really juicy and sweet pears for RMB1 each. it's sooo tasty! When we got back to Qiaotou it was a little past 6. The bus runs less frequent after dark. we were approached by a driver who's going back to Lijiang and wanted to make some side money. we each paid him RMB20 to bring us back to Lijiang.
Yulong Xueshan (jade dragon snow mountain)
No. 7 bus leaves from north of the old town (marked clearly and correctly in LP on page 710) for RMB10 one way. however on the way there be careful of fake No. 7 minivans just about 100m before the real one! the fake ones are small, takes about 6-8 passengers and have No.7 sign on the front. they charge only RMB8 but what they really want is to get you to horseback riding tours up the mountain! As you walk north from the old town on Minzhu Lu, the real No.7 bus is on your left across the street from the big Mao statue.
another gotta for the bus: in late afternoon (after 4-ish) the No.7 bus has erratic hours. we got back to the foot of the mountain at about 4:30, waited in the cold for an hour and half and saw no sign of No.7. the staff was very unhelpful (i speak fluent mandarin so it's not the problem of communication!). they told us to keep waiting for the bus and said "eventually" it will come. i asked what's the alternatives, they said they don't know!! strangely, unlike many other places in China, there is no one trying to get us into their cars. most people came with a tour group. there's just simply no vehicles wanting to take us back to Lijiang, not even trying to gyp us! it was getting dark and we got a little worried. we started flagging down the passing vehicles, finally someone stopped. there were about 11 of us waiting for the bus. luckily with a bit of squeezing we all fit in. 30 minutes later we were finally back in Lijiang, feeling like refugees. :)
now more on the mountain itself (LP is VERY wrong in this session. page 717): as you might know, there are 3 cable cars in the Yulong Xueshan area. most people (especially herds of chinese groups) take the big lift up to 4506m (not the 3050m mentioned in LP). we got to the bottom (Ganhaizi, or Dry Sea Meadow) around 10 and the lift tickets were sold out till 12. we proceeded to buy the tickets but what it actually means is, we can come back at 12 to get a "time ticket" for the bus, which transports us to the bottom of the lift, waited in another long line there to take the lift. by the time we got up to the top it's 3pm. it was a Sunday maybe that's why. but make sure you plan enough time if you plan to take this lift, and try to go on a clear day.
we also went to Yak Meadow, which we really like. we were almost the only ones there. it has a little of remote, tibetan feeling and we saw yak grazing on the meadow. No.7 bus doesn't go there, but they will drop you off somewhere you can pay RMB20 for a bus that takes you there and back. no hassle.
all right. that's about it. hope that helps anyone who wants to go to Lijiang. it's a beautiful place! of course if i made any mistake, don't hesitate to correct me. happy traveling!
