Hiking at the Foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

If you have two days to explore the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, it is recommended to spend one day taking the cableway and hiking up the mountain to visit the Glacier Park, Blue Moon Valley, and Ganhaizi Meadow; 
► Check Day Trip to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain for reference, or choose our Guided Day Tour to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

For another day, we strongly suggest you follow this route to visit the small villages at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain to experience the true beauty of nature and peaceful country life.

► Route: Yuhu Village → Yuzhu Qingtian → Dongba Gods Garden → Yushui Village → Yufeng Temple → Sisters Lake → Dongba Kingdom → Baisha Murals

► You are recommended to buy the combo ticket of the Great Jade Dragon Scenic Area for this in-depth exploration. The ticket, priced at CNY 204 and valid for 7 days, includes entrance fee to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and all the above scenic spots in this route, but excludes the cost of the cableway and sightseeing bus.

Yuhu Village is a primitive Naxi village that has not been fully developed. It is not very famous, but it is actually one of the birthplaces of the Naxi Tusi culture. There is no entrance fee but owns terrific natural scenery. The dwellings and roads in the village are all made of stones, showing an ancient and simple style.

Walk north to enter the village, and you’ll find the Former Residence of Rock in 3 minutes. The house was once the living place of Joseph Charles Francis Rock (1884 - 1962), an Austrian American explorer, anthropologist, botanist, and renowned scholar of Naxi culture of Lijiang. He lived here from 1922 to 1949, traveling around Lijiang, Diqing, and Nujiang, introducing China’s southwest Yunnan Province to the western world through his travelogues, photos, and books. Now you can see his living room and many precious relics from his adventures. Admission to the museum costs CNY 40.

A 20-minute walk to the northeast will bring you to the Jade Lake, which is actually a reservoir at the foot of the snow mountain, but the scenery is beautiful. The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is reflected in the clear water, and yaks and sheep stroll along the lake, creating a picturesque scene perfect for photography.

After a stroll by the lake, walk 20 minutes back to the village, and continue walking west for another 10 minutes to reach the Yuzhu Qingtian, a scenic area featuring ancient inscriptions on the cliff, and small pools formed by the snow water flowing down from the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. 30 minutes is enough for a visit.

► Walk south to the village, and find a restaurant for lunch.

After a noon break, walk about 40 minutes south to the Dongba Gods Garden. With the theme of harmonious development between man and nature, the garden features hundreds of giant wood statues of natural gods and protective gods, Naxi folk customs exhibition hall, the sacrificial field, and interesting handicrafts, fully displaying the ancient and magical Dongba Culture of the local Naxi people.

It takes 15 minutes to walk from the south gate of the Dongba Gods Garden to the east gate of the Yushui Village, which is a holy land for the inheritance of Dongba Culture and also the base for the inheritance of Baisha Music and Leba Dance. You can visit the Dongba Temple, Shenlong Triple Waterfalls, ecological sightseeing park for salmon farming, and a famous sacred spring, which is said to be one of the main sources of drinking water of the Lijiang Old Town.

Exit from the south gate of the Yushui Village, and walk southwest to reach the Yufeng Temple in 10 minutes. Built in 1700 during the Qing Dynasty, Yufeng Temple is one of the top five Buddhist temples in Lijiang, once owning nine courtyards in its heyday. Now only a main hall and two courtyards remain. There are many rare flowers and trees in the temple, among which the ‘King of Camellia’ is the most famous. This ancient camellia was planted 500 years ago in the Ming Dynasty, even older than the temple. You’ll marvel at the flowery scene if coming in February or March.

The Sisters Lake, south of the temple, is a popular picnic or barbecue spot for locals. If you have enough time, you can drop in for a while.

It is about 25 minutes’ walk along the mountain path from the Yufeng Temple to the Dongba Kingdom. If you want to save energy, you can take bus line 6 from Yufeng Temple, for just one stop, and get off at Sanduoge station. Walk 5 minutes north to reach the west gate of the Dongba Kingdom.

This is another good place to know the Dongba Culture, through its long Dongba Hieroglyphics Wall and the Divine Road Map which is honored as the first long scroll of ancient religious paintings.

Walk to Sanduoge station to take bus line 6, get off at Baisha County Government, and walk into the village. It takes 30 minutes and costs CNY 2. You can hire a taxi to reach there in 10 minutes at a cost of CNY 15. 

The village is open all day, but the Baisha Murals is open from 8:00 to 17:30. Pay attention to the closing time and take the opportunity to admire the precious ancient murals painted between the 14th and 17th centuries, which depict the most prosperous days of Lijiang in history.

► Read More: Day Trip from Lijiang to Baisha & Shuhe Ancient Towns

Take the bus line 6 from Baisha County Government to Xiangshanjie, and then transfer to bus line 11, and get off at Guchengkou station, which is close to the west gate of the Lijiang Old Town. It takes 1 hour and costs CNY 4. A taxi can take you back in 25 minutes at a cost of CNY 35.