Lijiang is situated at an altitude of 2,400m. The Tea Horse Road starts from the mountains in Lijiang. It is the oldest trade route connecting the East and the West. The route started in Lijiang which was famous for its tea. Its paths are known as the most beautiful pathway in the world. (More about The Forgotten Road https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/tea-horse )
? 丽江 古城/Lìjiāng Gǔchéng/ or Đại Nghiên (大研)
- Hemuju Inn
- Ancient City Zhongyi Market (Naxi Minority): there are alleys of a market in the corner. It is a place where you can see the affectionate life of Nakhi.
Address: Chángshǔi Road, Gǔchéng District, Lìjiāng City (丽江市古城区长水路)
? Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: it is 5,596m above sea level. It is sacred mountain for Nakhi people. There is a cable car which takes you 4,506m up the mountain. Bags of chips became bloated at 2,400m and will be bursted.
? Impression Lijiang is a magnificent outdoor singing and dancing performance demonstrating the traditions and lifestyle of the local ethnic people. It is a creation of famous Chinese director Zhang Yimou.
? Blue Moon Valley
? 28 Bends portion of the TLG trek
It is a 20 mins drive from the entrance of Tiger Leaping Gorge to the Naxi Inn, which is at the entry of 28 Bends portion of the TLG trek. It is an Inn where tourists can stay during the trip. It is popular among trekkers and has tasty food as well as wifi.
The guesthouse has developed many dishes to suit all tastes: the Korean-style spicy kimchi fried rice, stir-fried beef, nutritious baeksuk…
Recommended itinerary from RossGB (tripadvisor): Start hiking from Janes after late breakfast or your trip down from Shangrila or Lijiang. You can also leave your larger bags here if you wish. We left Jane’s at about 1130. At a relaxing pace, stopping and enjoying the vistas, chilling out, we made it to Naxi Guesthouse at around 1500. Put down your bags and relax. No sense to try to get up the mountain. Stay overnight and enjoy the cozy fire and company of other adventurers. Next morning, get up at 0800. Hike the bends, stop for lunch at Halfway Lodge. Continue hiking down to Tinas. You should be there around 1500 or 1600 if you are going at a Chill pace. Note, the most difficult part of the hike is NOT the 28 Bends going up, it is the rocky trail going DOWN to Tina’s. Be careful hear and don’t even think about attempting this in bad weather if it is wet (rocks, mud, etc., lose footing). Spend the night in Walnut Grove. The next morning, catch a taxi or bus wherever you need to get to from Walnut Grove.
? Tiger Leaping Gorge: the deepest gorge in the world. You must walk down 400 steps to the point which gets the strongest at the narrowest point of the gorge. If lucky, you can see the tightrope walker walks on the rope barefoot…
? Cuisine & souvernir:
- 过桥米线 /guòqiáo mĭxiàn/ Cross bridge rice noodles (Bún qua cầu) is a famous noodle dish of 云南。It is a spicy chicken noodle with vegetables and special sauce.
- Yak milk products: milk, ice cream, yak cheese snack
- A electric lamp which used the Naxi Dongba Script and Pictographs. It can be fold up like a book. They have an adapter for it, change your electricity to 110V.
The Naxi 纳西族/Nàxī zú/ (Nạp Tây tộc) — one of China’s fifty-five ethnic minority nationalities—traditionally practiced the Dongba (东巴）religion. Dongba has distinct artistic expressions, though it reflects influences from Bon, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Mongolian shamanism, and popular cults. In the past, the script was used mainly by the Dongba priests, to write sacred texts of the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet, known as Bön. The Naxi Donga script consists predominantly of pictograms, symbols (ideograms) and syllabic signs, being most probably (one of) the last pictographic writing systems in the world. Although at present the script is hardly and rarely used for sacral (i.e. original) purposes (very few Dongba priests stay alive), its popularity among the Naxi community is growing, and the script is becoming more and more visible as used also for everyday purposes, e.g. in tourist and commercial services.
