Why go to Lijiang and Diqing Shangri-La?

It's my child's summer vacation, and I want to take my child out to have a look. I have always been in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Zhuhai, and Sanya. I either surrounded various parks or stayed with the sea. Therefore, this year's summer vacation trip wants to change styles, places, and experience different natural scenery; at the same time, in order to achieve the effect of vacation and rest, the accommodation conditions are better. In the end, I visited various domestic tourist destinations and finally chose Lijiang and Diqing Shangri-La, hoping to experience a trip that "eats well, stays well, plays well, and is not tired"; moreover, when my child is older, I also want to take him to experience it on the plateau. First, to see if there will be altitude reaction. Second, to look at the great rivers and mountains of the motherland and feel the vastness of the country, and to achieve a good patriotic education.

Lijiang, a prefecture-level city in Yunnan Province, is located in the northwest of Yunnan Province and at the junction of the three provinces of Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet. It is an important passage for the ancient "Southern Silk Road" and the "Tea Horse Ancient Road". It is located at the connection between the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast. The highest point is the main peak of Yulong Snow Mountain, with an average altitude of more than 2000 meters.

Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture is one of the eight autonomous prefectures in Yunnan Province, with its capital, Shangri-La City. Tibetan means "auspicious place". It is located in the northwest of Yunnan Province, at the junction of Yunnan, Tibet and Sichuan provinces, with an average altitude of 3380 meters.

After seeing the introduction of these two places on the Internet, we decided to fly to Lijiang first, and then drive to Diqing. The altitude went from low to high, and slowly adapted to it. We not only visited the ancient city of Lijiang, climbed the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and visited the Jinsha River. On the bank, we also worshipped Songzanlin Temple and passed through the virgin forest of Pudacuo... In short, we wanted to have an in-depth tour of Lijiang and Diqing Shangri-La.

the first day

Work during the day, and at night, take the 21:10 Capital Airlines JD5215 flight from Beijing to Lijiang. After more than three hours of flight, I arrived at Lijiang Sanyi International Airport.

Since I arrived in Lijiang in the early morning, I booked directly at the Huatai Hotel (Express Hotel) in Lijiang, which is very close to the airport. I rested as early as possible. I picked up the car at the car rental store (Lijiang Airport Store) the next morning and headed to Lijiang City.

the next day

The key word for the next day was rest.

At 10 a.m., after picking up the car at the rental store, we drove directly to the Lijiang Banyan Tree Hotel located on the east side of Shuhe Ancient Town. The distance from the airport to the hotel is about 40 kilometers and it takes nearly an hour by car. Near 11 o'clock, we arrived at the Banyan Tree Hotel. Since we couldn't check in until around 2 p.m., we decided to go to Baisha Ancient Town north of the hotel to visit Baisha murals.

Baisha Ancient Town is located about 10 kilometers north of Lijiang. It is surrounded by Yulong Snow Mountain in the north, Longquan in the south, and Zhishan in the west. It is the ancient capital of the Naxi people and the world-class "Ancient Naxi Kingdom". It was once the political, economic, commercial and cultural center of the Naxi people in Lijiang. As one of the important birthplaces of Naxi culture, Naxi Mu's Tusi has accumulated experience in planning towns in Baisha. Baisha Ancient Town is the origin of the regime of Lijiang Tusi "Mu Family". Baisha Ancient Town is the ancient town with the most Naxi heritage and the most original Naxi village.

We first visited Baisha murals. Their painting lasted for more than 300 years from the early Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, and most of them were Buddhist themes. Because the attractions are relatively unpopular, there are few tourists inside, it is very quiet, and you can visit very comfortably. At around 12:30 noon, after visiting the Baisha murals, we went to the ancient town to find food. There are not many tourists in the town. There are indigenous houses on both sides of the street, as well as some restaurants, bars and inns. Overall, it is very quiet and not crowded. It can really slow down the pace and quietly appreciate the local customs and customs of the Naxi people.

Near 2 p.m., we decided to drive back to Banyan Tree.

Banyan Tree is beautifully designed. As soon as you enter the gate, you can see the central lake and pavilion. There are green trees on both sides, and the snowy mountains can be vaguely seen in the distance. The scenery is beautiful. I booked a garden suite with a balcony and a view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Flying directly from Beijing to Lijiang, the altitude increase of more than 2000 meters will cause a certain altitude reaction. There will be slight dizziness and chest tightness, so I decided to take a nap in my room in the afternoon, rest, and recharge my strength. In the evening, after eating in the hotel restaurant, go for a stroll to the ancient town of Shuhe and explore the night view.

the third day

In the morning, we went to the hotel front desk to find out about the Yulong Snow Mountain Scenic Area and cableway tickets. The result was that there were no cableway tickets to the top of 4680 that day, and we could only book for the next day. So we made a quick decision and purchased the next day's cableway and Impression Lijiang joint ticket (a joint ticket must be purchased, not separately).

When I was having dinner in the restaurant last night, I chatted with the waiter and heard that there was spring water on Elephant Mountain in Black Dragon Pool Park, which could be drunk directly when I came back. The child was very excited after hearing this and said he would definitely go and have a look. So after breakfast, we drove directly to Heilongtan Park.

Because we left early, we parked our car on Jiaoyu Road outside the west gate of Heilongtan Park. There were sufficient parking spaces on the roadside around 9 a.m., making it easy to park. After getting off the car, we entered the park and began to climb the Xiangshan Mountain. After a few steps at the beginning, we obviously felt that our feet were heavy, our breathing was short, and our altitude reaction was evident. However, in order to find the "legendary" spring water, we still insisted on climbing online for a while. About an hour later, we arrived at a small platform and felt exhausted, so we asked the person who went down the mountain to inquire about the spring water on the top of the mountain. They told us that "there is no spring at all on the top of the mountain, there is only one selling bottled mineral water." Hearing this news, the children are of course disappointed, so they can only take some high-altitude scenery to make up for their regrets.

After coming down from Xiangshan, we decided to go to the Ancient City of Lijiang, hang out there and have lunch. We parked the car in the paid parking lot at the south gate of the ancient city (near Bailong Cultural Square), and then walked north from the south gate to near Mufu. Compared with Shuhe Ancient Town and Baisha Ancient Town, Lijiang Ancient Town is obviously more crowded and crowded. Although there are many restaurants and shops, shopping is convenient, but it seems too commercial and loses the original simplicity of the ancient city. I would like to remind you that if you have plans to climb the Yulong Snow Mountain, you can buy a few oxygen cylinders in ancient towns or tourist stores, usually at 20 yuan per can, which will be much cheaper than in the Yulong Snow Mountain Scenic Area.

At 2:30 p.m., we left the ancient city and drove to Shigu Town on the Jinsha River, 50 kilometers southwest of Lijiang, to see the "First Bay of the Yangtze River". The First Bay of the Yangtze River is located between Shigu Town, Lijiang City and Shasongbi Village in the south of Shangri-La County. It is 1850 meters above sea level. The Yangtze River pours down from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Shasongbi Village in Shangri-La County. It suddenly makes a sharp turn of more than 100 degrees and turns to the northeast, forming a rare "V" shaped bend. People call this wonder in the world the "First Bay of the Yangtze River." In April 1936, the Second Front Army of the Chinese Workers and Peasants Red Army, led by He Long, Ren Bishi, and Xiao Ke, crossed the river from here and went north to resist Japan. After the liberation, the 8.1-meter-high "Red Army Long March Ferry Monument" was built on the high slope behind the Shigu Monument. It stands on the abrupt high slope. It is majestic and solemn, overlooking the "First Bay", which can make you live in awe and become a key cultural relic protection unit in Yunnan Province. The archway in front of the monument is the memorial hall of the Red Army crossing the river. The relics of the Red Army's Long March displayed in the "showroom" will allow you to have a more vivid understanding of this great army more than half a century ago.

After visiting Shigu Town, the Jinsha River and the Red Army Crossing Memorial Room, we drove back to Banyan Tree and had dinner in the hotel restaurant at night. After that, we rested early to prepare to visit the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain the next day.

the fourth day

Sleep until you wake up naturally, check out after breakfast, prepare woolen clothes, down jackets, water and oxygen tanks, and drive to the Yulong Snow Mountain Scenic Area. We booked the "Big Cableway + Impression Lijiang" ticket the day before. The Impression Lijiang performance time is 11:15 a.m., and the cableway climbing time is 1 p.m., so we took the big cableway up the mountain just after lunch.

Taking the cableway up the mountain first takes a bus to reach the mountain cableway station. At around 1 p.m., the queuing time for the cableway up the mountain is about 15 minutes. The entire cableway takes about 20 minutes and directly reaches the "Xueshan Park" cableway station at an altitude of 4506 meters. After reaching the top of the mountain, the temperature dropped immediately, and the breathing pressure caused by high altitude also appeared quickly. Climbing several steps would be much more difficult than in plain areas. It is recommended that you not rely too much on oxygen tanks, try to ensure that your breathing is gentle, take a deep breath and breathe slowly, and take every breath full, which will reduce altitude reaction. My son is 8 years old this year. When he climbed to the second level of 4576 meters, he said he could not climb any further. So, I carried him on my back and continued to climb up for a while. When I reached 4600 meters, my son said that he had a headache and couldn't get up. Although it was close to the peak of 4680 meters, I could only make my son give up rushing to the top. Finally, we discussed and decided that my son would rest at the 4600 meters while my mother and I would continue to reach the top. Of course, walking every 1 meter up at high altitudes is very hard, but you need to strengthen your confidence, keep breathing deeply, and eventually reach the peak of 4680 without any problem. After two and a half hours of sightseeing in Xueshan Park, we decided to take the cableway down the mountain. When we arrived at the entrance of the downhill cableway, there was a long queue and we waited for nearly an hour before we could go down the mountain smoothly.

At about 5:30, we drove to the "Snow Mountain·Lijiang Shujia Yulu Designer Resort Hotel" to check in. On the way to the hotel, my son kept complaining of a headache, and vomited non-stop after arriving at the hotel. Although he used the hotel's oxygen inhaler to inhale oxygen for 15 minutes, it could only relieve the altitude reaction. So we had a quick dinner and rested.

Recall that the reason why my son developed serious altitude sickness was because he stayed at the top of the Yulong Snow Mountain for too long. Therefore, it is recommended that people who have severe altitude sickness or take their children to visit the Yulong Snow Mountain should do their best and not blindly rush to the summit. At the same time, control the time they spend on it to avoid serious physical discomfort.

the fifth day

After returning from the Yulong Snow Mountain yesterday, we drove to Yuhu Village at the foot of the Yulong Snow Mountain and stayed at the "Snow Mountain·Lijiang Shujia Yulu Designer Resort Hotel" to experience the feeling of a B & B at the foot of the mountain for two days.

In Xueshan·Lijiang Shujia Yulu Designer Resort is located in the picturesque Yuhu Village at the foot of Yulong Snow Mountain, surrounded by mountains and rivers. In the past, Tusi Mu built the Summer Palace here, built the Yulong Academy, and surrounded the deer farm, which shows the natural environment. Mr. Locke also loved this and lived for 27 years. He compiled all his memories into "Ancient Naxi Kingdom in Southwest China" and presented it to the world. Lijiang Shujia Yulu·Xuesongyuan is based on terrain and assisted by landform, practicing the concept of unity between man and nature. Near the mountains and rivers, look up at the towering snow-capped mountains all year round, look down and have a panoramic view of the entire village, overlook the prosperity of the ancient city of Lijiang, and incorporate all the beautiful scenery in one place. Large floor-to-ceiling windows replace the dimness of traditional Naxi dwellings. From sunrise to sunset, warm sunshine touches every inch of corner, and fresh air flows in every space. Snow-capped mountains and melted water gurgles around the houses, spreading flowers and trees everywhere. The Naxi hanging fish elements symbolizing luck are inlaid, and the old boat wood has a mottled sense of history. In-house guests enjoy breakfast and afternoon tea, and blue skies and snowy mountains accompany you to spend a good time in Lijiang in Shujia Yulu.

Climbing the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain yesterday was too hard. Of course, I had to sleep until I woke up naturally to regain my strength and relieve my altitude reaction. After breakfast, my son began to jump around again. It seemed that after falling below 3000 meters, and after adequate rest, the altitude reaction was basically gone. So we decided to go riding. Through the villagers of Yuhu Village, you can book a horse per person at 150 yuan/person. The route starts from Yuhu Village, passes through lawns and groves, reaches Longnu Lake (called Jade Lake locally) for sightseeing and taking photos, and runs around the flat lawn by the lake. Run a horse around the lake and finally return to Yuhu Village. The whole route is very well designed, with lawns and woods, fast galloping and climbing. Both adults and children are very happy.

Near noon, on the way back to the hotel, I went to Locke's former residence to check in and take a walk in Yuhu Village. From afternoon to evening, I have been resting at the hotel, enjoying the scenery of the hotel, playing with the entertainment facilities provided by the hotel, and preparing to continue driving to "climb" high the next day and rush to Diqing.

the sixth day

Check-out in the morning, leave the hotel at 9 o'clock and head to Diqing. According to Gaode's navigation instructions, it is more than 190 kilometers, and it takes nearly 4 hours in total. The whole journey is northbound along National Highway 214, sometimes uphill and sometimes downhill, sometimes along the river, and sometimes through a tunnel. After driving for about 2 hours, I feel the altitude gradually increasing, slowly reaching more than 3000 meters. For drivers from the plains, the four-hour journey is very difficult. The high altitude and the endless winding roads. When they approach the urban area of Shangri-La, they begin to feel a faint pain in the back of their heads. Well, as the altitude rises to 3300 meters, altitude reaction begins to appear.

At about 12:40, we arrived at the Heyue Gardan Boutique Hotel in Dukezong Ancient City, Shangri-La City, Diqing Prefecture, and stayed in a luxurious Tibetan style duplex parent-child room. The room was indeed big, with small floors upstairs and downstairs, a double bed upstairs, and a living room and a single bed downstairs. After a brief cleanup, it was past 1 o'clock in the afternoon. We used our mobile phones to order a KFC to make do with a meal, and then have a big meal in the evening.

In the afternoon, we visited Guishan Park, Diqing Prefecture Museum and Diqing Red Army Long March Museum in the ancient city of Dukezong.

In the evening, I searched for Taluo Tibetan Food Bar on my mobile phone, hoping to taste Tibetan food. We were two adults and one child, and we ordered hand-grabbed beef, beef pizza, butter roasted mushrooms, yak yogurt and butter tea. After dinner, I strolled around the ancient city for a while and then returned to the hotel to rest. Maybe it was because we booked the hotel in a good location. There were two bars opposite the room. Starting from 9 p.m., the resident singer started singing, but the public slightly was placed on the street and it was very loud; at 10 p.m., the singing was still going on, it was a little noisy, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't sleep, I had altitude sickness, I was tired, had headaches, and I was very angry. So he decisively called Ctrip customer service and changed the three nights originally scheduled for the Heyue Gardan Boutique Hotel to one night. He checked out the next morning and changed the hotel. It was already 10:30 when the communication was successful. After browsing the hotel situation on the Ctrip APP, I found that Xinyi's Songzan Linka Hotel and Songzan Green Valley Hotel were full before. I was quite disappointed. My wish to live next to Songzan Lintemple was not realized. Finally, after half a day's selection, I successfully booked a luxurious mountain view queen room at the powerful Hilton Garden Inn in Shangri-La for two nights. The change of hotel was completed.

the seventh day

In the morning, after checking out from the Ho Yue Gardan Boutique Hotel, drive to Pudacuo National Park. Pudacuo National Park is located in the center of the "Three Parallel Rivers" World Natural Heritage in northwest Yunnan. It consists of two parts: the Bita Sea Nature Reserve, an internationally important wetland, and the Duhu Scenic Area, a part of the Haba Area, a world natural heritage of the "Three Parallel Rivers". With the Bita Sea, Shudu Lake and Militang Subalpine Ranch as the main components, it is also one of the main attractions of Shangri-La tourism.

With an altitude of 3500 meters to 4159 meters, it is a provincial nature reserve and an important part of the "Three Parallel Rivers" scenic spot. Pudacuo National Park has geological landforms, lakes and wetlands, forest meadows, river valleys and streams, rare animals and plants, etc., and the original ecological environment is well preserved. It is 22 kilometers away from the Urban area of Shangri-La City, with a total area of about 1313 square kilometers.

However, when we went, we only opened the Bita Sea and the nearby forests, so we had to take a boat and walk in the virgin forest to experience the scenery of the plateau, mountains and lakes. Let's go directly to the picture.

At around 2 p.m., we ended our tour of Pudacuo. It was still early, so we decided to go directly to Gadan Songzanlin Temple. Gadan Songzanlin Temple is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Yunnan Province. It is also one of the famous large monasteries in Kang District. It is also the center of Yellow Religion in Sichuan and Yunnan. It plays a pivotal position in the entire Tibetan area and is known as the "Little Potala Palace." The temple is built against a mountain and looks like an ancient castle. It integrates Tibetan plastic art and is also known as the "Tibetan Art Museum". Similar to the Tibetan Buddhist architectural style, the two residential halls of Songzanlin Temple, Zacang and Jikang, stand high in the center. Eight major Kangshen, monk's houses and other buildings are surrounded by arches, with high and low scattered heights, progressive layers, and clear three-dimensional outlines., fully setting off the height and majesty of the main building. The main building is Zacang, which means monastery in Tibetan. It is a place where monks study classics and practice teachings. The back hall houses Tsongkhapa, Maitreya Buddha, and the Seventh Dalai Bronze Buddha, which are more than three feet high and lead directly to the upper floor. On the middle level, there are eight Lakang rooms, which are the temples, the Dharma Hall, the Kampo Room, the quiet room, and the dining room. The living room on the front floor is used for VIP banquets and watching the "Qiangmu"(mask) dance. There is a Jingshe Buddha Hall on the top floor, which houses Buddha statues of the Fifth Dalai Lama and the Seventh Dalai Lama, as well as Bayeye Sutra scrolls, Thangka, and handed down ritual instruments. Just south of the Buddha Hall is the towering Bell and Drum Tower. The drums beat the time in the morning, noon and dusk, and the sound can be heard for ten miles.

After coming down from Songzan Forest Temple, we went to the powerful Hilton Garden Inn. I booked a deluxe mountain view queen bed room on Ctrip, but when check-in, I was upgraded to a deluxe suite for free. I was naturally very happy, and it also calmed down the bad mood that I couldn't sleep because of the bar noise in the ancient city last night.

In the evening, we discussed in the room where to go the next day. According to the original plan, we wanted to go to the Balagzon Grand Canyon, but the family said that the mountain road was too dangerous, and going to a high altitude place might cause serious altitude reaction. Therefore, it was temporarily decided to go to Shangri-La Yunnan Golden Monkey National Park in Weixi County the next day to check the map. Starting from Shangri-La City, the distance is 123 kilometers and a 2-hour drive.

the eighth day

In the morning, it starts to rain in Shangri-La. Can Yunnan Golden Monkey National Park make it? After leaving the hotel, we drove northwest of Shangri-La City and took National Highway 214. After passing through the Naphaiyila Grassland, we began to climb the mountain. It didn't take long to drive halfway up the mountain. At this time, due to rain, the fog filled the sky and the visibility was less than 100 meters. In addition, there were cliffs on the side of the road, which made the road difficult and dangerous. Therefore, after discussing with my son, it was temporarily decided to cancel the trip to Yunnan Golden Monkey National Park, turn around and return, and play while walking, wherever you drive. So, we followed National Highway 214 back towards the city. When we reached a "Y"-shaped fork, we turned into a small alley and ended up driving to the Shangri-La Alpine Botanical Garden in confusion. There is a viewing platform in front of this Botanical Garden, which can just overlook the entire Napa Sea. The scenery is great. Standing high and looking far away, we just saw many riders on the edge of the Napa Sea, so we returned to the ancient city of Dukezong for lunch along the lake road, and also had a "car tour of the Napa Sea" along the lake road (The results proved that this decision was a great decision, and the scenery was better with fewer people!).

At noon, we had lunch at the "Jingjing Mani Shizang Restaurant" in the ancient city of Dukezong. We could follow the menu recommended online, and the taste was also very good; but we still recommended the "hand-grabbed yak meat". The taste was so great that we wanted to go back to Beijing and find a restaurant in the Beijing Office of Yunnan or Xizang!

In the afternoon, drive back to Napahai to go horseback riding. There are many horse farms around the Napa Sea. I recommend everyone to go to the Gongbi Horse Farm. It is located in the northwest corner of the Napa Sea, with good scenery and close to Haizi. We spent more than 2 hours playing at Gobi Racecourse, taking various photos, but there were very few tourists. It felt great!

the ninth day

In the morning, after checking out, drive to Diqing Shangri-La Airport and fly back to Beijing. First unload the luggage to the airport terminal, then drive the car to the car rental store (Shangri-La Airport Store). It is very convenient to return the car on the mobile APP self-service.

Take China Eastern Airlines MU5932 to Kunming, then transfer to China Eastern Airlines MU5705 and return to Beijing. The trip to Lijiang and Diqing Shangri-La in Yunnan is over!

concluding remarks

The trip to Lijiang and Diqing Shangri-La in Yunnan is over. It's great. Think about how to summarize it, give a few keywords, and introduce them one by one.

1. Accommodation

During this trip, I stayed in a total of 5 hotels, including Lijiang Huatai Hotel, Lijiang Banyan Tree, Zaixueshan·Lijiang Shujia Yulu Designer Resort Hotel, Shangri-La Heyue Gardan Boutique Hotel and Shangri-La's Powerful Hilton Garden Hotel. Among them, Lijiang Huatai Hotel is an express hotel that just takes a temporary sleep. The conditions are average, there is nothing to comment on, and it is not a vacation. Banyan Tree Lijiang and Shangri-La's Powerful Hilton Garden Hotel are hotels, and are B & Bs at Xueshan Lijiang Shujia Yulu Designer Resort and Shangri-La Hoyue Gardan Boutique Hotel. By comparison, the hotel is more atmospheric in terms of design and service, with relatively complete facilities, larger rooms and public areas, and unlimited activities; B & Bs will be more graceful and exquisite. In comparison, we prefer hotels, so we give Banyan Tree the best evaluation and will stay there again when we have the opportunity to visit Lijiang in the future.

In addition, I would like to give you some suggestions on hotel selection for friends who are on family vacations: Choose hotels in various ancient towns and ancient cities carefully, and be sure to check the surrounding environment of the hotel, and remember not to be close to shopping malls, supermarkets and bars!

2. Plateau reaction

There will be some altitude reactions on the first day of arriving in Lijiang. After all, you can quickly move from the plain area to the plateau area. Therefore, it is recommended not to arrange too strenuous activities on the first day of arriving at the plateau, sleep more and rest, and start your journey from the next day.

The average altitude of Lijiang is between 2200 meters and 2800 meters. Whether in the urban area or at the foot of the Yulong Snow Mountain, the altitude reaction is not very obvious; but when visiting the Yulong Snow Mountain, especially when reaching more than 4500 meters, the altitude reaction will be very obvious. I suggest you do what you can.

The average altitude in and around Diqing Shangri-La is 3300 meters to 3500 meters. The altitude reaction is obviously stronger than that in Lijiang, so everyone must pay attention to rest and not work too hard on the journey design.

Finally, let's give you a watch, which is very comprehensive and practical!