Lijiang: China's Last Hurrah

My final stop on my China tour was Lijiang, a scenic town in China's mountainous Yunnan province.

The clear sunny mountain air felt great straight off the tarmac.

I decided to stay in Yu Yu Village, a more remote and less touristy spot about a half hour north of the larger town of Lijiang. My homestay was a lovely ten bedroom lodge nestled in the hills.

It was run by the most wonderful couple who fed me free fruit every time they saw me.

I set out to explore the small village to stretch my legs after the flight from Chengdu.

The area looked and felt more similar to Bhutan than Chengdu, let alone Beijing.

The mountains reminded me of the Rockies surrounding Boulder, Colorado.

The town was as calm as I was hoping for.

I expected to wander around for a few days through the various stone streets and take it easy, but China had other plans for me. I did a little research and discovered that I was right next to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain National Park. So, on my first full day I headed over there. Armed with a ChatGPT itinerary, I stocked up on food and set out for a day of hiking.

What was I thinking. ChatGPT led me astray. Of course there are no hiking trails in this national park. What did it have? Ample portable oxygen tanks to counter the extreme altitude (8,000 feet) and three different cable car systems. China!

I will admit, I'm a total cable car apologist now. I haven't been to Yellowstone or any of America's national parks, but they need to look into this.

I arrived at "Yak Meadow", which was more like a yak-less dead grassland, but still beautiful nonetheless.

 

I saw this prayer flag pole and tried my hand at some artsy shots.

After having my fill at Yak Meadow, I took the cable car to a shuttle bus which led me to the Blue Moon Valley.

I walked along waterfalls and pools of stunningly clear blue water.

I now understand why I saw so many wedding photo shoots. This area was absolutely gorgeous. And I didn't even fly to Lijiang to see this. What a wonderful surprise!

And just to show off, I watched a magnificent sunset through the window of my taxi back to my quaint homestay.

I almost forgot it was New Year's Eve until I heard the fireworks going off. Happy 2026!

The next morning I decided to ring in the new year by watching the first sunrise of 2026.

I packed my bags and headed into the ancient city of Lijiang for one night of wandering in the preserved ancient town. While it was another example of a sanitized domestic tourist hotspot, it was beautiful to wander the various streets and bridges with the mountains towering over the town in the background.

Apparently Lijiang is known for its variety of mushrooms.

I did not partake, but I did find this spicy dumpling restaurant which I ate at twice.

I ran into this guy who is apparently some domestic WeChat / Tik Tok celebrity.

Overall Lijiang was a great finale to the whirlwind that was my time in China. I want to especially thank Julia, who came up with the idea of meeting in China. The country was not even on my radar as a potential stop on this trip until then. And look at me now. Number one fan.

It's always hard to rank countries, but I will say China surprised me the most out of the eleven I've been to so far. The people were warm and welcoming and absurd at times. The tourist spots, while not the most rugged, are genuinely stunning. It's cheap and surprisingly easy to get around. I'm such a sucker for trains. And of course, the food was absolutely incredible.

And just as a final treat for those of you who made it this far, on my last day in Lijiang I took another peek at my Chinese visa. Turns out this bad boy is not a single entry visa. It in fact allows for unlimited entries for the next ten years. China, you have not seen the last of me ...