Lijiang is in southern China, high up in the foothills of the Himalayas. The main attractions to me were the Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and a new resort hotel/spa, the Banyan Tree, that recently opened. Most flights to Lijiang are to/from Kunming, and you can reach Kunming from Bangkok, Hong Kong, and most large cities in China. I found Lijiang to be charming, slow-paced, and relaxing; the air was clean and crisp. In other words, it’s an ideal antidote to Bangkok!

I took a few pictures of the Old City, the new city, and the hotel – they’re here: www.tinyurl.com/ypjjrt

Lijiang’s Old Town is charming beyond belief. It is a series of preserved shops and residences with a few streams passing through. The streets are cobblestone and traffic-free, and it’s an absolute delight to stroll around. The Old Town is not a museum: it’s a functioning city where people live and shop and eat. It’s also something of a tourist destination, too; during my stay, the overwhelming majority of tourists appeared to be Chinese. Most shops have no signs in English, and it seemed to me that very few people outside of hotels spoke much English. However, the people I encountered were universally friendly and welcoming, and the language issue was more or less as much of a barrier as a visitor makes it to be. (On the other hand, if I had needed, say medical attention while in Lijiang, I think that communication could well have been an issue.)

The surrounding area is gorgeous. Lijiang sits in a high valley, and the surrounding mountains are spectacular, of which the most prominent is the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (over 18,000 feet). Although I didn’t go trekking, I’m told that there are some spectacular day-trips available.

I stayed at the Banyan Tree resort and spa, which is about 5-10 minutes by taxi (20RMB) from the Old Town. The resort opened last year, and the accommodations are deluxe. I stayed in a private villa that included a living area, large bedroom, and wonderful bathroom with separate shower. The villa had an outdoor hot tub kept at a constant 40C, and the villa had a spectacular view of the Jade Dragon snow mountain. The amenities were great, as were the little details (for example, the mattress was heated which was extremely welcome on the cold nights). The staff spoke English – some spoke better or worse than others – and all staff seemed to be trying very hard to please. There aren’t any luxury hotels in Lijiang, so recruiting and training a staff must have been quite a challenge, but overall I found the hotel to be a fine place to stay. The food was a bit mixed: the Chinese dishes were heavenly (fried egg noodles with squid was especially fine), but some of the Western offerings could use some work. (If you thought it would be impossible to screw up a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, the Banyan Tree proves otherwise.)

Thanks for the great report!

Hi Don,

You finally made it out to Lijiang! That's great! Thank you for your report and photos, which are fantastic. Glad that you had some clear days as the pictures from Banyan Tree Hotel were spectacular with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the background.

As we discussed at the last GTG in Boston in October, we are heading there ourselves this May. We chose to stay in the Old Town...did you ever run across Zen Garden Hotel in your travels, Don? If so, how did it look to you? It's down an alleyway. We learned about it from other fodorites on this site and will be staying there. We would love to hear feedback from you or anyone else, especially who has stayed there.

We also hope to spend a half day trekking around Glacier Peak by Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. We are even more excited now that we've read your report and photos! Thanks again.

Terry

Rizzuto,

Thank you for your report. How easy was it to find a cab to go out to dinner from the Banyan Tree at night? I've also heard that there's a ski slope at Jade Dragon mountain - do you have any information about this?

Thanks in advance.

Don your photos are great. Tell me how does Lijiang compare to Pingyao? We are thinking we might go to Lijiang via Burma. What do you think?

<b>Terry</b> -- I didn't notice the Zen Garden Hotel, but I am certain that it will be wonderful to stay within the Old Town. Everything I saw in both Old and New Towns was immaculately clean: if you look at some of the pictures of the New Town, you can see how clean even the streets are!

<b>Hanuman</b> -- You have to ask the front desk to call for a taxi from the Banyan Tree, and it typically takes about 5-10 minutes. The BT is off in an area by itself, so there is no chance of hailing a taxi that is passing by. I wouldn't be surprised if bicycles were available from the hotel, in which case you could also cycle into Old and New towns. It's only about 4-5 km, and the streets are broad, well-maintained, and relatively free of traffic until you get to the very center of New town.

Sorry, no info about skiing.

One note about physical exercise/exertion: Lijiang is at about 8500 feet, and I very much noticed the altitude even with very light physical exercise. (I'm 60, and not in shape.) The snow line would be significantly higher than Lijiang's altitude -- it was in the low 60s during the day/upper 30s at night when I was there -- and I can easily see the reduced oxygen being a factor for those heading up for skiing, trekking, or climbing.

Fabulous report!It was love at first sight.Wonderful pictures.True Shangrila.What's the tariff at the Banyan Tree?How much time must one spend in Lijiang?Thanks in advance rizzuto.

<b>harsha</b>, prices at Banyan Tree can be variable -- best to check any deals on their website at www.banyantree.com/lijiang/index.htm. However, it's safe to say that the BT is likely to be well over US$200, which is several times more than other hotels in Lijiang. I sepnt 3 days there, and I could easily have spent twice that. Unfortunately, as the trip also included Stockholm, Berlin, Bangkok, and Tokyo, extending my stay wasn't a realistic option.

<b>albaaust</b>, I have not been to Pingyao so have no basis for comparison.

I was in Lijiang last September and stayed at the San He Hotel. It's a lovely courtyard hotel that cost about Y320 (about US$41) for a room with twpo single beds, very spacious and clean, lovely bathroom, all the usual amenities. Breakfast was at a restaurant across the little crooked street with coupon.

I had a reservation for several nights there but was looking for something less expensive and Lijiang is teeming with similar places. I did wander to the Zen Garden which cost Y400 and they would not budge lower. Of course, that's not much money but I was by myself and trying to be economical to stretch my stay. The Zen Garden looked fabulous and I don't think you would go wrong with either of these, though your photos of the Banyan show it's in a different class altogether!

I hired a car and we went out of town to several places and passed the Banyan Tree. I couldn't see much of it from the road but I've heard it's as upscale as rizzuto says. Besides not being able to afford its cost, I was very happy to be in the old city to wander around without going too far from my hotel. There are a lot of restaurants at reasonable prices.

Your pictures give a good feel for Lijiang!

K

I stayed at the Zen Garden Nov. 2004 and loved it. The views are great, the place is quiet and pretty, and the showers were good. (I'd just spent two nights in VERY basic accommodation in a mountain village, so the bathroom was most welcome!) I paid 360/night for a single, but it was two years ago. I had a regular room, but they also had rooms with &quot;period&quot; furniture.

I thought Lijiang had wonderful views, and would have been charming and relaxing if it hadn't been overrun by (Chinese) tour groups.

Thank you kudzu and thursdaysd for your feedback on the Zen Garden. It seemed to be the closest to a luxury hotel there is in the Old Town. I am really looking forward to our visit to Lijiang and hope that our days will be as clear and crisp as rizzuto had while there. So often visitors have said that it was cloudy when they were there so that they couldn't see Jade Dragon Snow Mountain at all...that would really be disappointing.

terryr - while I loved the Zen Garden, there were at least a couple of other places I saw in the Old Town that looked more &quot;luxurious&quot;. Unfortunately, I don't remember the names, but if you wander around the old town you should come across them. I took a bus up to the far end of Tiger Leaping Gorge, since I had decided that I wasn't up to hiking it on my own, but you have to overnight if you do that, and the accommodation was very basic. You might look into going up Jade Dragon Mountain, though, that's much closer and the road has been improved that far.

Thursdaysd, I couldn't find a &quot;nicer&quot; hotel located in the Old Town so I hope that I chose well enough with Zen Garden.

Has anyone stayed there recently? Will you let us know how your stay was?

As for Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, yes, we are planning to go up to Glacier Peak (that's 14,000 ft high!...we plan to go well prepared). If anyone has gone up there, can you share your experience with us? Thank you!

We have been to Lijiang twice and both times stayed at The Grand, just in front of the water wheel.
We have been up Jade Dragon Snow Mountain - I don't know exactly which bit as we were with a small local tour group. We didn't need oxygen (which I believe is offered on the highest peak), but at the altitude we were at you could clearly feel your heart &quot;flutter&quot; whilst walking. We went on horses across the plain and just looked around the area. We sat at one of the houses there and ate yak kebab fresh off the BBQ. There are also yak here dressed up &amp; ready to be photographed! In many places in China you know its a tourist spot when you see dressed up camels - here its yaks!!
Lijiang is a wonderful place, with many minority people in the surrounding areas.

Hi again Rizzuto,

Sorry to dig up your old post instead of writing a new one but I thought it might get your attention better.

We're off in a couple of weeks for 3 nights at the BT Lijiang and 2 nights at BT Ringha and I have some questions if you don't mind.

1/. We're staying in the Pool Villa - do the villas have wifi connection?
2/. Do you know how easy it is to arrange your own tours instead of going through the hotel's. I'm getting ridiculously expensive offer for tours around Lijinag and Ringha from BT.

Thanks in advance,

Hi Hanuman--

I saw several places in the Old Town that had signs in English offering various tours. I didn't take any, so I can't comment about quality. I would be certain that the price will be a fraction of the BT's offerings.

No clue about wi-fi. I was also in a pool villa, and they are wonderful.