Natural site · YUNNAN
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
玉龙雪山 · Yùlóng Xuěshān
About
5,596m peak directly behind Lijiang. Glacier Park cable car reaches 4,506m; the Impression Lijiang outdoor show plays on the lower slopes.
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is a 35 km north-south range with 13 main peaks; the highest, Shanzidou, has not been successfully climbed. The cable car to Glacier Park (Bingchuan Gongyuan) lifts visitors to 4,506m — high enough to feel altitude after Lijiang's already 2,400m. From the top platform, a wooden walkway climbs to 4,680m. Oxygen canisters are sold. The Yak Meadow and Spruce Meadow lower viewpoints are accessible without altitude exposure. The Impression Lijiang outdoor show, directed by Zhang Yimou, plays on a stage at 3,100m with the mountain as its backdrop.
How to get there
Tour bus or shuttle from Lijiang Old Town (~1 hour).
When to visit
October–April for snow on the upper peaks.
Gallery
Other attractions in Lijiang
Itineraries featuring this site
- Yunnan loop — Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La
10d · The northwest Yunnan circuit through Bai, Naxi and Tibetan culture.
- First-timer China — 14 days with Yunnan loop
14d · Two weeks covering the Beijing–Xi'an–Shanghai circuit plus a Yunnan extension through Kunming, Dali and Lijiang — the combination that most first-time visitors leave wishing they had done.
- Slow travel China — 14 days, fewer cities, deeper neighbourhoods
14d · Fourteen days in just three cities — Xi'an, Chengdu and Lijiang — spending four to five nights in each to move beyond the headline sights into daily rhythms, local markets and neighbourhood life.
- Yunnan deep loop — Kunming to Tengchong, 14 days
14d · Fourteen days through the full breadth of Yunnan: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Shangri-La, the Yuanyang terraces, Jianshui and the geothermal fields of Tengchong — the province's different climates, altitudes and minorities in one loop.
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