How to visit the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain National Park in Yunnan

Are you looking for something to do on a day trip from Lijiang? In this article, I explain how to visit the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain National Park.

In a previous article, I explained why it’s worth visiting Lijiang and what you can do if you have some time left. This includes a day trip to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山). As soon as you get to Lijiang, you can’t help but notice it: with a height of 5596 meters, it’s one of the highest peaks in Yunnan (here is my Yunnan travel guide).

When is the best time to visit the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Remember that this is a very popular destination, which can be crowded. If possible, avoid all national holidays and the month of August.

If you’re hoping to see those classic snow-covered peaks, November to April is a good time. The Glacier Park and the high alpine zones look amazing in deep winter, but as you can imagine, it gets really cold, especially high up in the mountains.

The late spring months are when you’ll see wildflowers blooming everywhere, which is perfect for photography, and the temperatures are warmer, too. The summer months are generally quite rainy, and it will be very difficult to see the mountain peaks. It can get a bit cold in winter, though not as cold as expected at these elevations. I recommend visiting during spring and autumn.

How to get to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山)

The mountain is located in the national park. The entrance fee is 100 RMB. The area is pretty big and includes several tourist spots.

There are four main ways to get there:

• You can either take one of the minivans (parked in front of the square with the huge statue of Mao Zedong right after the North Gate of Lijiang Ancient Town) or a bus.
• You can take a Didi.
• You can book a tour on GetYourGuide. Alternatively, there are many agencies throughout Lijiang that offer package tours, all in Chinese.
• You can book a private transfer (send me a DM on Instagram if you need a driver’s contact).

Don’t forget to take your passport with you. You’ll need it to buy the tickets.

Once in the park, you will have different places you can decide to visit. This is the map with the main tourist spots to help you visualize where they are located, since it can be pretty confusing:

The first cable car up goes to the Glacier Park (冰川公园), which sits at an elevation of around 4,500 meters and gives you sweeping views of the snow peaks and access to high-altitude boardwalks.

Another cable car goes to Spruce Meadow (云杉坪), a quieter area ideal for scenic walks through alpine meadows.

The last cable car will take you to the Yak Meadow (牦牛坪) that offers a broad grassland with mountain views, great if you don’t want to do anything too challenging.

The park bus will also stop at the Blue Moon Valley (蓝月谷), which sits at the foot of the mountain where beautiful blue lakes and waterfalls are fed by glacier meltwater.

You can book everything in advance on Trip, which I recommend, especially for Glacier Park.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Glacier Park (冰川公园)

The mountain peak was climbed only once, on May 8, 1987, by an American expedition. They rated the maximum technical difficulty at YDS 5.7, one of the most difficult in the world.

Fortunately, you can take a much more convenient cable car to an elevation of about 4500 meters. Unfortunately, the convenience of getting there also means you’ll find many tourists.

The ticket to get to the summit costs about 160RMB. Look for these four characters 冰川公园 to find where to take the cable car. Glacier Park allows no more than 10,000 visitors a day, which means that the tickets quickly sell out. REMEMBER TO BOOK THE CABLE CAR TICKET AT LEAST A DAY EARLIER.

Blue Moon Valley (蓝月谷)

The Blue Moon Valley is fed by glacier meltwater from the mountain, which gives the lakes their surreal blue color. It features four large lakes and several whitewater waterfalls, surrounded by lush vegetation and dramatic snow-capped peaks. The water is so clear that submerged trees look like skeletons beneath the surface, making the scenery quite unique.

Blue Moon Valley is not only beautiful but also holds cultural significance for the local Naxi people, who regard the river as sacred. 

To get to the valley, you can take one of the buses that depart from the main building every few minutes between 07:00 and 17:00, costing RMB 15. Follow the 蓝月谷 signs to find the bus. It only takes about 5 minutes to get there.

A wooden path follows the river, and a few bridges cross it. On the opposite side, there are usually fewer people; if you can, plan to visit the area early in the morning before most tourists arrive.

Spruce Meadow (云杉坪)

Spruce Meadow (云杉坪) is a vast alpine meadow located at about 3,240 meters elevation on the eastern side of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Surrounded by dense original spruce forests, it offers beautiful views of the snow-capped peaks in the background. The meadow changes color with the seasons, from lush green in spring and summer to golden hues in autumn, and a snowy white in winter. The cable car ticket should cost around 40 RMB.

Yak Meadow (牦牛坪)

The last area is called Yak Meadow, and it takes about 20 minutes by bus to go from the ticket area to the cable car. To find the right bus, look for this sign 牦牛坪.

The area takes its name from the grassland on the plateau where herds of yaks placidly roam. Like in the previous spot, there is a wooden path to follow and, at the end of it, a small lake. You can also find a Tibetan temple and a few Tibetan prayer flags.

If you want to visit a Tibetan area, Shangri-La (read my travel guide here) is only about 2.5 hours from Lijiang.

Impression Lijiang (印象丽江)

If you have some extra time, consider watching Impression Lijiang (印象丽江), a large outdoor performance that has become increasingly popular with foreign visitors in recent years. Directed by Zhang Yimou, the show is staged at Ganhaizi Meadow (甘海子), and its biggest highlight is the setting itself: an open-air theatre with the dramatic backdrop of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Rather than telling a fictional story, the performance showcases the traditions, songs, dances, and daily life of the ethnic groups that live in the Lijiang region. Around 500 local performers from ten different ethnic groups take part in the show, many of whom come from villages and towns around Lijiang.

The performance lasts about one hour and is usually held at 1:20 pm and 2:50 pm, though schedules vary by season. Since the venue is completely outdoors, performances may be canceled during periods of heavy rain, particularly between June and August. If there is light rain, raincoats are generally provided, and the show continues as planned. You can book it here.

Final thoughts about Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

The national park is lovely, but as is often the case in China, the ease of access makes it a super popular destination. It’s often very crowded, especially in summer, when the rest of China is incredibly hot. If you visit during winter, you’ll probably find fewer people.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is an AAAAA sight, the highest ranking a place can get. Sites in China get rated from A to AAAAA (with AAAAA being the best), and most Chinese people want to see these places, so they get extremely busy. Be prepared for that.

If you are looking for a hotel in Lijiang, I recommend Trip.com. It offers far more options than other search engines and lets you book tickets to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Remember to get a VPN before coming to China. I recommend this one. If you need an eSIM, this one works well. If you need travel insurance, I recommend this one.

If you want a less crowded place, you can head to Shaxi, an old town between Dali and Lijiang, or to Baima Snow Mountain, where you can see the Black Snub-Nosed Monkeys. Here, you can read my Kunming travel guide.