Lijiang is a perfect base to explore Jade Dragon Snow Mountain just an hour away. It’s a scenic mountain location which is very popular due to its easy access from the ancient town. There was a bus straight from the city at 7am which we hopped on and the closer we got the busier it became. Just as we were entering the park a worker came onboard and made an announcement in Chinese which had the whole bus letting out a loud sigh of disappointment. We had no idea what he’d said, was the park suddenly closed for the day? We frantically asked around at the passengers for anyone that spoke English and thankfully one guy did and he said that the main cable car to the top of the mountain (one we weren’t intending on taking due to the cost and difficulty booking as a non-Chinese resident) had been closed for the day due to strong winds. So we were able to continue to the park as planned but it meant the hundreds or thousands of people who’d booked that cable car today were now visiting all the lower areas and thus making them even busier than normal.

We were dropped off at the visitor centre where we entered a building packed with people. This is where we had to buy the shuttle bus tickets (which should of just been included in the park ticket) and cable car tickets for Yak Meadow. Trying to figure out where to queue was a nightmare, more and more people were arriving by the second so we just jumped into a queue and tried to translate where we needed tickets for. Turned out we were in the wrong queue which meant we had to battle our way out and try to find the right place. It was all so frantic because time was of the essence, we wanted to try and beat the crowds and the weather was ideal now, it can cloud over quickly in these mountain locations. Finally we managed to buy our tickets and hopped on the shuttle bus to Blue Moon Valley, one of the parks most popular sights.

Our intention was to walk up the valley and catch a bus back down but the bus drove all the way to the end and when we tried to set off to walk back they said we weren’t allowed. So we had to get on another bus to the start, it seemed so stupid. Finally though we were allowed to access the footpaths and boardwalks leading around the fabulous blue water. It was a river dammed in many places, creating these incredible bright blue pools and cascading waterfalls with a dramatic mountain backdrop. It was an amazing sight and suddenly the stress of the morning was behind us.

We enjoyed a stroll along each side of the aqua coloured water, sometimes seeing trees submerged in the blue depths. One section had a series of terraces where the water collected in little pools. As we walked higher up the valley the lakes changed colour, some were blue, some turquoise but towards the end they turned green. The water was crystal clear and fluorescent green algae covered the floor which created the most beautiful contrast of colours.

Once we finished exploring Blue Moon Valley we headed back up the road to the bus stop, hoping to get one to the Yak Meadow carpark but we were sadly informed that we had to go back to the visitor centre and take a different bus, which would literally bring us right past this spot and probably add almost an hour onto the journey. We noticed the queue for the Spruce Meadow cable car passed through the area where we waited for the bus and we were shocked to see so many people queuing up, it must’ve been hundreds so the wait would of been a few hours!! I was starting to get worried about how busy our cable car would be and if we’d run out of time today.

It was a long drive up winding mountain roads to reach our cable car and luckily this one had a much more efficient system where they gave people a card with a number on it. Once the queue became low they’d call numbers out on the microphone to get more people in the queue which meant we could sit and relax in the sun until it was our turn. The cable car was much more vintage than we were expecting. It looked like a soviet fun fare ride with faded carriages.

The cable car didn’t stop so we had to basically run and jump onto it and then we were floating high above the forest. We didn’t feel very safe and both got a bit giddy hovering so high above the floor. We already weren’t enjoying it but it became even worse when the wind picked up and our carriage was swaying from side to side. It was a surprisingly long journey and we couldn’t wait to get off! The mountains gradually revealed themselves and it only got better as we hopped off the cable car and set off on a loop walk. Most people just stayed around the viewing platform which meant we finally had some tranquility in the park.

In the distance we could see yaks grazing in the fields and we began a walk towards them but signs said we weren’t allowed which was classic China. One sign even had a picture of a wild boar and bear as a warning not to continue hiking the route. So we went back on the main trail which led us past a very colourful Tibetan monastery. Sadly only one monk was inside, I’d imagine it was full of monks back in the day.

We had to queue for the cable car back down and were in a bit of a panic because our guidebook said the last bus to Lijiang was at 6pm. Everyone was trying to leave the park at the same time so the buses were chaos with everyone running to get onboard and grab a seat. We didn’t get to the city bus stand until after 6 so we were relieved to see multiple buses waiting to leave. Looks like our Chinese lonely planet has let us down again. We haven’t bumped into many western tourists in China but the ones we have met haven’t visited this park and for us it was well worth a day trip. If you can ignore the crowds of domestic tourists it’s a spectacular park to explore.