Lijiang Old Town is located in China’s beautiful Yunnan province. It’s China’s most famous ancient town with a history of over 1,000 years. Although much of it has been rebuilt over the years, the Old Town still has the look of a traditional and more ancient China.
The streets are made of stones and rocks, and the shops are very nicely decorated. Moreover, there are canals that run throughout the city giving it a very romantic feel. At night the town transforms. With all the lights in the shops, and the reflection shining on the water it is a gorgeous sight to see.
Where To Stay
During our Lijiang trip, we stayed at Lijiang Zhen Shui Ren Jia Inn. This hostel is super cute and very comfortable. Moreover, it is conveniently located right in the middle of Lijiang Old Town. And although it’s surrounded by many cafes and shops, the hostel isn’t too noisy.
Above all, the staff is extremely helpful. On our first day, they picked us up from the airport and showed us around the Old Town. Afterward, they took us to a recommended Chinese restaurant. Later when we finished eating they met us and took us back to the hostel.
Additionally, the staff booked all the excursions for our Lijiang 3 Day trip. This included transportation, food and entrance tickets for all our day trips. Because of this, we didn’t have the stress of booking everything on our own.
Shopping In Lijiang Old Town
The main thing to do in Lijiang Old Town is to shop. There are hundreds of shops with a ton of traditional Chinese goods and foods to choose from. You can find everything from beautiful and inexpensive scarves to traditional Chinese clothing. As a result, it’s a great place to buy souvenirs to take back home.
However, many of the shops sell the same things. So after a day or so of shopping the town can begin to feel a little touristy. Moreover it might start to seem like you’ve seen all there is to see in Old Town.
Where To Eat In Lijiang Old Town
There are very few western restaurants in Lijiang Old Town. Moreover, most of the restaurants only serve traditional Chinese breakfast. This was really difficult for us since we prefer toast, eggs, and coffee as opposed to rice porridge and soy milk.
For lunch and or dinner, I recommend you go to Yipinxiang 一品香 (pronounced ee.peen.she’ang) Restaurant. We had the best meal of our trip here. Most importantly, make sure to try the yak meat and sweet yak cheese. They’re delicious!
We hope you enjoy Lijiang Old Town. It really is a great way to experience traditional Chinese culture and it’s the perfect trip for your first time to China.
