Top Things to Do in Yunnan Province

The Meili Snow Mountain

Yunnan has several great destinations for hiking and mountaineering. Most of these destinations have lofty snow mountains, and the sunrises and sunsets there are quite magnificent, especially in Meili Snow Mountain, one of China's most beautiful snow mountains.

• Meili Snow Mountain, Shangri-La
• Yubeng Village, Shangri-La
• Haba Snow Mountain, Shangri-La
• White Horse Snow Mountain, Shangri-La
• Mingyong Glaciers, Shangri-La
• Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Lijiang
• Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lijiang

Recommended tours: Five-Day Tiger Leaping Gorge Hike Tour

Seven-Day Tiger Leaping Gorge Hike and Shangri-La Tour

Lijiang Ancient Town

Yunnan’s Lijiang Ancient Town is the most popular ancient town among domestic and foreign travelers. Different from the prosperous and glorious in Lijiang Ancient Town, other small ancient towns and villages can allow you experience the simple local life and appreciate the unique buildings. Almost all the ancient towns and villages are built by rivers or mountains, so the scenery of the towns and villages is quite graceful

• Lijiang Ancient Town, Lijiang
• Baoshan Stone Village, Lijiang
• Shuhe Ancient Town, Lijiang
• Heshun Ancient Village, Tengchong 
• Mengzi Ancient County, Kunming
• Jianshui Ancient Town, Kunming
• Shaxi Town, Dali

Dongchuan Red Land

Many Yunnan’s attractions have picturesque landscapes. The following attractions are the most popular ones among photographers, who may be so persistent that they might wait for several days to catch their ideal scenery. When these attractions are in their best-visited times, the splendid and magnificent landscapes will show you how they are worthy of a visit.

• Yuanyang Rice Terraces, Kunming
• Dongchuan Red Land, Kunming
• The Stone Forest, Kunming
• West Hill, Kunming
• Erhai Lake, Dali

Ancient City of Dali

Yunnan used to be a respectively independent kingdom in many dynasties of China, so the culture in the province is a little different from that of central Chinese civilization. Its profound historic culture gives the province with numerous historical sites. At these sites you can retrace the splendid civilization of Yunnan's past.

• The Mural in Baisha Village, Lijiang
• The Mufu Wood Mansion, Lijiang
• Ancient City of Dali, Dali
• The Culture Town of Nanzhao, Dali
• Ruin of Taihe City, Dali
• The Three Pagodas, Dali
• The Golden Temple, Kunming
• Qiongzhu Temple, Kunming

Houses of Bai People in Xizhou

There are many minorities in Yunnan Province, such as Bai, Yi, Dai, and Naxi. Yunnan is the main place of residence of Naxi and Bai people. All these minorities have quite splendid cultures, especially the Naxi minority. In Dongba Museum you can learn about the characters, paintings, religion, music, dancing, and sacrificial culture of the Naxi minority.

• Yunnan Ethnic Village, Kunming
• Dongba Museum, Lijiang
• Houses of Bai People in Xizhou, Dali
• Naxi Pottery Village, Shangri-La

The Songzanlin Lamasery

Shangri-La has scenery similar to that in Tibet, and Tibetan Buddhism prevails in the area. Feilai Monastery is a nice position for taking photos of Meili Snow Mountain. Gedan Eastern Grove Monastery has the most profound Tibetan Buddhist Culture. Singzanlin Lamasery is known as "a scaled-down-version Potala Palace".

• Songzanlin Lamasery, Shangri-La
• Gedan Eastern Grove Monastery and Feilai Monastery, Shangri-La

The Impression Lijiang

Impression Lijiang, a magnificent outdoor singing and dancing performance given by more than 500 performers, demonstrates the lifestyle and the tradition of local ethnic people. The show is performed at the theater on Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. The snow mountain is used as a backdrop of the show.

• Impression Lijiang, Lijiang