Exceptional Experience in Lijiang
Lijiang Premier Tour
Lijiang, the oriental Venice, is where quaint bridges arch over clear water canals and flagstone streets stretch alongside classic architectures. Ethnic charm melds with living history to awaken your inner peace.
However, the fame is a double-edged sword. As much as 12% of Yunnan's total tourist population (that's 4 million people) flows into Lijiang every year. Is it still possible to enjoy the picturesque scenery while escaping from the hordes of tourists? Everything is possible with China Highlights. Below are three steps to make your Lijiang vacation special.
Step One: Choose from Top-rated Hotels
Let's start with a special accommodation experience. These hand-picked hotel choices are recommended based on their location, service, uniqueness, and feedback.
Banyan Tree Lijiang
Located in the less commercialized Shuhe Ancient Town, the Banyan Tree resort's pristine environment adds to the ethereal charm cloaking the air. Be fascinated by the legendary Naxi Kingdom and admire the majesty of the legendary Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.
Hotel Indigo® Lijiang Ancient Town
The Hotel Indigo Lijiang Ancient Town merges Tea and Horse Trail culture and local folklore in its décor and design. The guest rooms feature signature artwork and creative details, from a horse-silhouette closet to breathtaking murals of the nearby Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, alongside modern comforts that showcase how the past and present coexist here. "Me Space," with its giant copper birdcage and stools made of original horse saddles, is the perfect place to converse with friends, or for a quieter vibe, experience a traditional tea ceremony at our Tea House.
InterContinental Lijiang
Hide in the center of Lijiang Ancient Town, and experience old world opulence and modern luxury at the Intercontinental Lijiang Ancient Town Resort. Enjoy a perfectly framed view of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain through vast windows. Forget about the outside world and relax in rooms amid the hotel's extensive gardens and ponds.
Step Two: Tailor-made Tour
A comfortable room may make you want to stay for longer in Lijiang, while an unforgettable customized tour may make you want to stay there for life. Hop in a vintage sidecar or jeep and travel to secluded areas and commune with China's vanishing charm. We can combine the special attractions in Lijiang and the unique sidecar/jeep excursions for you. Private all the way!
The Valley Run
Hop into one of our vintage vehicles for an afternoon jaunt in the Lijiang Valley. Drive to a secluded location and enjoy the view as your guide pours you a glass of bubbles.

The Lijiang Valley Explorasion
Go for an exploratory tour of the Lijiang Valley. Start with a stop at a local Naxi temple before you continue to Yuhu Village, which was once home to an eccentric but now long forgotten explorer. A scenic drive through the valley will take you up in the hills to check out a Buddhist monastery for an introduction to Tibetan culture.

The Grand River Canyon
Crossing the outskirts of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, pause for panoramic views of the Yangtze River from the Temple of the Clouds before you continue your drive towards the Tiger Leaping Gorge.
Leave the tourist masses behind and have lunch at a local guesthouse, and your guide will take you up one of the trails starting from behind the guesthouse. This trek is considered a medium level and, depending on your fitness and experience, it will take between 3½ and 4½ hours to complete.
The Shaxi Trade Bazaar
Down the road to Shaxi, the traffic will have come to a standstill near Jiuhe Village as the locals will have set up a roadside market providing great photo opportunities (weekends only).
It remains rather peaceful on the cobbled streets of Shaxi but during the heydays of the Old Tea Horse Road the place was teeming with life. If today coincides with a Friday, you are in for a treat. On this day, the town awakens from hibernation as the neighboring Yi and Bai minorities come to sell and buy their produce. Women still dress in their colorful traditional outfits and men will often lead pack mules carrying supplies back to their villages in the mountains. Visit the nearby villages before heading back to your hotel.
Step Three: Submit Your Inquiry
Submit your preference for a hotel, excursions, starting date, and how many days you will stay, and our professional trip advisor will tailor-make a private and unique tour for you.
Luxury, uniqueness, adventure, privacy and exclusivity — you will have it all!
Price includes:




98.8% positive customer reviews among 10,000+
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Unforgettable Yunnan!
Jack Li , our tour guide at LiJiang, took great care of us when we climbed Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and suffered high altitude issues. At Dali, our tour guide Nancy Li doubled up as our photographer and speaks excellent English and entertained us with her rich knowledge of Chinese history. We had a wonderful time. more
Apr 2023,
April Lee
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Thank you for such a wonderful traveling experience!
We have Jack Lee in our Lijiang trip he was such a considerate and kind tour guide. He is very knowledgeable and he accommodated all our requirement. We were fortunate to have such a nice local tour guide. I had altitude sickness and he really cared. Our private driver Mr Tang is very safe and patient. He is compliant and cares for our safety all the time. He is very humorous and gave us so much laughter. He was also very caring towards me. more
Apr 2023,
Hazel T
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Cultural and scenic beauty second to none!
I would highly recommend this tour to Lugu Lake to everyone and anyone! The tour guide Jack taught me more in two days about minority cultures, Chinese history, and the amazing natural history and geography of Yunnan and the Lijiang area. As well, the drive to Lugu Lake requires an expert - and Mr Wang is an expert! (From someone who has crossed the Rockies at least 20 times) As a single woman travel who still doesn’t have great Chinese it was a flawless experience - from the communications, accommodation and breathtaking scenery and cultural experiences. Please book and go! more
Feb 2023,
Connie VH
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We have been travelling around Yunnan…
We have been travelling around Yunnan Province for 8 days and it’s been amazing. The culture, the food, the people’s kindness, all these things made our trip unforgettable. Especially our guide Nancy! The most helpful and friendly guide we could have. We really appreciate her knowledge about the local history and the culture. She’s really amazing and we strongly recommend her services. more
Mar 2022,
Danielle Toledo
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Awesome Yunnan trip with Nancy
We had a 6-day tour with guide Nancy around Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La in Yunnan. She’s very professional and experienced guide that made our tour far exceed expectations. It was a pleasure to have her as our tour guide. We strongly recommend her. Thank you! more
Mar 2022,
Rodrigo
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One of the best things I’ve done in China
One of the best things I’ve done in China. Being that I am pretty well traveled in China this Experience was so different from the others. Each city provided a different aspect of the culture, local traditions and beauty that China has to offer. Our Tour guide Nancy was amazing as she made our itinerary very well constructed and organized. She was there to make sure we were comfortable and happy. Her hyper energy and cheerfulness made us feel enthusiastic for the day. We are very satisfied with this trip and Nancy’s services that we will be sure to book again. more
Feb 2022,
RoshR
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Lijiang Trip July 2021
Kudos to Alisa Liu from the agency who I must say was on hand almost 24/7 for requests and queries. Even though our trip was marred with the onset of the Typhoon In Fa with various flight and train cancellations but Alisa was quick to arrange for alternative solutions under the circumstances and made the most effort to make our journey as comfortable as possible whilst we made our way back to Shanghai. As for the itinerary, Alisa understands her clientele’s different needs very well and for the most part my expectations were met. I love private tours with a very relaxed itinerary and comfortable accommodation and some of us prefer more exclusive accommodation vs a packed itinerary trying to go to a hundred location type of tour. more
Aug 2021,
Ida Suriani
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Summer holiday in Yunnan
After spending 5 nights in Dali visiting sights in our own time, Alice who was very friendly and helpful, accompanied us on our drive from Dali to Lijiang. She shared interesting facts about the local area and the things we had done. In Lijiang, we met our guide Peter. Peter did an amazing job taking care of us and showing us the beautiful sights for our 3 days. He was so kind, providing us with snacks each morning and always ensuring the food met my dietary requirements. He even picked up our last minute NAT results that we did before our departure late at night! His passion and dedication to his job was very impressive, and we would highly recommend him to our friends. more
Aug 2021,
O6866ZGlaurag
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Amazing experience in Yunnan
Please bear in mind that booking tickets and actually getting to the sightseeing point is very challenging, especially during peak season. But with the help of our guides everything went smooth and silky. Thank you, China Highlights, for making our first trip to Yunnan an unforgettable and carefree adventure. It was a true relaxation without any headache or stress. We had nothing to worry about, except enjoying breathtaking beauty of Yunnan. more
Jul 2021,
olya84
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Natural landscapes are everything
I visited Lijiang during the Spring Festival and I thought it was gonna be packed with people but my guide always knew were to take me to avoid crowds. I had a great time, my guide was very knowledgeable and answered all of my questions with gusto. I’m very happy with my trip. --lunarcicles,Buenos Aires, Argentina more
Feb 2019,
lunarcicles
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Nancy Lee - China Highlights , Professional Guide
I am impressed by Nancy Lee’s professionalism. She has high energy , thoughtful , eloquent and resourceful and execute well in all our requests . She is detailed and highly recommend her excellent service to all who visit Yunnan . To add on, Nancy has excellent skills in photo taking! Driver Tang is very helpful , thoughtful and has a great sense of humour . I enjoyed my Dali , Shaxi trip from 17-20April 23 and will definitely engaged Nancy more
Apr 2023,
Beautifoo
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Enjoyable and memorable trip
Personally, we are very happy and fortunate to have Nancy been appointed as our dedicated local guide to both, Shaxi and Dali. Nancy is very professional, helpful, resourceful and thoughtful guide which made our ladies’ trip a very enjoyable and memorable. We love ? her. more
Apr 2023,
Jane Foo
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Unforgettable Yunan trip
We have a wonderful tour guide Ms Nancy Lee who make our trip so memorable. She is so knowledgeable with China History, a great facilitator.and very professional. Nancy is very accommodative and goes all way out to make our trip a fun and interesting. We will also want to express our gratitude to Mr Tang, our driver who is so attentive, makes us laugh and entertain us with great songs and jokes. They looked after us on a five days trip to Shaxi and Dali. We will definitely engage their services again when we are back. Fantastic experience! Highly recommend to use China Highlights. more
Apr 2023,
Patricia T
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Thanks for the memorable experience! I love Dali!
With Nancy as our tour guide, we really get to see a lot of authentic local attractions and taste local cuisine in Shaxi and Dali. She is knowledgeable and provided good advice. We really appreciate her as our tour guide. The driver Mr Tang is a very safe and patient driver. He has also given us a lot of laughter along the way. Very humorous. more
Apr 2023,
Hazel Tan
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A great tour of Dali, a beautiful city!
Our China Highlights tour guide, Grace, was very knowledgeable about the local sites, culture, history, and mythology. She was also very helpful in providing information about transportation between the airport and the hotel, and communicating with the hotel staff in Mandarin when we needed help with that. The activities China Highlights arranged were really fun and worthwhile and the car that took us around made it possible to see the key sites but not waste time trying to figure out how to get to the sites by ourselves. A great tour of a beautiful city! We were highly satisfied. more
Jan 2023,
Nadav Katz
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Stunning nature and beautiful culture
We had a fantastic time traveling with China Highlights to Lijiang, Shaxi and Dali. The dry winter season was perfect without the crowds and with beautiful blue skies most of the time. The first part of the tour we enjoyed with our great guide Lee and for the second part the amazing Daisy took over. more
Dec 2022,
Elizabeth H
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Dali is Delightful with Nancy
A most delightful 3-day trip to Dali was had this past Golden Week thanks to #ChinaHighlights and our most amazing tour guide Nancy! Nancy was able to navigate and keep our travel group of 16 persons on task with a full itinerary including: Shaxi SiDeng Street, Xinjiao Temple, Erhai Lake cruise, a tour of Xizhou (Bai tie-dying and silk art), a cable car ride to Cangshan Mountain, Three Pagodas, and the Ancient City of Dali. Despite several pre-trip COVID-related challenges that included itinerary changes, we were AGAIN in the best of hands with CH, our driver, Mr. He, and Nancy. Dali was absolutely breathtaking and we were so fortunate to have Nancy leading us on a most memorable journey where we met the people of Dali, enjoyed the local fresh foods, along with the most perfect weather - we couldn’t imagine anyone taking a trip to Dali without Nancy! more
Oct 2022,
Erin
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Bai-curious in Dali
We had a fantastic time in Dali, our host Alice was very knowledgeable and flexible. She enhanced the good times with her positive and laid back attitude. We learned much about the Bai culture and took part in the torch festival celebration. We had an amazing bike ride round the lake and a memorable trip up the mountain in a cable car. China Highlights and Alice made every part of the tour straightforward and gave us great peace of mind when navigating the COVID rules. We can't wait to visit again in future with family and friends. more
Jul 2022,
Michael H
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Outstanding days in Dali
We have asked China Highlights to organize our Yunnan vacations. Our experience in Dali was outstanding: the program was good, and our guide Carrie Li was wonderful! She made us feel part of the culture, of the history. more
Jul 2021,
Bruno Duarte Alves
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A Day in Dali
We only had one day in Dali. Alice with China Highlights made Dali come alive for us. She explained the clothes, houses and history by taking us to the local market and walking us through the streets of Dali. We visited Dali houses, saw an Embroidery School, an Old Antique Market and the fishing village near the lake. She did a great job showing us Dali and yet keeping us away from crowds and tourist attractions. more
Jul 2021,
244pattm
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