Jade Dragon Snow Mountain
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (玉龙雪山) is the second place we visited in Lijiang, which was our original main focus. My expectation on this attraction was much higher than what we got. I later learnt there are 2 routes to view the mountain, one could be nearer to the snow mountain but would probably more demanding on physical strength.
Due to high altitude, we get tired easily. Though we didn’t get any altitude sickness, I’m glad we didn’t go the other route coz at the end of this trip I was exhausted. There was some uphill walk (very minimal).
This is the cable care that we took that brought us nearer to the mountain. Without that, I guess we won’t be able to make it in such short timing! :p This cable car is very similar to the one that we used in HongKong’s NgongPing 360.
When we reached the end of the cable car, we were required to walk around 30 min before seeing the snow mountain.
A bit disappointed coz the mountain can only be seen from this far distance, unlike in New Zealand where we could even walk on it. Later, we found out that the mountain is not very high (5000+ m), but it has never been conquered! The mountain is Naxi tribe’s pride, especially with this fact! No wonder we can’t get very close to it! LOL!
Here is the bottom of the hill. Water from the mountain’s snow is their main source of water, for all activities (drinking, washing, agriculture, etc). Here is the first stop of the water. It is very beautiful, and the water looks like jade. It was regarded as mini JiuZhaiGou (小九寨沟).
Tiger Leaping Gorge
There are 3 parts of the Tiger Leaping Gorge (虎跳峡), namely the Upper Leaping (上虎跳), Middle Leaping (中虎跳) and Lower Leaping (下虎跳). To view the gorge from Lijiang without going to Shangri-la, we were only able to see the Upper Leaping, and it was 3-hour drive away from Lijiang town.
It was a long walk from the entrance to the site. We had to walk along the cliff of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and on two parts of the walk we had to walk pass tunnels that cut across the mountain.
Look at the photo above, we had to walk along the cliff. There are stones falling from the top, and we have to walk close to the cliff and walk fast. But read the sign below, it is quite funny to read their translations… :p
After walking about 20 to 30 min, we finally arrived at the site here. The view was breathtaking! It is hard to imagine what would happen to me if I fall into that water…
The big rock in the center of the river is called the Tiger Leaping Stone. I think the Naxi tribe is very imaginative. They have a story for this as well!
They said many years ago, there was a hunter hunting down a tiger, and the tiger leaped to this stone and then hopped to the other side of the river, hence named the Tiger Leaping Gorge, and this stone is called the Tiger Leaping Stone!
The First Bay of the Changjiang River (长江第一湾)
Changjiang (长江) begins at the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. On our way back to Lijiang after visiting the Tiger Leaping Gorge, we stopped by to view the first bend of Changjiang.
It is supposed to be a brief stop here, but we spent quite some time just to enjoy the scene. It feels so comfortable and the place was really full of serenity and peace.
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