Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

 

Essentials of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Chinese Name: 玉龙雪山 Pronunciation: Yǜ Lóng Xuě Shān

Suggested Visiting Hours: 1 Day

Height: 5,596 meters (18,360 feet)

Address: About 15 km (about 9.3 miles) north of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China

Mountain Area: With a length of 70 kilometers (about 43.5 miles) and a width of 13 kilometers (about 8 miles)

Best Travel Time: All year round (the period from November to April is more recommended for not much rain and much snowcapped in this duration.)

 

Admission Ticket Fare

Price	Ticket Free of Charge Policy
130 yuan	Seniors over 60 years old (with ID card) are free of charge; People with disabilities (with disability certificate) are free of charge; Children: Children under 6 years old or less than 1.2 meters in height are free of charge; *The above policy is only applicable to the admission fee.

• Surcharge inside the Scenic Spot

Sight-seeing bus	20 Yuan per person	The only transportation to contact the three cable terminals
Cableway Fees	120 Yuan for round trip	To Glacier Park (the big cableway)
	60 Yuan for round trip	To Yak Meadow (the middle cableway)
	55 Yuan for round trip	To Spruce Meadow (the small cableway)
Impression Lijiang Show	280 Yuan	at Blue Moon Valley Theatre

 

Service Hours

	Peak Season (May 1st to October 31th)	Low Season (December 1st to April 30st)
Mountain Opening Hours	06:00-18:00	6:30-18:00
Ticket Office Opening Hours	06:00-16:00	6:30-16:00
Cableway	07:30-16:00	07:30-16:00
Sight-seeing Bus	07:00-18:00	07:00-18:00

 

Overview of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Located in Lijiang City, Yunnan Province, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is indeed a group of snowy mountains, which is the most equatorial snow mountain range in the Northern Hemisphere.
 

Bounded by Jade Lake on the south, the valley mouth of the Lower Gorge (Daju) on the north, the ravine of Tiger Leaping Gorge on the west, and Li (Jiang) Ming (Yin) highway on the East, the mountain stretches about 70 kilometers (about 43.5 miles) in length, and 13 kilometers (about 8 miles) in width. The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is about 15 km (about 9.3 miles) north away from Lijiang Old Town.
 

The mountain contains 13 peaks, which are arranged longitudinally from south to north, looks like an unfolding fan. The main peak, Shanzidou is the highest in the thirteen, which is with an altitude of 5,596 meters (about 18,359 feet). It is covered with snow all year round. The height of the snow line of the mountain is between 4800 (about 15,748 feet) and 5000 meters (about 16,404 feet).
 

The 13 snow peaks of the mountain winding continuously, just like a flying "giant dragon", so the mountain got its name "jade dragon". Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is called "Oulu" in Naxi language, which means "Tianshan"(Heaven Mountain). Considering from lithology aspect, the mountain mainly contains two types, which are limestone and basalt, thus it shows the appearance of black and white, so the mountain is also known as "Black and White Snow Mountain".
 

To Naxi people, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is not only a mountain, but a guardian, an embodiment of the protection god "Sanduo" of Naxi people, which is holy and respected.

 

Big Events Happened in Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was established as a provincial Nature Reserve in 1984, and was rated as a 4A tourist attraction in 2001, and then became the first batch of 5A tourist attractions in China in May 2007.

 

Highlights to See at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

 Glacier Park

Located at the northeast slope of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, with a typical character of modern glaciers, composed of stone caves eroded by glaciers, Glacier Park is also called “Lucerne Glass Palace”. It is a geomorphologic relic of Quaternary glaciers.
 

 Ganhaizi Meadow

The Ganhaizi Meadow is located at the eastern foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and is surrounded by mountains on three sides. Gan Haizi, a plateau meadow, is about 4 kilometers (about 2.5 miles) in length and 1.5 kilometers (about 0.9 miles) in width. The meadow was once a high mountain glacial erosion lake, which was dried up because of the rise of the snow line.
 

 Blue Moon Valley

At the eastern foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, the ice of the mountain melt and went through the valley and formed a lake, where the moon in the blue sky is reflected in the blue lake, which is so similar to the blue moon valley in Hilton's Lost Horizon, so the valley got its name "Blue Moon Valley ".
 

The Impression Lijiang Show is performed here.
 

 Yak Meadow

Yak Meadow is called "Ge Zhan Gu " in Naxi language, which means the beautiful mountain meadow-like stars.
 

 Spruce Meadow

Located on the east side of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, with an altitude of 3240 meters (about 10,630 feet), Spruce Meadow is a forested grassland about 0.5 square kilometers(about 5,381,955 sq. feet). It is called "Wu Lu You Cui Ge " in Naxi language which means the place of martyrdom.

 

Our Suggested Route

Take the sight-seeing bus and then take a cable car to enjoy the mountain scenery.

Ganhaizi Meadow—Blue Moon Valley—Glacier Park.

 

How to Reach Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

 By Bus

Take the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Special Line

Bus Stop: 玉龙雪山（Yǜ Lóng Xuě Shān）, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

甘海子（Gān Hǎi Zi）, Ganhaizi Meadow

Route	Ticket Fare	Service time	Interval
Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Special Line	15 Yuan	07:00-16:00	30 minutes
Payment	Cash, Alipay, Wechat Pay

Bus Stops: Zhongyi Market—Bailong Square—Minzhu Road China Merchants Bank—Old Town Gate—Hongtaiyang Square—Black Dragon Pool Park—Cableway Ticket Office(Jade Dragon Snow Mountain)—Dongba Valley—Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Ganhaizi Meadow)
 

 By Taxi

Chinese: 请带我去玉龙雪山。English: Please take me to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

If you go to the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain by taxi from the Lijiang People Square, it takes about 45 minutes (about 80 yuan).