Experience the best of Lijiang

The old town of Lijiang, a World Heritage Site, is a maze of cobbled lanes, stone bridges and clear canals, lined with tile-roofed wooden houses built by the Naxi people. Sifang Street is its busy square, the Mu family mansion recalls the Naxi chieftains who once ruled here, and the Black Dragon Pool park frames Jade Dragon Mountain in its still water. The Naxi Dongba script, a pictographic writing used by priests, appears on signs and souvenirs.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, a range of thirteen peaks, the highest reaching almost 5,600 metres, forms the backdrop to the town. Baisha village has old temple murals, Shuhe is another preserved old town, and to the north the Yangtze cuts the deep Tiger Leaping Gorge between steep mountains. Lijiang sits high on the plateau, so days are sunny and nights cool.

Lijiang baba, a flat griddled bread that is sweet or savoury, is a local staple, and Yunnan's kitchens add cured ham, wild mushrooms and rice noodles. Naxi musicians play an old form of orchestral music at concerts in the old town, and a pot of tea is never far away. The air is thin and bright at this height, and the spring and autumn months are the clearest.