Grand Waterwheel · Black Dragon Pool Park (Yuquan Park)
A clear spring lake at the foot of Elephant Hill at the source of the Yu River, Deyue Pavilion and Five Phoenix Pavilion reflected in the water, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain framed across the lake—hailed as "the foremost view of the snow mountain" and the birthplace of Lijiang's postcards
Visitor info
- Opening hours
- 07:00-19:00
- Ticket
- Free (old-town maintenance fee receipt checked)
Price is indicative — final quote on inquiry.
A clear spring lake at the foot of Elephant Hill at the source of the Yu River, with Deyue Pavilion (Moon-Embracing Pavilion) and Five Phoenix Pavilion reflected in the water and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain framed across the lake—hailed as "the foremost view of the snow mountain," it is where Lijiang's postcards were born. The Dongba Culture Research Institute is housed in the park, and on clear afternoons the snow mountain's reflection is at its fullest; old-town maintenance fee receipts are checked here, and entering early in the morning means no queueing.
Getting there: walk from the north end of the old town
Photos
More in Lijiang
- Old Town of Lijiang (Dayan)
A Naxi old town built from the late Song into the early Yuan, standing unwalled for 800-plus years (legend holds that the Mu chieftains' surname means "wood", and a wall around it would form the character "trapped"—so walls were taboo); inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1997
- Mu Mansion (Mufu)
Residence of the Naxi Mu chieftains, built in the Ming Wanli reign and said to comprise 162 rooms: "in the north the Forbidden City, in the south the Mu Mansion"
- Wangu Tower
The old town's highest point atop Lion Hill, a five-story wooden viewing tower 33 m tall; overlooking the unbroken grey-tiled roofs of Dayan Old Town, with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the old town in one frame—the most classic Lijiang photo
- Five Phoenix Pavilion (Fayun Pavilion)
Built in the Ming Wanli reign, its three tiers of flying eaves spread like five phoenixes in flight; originally the main building of Fuguo Temple, later relocated to the shore of Black Dragon Pool
- Naxi Dongba Culture Museum
A museum dedicated to Dongba culture, with systematic displays of Dongba scriptures, ritual implements and sacrificial ceremonies; the Dongba pictographic-script documents are inscribed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register
- Lijiang Romance Show
Songcheng Performing Arts' large-scale resident show in Lijiang; five acts—Naxi Genesis, the Ancient Tea Horse Road, the Women's Kingdom of Lugu Lake and more—weave an epic of northwestern Yunnan, packed with sound, light, effects and real-scene sets; multiple daily sessions make it a good evening pick