Short answer: Leave Lijiang Old Town by 6:00, go up the Glacier Park cable car as early as your ticket allows, then spend the afternoon at Blue Moon Valley, which is lower and at its best in strong sun. Plan on 10 to 11 hours door to door. The whole day hangs on one thing: a Glacier Park cable-car ticket, which goes on sale seven days ahead and sells out.
This page is the timetable. Wondering whether to go at all? Read Jade Dragon Snow Mountain: is it worth it? For booking step by step, see Jade Dragon tickets and cable cars.
Book these before you plan the day
| What | Price | When to book |
|---|---|---|
| Park entry | ¥100 | Up to 7 days ahead |
| Glacier Park cable car (eco-bus included) | ¥140 | 20:00, 7 days ahead |
| Spruce Meadow cable car | ¥40, plus the ¥20 eco-bus | 21:00, 7 days ahead |
| Bus 101, Lijiang to Ganhaizi | ¥15 each way | Pay on board |
Checked in November 2026. Prices, release times and bus times change; check before you go.
A typical day with the Glacier Park cable car costs ¥240 per person for tickets, plus ¥30 for the bus there and back. Your cable-car ticket comes with a time slot, and that slot sets the shape of the whole day. If you can choose, take the earliest one.
The day, hour by hour
These times assume the off-season hours (November to March): the park opens at 07:00, entry stops at 16:00 and the cable cars stop at 17:00. In summer the park opens earlier, so you can shift everything forward.
05:45–06:00 Leave Lijiang Old Town
Bus 101, the Jade Dragon line, starts at Zhongyi Market 忠义市场 on the edge of the old town and runs to Ganhaizi 甘海子, the hub inside the scenic area. It costs ¥15. In winter and spring the first bus leaves at 06:00, early enough for sunrise; off-season buses run about every 20 minutes.
- Two or three of you A taxi or a pre-booked driver costs more but leaves when you want and waits for you.
- Staying in Baisha? The sightseeing train from the new Baisha visitor center takes about 35 minutes to Ganhaizi.
- Before you leave Eat something, fill a water bottle, and have your passport on you. You'll show it at every gate.
07:00–07:45 Ganhaizi: first light on the peaks
Ganhaizi is a wide meadow at about 3,100 m with the whole east face of the mountain above it. On a clear morning the first sun turns the snow gold for a few minutes. Locals call this 日照金山, "sunlit golden mountain". Sunrise in Lijiang is roughly 07:30 to 08:00 in winter and around 06:30 to 06:45 in summer.
It's cold here before the sun is up, often below freezing in winter. Wear the hat and gloves now, not later. If the peaks are in cloud, don't wait for it to clear; move on to the cable car.
08:00–11:30 Glacier Park cable car, about 4,500 m
Take the eco-bus from Ganhaizi to the lower cable-car station. Your face and passport are checked at the gate, and there's usually a queue even with a timed ticket. The cable car lifts you to the upper station at about 4,500 m, where a wooden boardwalk climbs over scree towards a marker at about 4,680 m.
- Go slowly The boardwalk is stairs all the way. The first platform already gives you the view; the top marker is optional.
- Keep it short 45 to 60 minutes at the top is plenty for most people.
- Queue down early The line for the cable car down can be as long as the one going up.
11:30–12:30 Back down for lunch
Food inside the scenic area is limited and costs more than in town. Bring bread, nuts, chocolate and a flask of hot water, and eat back at Ganhaizi or at the lower station. You'll probably feel tired after the altitude: sit down, drink something warm, and give yourself half an hour.
12:30–15:00 Blue Moon Valley
The eco-bus continues to Blue Moon Valley 蓝月谷, a chain of turquoise pools and low falls far below the glacier. The color depends on the sun: bright midday light gives the deep blue you see in photos, and a gray sky makes the water look pale. Walk the boardwalk along the pools. There's no need to step onto the wet banks for photos.
15:00–17:00 Head back to Lijiang
Catch the eco-bus back to Ganhaizi and the bus or your driver to town. Allow time for a line at the eco-bus stop in the late afternoon. Ask the driver when the last bus 101 leaves, since it changes with the season: in summer it runs until 18:30. You'll be back in the old town by about 16:30 to 17:30, tired and probably ready for an early night.
If your cable-car slot is in the afternoon
Flip the day. Spend the morning at Blue Moon Valley, or at Spruce Meadow if you have that ticket, and give yourself at least an hour of buffer before your slot. Two things to watch:
- Wind and snow can stop the cable car at short notice. With a late slot you have no time to wait it out. If it closes, apply for a refund in the 丽江旅游集团 mini program before 17:00 that day; the cable-car ticket is refunded in full but the park entry isn't.
- The cable cars stop at 17:00 in the off-season. A slot after about 15:00 leaves very little time at the top.
No cable-car ticket? A lower day that still works
Buy the park entry and eco-bus (¥120), see Ganhaizi at sunrise and Blue Moon Valley, and add Spruce Meadow 云杉坪 if the small cable car is running. Spruce Meadow is a clearing in old spruce forest with the cliffs rising straight above it, at a gentler altitude than Glacier Park. Or skip the park entirely and see the mountain from the villages at its foot, Baisha and Yuhu, for free.
What to pack
- Warm layers: a windproof jacket over a fleece. It can be below freezing at the top in any month. Down jackets can be rented at the base if you didn't bring one.
- Sun protection: sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat. The sun at 4,500 m is fierce even when it's cold, and snow reflects it.
- Shoes with grip: the boardwalk can be icy in winter.
- Food and water: snacks, a flask of hot water and a power bank. Phones drain fast in the cold.
- Oxygen: small cans are sold in Lijiang and at the mountain. They give short relief, not treatment.
- Your passport, the same one you booked with. Without it you can't get through the gates.
Altitude, in short
Lijiang is at about 2,400 m, and this day takes you more than 2,000 m higher before lunch. Spend at least one night in Lijiang before you go up, don't run or hurry on the boardwalk, and go straight back down if you feel confused, very dizzy or start vomiting. If you have a heart or lung condition, or are pregnant, ask your doctor before going this high. The altitude guide has more.
Mistakes we see people make
- Going up on the day they fly in. Give yourself a night in Lijiang first.
- Going on a Chinese public holiday. Avoid the first week of October and Chinese New Year if you can.
- Waiting too long for sunrise. If the peaks are hidden at Ganhaizi, move on and keep your cable-car slot.
- Buying a "guaranteed" cable-car seat from a stranger. You hand over your passport details and may lose your money; the park says no online platform is authorized to resell its cable-car tickets. Cheap day tours with a seat included often come with shop stops. Here's why we skip them.
Sources
- Lijiang Tourism Group mini program and the Lijiang culture and tourism bureau: ticket prices, release times, refunds and off-season hours, checked on 24 October 2026.
- Bus 101 route, fare and early winter departures: China Transport News, 20 November 2025.
- Jade Dragon Snow Mountain scenic area notice on traffic control at Ganhaizi and the Baisha visitor center (Lijiang Net, 16 February 2026).
- Cable-car maintenance notice for October and November 2026 (Yunnan Information Daily, Lijiang edition, 10 October 2026).
