Yulong (Jade Dragon) Mountain, Yunnan, China

4Deanosaur89 5:00 PM Jul 25, 2021

Enjoyed the Views but Crowded in July
The views at the top are worth seeing but we wish we would have gotten there earlier to avoid the crowds. We got to the cableway (it is very needed) around 4 pm and waited 40 minutes to go up and 30 minutes to come back down. There are many platforms and the stairs are in decent condition. There are also lots of photo opportunities for the altitude markers. It takes a lot of energy to get to the top platform and it is worth the struggle. We couldn't find a bus or transport provider on our own as the places we found online were closed. Our hotel helped arrange a private tour and we paid 380 RMB each for transport to/from, Blue Moon Valley, water, lunch, cable car tickets, park pass, grassland stop, down parka rental and oxygen cannisters. We found our guide very helpful and she constantly communicated with us over WeChat which made our trip very efficient! The lunch was quite good and had yak meat jerky and a chicken hotpot. We found that in July the parka is not needed and it is a pain to lug it around all day. They convinced us to take it because it might rain at the top of the mountain. I think a rain jacket would be enough just in case. We were only allowed one oxygen canister each but our guide said she could get us more. My wife felt the oxygen cannister was helpful while I saved mine in the case of any struggle. I found I didn't need it and friends that have gone previously also said they didn't use theirs as well. Our hotel advised that a cable car was needed and tried to help us book through the Lijiang Tourism Application. The photo registration worked for my Asian wife the first time but it took 34 tries for me and I had to stand under a fluorescent light to be at my whitest and pastiest in order for it to take. I still couldn't register for cable car and park passes and the hotel staff and I figured it is likely because we are foreigners. You can get cable car tickets at the entrance to the park but Chinese can by the day in advance so it could be tough. We felt having a guide ensured we could get on a cable car but a little late. Buy a bottle of water before the cable car if needed. The water bottles at the top were expensive and small. Drinks and snacks at the upper station were expensive as well and may not quench your thirst - 15 RMB coconut milk, red bull, monster energy drink, etc. There are also opportunities to dress up in traditional clothes and take a picture with a yak or llama. Aside from the long cable car waits and crowded busses I thought it was worth the trip. Expect to spend 2 to 3 hours waiting for cable cars, struggling for breath and climbing the stairs.

4Adam_01TA 5:00 PM Aug 16, 2020

Scenic on a good day
Foreigners can book tickets for the cable car very easily but Chinese people should book theirs 3 days in advance. Be quick or they sell out fast! If you miss out, taobao is reliable. There was a small queue to enter the park (still a fair way from the cable car) and from there it’s about a 10 minute drive to the tourist center to collect tickets for the cable car. From the tourist center you are taken in a shuttle bus for about 10 minutes to the cable car station, which is another 10 minute journey to the top (about 4,508m at this point). You can stay here or choose to climb a further 100 metres to the highest peak at 4600m~. The view is good but we chose a particularly cloudy day to climb so wasn’t the best, however that isn’t why this mountain got 4 stars instead of 5. Everything is completely overpriced. They made the mountain into a “how much money can we make?” scheme. Oxygen is marked up three-fold, water is twice as expensive, even the jackets require a 500rmb deposit (which, by the way, stink of smoke from all the 叔叔 that wore them before you). What a shame considering this place is historic and sentimental in Chinese culture.