GUNUNG · People's Republic of China

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain

玉龙雪山 (Yùlóng Xuěshān)

Information

Elevation: 5.596 m
Country: People's Republic of China (CN)
Location / Range: Hengduan Mountains, Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China
Mountain type: Perpetually snow-capped mountain massif (non-volcanic) — 13 snow-covered peaks, the southernmost permanently snow-capped range in the Northern Hemisphere
Volcanic?: No (non-volcanic)
Coordinates: 27.0983, 100.1750
Difficulty: Cannot be climbed to the summit (summit climbing has been banned by the government since 1987); visitors can reach 4,680 m by gondola and walk to the observation deck; the Blue Moon Valley and Spruce Meadow trails are open to the public at easy to intermediate difficulty
Best Season: March–June (spring — azaleas in bloom, stable snow) and September–November (autumn — clear weather, best views); avoid July–August (fog and heavy rain from the monsoon)
Permits & Rules: A park entrance ticket is required (around CNY 100–130). Separate gondola tickets apply for each area (Glacier Park, Spruce Meadow, Yak Meadow) at different prices. Buying gondola tickets in advance is recommended — it is very popular and often sells out. Thick jacket rentals are available at the top of the gondola due to the extreme cold above 4,000 m
Hazards: Altitude sickness is very common at 4,000–4,680 m — please acclimatize first in Lijiang (2,400 m) for 1–2 days; oxygen canisters are available at the top gondola station; temperatures above 4,000 m can be below freezing even in summer; the wooden boardwalk on the Blue Moon Valley trail can be very slippery

Description

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, or Yulong Xueshan, is a massif near Lijiang in Yunnan, China. Its highest summit, Shanzidou, reaches 5,596 m. Part of the Hengduan Mountains, it faces Haba Snow Mountain across Tiger Leaping Gorge. Visitor access reaches a 4,506 m platform and 4,680 m deck, separate from Shanzidou. Eric Perlman’s expedition account documents climbing on snow and limestone; the visitor paths do not represent that technical ascent.

Gallery

Foto bersumber dari Wikimedia Commons — klik untuk memperbesar & lihat sumbernya.

Routes

Blue Moon Valley — jalur lembah / valley paths

Jalan wisata lembah / Valley visitor walk

Sekitar 1 jam / About 1 hour

Visitor paths around Blue Moon Valley’s pools and waterways offer views of the Yulong massif. Follow paths opened by management; park shuttles connect visitor areas.

Source

Glacier Park — gondola dan tangga ke dek 4.680 m / cableway and stairs to the 4,680 m deck

Tangga wisata berketinggian tinggi / High-altitude visitor stairs

Sekitar 40 menit naik tangga dalam catatan Juli 2013; antrean terpisah / About 40 minutes up the stairs in a July 2013 account; queues additional

From the 4,506 m cableway station, stairs lead to the 4,680 m deck. Khai Shing recorded about 40 minutes of slow ascent and rapidly changing mist. This deck is not Shanzidou’s summit.

Source

Yuhu Village — Alpine Meadow — Yuhu

Trekking kaki gunung; sekitar 900 m kenaikan / Foothill trek; about 900 m ascent

9.00 km +900 m Sekitar 6 jam pulang-pergi / About 6 hours return

China Highlights describes a roughly 9 km return route from Yuhu through grassland and forest to a meadow near 3,600 m. This is a foothill destination, not a summit route.

Source

Climbing Experiences

These accounts distinguish technical climbing on Shanzidou, foothill trekking and visitor walks. Glacier Park’s platforms are not the mountain summit. Older stories describe the authors’ trips at the time; access conditions can change.

References

The summary above is compiled from the following sources. Click to explore them yourself.