A Two-Day, One-Night Guide to Shuangjiang, Yunnan, a Hidden Gem

Spring 2025 We embarked on another Yunnan road trip, arriving at Shuangjiang Lahu Va Bulang Dai Autonomous County in Lincang City. As the name suggests, this is a place with a diverse ethnic culture. Shuangjiang is most famous for its Mengku tea mountains, which produce world-renowned Pu'er tea, especially the Bingdao tea🍵. Our main goal was to hike and see the ancient tea trees. For our first hike of 2025, we chose a very niche route, so niche that few people know about it🤗. Besides hiking, the small county town is also worth exploring. 📍Shuangjiang County: Located in Lincang City, Yunnan, it's about an hour's drive from Lincang. 🔴Two-day, one-night itinerary: Day 1: Hike in Shuangjiang Ancient Tea Plantation → Stinky tofu boiled fish in the county town Day 2: Baixiang Temple in the county town → Lunch at Yunweilai Eatery → Jingkang Village 🟡Shuangjiang Ancient Tea Plantation Hike It takes 1.5 hrs to drive from the county town. The round-trip hike is about 20 km and takes 5 to 6 hrs. The entire hike is in the forest. At the end of the trail are three ancient tea trees over a thousand years old. The No. 1 ancient tea tree is over 2,700 years old. It has a rich history. →Navigate to Dahusai, and continue driving up to the checkpoint. Everyone needs to buy insurance for ¥20 to enter the mountain. If you are driving an SUV, you can continue to the watchtower, which will save you a 2 km walk to the entrance. ‼️However, ordinary cars are not recommended as this section of the road is in very poor condition and cars with low ground clearance will not be able to pass. →There is a small path to the left of the watchtower, which is the entrance. There is only one path, so you don't need a guide. The ancient tea trees at the end are enclosed by wooden fences, making them easy to spot. 🟡Baixiang Temple, also known as Shuangjiang Zongfo Temple, can be found by navigation. It's a good place to experience religious and Buddhist temple culture. 🟡Jingkang Village is a Dai village, said to have a history of over 600 years. There are golden pagodas and a water-splashing square, perfect for taking photos and strolling around. There is a shop in the village that makes handmade brown sugar, ¥15 per 500g for the original flavor. You can buy some to take home. 🍧Food Recommendations 1. Stinky tofu boiled fish is very popular locally, and you can find it everywhere on the street! It smells stinky but doesn't taste like it. It's spicy and uses tilapia. 2. Yunweilai Eatery. This is a nice little restaurant with various drinks, snacks, and simple meals! We went there twice. We recommend the desserts and cold noodles. The cold noodles are really good. 🟢Tips: 1. If you are not interested in forest hiking, we don't recommend the Ancient Tea Plantation. The entire route is in the forest with no open views. 2. If you don't hike, a one-day trip to Shuangjiang is enough to enjoy the food and the city.