Complete Yulong Snow Mountain Guide with Detailed Timeline

We arrived in Lijiang the day before. Having previously been to Jiuzhaigou without experiencing altitude sickness, we resolutely decided to head to Yulong Snow Mountain the next day. You need to grab tickets in advance at 8:00 PM the night before from the Lijiang Tourism Group (we went in the off-season in November and tickets were snapped up right on time, gone in a flash). Note: The 4680, Yunshanping, and Yak Meadow tickets are not combined and must be purchased separately. The 4680 Glacier Cableway tickets are available at 8:00 PM, and Yunshanping tickets at 9:00 PM, so be sure to check the times carefully and maybe set an alarm! We bought tickets for the Glacier Cableway between 8:30 and 9:00 AM. We took bus 101, which departs from the bus stop right outside Zhongyi Market. If you're unsure, you can check other posts that explain it clearly; the bus stop sign also marks the 101 station. Since it was our first time and we weren’t sure about the timing, I asked the 101 driver what time was best to board, and he told me 7:00 AM. The timing was perfect, and the driver was great. It took about 40 minutes to reach the mountain base (ps: it’s best to board at Zhongyi Market; the bus stops along the way but won’t pick up passengers if there’s no space). There are breakfast vendors around the bus stop, but the food isn’t very good, and the soy milk is especially expensive—assassin soy milk! We arrived with plenty of time. I recommend sitting on the left side facing the front of the bus; I haven’t seen anyone mention this, but we missed the full view of the sunrise on the right side, which was a pity! Entering the mountain requires a 100 RMB environmental protection fee per person. Including tickets, we each spent about 280 RMB, which was a bit painful since there wasn’t much snow. Following the guide, we bought oxygen bottles in the old town the day before. Don’t buy them on the mountain—they cost 40 RMB each and are very expensive! You can order from the old town or find a pharmacy for genuine products. We struggled up to 4680 meters; the wind was strong, so dress warmly. Luckily, the weather was great that day, which was very satisfying. The mountain shops accept WeChat Pay and Alipay, so no worries there. They sell corn, milk, coconut juice, and grilled sausages, which are quite good! We stayed there about two hours before heading to Yunshanping. We booked Yunshanping for 1:00–1:30 PM because we wanted to leave time for lunch. However, we got so hungry on the way that we just had grilled sausages and beef skewers to fill up. Inside Yunshanping, there is food available—I remember burgers and noodles. To get down from the Yunshanping cableway, you need to walk about 15 minutes to Yunshanping. Most tour groups take a shuttle bus, but since we weren’t in a hurry, we chose to walk. It’s very close, and the scenery along the way is great, perfect for photos. The return trip was quite exhausting though, haha. You can also walk from Yunshanping to Blue Moon Valley. I strongly don’t recommend taking the shuttle bus; walking takes about 15 minutes (there’s a shortcut—just search for it. The main road leads to a small staircase that goes down to Blue Moon Valley). After seeing Jiuzhaigou, it felt a bit less impressive, but it’s still very blue and beautiful. For the return trip, if we hadn’t done the guide, I would have foolishly thought we had to go back the same way. Actually, from Blue Moon Valley, you walk downhill all the way to a shuttle bus that takes you back to the starting point! We ended up at Parking Lot 3, and right outside the exit is bus 101 again.