Lashi Lake

Chinese name: 拉市海 (La Shi Hai)
Location:10km west of Lijiang,Yunnan Province.
Ticket: Free, horse riding or boating will be charged.
Estimated tour time: Half day to one day
Recommended time to visit: All year round.
Nearby attractions: Lijiang ancient town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Shuhe Ancient Town, Black Dragon Pool, etc.

Located 10km west of Lijiang, Lashi Lake at an elevation of 2437m, is a plateau lake. With an area of 5,330 hectares, Lashihai Lake is about 9.3 km long from south to north and 8.2 km wide from east to west. It is the largest lake in Lijiang County. Surrounded by the mountains, the catchment of Lashihai is about 256.6 square meters.The Rivers of Meiquan and Keluokang are merged together into Lashihai. It is one of the reserved drinking water sources for the city of Lijiang.

It is a marvelous wetland with beautiful scenery. The water is very clear, and it is a wonderful place to visit in the spring and summer around Lijiang. This is also a habitat for many migratory birds in the winter. Every year, tens of thousands of migratory birds arrive here to spend the winter.

Heading to Lashi Lake, the backyard of Lijiang Ancient City, you will leave the weathered, prosperous and cozy Lijiang Ancient City behind and embrace the wild, primitive and pure side of Lijiang with total different charm. When the clamor of city recedes, you can receive the baptism offered by nature and purify your soul. There are many racecourses for horses in the village next to the river. Many tourists choose to ride horses here and have a relaxing time. Lashi Lake has therefore become a wonderful place in Lijiang for riding horses, boating, and bird watching.

There are Naxi and other minority nationalities inhabited around Lashihai Lake, who are rich in cultural and folk customs. Zhiyun Temple situated by Lashihai Lake is regarded as one of the five temples in the city of Lijiang. It is a famous tourism spot of Tibetan Lamaism.

● Highlights of  Lashihai Lake

Ancient Tea Horse Road

When you are indulging in the enticing natural scenery and forgetting everything, the voice of ring bells and the clip-clops of horses will draw you back from reverie to reality, it is the voice from the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Ancient Tea Horse Road is the southwest China version Silk Road. Its legend starts from the tea and horse trade between Yunnan and Tibet since Tang dynasty (618-907). Gradually, it evolves into a trade and cultural exchange route extending all its way into Nepal, Bhutan, India and Red Sea. This route features many extremities: the highest altitude trade route in the world, a route with the most spectacular natural scenery and the most diversified and mysterious cultural content.

Birds Watching

Lashi Lake in December is a kingdom of untamed birds which will chase after the boats and twitter merrily. The warm climate makes it possible for them to pass the long winter safely. When next spring comes and flowers bloom, the birds will leave for the north for reproduction. They bring life to the villages at the foot of Jade Dragon Mountain. Especially when black-necked cranes fly over Jade Dragon in rosy clouds of dawn, you will feel that the legend about the Naxi has come true.You can derive endless fun from watching them in so close distance and taking amazing photos. With more birds and more intoxicating scenery, early morning and twilight are two golden periods of one day which you cannot afford to miss. Far away from industrial pollution, Lashi Lake remains poetic beauty and is remarkable for its crystal water.

Boating on the Lashi Lake

The canoe of Naxi is made of a whole trunk of one tree, try to show the biggest smile as you can, borrow a canoe from local villages, and ride it to the center of the lake!