Lijiang Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls

Real Advice to Help You Avoid Common Travel Pitfalls and Have a Safe and Enjoyable Trip

Why This Page Is Important

China is very safe for tourists—violent crimes against foreigners are extremely rare. What you really need to watch out for are overpricing, tourist scams, and unnecessary hassles. Understanding these common scams and pitfalls can help you save money, time, and stress.

Yulong Snow Mountain scalped tickets

High Risk

Scam Tactics

If you can’t secure a main cable car ticket during peak season, scalpers will sell them for 200–300 yuan more. However, many of these are counterfeit or previously used tickets.

How to Avoid

Buy tickets only through the “Lijiang Tourism Group” WeChat official account. If you can’t get them, reschedule or try again the next day.

Honest Advice

Tickets for the main cable car are indeed hard to come by, but buying from scalpers carries extremely high risks—if you discover the tickets are fake at the ticket checkpoint, you’re completely out of luck.

China Is Very Safe

Despite the warnings listed above, please remember: China has one of the lowest rates of violent crime in the world, and crimes targeting foreigners are extremely rare. The reminders listed above primarily concern being overcharged and inconveniences—not danger. Use basic common sense, trust your instincts, and you’re sure to have a wonderful and safe trip.