Jizu Shan is a sacred Buddhist mountain in northwest Yunnan. It is roughly located between Dali and Lijiang, 300kms northwest of Kunming, and comes with great hiking and a string of ancient temples.
Jizu Shan translates as Chicken Foot Mountain and rises to a height of 3,500m above sea level. It features several separate peaks along with dozens of caves and ponds and 42 temples. The best thing is that it is not very touristy; you may not even see another Westerner when hiking here. There is also accommodation near the top.
Apart from the hiking on Jizu Shan, there are many temples to check out that span the eras from the Tang Dynasty through the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, to as late as the Qing Dynasty. Zhusheng Temple is the most famous temple on Jizu Shan, with its setting on Tianzhu Peak over water.
Getting There & Away
Jizu Shan is best accessed by minivan from Dali or Xiaguan, by way of the G320 main highway and route S220. The minivans drop off part way up Jizu Shan and journey time is around 3 hours. Xiaguan is 5 or 6 hours by bus from Kunming’s international airport or a 50-minute flight.