Yesterday (on May 5, 2022), the 14.7km railway tunnel of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain was finally penetrated after eight years of toil by a thousand workers.

This is not the same panoramic light rail in Lijiang discussed previously.

The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Tunnel, which exits the Jinsha River Tiger Leaping Gorge, is considered one the most arduous and important tunnel sections of the 139km Lijiang Shangri-la Railway. Also dubbed Lixiang Railway, aka 丽香铁路.

Slated for completion this year, the Lixiang Railway consists of 13 stations, crossing 34 bridges, and cutting through 20 tunnels.

The travel time will take about half an hour from Lijiang to Shangri-la, passing through Lashihai, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Haba Snow Mountain.

So far, 19 of 20 tunnels of Lixiang Railway have been completed. The remaining one being the 9,523-meter Haba Snow Mountain Tunnel, currently under construction.

Hopefully by the end of this year, it will only take five hours by high speed rail to travel to Shangri-la from Kunming.

Total cost of this endeavor is estimated ~10.5 billion yuan, but a vital link for the planned Yunnan-Tibet Railway.

For more details of the geological challenges and photos:

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A new light rail is being built in Lijiang that will reach Yulong Snow Mountain foothills in 20 minutes, traveling a distance of 20.45 km from the city's South.

Rail workers donning orange are visible along the incomplete track doing work, even during Labour Day holiday..

Slated for completion in December, this project is touted as "the world's first tourist train with a panoramic view of the mountain."

The illustration of this train is pretty cool:

www.chinadaily.com.cn/[...]

Update on bus #17 station, which is located at above photo of Yuhu Village Central Plaza (玉湖村广场), the terminal station. Final bus leaving the Yuhu Village foothill to 象山市场 (SE of Shuhe Old Town) is at 19:00pm. First bus 7am, to and fro.

Near the Yuhu reservoir, excavation of additional artificial lakes are being constructed by the boulder paved roads. The Lijiang government is doubling down on Jade Dragon tourism recovery in the post-pandemic.

Dali to Lijiang (vice versa) high speed rail section has been reinstated during this Wuyi holiday period, usually suspended.

The names of the century-old restaurants are 苏老三一古面 and
老王过江饵丝, respectively.

Gold standard article by Jim worth an update.

No longer is the travel time to Weishan "an hour and a half" but just 22 minutes via high speed rail from Dali Rail Station. 19 - 22 rmb. The train tunnels through mountains for seemingly one third the journey.

As per Destination China feature video.The famous one strand noodle (yi gu mian) restaurant, located at 后所街 back alley, only opens from 7am to 12pm. The other famous er si noodle shop in old town closes early at 15pm.

Well, that comment streak didn't last long.

The tiger may socialize pending environmental circumstances, but for the most part are at peace in solitude.

I've taken this path, well worth checking out if you go to Lijiang. It's a long walk to the trailhead, or use a 4 wheel drive to get there. But do it if you have the chance, everybody likes the spiritual quality of the mountains.

Well done fabey. After three months you finally made it 5 out of 5 in the comment section ;-)

Informative piece, Pieter!

Look. Who is that sitting in the shade under a lone milk tree in Milk Lake?

It's "dog for a day"... your furry protector companion!

Limestone is often the oasis mirage of snow on Jade Dragon.

Quite a few hikers would get lost in mountains of Yunnan over the years. Notable search & rescues hit recent news which didn't end well. Understandable park officials would frown at those who stray off beaten path.

Below are pictures and updates on the upcoming renovation of Green Lake (North Gate area) where the original Jingzheng Academy once stood. Currently a massive empty lot devoid of life walled off from pedestrians.

For those wondering about the fate of those lush greens that once grew there (45 trees such as ginkgo biloba, sweet-scented osmanthus, and pseudo-particulate magnolia):

"According to the seedling transplant plan and the new landscape design plan reviewed and approved by experts, 30 seedlings (20 ginkgo and 10 osmanthus) are tentatively scheduled to be moved back to the original site of Cuihu, and the seedlings will first be transplanted to the Daxing seedling plant in Yiliang County, Kunming City for management., after the terrain of the Cuihu project is completed, it will be transported and transplanted at the corresponding location of the site according to the project landscape plan.

The 15 seedlings (4 ginkgo, 1 sweet-scented osmanthus, 3 fishtail sunflowers, and 5 pseudo-singular magnolias) that are not used in the landscape design plan will be permanently transplanted to the greening area of Wuhua District. Sirloin Nursery."

Planning photos:

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Source: m.sohu.com/a/526176943_121123812/?pvid=000115_3w_a

Yesterday's billowing wildfire in Xishan blew northward into the night from perhaps late afternoon. The apparent cause was a cigarette butt. Please dispose of smokes properly during this dry period.

Whenever you crouch down to look at items laid out on the ground, be sure to keep your personal belongings and valuables tucked in the center of your body to avoid being pickpocketed.

The new passage, and the barriers.

In the past two years, 458km of fencing/wall has been newly erected or fortified along the borders, dubbed "The Southern Great Wall."

A WJS article on Yunnan and its local neighbors published yesterday:

www.wsj.com/[...]

Not a good day for pigs. Nice piece Zhou Mengya. 新年快乐to you and yours!

Right now entering Black Dragon Pool park is free.