Black Dragon Pool (Heilongtan), Lijiang

Every canal in Lijiang Old Town starts here. The springs that surface at Black Dragon Pool (Heilongtan), at the foot of Elephant Hill on the town's northern edge, gather into the Yu River and then fan out through the lanes below, which is why locals have treated this spot as sacred ground since a Dragon King temple was first built beside the water in 1737, under the Qianlong emperor. The park that grew around it, also called Jade Spring Park (Yuquan Gongyuan), now frames the most photographed single view in Yunnan: Deyue Tower and the five-arched Suocui Bridge doubled in still water, with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain floating behind.

The postcard shot, and how to catch it

The reflection needs two things: clear sky over the mountain and windless water. Both are morning conditions. The summit ridge tends to cloud over by late morning, and midday breezes break the mirror, so photographers arrive right after the gates open. Autumn, September through November, gives the highest strike rate of crisp skies; spring adds willow green along the banks. Stand on or just south of Suocui Bridge and the pavilion, bridge and peak stack into one frame.

Around the pool

The park collects a surprising number of protected old buildings along its looping lakeside paths. Beside the water stand the Dragon God Shrine and Deyue Tower; nearby are the small One-Coin Pavilion (Yiwen Ting), named for the single copper coin each donor gave toward its construction, and the Ming-era Guangbi Tower. The grandest structure, Five Phoenix Hall (Wufeng Lou), is a Ming-dynasty timber hall with layered flying eaves that was moved here from Fuguo Temple outside town. Between the monuments, the park works as Lijiang's everyday green space: elders practise tai chi on the terraces, and musicians sometimes rehearse in the pavilions.

The Dongba Culture Museum

At the park's north end sits the Lijiang Municipal Museum, better known as the Dongba Culture Museum. It holds the largest collection of Dongba artefacts anywhere, close to three thousand items, from pictographic manuscripts to ritual instruments of the Naxi people's indigenous religion. Admission has been free since 2009, it opens roughly 09:00 to 17:00, and free guided explanations are offered. If you want context for the Dongba script you will see painted around the Old Town, twenty minutes here does the job.

Entry, the maintenance fee and hours

The park itself has no admission charge, but its gate is where Lijiang checks the Old Town Maintenance Fee, the conservation levy every visitor to Lijiang is asked to pay. Under rules in force since August 2025, one payment covers 365 days of unlimited entries, and as of 2026 Black Dragon Pool is the main place it is verified: staff at the gate will ask for your payment record, or let you pay on the spot by phone. Keep the receipt or payment screenshot from wherever you first paid it (hotels often collect it at check-in). Posted opening hours have shifted between roughly 07:00 or 08:00 and early evening depending on season, so check locally if you are cutting it fine; mornings are always safe.

Getting there

The pool sits about 1.5 km north of Sifang Street, a 20-minute uphill walk through the Old Town's quieter upper lanes, or a short taxi ride. The natural rhythm is to come at opening for the reflection, do the museum as the light flattens, and drop back down into the Old Town before the day-trip crowds fill it.