10 Days in Nujiang
Ten days from Liuku to the Tibet border and into the Dulong valley — the G219 river run, Laomudeng, Bingzhongluo's First Bend, two days in Dulongjiang, and a neighbour day in Baoshan's coffee country.
Quick Answer
Is 10 days enough for Nujiang?
10 days lets you go beyond Nujiang's core into neighborhoods, food markets, and one or two day trips at a relaxed pace.
Source: NihaoVisit Nujiang guide
10-day Nujiang itinerary at a glance
Use our full Nujiang travel guide as the base and adapt it to 10 days. Keep the city's three signature attractions as the backbone; fill the rest with neighborhood walks, food markets, and an easy day trip.
Liuku — arrival & river front
Ease in at the prefecture seat, about 800 metres above the sea; the promenade, the old bridge over the Nu River and the evening fish markets set the valley's pace.
- nujiang liuku riverfront
Springs & Lisu riverside culture
Upstream at Denggeng, 12 km from town, riverside springs have long drawn Lisu villagers at Lunar New Year; any season, the drive upstream threads between cliffside villages above the river.
- nujiang dengeng springs
Laomudeng church & Zhiluo
Three hours north, Laomudeng's church is known for four-part Lisu hymn singing, and Zhiluo beside it — the prefecture capital until 1974 — keeps its 1970s avenues as a hilltop lookout over the Gaoligong wall.
- nujiang laomudeng church
- nujiang zhiluo
Fugong & the Stone Moon
Push on through Fugong county, where the viewpoint frames the Stone Moon arch carved through a ridge at about 3,300 metres, and overnight in Gongshan town under the canyon's tightest walls.
- nujiang shiyueliang
Bingzhongluo & the First Bend
Forty-five kilometres past Gongshan, Bingzhongluo lies at about 1,500 metres; walk to the First Bend and the neighbouring lamasery and Catholic church, then catch sunset on the snow peaks.
- nujiang first bend
- nujiang bingzhongluo
Wuli village & Qiunatong
The tea-horse trail edges the cliff into Wuli, Qiunatong's terraces are the last farmland before the Tibet border, and the highway's final guardrails face the Nachalo gorge at the boundary itself.
- nujiang wuli village
- nujiang qiunatong
Over to the Dulong River
Cross from Gongshan through the 6.68-kilometre tunnel, opened 2014, about 80 kilometres of switchbacks into a subtropical valley; the pass can close under snow from December to around May, so check conditions first.
- nujiang dulongjiang
Dulong valley full day
A slow day for the township museum on Dulong culture, riverside hamlets and footbridges, and the waterfalls that tumble straight into the river — this is the home township of the Dulong people, one of China's smallest ethnic groups, and among its least-populated lands.
- nujiang dulongjiang
Back south on the Beautiful Highway
Retrace the tunnel and run the full 287-kilometre highway south to Liuku, stopping at the roadside galleries where the road was carved above the river — one of Yunnan's great drives.
- nujiang beautiful highway
Neighbouring Baoshan — coffee valley & departure
An honestly labelled neighbour-prefecture day — about an hour south into Baoshan's Lujiangba, where thousand-mu coffee gardens cover the dry-hot valley floor, then on to Baoshan's Yunrui airport or back to Liuku for the ride out.
- nujiang lujiangba coffee valley
Budget for 10 days in Nujiang
| Tier | Per day | 10 days total |
|---|---|---|
| Backpacker | USD $50–$80 | USD $500–$800 |
| Mid-range | USD $100–$200 | USD $1,000–$2,000 |
| Luxury | USD $300+ | USD $3,000+ |
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Frequently asked questions
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See also: Nujiang travel guide, China visa 2026, China trip cost.