Naxi Concert Hall
Enjoy the traditional Naxi music Culture Show performed by the Naxi Orchestra, which includes some 70-90 year old men. The music itself is a combination of traditional Chinese music dating back to the Tang dynasty and local instruments and flavours. The music is well performed, however be prepared for long explanations of its musical history in Mandarin between each piece and the sometimes self-serving comments of Xuan Ke the Director. While the Naxi Ancient Music group of Lijiang is famous and well promoted, there are other excellent classical Chinese music groups playing in Lijiang's parks for ¥10 or at weddings or house-warmings all over Yunnan.
Float styrofoam boats
Along the main streams are girls selling candles that float on delicate flower-shaped styrofoam boats. Tourists can purchase one, make a wish, and send their candle down the waterways. Late in the evening after groups have had significant amounts of alcohol you can see many floating candles sailing down the waterways. If you are environmentally conscious and have reservations about sending styrofoam downstream do not worry. There is a net, far down the waterway, that catches the boats. The girls just go down, pick the boats up, and re-sell them the next night.
Biking
Rent a bike downtown, eg at Ali Baba's near Mao Zedong's statue, and see the sights. Ali Baba's will give you a handmade map of smaller surrounding towns that capture the quaint styles of Lijiang without the heavy tourism and the tacky souvenir shops. There are at least three towns, ranging from converted hippy communes to remote farming villages. There is a beautiful remote Buddhist monastery at Puji Mountain which is worth the 30 minute hike. There is also a Tibetan village labeled on the map but is hard to find, so ask Ali Baba for directions. Most of the terrain around Lijiang is level and the roads have only light traffic. These small, non-touristy towns and other sightseeing destinations can be reached within a 20 minute ride. As of August 2012, the service at Ali Baba was unfriendly, the prices range from 30 - 80 RMB and water is not longer included when renting the cheaper bikes. Tell them, you will go to the bike shops next to theirs and they will finally lower their prices.
Walk the canal path
To get to the Black Dragon Pool you can walk the canal path north near the main water wheel. It will take you to the south entrance of the park. The north part of the park is free and you can get there by walking around the south entrance and keep heading north. You should reach a street with the main entrance to the park. Keep going north and you will see a small bridge that leads to a large white building. The white building is the Dongba Museum, everything north of that is free. If the guards bother you at the gate, just walk back to the street and keep walking north and there will be another path to get in to the free part with no gates or guards to bother you. Further north of the park is a local college, and northwest of that is a small reservoir. The reservoir is a good place to take photos of the snow mountain when it is visible. On hot sunny days in the summer there will be lots of locals swimming there in the afternoon. At the local college you can find students to help you. The English building is the large pink one just right after you enter the south entrance. There is a student run café that is open in the evening from 6:30PM-10PM in the "butterfly" building, which is opposite of the English building. As of 2007 the school has an English corner every Thursday after lunch ~1PM, and after dinner at ~5:40PM. The English corner is so-so, but it is a great chance to ask students about where to go, and cheap transportation. Many of them are from other places in Yunnan.
Visit Naxi villages
If you would like to visit some of the Naxi villages in the hills surrounding Lijiang, you can rent a small van to take you around for ¥100-300, depending on the driver and how much Chinese you speak. There are regular minivans on Shangrila Road, the main road on the west side of town, which take locals to and from the villages. Sometimes it can be difficult to find a mini-van to go back to Lijiang after 5PM if you do not make arrangements with the driver who took you there. The regular one way mini-van fee is ¥2 to Shuhe, and ¥3-5 for villages farther north 2007. It is highly recommended to ask a student at the local college on where to find the mini-buses and the prices of the village you want to go. Many drivers will try to rip you off if you do not speak Chinese, and the buses are not always easy to find as they look the same as the private "3-8" buses that travel inside the city.
Impression Lijiang
A cultural show demonstrating the traditions and lifestyles of the Naxi, Yi and Bai peoples of the area. The show takes place inside Jade Dragon Snow Mountain Park at 3500m in an outdoor theater specifically designed to showcase the mountain which is used as a backdrop. The production itself was designed by Zhang Yimou director of Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Fan Yue and Wang Chaoge, a cast of over 500 people, and a number of horses. However, the show does not have a plot. Tickets cost 190 yuan and can be bought from the ticket booth in the Old Town make a right at the water wheels and walk down the main street, the booth will be on your left. The ticket price does not include transportation to and from the theater approx 1 hour drive or the entrance fee for the park 80 yuan. There is also an Old Town Preservation fee that the park tries to charge as well, however, this can be avoided by claiming to have already paid at you hotel and showing your hotel key. Bus 7 will take you to the theater for ¥10 and can be caught across from the Mao Zedong statue, but be sure to find out what time the last bus leaves the park.
Dry Sea Meadow
The closest chair lift up the mountain to Lijiang. It transports visitors to a large meadow located at 3050 meters.
Cloud Fir Meadow
From the reception centre which is located adjacent to Impression Lijiang on the Lijiang-Daju road a fleet of buses transports visitors to a cable car. Both bus transfer and cable car costs a total of ¥110 for a return trip. From the upper terminus of the cable car a vehicel takes you to the Cloud Fir Meadow for ¥50. The view is not very spectacular which makes this trip highly overprized.