Do I have to pay the Lijiang Old Town maintenance fee in 2026?
Yes, unless you are in one of the exempt groups. The fee is officially the Lijiang Old Town (Ancient City) Maintenance Fee (丽江古城维护费), usually shortened to 古维费. It is CNY 50 per person per payment, and one payment lasts 365 days.
The rule is the city government's “Measures on the Collection and Management of the Lijiang Ancient City Maintenance Fee” (丽江市丽江古城维护费征收管理办法, document no. 丽政规〔2025〕4号). It took effect on 1 August 2025. None of its 17 articles sets an end date, and Article 17 abolishes the old 2007 measure (Lijiang Municipal Government Announcement No. 8, in force since 1 July 2007).
The text of the measures says the fee is charged to people who come to the Ancient City “to travel or take part in other activities” (旅游和从事其他活动的人员). The 17 articles have no word about foreigners, passports, or visitors from Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan, so none of them exempts foreign tourists or singles them out. If this matters for your trip, check with the Old Town bureau (contact details below).
How much is the Old Town fee, and how long is it valid?
The amount is CNY 50 per person for each payment. The validity is 365 days for each payment. The text says “365 days”, not “one year” or “calendar year”. Within that time, after verification (经核验), you can enter the Ancient City as many times as you like. Article 5 does not say what the 365 days count from, whether payment or first entry.
Which areas does the Lijiang Old Town fee cover?
More than Dayan Old Town. Article 2 defines the Ancient City as three areas on the UNESCO World Heritage List:
- Dayan Ancient City (大研古城), including Black Dragon Pool (黑龙潭).
- Baisha residential building complex (白沙民居建筑群).
- Shuhe residential building complex (束河民居建筑群).
The article says they lie in Gucheng District and Yulong Naxi Autonomous County. Read with Article 5, one payment covers entry to all three. None of the 17 articles sets a separate price for Baisha or Shuhe.
The articles of the measures do not say whether paying also gives free entry to Black Dragon Pool Park or any other site. Article 2 places Black Dragon Pool inside the covered area, and no article says more about it.
Who is exempt from the Old Town fee?
In the text of the measures, Article 11 lists eight groups that do not pay:
| Group | What the rule says |
|---|---|
| Local residents | People whose household registration address or temporary residence address is within Lijiang's administrative area |
| Tour guides and drivers | Guides who accompany a tour group and hold a Guide Qualification Certificate (《导游员资格证书》), and tour-bus drivers |
| Children | Under 12 years old, or under 1.2 m tall |
| Older visitors | Aged 60 and over |
| Disabled visitors | People holding a Disability Certificate (《残疾人证》) |
| Model workers | National model workers and national advanced workers with a valid certificate |
| Military | Serving PLA or People's Armed Police personnel holding the listed military IDs (军官证, 警官证, 文职干部证, 义务兵证, 士官证), and cadets with a military-academy student ID (学员证) |
| Others | Anyone else exempt under laws, regulations and national or Yunnan policy; the article does not list them |
Of Article 11's eight groups, most readers need two lines: under 12 or under 1.2 m tall, and 60 and over. The article names no nationality for either.
What counts as proof is where Article 11 stops. For the age and height exemptions, it names no document and does not say how a foreign visitor shows it. The 《残疾人证》 and the military IDs are Chinese documents; the article does not say whether a foreign equivalent is accepted. Ask the bureau (details below) before you rely on an exemption.
How to pay the Lijiang Old Town fee as a foreign visitor
The articles of the measures name no app, mini-program, counter, QR code, website or phone number for paying, and neither do the city's explainer or the bureau's page. The articles also do not say where the verification points are, whether there are gates or spot checks, or how likely a visitor is to be checked. Ask the Old Town bureau or your hotel how to pay.
What the pages do say:
- The collector is the municipal government's Ancient City management body (丽江古城保护管理机构), officially the World Cultural Heritage Lijiang Ancient City Protection and Management Bureau (世界文化遗产丽江古城保护管理局), called the Old Town bureau on this page. It must publish the fee items, standard, scope, who pays, who is exempt and a reporting hotline (Article 7). The articles of the measures do not print the hotline number.
- Its collection centre runs and maintains the “collection verification system” (征收核验系统), and handles complaints and policy publicity.
- Travel agencies, individual-traveller reception centres, online travel platforms and internet payment platforms are “encouraged” to help collect (Article 13). Article 13 names none of them. Agencies are also encouraged to tell tour groups the standard, validity and use of the fee (Article 14). Both are encouragement, not an obligation.
- The collector gives the payer a non-tax revenue receipt (非税收入票据, Article 10). Article 10 does not say whether it is paper or electronic. Keep it.
The articles of the measures also do not say whether hotels collect the fee at check-in. If you are on an agency tour, ask your agency first. If you are travelling on your own, ask your hotel or ask at the Old Town, or call the bureau.
A 2024 plan, not a current rule
A 2024 budget statement from the fee-collection squad said individual visitors then made up a very small share of collections. It said the squad planned to explore cooperation with online travel platforms, payment platforms and banks, and to try face recognition, gate-access technology and online payment, so that scenic-area gates become a “check-and-pay loop”. That was a plan for 2024. It does not show that any of it is running.
The bureau's page lists its office at 57 Xuetang Road, Dayan Subdistrict, Gucheng District (丽江市古城区大研街道学堂路57号). Office hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00–12:00 and 14:30–18:00, except statutory holidays. The supervision phone is 0888-5111118. That page is undated, and it does not say this number is the fee hotline from Article 7.
Can I pay with a foreign passport and a foreign card?
The articles of the measures do not say whether a foreign passport can be used to register, pay or be verified, or whether a foreign bank card, WeChat Pay or Alipay works for this fee, and neither do the city's explainer or the bureau's page. We would not assume it does; ask the Old Town bureau.
For general help paying in China with a foreign card, see our guides to WeChat Pay with a foreign card, foreign credit cards in China and whether cash is accepted. None of them covers this fee, and the articles of the measures do not say the fee takes foreign cards.
Paid by mistake? Refunds for the Old Town fee
Article 12 covers three cases: the fee was collected by mistake, you are exempt, or another refund situation applies. In each, the management body must handle the refund “according to the relevant rules”. So if you paid and are in an exempt group, such as a child under 12, you fall inside what the article covers.
Article 12 gives no time limit and no procedure. A delegate at the bureau's January 2025 hearing suggested the draft set a validity period for refund requests. The articles of the final measures do not include one. Keep your receipt and contact the bureau at the address and phone above.
What happens if you don't pay the Old Town fee?
Article 4 says payers must pay on time and in full. Article 16 covers someone who has entered the Ancient City without paying: the management body orders them to pay (责令缴纳). The articles of the measures give no fine amount and no other penalty. We can only tell you what the articles say, not how they are applied at the door.
Who collects the fee, and where does the money go?
The collector is the bureau described above. The money is paid into the treasury, managed under the “two lines” rule (收支两条线), and used only to protect the World Heritage Ancient City (Articles 8 and 9).
The fee is not new. The bureau's January 2025 hearing report says it has been collected since 2001. The first standard was CNY 20 per person per day, with a maximum of CNY 40 per person-time. By January 2025 it was CNY 50 per person-time. The city's explainer, dated 1 July 2025, says parts of the 2007 rules no longer matched higher-level policy or how the fee is collected and verified, which is why they were replaced.
The hearing report also records suggestions from delegates, such as face recognition and publicity before visitors arrive. They were suggestions on a draft called the “Implementation Measures”, not rules, and not a description of how the fee works today.
Planning the rest of your Lijiang trip
For where to stay, what to see and how long to allow, see our Lijiang travel guide. If you are arriving from Dali, our Dali to Lijiang train page covers the ride. If you are going on to Shangri-La, see Lijiang to Shangri-La by train. We can book trains, hotels, a local guide or a private car for your Lijiang trip; we do not collect or pay this fee for you.
