Lijiang Rongyi Homestay (Secret Garden)

Rooms and decor

Our number 6 is the cheapest pick on the list — Lijiang Rongyi Homestay (Secret Garden), a small 18-room garden homestay run like a family home. It opened in 2020 and was fully renovated in 2021, so the rooms and fittings feel newer than most budget guesthouses around here. Rooms run about 16-20 sqm, done in a plain Naxi style with twin or single beds, clean linens, a new inverter air-con heater, a private bathroom and a strong hot-water shower. Tiled floors with a wood-grain pattern keep things easy to maintain. The owners are a Naxi husband-and-wife couple who look after guests like their own relatives — they cook a free breakfast on some days, arrange birthdays for guests, and write your name in Naxi script as a parting gift.

Food and amenities

The part the team fell for is the central courtyard, which sits open to the light all day under a high wood-frame roof, with camellia and Chinese bamboo planted around the polished-stone floor. In the morning the light falls through the rafters in stripes — a good spot to sit with a cup of pu'er. The shared tea room runs all day with 5-6 teas to pick from, free. The shared kitchen is spotless, with a gas stove, microwave, fridge and a full set of cookware, handy if you're staying a while or want to cook your own Naxi haul from the market. There's a mini-mart for essentials, plus luggage storage and cheap laundry.

Location and getting there

Wenlin Lane sits in the northern part of the old town, about a 5-minute walk to Jinhong Street and the Yuhe bus station. From here it's roughly 12-15 minutes on foot to Sifang Square at the center, following the stone canal. Black Dragon Pool is about 1.5 km, a 20-minute walk, and the Mu Palace is around 1.5 km too. This zone is less crowded than the center, with a real working-Naxi feel, and there's a morning market nearby selling vegetables, yak meat and Yunnan wild mushrooms. The homestay's tour desk sells trips to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain for about $50 and Tiger Leaping Gorge for about $37.

Things to know before booking

This is a small 18-room homestay, so the amenities are basic — no big-hotel facilities here. Trip.com has renamed it Secret Realm Cozy Lvju Secret Garden, so book under that name or you may not find it. And like everywhere in the old town, it's on a lane, so the stone paths can be tricky to navigate the first time — save the map and a photo of the entrance.

Our take

Lijiang Rongyi Homestay is the answer for solo backpackers and budget couples who want to taste real Naxi life without spending much. A 9.4 score at around $16 a night inside a UNESCO old town is hard to find. Book under the new name on Trip.com, and ask the owners about local food — you'll come away with an eating plan no guidebook has.