My First Paragliding Experience in Lijiang: A Bird's-Eye View of the Old Town

I was probably one of the first people to try paragliding in Lijiang. Ten years ago, not many people knew about this activity. Back then, I ran a guesthouse in Lijiang and had a lot of free time. I was also good friends with the local outdoor travel agencies, so I ended up trying paragliding by chance. My instructor was Italian. Most of the paragliding clubs in Lijiang today were started by people who learned from foreigners during that time. This extreme sport is not for everyone. People who are afraid of heights will not be able to handle it. Of course, people with underlying health conditions like high blood pressure are also advised not to participate. After all, it is an extreme sport and carries more risks than ordinary sports. Lijiang has several flight camps, and the choice of which one to fly from depends mainly on the wind direction. The most frequently used one is the Yulong Snow Mountain Paragliding Flight Camp, located on the west side of Yulong Snow Mountain, about an hour's drive from Lijiang Old Town. The takeoff field is at an altitude of over 2,400 meters, and the landing field is on the east side of the Jinsha River, at an altitude of about 1,800 meters. As for how high you can fly, it also depends on the wind conditions on the day. I clearly remember my first flight experience. I was young then, and I was very interested and excited about anything I hadn't tried before. The foreign instructor spoke English, so we could communicate without any problems. He carefully explained the entire flight process and details to me, including the function of each piece of equipment and what I could and couldn't touch. We drove to the foot of the mountain and then hiked to the top. Once there, the instructor prepared the paraglider, and we took off with a running start against the wind, all in one smooth motion. During the flight, the instructor would occasionally ask me how I was feeling and let me control the direction with the steering ropes. The foreign instructor thought I wasn't afraid of heights and could take pictures the whole time, so he decided to give me some cool aerobatics, including various flips, spirals, and finally a perfect 360-degree flip landing. I didn't feel sick in the air, but the moment I landed, I started vomiting, like altitude sickness… I really want to give you a suggestion: if you usually get dizzy when spinning, ask the instructor to keep it simple. Paragliding is indeed a very interesting extreme sport. If you have the chance to visit Lijiang, you can try it and experience the charm of overlooking Lijiang Old Town from the air. You can also hire a photographer to take pictures. But be sure to know your limits; your health is the most important thing.