Lijiang Tibetan Butter Tea & Cooking Class: Market to Naxi Home

Cook four dishes in a Naxi home, then frame your own paper-cut souvenir.

A four-hour cooking class in Lijiang where you shop at Xiangshan Market for fresh produce, then prepare Tibetan butter tea and three authentic Naxi dishes in a local home, finishing with traditional paper-cutting and Pu'er tea tasting. Your host is a cultural guide who speaks English. The experience runs on a base fee plus voluntary appreciation (suggested USD 20–50 per person). Private transportation, coffee workshop, full meal and all materials are included.

Step-by-step itinerary

Market tour and cooking class

• Start at Black Dragon Pool Park
• Walk to Lijiang’s largest local market
• Explore fresh produce and Naxi ingredients
• Pick 3 local items to cook
• Go to host’s home for cooking
• Make Tibetan butter tea
• Prepare four local dishes
• Eat the meal together
• Try traditional Chinese paper-cutting
• Enjoy Yunnan tea tasting
• Receive framed paper-cut artwork

The experience

Xiangshan Market is Lijiang's largest wet market, and you'll start there with your guide to pick three local ingredients you'll cook with later. The walk through the stalls gives you a sense of what Naxi cooks actually use: the produce, the cuts of meat, the textures that matter. From the market, private transportation takes you to your host's home.

In the kitchen, you'll make Tibetan butter tea from scratch and prepare four dishes together: Hand-Pounded Shredded Chicken, Yunnan-Style Mapo Tofu, and two others chosen from the day's market haul. Your guide teaches the techniques as you cook, and then you sit down to eat what you've made. After the meal comes a tasting of Yunnan Pu'er tea, paired with conversation about Dongba culture and local life in Lijiang.

Before you leave, you'll try traditional Chinese paper-cutting: the intricate kind where a single sheet becomes a detailed image. Your finished piece gets framed on the spot, so you take home something you made with your hands. The whole experience runs four hours and includes professional handbrew Yunnan coffee from the opening workshop, bottled water throughout, and all the cooking materials and tea.

What’s included

• Professional handbrew Yunnan coffee at the workshop.
• private transportation to and from the market and home.
• bottled water.
• the full meal you cook and eat together.
• Pu'er tea tasting.
• all cooking equipment and ingredients.
• paper-cutting materials and framing for your souvenir.

Before you book

Days and timesEvery dayDepartures at 10:00 and 16:00

AgesAdult (17 and older) · Child (6 to 16 years) · Infant (under 6)

GroupUp to 5

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 2 days ago

Good to know

Pets welcome

Operated by Lijiang Shannabian Travel Development Co., Ltd.

Is this one for you?This class works best for small groups or solo travelers who want to cook rather than watch, and who have four hours to spend in one home with a local guide. The market visit at the start means you're choosing real ingredients, not working from a preset list, so the dishes feel connected to Lijiang itself.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Child (6 to 16 years); Infant (under 6).

What's Xiangshan Market like, and do I pick the ingredients myself?

Xiangshan Market is Lijiang's largest wet market, filled with fresh produce, meat and local Naxi staples. You walk through with your guide, explore the stalls, and choose three intriguing items that you'll cook with later in the home kitchen.

Will I actually cook the dishes, or watch a demonstration?

You cook alongside your guide in the home kitchen, learning the techniques hands-on. You prepare Tibetan butter tea and four signature Naxi dishes together, then sit down to eat what you've made.

What happens after cooking, and what do I take home?

After the meal, you taste Yunnan Pu'er tea and talk about Dongba culture and local life. Then you make a traditional Chinese paper-cut (an intricate, detailed piece), which gets framed on the spot as your souvenir to take home.

How does the payment work for this class?

The experience operates on a base fee plus voluntary appreciation. Your host is a cultural guide, not an employee, and their service is supported by a voluntary cash tip at the end, based on your satisfaction. The suggested range is USD 20–50 per person.

What's included in the price, and what isn't?

Included are professional handbrew Yunnan coffee, private transportation, bottled water throughout, the full meal you cook and eat, tea tasting, all cooking materials, and paper-cutting supplies. Gratuities, personal expenses and alcoholic beverages are not included.