There was very little info on western websites about getting to the tiger leaping gorge viewing area with the boardwalk. My wife and I didn’t feel like doing the hike so did this instead.

There are a few buses that leave from the long distance bus station just south of the Lijiang old town along Kangzhong road. On apple maps it’s called Lijiang passenger transport terminal. They leave at 8:30 and 9:30 in the morning. Check with the tourist info kiosks in the old town for exact times for each day of the week. Remember to bring your passport since they will need it at the bus station. These buses that leave in the morning for tiger leaping gorge (hu tiao xia) are catered to tourists and there’s a guy on the bus who will give some direction in Chinese.

After an hour and a half on the bus it stops for a 10 minute break. It then keeps going another 15 minutes to tiger leaping town where it will stop for everyone to buy their entrance ticket. We paid 45 rmb each, though I think it might be 65 on weekends. Everyone then gets back on the bus. The next stop after this is qiaotou(bridge head) where you get off if you want to hike. The next stop is the upper gorge, where the board walk down to the gorge is. Most people get off here. If you want to get to the middle gorge, stay on the bus. You will have to pay 30 rmb more.

At the upper gorge stop, the bus guy will give you the option to buy a return ticket at 2:40 or 3:40 pm for 50rmb each. He will take your local phone number to call you once the bus arrives.

The upper gorge viewing platform is pretty small. You can finish easily under an hour.

Starting from Qiaotou and over 2 days. Beautiful lush scenery this time of year & cool so be prepared for rain and sun and windy weather conditions.
Ill let the pictures speak for themselves

The route is clearly marked once you have the starting point. Can be done on small parts of the trip or you can do the whole and overnight at the guesthouses on route. The bridge from half way to walnuttree is blocked. If you head for tina's you can bypass the bridge and continue.