By Long-distance Bus

From Old Town Dali: Take either bus no. 4 or no. 8 to Xiaguan. From the last stop on bus no. 4, take a taxi to the north bus station (ke yun bei zhan, 客运北站). Bus no. 8 will stop outside of the north bus station. Long distance bus service to Jianchuan runs every 15-30 mins from 6:20am to 6:50pm, the cost of the ticket is ￥26 and it takes about 3 hours to arrive in Jianchuan (depending on traffic, road condition, and stops along the way). The whole journey from Old Town Dali to Jianchuan will take around 4.5-5 hours, including time waiting for the bus. It may also be possible to wave down the bus to Jianchuan from highway just east of Old Town Dali if you can read the Chinese characters for Jianchuan, it could save you the trouble of going south to Xiaguan first, but seating is not guaranteed. Or flag down any of the buses going to Shangri-la and get off in Jianchuan.

From Old Town Lijiang: Purchase a ticket at the main bus station in Lijiang, which is now the place for departures to Jianchuan (NOT the small long distance bus station in northern Lijiang, which no longer serves Jianchuan). Buy a ticket to Jianchuan which will cost ￥25 and take about 1 hour.

From Shangri-la: Take any of the buses going to Dali and get off in Jianchuan.

When you arrive in Jianchuan, you will find mini-van service to Shaxi in front of the Jianchuan bus station. The service will cost 10 RMB, and will take about 45 minutes. The mini-vans leave when they are full, which, during the day, is frequently. Try to arrive in Jianchuan before 6 pm because after this time mini-van service will be less frequent. When you arrive in Shaxi, you can request a pick-up by calling 0872 4722 296, or you can show a print-out of the OTI card to a taxi driver.