The Old Town of Lijiang is a central town of the Lijiang Autonomous County of the Naxi Ethnic Minority in Yunnan Province. Built in the late Song and early Yuan dynasty, it is a well-preserved old city famous for its unique and brilliant culture of ethnic minorities. It is also called Dayanzhan (the Town of Big Ink) because of its unique position looking like a big jade ink slab. It is surrounded by three mountains (Lion Mountain in the west, Elephant and Golden Row Mountains in the north, vast fertile fields in the southeast); and crystal clear water runs through.
The history of the Old Town can be dated back to over 800 years. Under the reign of the first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Lijiang developed very fast and became the center of politics, economy and culture in this area, enhancing the trade and culture communication among Yunnan, China hinterland, Tibet, India and many other Asian countries. Several hundreds years later, the Old Town still keeps its prosperity and flourish with various shops and a large number of visitors.
Covering an area of 3.8 square kilometers (912 acres), Lijiang Old Town is built along the lie of mountains and the flow of rivers, providing a very precious sample of the research on the old-time architecture. It is one of the most special tourist destinations for its unique geographical location, historical background and multi-ethnic inhabitants.
When you come to the Old Town, you will find that there is no city wall. It is the only old city built without a city wall. A story has it that Lijiang had been under the reign of the hereditary Mu family for more than 500 years. If the Chinese character 'Mu' (represents the governor of Lijiang) is put into a frame (represents the city wall), you have the character 'Kun' which means 'siege' or 'predicament'. This would mean that the governing Mu family and their descendants would always be trapped like a rat in a hole. Because of this symbolism, the Old Town was never given a city wall.
Influenced by the multinational culture, the buildings of the old town are the perfect combination of the architectural traits of Han, Bai and Tibet, creating a unique Naxi style. The layout of the town is free-style and flexible, the houses are close and diverse, and the lanes are narrow and meandering. The Naxi houses are very applied and commodious, with a pleasant courtyard dotted with flowers and trees. The highlight of the houses is the decoration. The doors and windows are always engraved with vivid figures of people and animals. This kind of peaceful and comfortable environment will inspire in you the appetite for the simple life in township and keep away from the bustling city life.
The Old Town of Lijiang is praised as the 'Oriental Venice' and 'Suzhou in Highland'. An important feature of Lijiang is the numerous streams and brooks crisscrossing the houses. The water is just like blood, nourishing the old town and the people. The main water source is Black Dragon Pool (Heilongtan) which subdivides into many streams flowing across every street and reaching every family for drinking, washing vegetables and washing clothes. There are about 350 varied and distinctive bridges over the water in the small town which decorated with willow trees. Image that you wander on the stone-paved road, see the stream running besides you, admire the traditional Naxi houses and communicate with the local women dressed in their traditional attire. What a pleasant thing!
With the famous Square Street at its core, roads here are mostly paved with stone boards. The twists and turns of small lanes, narrow cobbled streets and the gurgling canal all help create a place where you can lose all your worldly worries. Square Street, the center of the Old Town, was the site of a major bazaar for local residents to visit the market and stock up on necessities such as meat, vegetables, oil and herbal medicine. Now visitors will come across some interesting ethnic products and sometimes unusual antiques.
In 1997, Lijiang Old Town was included in the list of UNESCO's World Heritage sites. The town blessed with picturesque natural landscapes, inimitable buildings and traditional ethnic culture is now a popular tourist attraction tempting a large number of Chinese and foreign visitors.
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