Lijiang is a wonderful shining jewelry on the northwest of Yunnan Plateau neighboring the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, which is considered the Roof of the World.
The old town of Lijiang is also called Dayan Town, which is an intact ancient city inhabited mostly by Naxi minority people. It covers an area of 1.5 square kilometers,impressed by its beautiful scenery and lush vegetation.
First built in southern Song Dynasty in 1253, the town was stationed by Kublai, the first emperor of Yuan Dynasty, to launch all-out offensive to the south of China.
Lijiang is an ancient city in a simple and artistic style, boasting of breath-taking beautiful sceneries such as Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the modern maritime glacier.It was listed as a national historical and cultural city in 1986.
The Naxi minority people cultivate their lands in snow-clad mountains and turbulent rivers since ancient times.
The town is surrounded by Lion Mountain in the west and Elephant & Golden Row Mountains in the north, protecting it from the cold wind.There are also a large number of long fertile lands. In the southeast, the town is filled with plenitudinous sunlight. The snug and warm wind as well as limpid spring water reach all the houses.
One of the ancient traditional festivals of the Naxi minority people is the Dongba festival. Based on the Dongba religion, most skills in medicine, agriculture and cultures are handed down from age to age.The most delicious traditional food in Lijing is called Lijiang round cake.
There are over 1,300 separate words in Dongba language, which are written in primitive pictographic characters. There also lie more than 1,400 types of Dongba scriptures written in these characters which include 20,000 volumes. The scriptures are about religion, philosophy, history, local customs, literature, art, astronomy, medicine, calendars, flora, fauna, dancing, pictures, music, as well as geography. The old town of Lijiang was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997.
All the amazing natural sceneries and cultural treasures of the minority have continuously drawn tourists from all over the world and have recently voted Lijiang as one of the favorite destinations in China.