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Lijiang Old Town

  • Lijiang Old Town has a long history of more than 800 years. The town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. Lijiang Old Town preserves Dongba culture and ancient Naxi music. Snow-capped mountain vistas, ancient architecture and streets, canals and waterways, and the Naxi people and their distinct culture give the town its universal value to mankind.

Profile

  • ID : 131
  • City : Lijiang
  • English name : Lijiang Ancient City
  • Chinese name : 丽江古城
  • Type : Ancient Town,Ancient house,
  • Level : easy
  • Kids : possible
  • Elders: possible
  • Best season : all year round
  • Visiting length : 2 Hours
  • Distance to city center : 0.1 km

Introduction of Lijiang Old Town

  • Lijiang Old Town, also called Dayan Old Town, has a long history of more than 800 years. It is located on the Yungui Plateau in southwest Yunnan and covers an area of 7.28 square meters. The town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. The ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity is still functions effectively today. Lijiang Old Town preserves Dongba culture and ancient Naxi music . Many traditional Naxi houses are made of adobe bricks and wood. Snow-capped mountain vistas, ancient architecture and streets, canals and waterways, and the Naxi people and their distinct culture give the town its universal value to mankind. In 1997, Lijiang Old Town, including the Dayan old town, Basha housing cluster and Shuhe housing cluster, was listed as UNESCO World Heritage site.

Photo of Lijiang Ancient City

  • Lijiang Old Town photo covers images of local street as well as bird view of the town.
  • Lijiang Ancient City photo

Highlights of visiting Lijiang Old Town

    Sifang Street, Mu's Residence, Black Dragon Pool, Dongba Culture Museum, Naxi Ancient Music Performance

Helper to visit Lijiang Ancient City

  • Address in English : Gucheng District, Lijiang City, Yunnan Province, China
  • Address in Chinese : 云南省丽江市古城区
  • Tel : +8888-5116666
  • Post code : 6741000
  • Ticket time : all day
  • Open time : all day
  • Closing time : null
  • Location : Lijiang Ancient City is around 0.1 km to downtown Lijiang

    Transportation

  • Public bus:
    • Bus4,or8(Zhongyishichang Station)
    • Bus2,or13(Gucheng Parking Station )
    • Bus2,3,or12(Nanmenjie Station )
    • Bus7(Baihuodalou Station )
  • Private car is the best method to visit Lijiang Ancient City with local tour operator.

Admission

  • high season : 50 RMB/person.
  • shoulder season : 50 RMB/person.
  • low season : 50 RMB/person.

Hotel near Lijiang Old Town

  • 5 star/duluxe hotel
  • Blossom Hill Inn • Weavingland
  • Yun Qie Man Xin hua Lu Fang Inn
  • LUX* Lijiang
  • Zhongxiangjie Wenyun Hotel
  • 4 star/superior hotel
  • Baisuifang boutique Inn (Xixili store)
  • Yisheng Yisu inn
  • Courtyard & Sunlight Inn
  • Huayu Mengjing Holiday Courtyard
  • 3 star/comfort hotel
  • Yutong Xiaozhu Inn
  • Zhixing Holiday Guesthouse
  • Anyin Private Courtyard
  • Jing Yue Inn
  • History
  • Lijiang Old Town was first built in the late Song Dynasty (960 - 1279) and the early Yuan Dynasty (1271 - 1368) by the ancestor of Mu Family. It was developed fast and became an important economic and cultural exchange center among Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet. The cultures of various ethnic groups were integrated in this area. It was an significant town on the Ancient Tea and Horse Roads.
  • Layout
  • The layout and architecture of Lijiang Old Town integrates the essence of the Han, Bai, Yi, Tibetan, and Naxi ethnic groups. The town has no city wall and well-arranged roads. Centered as Sifang Square, four main streets extend in four directions, with many small lanes interweaving into a net. Most houses are timber-and-tile-structure compounds with garden. The doors and windows are decorated elegantly. Jade River originating from Black Dragon Pond flows from the north of the town and is divided into three tributaries under the Yulong Bridge, then divided into many streams which runs across the streets and passes by every house. There are 354 ancient bridges over the river. Dense bridges are the distinctive feature of Lijiang Old Town.

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    • Main attractions
    • Mu's Residence Located at the east foot of Lion Hill in the Lijiang Old Town, Mu's Residence was the mansion of the Mu Clan, the ruler of Naxi people that ruled for over 400 years. It was first buit in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368 AD) and was once the political and cultural center of Lijiang city. The Mu's Residence is a miniature of Forbidden City. There are 162 large and small rooms in the residence. Designed with architectural styles of Han, Naxi, Bai ethnic groups, the group buildings are magnificent.
    • Wangu Tower Wangu Tower is located on the top of the Lion Hill, which was once the back garden of the Mu's Residence. It is the landmark of Lijiang Old Town. With a height of 32.8 meters, the tower is a five-story wooden structure tower. 16 wooden pillars of 24 meters long lead to the top. There are 12,600 dragon heads of Naxi Style on the tower. From the tower, visitors can enjoy the breathtaking scenery of Lijiang Old Town and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the distance. Standing on the top, visitors can enjoy the breathtaking scenery of Lijiang Old Town and the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the distance.
    • Black Dragon Pool Black Dragon Pool is in the Jade Spring Park of Lijing Old Town. It is the main headwater of the Jade River which goes through the Old Town. The Pool, surrounded by towering old trees and bamboo groves, was built in 1737 during the Qing Dynasty. Some ancient buildings were built near the pool, including Longshen Temple, Deyue Pavilion, Latching Green Bridge, Jade Emperor Pavilion, Five Phoenix Tower, and so on.
    • Dongba Culture Museum Dongba Culture Museum is located near the Black Dragon Pool. The museum displays the history of the Dongba culture of the Naxi people. There are more than 12000 Dongba cultural relics in the museum, which make visitors to know about the Dongba hieroglyphics, Naxi clothing and artifacts, and etc.
    • Ancient Bridges There are 354 ancient bridges built on the Jade River in the Lijiang Old Town. The bridges have different shapes and types. The famous ones are Latching Green Bridge, Big Stone Bridge, Thousands Bridge, South Gate Bridge, Saddle Bridge and Renshou Bridge, which were built Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing Dynasties (1644 - 1912). Among them, the Big Stone Bridge the most distinctive. This bridge is located 100 meters east of Sifang Street. It was built by the Tusi of the Mu family in the Ming Dynasty. The reflection of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain can be seen from the river under the bridge, so also called "Reflecting Snow Bridge".

    Toolkits

    • Culture Heritage
    • Naxi Ancient Music Naxi Ancient Music is a classic music widely popular with the Naxi minority derived from the 14th century. It is one the oldest music in China and regarded as a living fossil of music. The music has its unique style by mixing the holy tune of Daoist, Confucians ceremonies and the literary lyrics, poetic topics, and musical styles from the Tang and Song dynasties. It includes "baisha fine music" (baisha xiyue), "dong jing music," and the now-extinct "huang jing music."
    • Lijiang Baisha Murals Lijiang Baisha Murals are kept in some ancient buildings in the Baisha Old Town. Most of Baisha Murals were drawn in the Ming Dynasty. It is a collaboration of artists from Naxi, Tibetan, Bai and Han nationalities. The murals describe the religious stories of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism with the fine and smooth lines, bright colors and vivid pattern.
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