Lijiang Overview

Lijiang, a magic, pretty and quiet place, has stunned the world with its unspoiled beauty. The unimaginable peace and harmony between nature and humans in the city has made it a Xanadu on the earth.

 

Lijiang is situated in the northwestern portion of the Yunnan Province, where the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau meets the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The city is in the cradle of a number of minority regions - the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the north, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture in the south, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture in the west and Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Sichuan Province in the east. The city has a population of more than one million residents of many nationalities, including Naxi, Yi, Lisu, and Bai, among others.

 

Lijiang is the political, economic and cultural centre of the northwestern Yunnan Province. It once was an essential stop on the Southern Silk Road and Tea-Horse Road leading to Tibet, Sichuan, India and other southeastern Asian countries. The city contains the only Naxi Autonomous Prefecture in China and is the home to Naxi ethnic group, who created a unique system of Dongba Culture throughout history. Dongba language is known as the only complete living pictography in the world. The prolific religious Lijiang Murals , or that Baisha Murals, testifies to the mystery of this culture. Additionally, the melodious Naxi Ancient Music , called 'Living Fossil of Music', has stepped out of the stage of China and won the acclaim of the whole world.