Lijiang Old Town

Lijiang began to take shape in the late Song and early Yuan dynasties and flourished during the Ming and Qing. From around the 12th century it was a major trading centre between Sichuan, Yunnan and Tibet, where the ancient Tea Horse Road met routes of the southern Silk Road, and Naxi, Han, Tibetan and Bai traders mixed in its markets. The ruling Mu family, hereditary chieftains under the Ming, built their residence here, and Sifang Street is said to have been laid out in the shape of their official seal.

A network of canals fed by springs and meltwater from Jade Dragon Snow Mountain has supplied the town since its early days and still flows today. In February 1996 a major earthquake damaged much of the region, but the historic districts kept their layout and Ming and Qing style. In 1997 the Old Town, made up of Dayan, Baisha and Shuhe, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Naxi culture remains visible in the Old Town despite the tourism. Older Naxi women often wear traditional blue clothing with a cape, circle dances are held in public squares, and Dongba pictographs appear on signs and souvenirs. Naxi houses are built of timber and mud brick around courtyards, with carved window panels showing seasonal flowers and birds. Many original residents have moved to the newer city, and many old houses are now guesthouses and shops, yet the canals are still used and cleaned, and local food such as Naxi baba flatbread and Lijiang rice noodles is easy to find.