Lijiang, possibly the best preserved old town in China, is one of the last places in this country where a visitor can witness and experience a historic, traditional urban culture. Remarkably, the old houses with stone foundations, plastered whitewashed brick walls, red wooden doors, shutters and balconies, and sloping tiled roofs, survived a recent earthquake without much damage, while the new concrete buildings were flattened. Adding to the charm of the narrow, winding, mostly pedestrian cobblestone streets is a network of canals. They are fast flowing from the Black Dragon Pool, a nice park with some interesting temples and a great view of the nearby Jade Dragon Snow Mountains. Lijiang is home to the Naxi, a minority matriarcal culture originating from Tibet. The Dongba, Naxi shamans of a religion which is an almalgalm of Tibetan buddhism, Islam, and Taoism, created more than a thousand years ago a writting language consisting of more than 1300 pictographs. It is the only hieroglyphic language still in use. There are interesting foods to try, as well as traditional music to hear. The old town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lijiang is in Yunnan, 570 km north-west of Kunming. It can be reached by air or road (a couple of hours from Dali, a full day to Jinjiang, the railhead). |
Old Town of Lijiang
HistoryThe town has a history going back more than 800 years and was once a confluence for trade along the old tea horse road. The Lijiang old town is famous for its orderly system of waterways and bridges. The old town of Lijiang differs from other ancient Chinese cities in architecture, history and the culture of its traditional residents theNakhipeople, therefore people there are called 胖金哥 and 胖金妹 (male and female respectively).Lijiang old town (including Dayan, Baisha and Shuhe) was registered on theUNESCOWorld Heritage Listin December 4, 1997.[1]Since then, the local government has taken more responsibility for the development and protection of the old city. Lijiang's tourism also boomed, and travellers from around the world flooded in; although many locals fear that due to much of the development, the old town of Lijiang will lose its appeal. The entrance to the Mu Mansion in the Old Town of Lijiang, YunnanRecently, the government has started to develop additional "old city" sections adjacent to the site of the original old city. This is to accommodate the large number of tourists who walk the cobblestone streets (cars are not allowed in the old city), typically as part of package tours. Evenings in the old city can be particularly rowdy, not least due to the many outdoor bars, where boisterous groups of tourists try to outsing other groups.Lijiang is also home to theJade Water Village, aDongbacultural centre andLugu Lake, alakewhich is a tourist attraction.[edit]CultureTheNakhipeople performDongjingMusic, an ancient form ofTaoistritual music, in Lijiang. Lijiang is also the site of the Lijiang Snow Mountain Music Festival (丽江雪山音乐节), which featuresChinese rock music. The festival was created by Chinese pop musicianCui Jian.See also |
