The Old City of Lijiang

Located at the foot of the Jade Dragon Mountain in Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, Yunnan Province, the old city of Lijiang, covering 3.8 sq.km., was built against the mountain more than 800 years ago. With a network of watercourses lined with houses made from a mixture of earth, bricks and wood, and streets and alleyways paved with slabs of stone and planted with willows, the old city of Lijiang boasts beautiful scenery and excellent environment, colorful ethnic culture and customs, Dongba language, ancient Naxi music, murals and other traditional culture and art, making up a splendid chapter in the history of the civilization of mankind. Having met the criteria Nos.2, 4 for inclusion of cultural properties on the World Heritage List, the old city of Lijiang was inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNSEEN in 1997.

Waterside Houses of Lijaing