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Lijiang
 The
Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County, another historically
and culturally famous town in China, lies 199
kilometres away in the northwest of Dali.
Situated in the northwestern
part of Yunnan Province and the upper reaches
of the Jinshajiang (Golden Sand) River, Lijiang
is a region were the Naxi people live in compact
communities with an area of 7,425 square kilometres.
The total population is 301 thousand people, consisting
of the Naxi, Han, Bai, Tibetan, Pumi, Lisu, Yi
and other nationalities. The Naxi people constitute
58% of the total population. The county seat (Dayanzhen),
concurrently the administrative seat of Lijiang
Prefecture, is the political, economic and cultural
centre of the county and prefecture.
The landscape in Lijiang is
magnificent. With the 5,596-metre crest, the thirteen
peaks of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain flies in
the sky like a dragon of glittering and translucent
jade. Hutiaoxia (Tiger Leaping Gorge) is one of
the deepest gorges in the world with a depth of
3,900 metres. The first bend of the Yangtze River
is well known. The southbound, turbulent Changjiang
River spreads wide and flows slowly to the north.
In the Yufengsi Lamasery, the 10,000-Blossom camellia
tree, about 500 years in age, stands loftily,
giving forth over 20,000 blossoms a year. It is
renowned as the Greatest Camellia Tree in the
world.
The Black Dragon Pool (Yuquan Park) is attractive
with a tranquil and clear pond reflecting the
snowcapped mountains, a group of classic buildings
like Deyuelou (Pavilion to Greet the Rising Moon),
Wufenglon (Pavilion of Five Phoenixes) and a five-arched
stone bridge and flower beds which exhibit beautiful
flowers all the year round. The ancient town of
Dayanzhen is remarkable for its excellent layout
which conducts a limpid stream to the gate of
every household, with weeping willows along it.
It is a rare example of Chinese ancient architecture.
The legendary Lugu Lake is crystal clear. Its
shores are the habitat of the Mosuo people, who
are regarded as "living fossils" of
the matriarchal society. Up to now the Mosuo people
still keep their unique way of life. Men and women
are not unitied by marriage, yet keeping a casual
cohabitation relationship.
Lijiang is the centre of the
splendid Naxi culture and at the same time the
confluence of the cultural exchange for the Han,
Tibetan, Bai and Naxi nationalities. From the
Kaiyuan era (713-742) of the Tang Dynasty, the
Naxi people began to assimilate the Han culture
from the Central Plains and the Tibetan culture
from the northwest and gradually developed a culture
of their own. The Naxi culture is embodies in
the naxi pictographic script, the Dongba Scriptures,
and the Dongba music and dances. They are inseparable
parts of the Chinese cultural treasure.
 The
beautiful landscape and the historical culture
have won Lijiang a very high reputation. In 1638
or the 11th year of the Chongzhen era of the Ming
Dynasty, the famous geographer and traveller Xu
Xiake saw the jade Dragon Snow Mountain when he
arrived in Dali. He wrote. "A snowcapped
mountain lurks beyond the horizon." In the
following year he reached Lijiang and saw the
mountain which rose high in front of him. He wrote
again, "The jade Dragon hovers over the mountains,
sweeping across the valleys and excelling any
other scenic spots in its vicinity." In the
turn of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the jade
Dragon was listed as one of the most famous mountains
over the country. One and a half centuries ago,
the natural resources of the Jade Dragon Snow
Mountain and the Naxi's Dongba culture became
great attractions to the Western world. An American
Austrian, Dr. Lock returned to the United States
in 1949 after his 26 years stay at Lijiang and
gave lectures in the United States, Japan and
some European countries. He published two books,
one deals with the ancient "Naxi Kingdom"
in the southwest of China and the other is a Naxi-English
encyclopedia.
Lijiang
Attractions
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