Introduction of Lijiang

Lijiang is comprised of the new town and the old town. Any traveler coming to Lijiang is almost always coming to visit the old town, which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1998.The dominant local ethnic minority in Lijiang is Naxi, with many Yi and Bai in the area. Lijiang is also a very useful base for exploring the rest of Yunnan. From here you can travel north towards "Shangri-La", or take the trek on the Tiger Leaping Gorge in one of the most naturally beautiful areas of China.

Main attractions in Lijiang

Lijiang Old Town

Lijiang is an old city in beautiful surroundings in northwest Yunnan, situated on a plateau at an elevation of 2,600m and is impressive because of its scenery and lush vegetation. The old town of Lijiang is officially called "Dayan Town"-- "Dayan" literally means a "great ink stab", a graphic description of the town’s location on a piece of rich flatland fed by a river and surrounded by green mountains. There is no other town in China like Dayan, which incorporates the folkways of so many people and the architectural styles of both north and south China. The ancient wooden house, willows, silvery brooks, and stone paneled street, all bring tourist back the ancient time of Tea and horse exchanging. And the bars of Lijiang is also well known in the world. You may encounter anything in your life there. The heart of old town is called Square Street, Sifangjie, it is a market with various handcraft. 

Jade Dragon Mountain

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is the southernmost glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. Consisting of 13 peaks, among which Shanzidou is the highest one with an altitude of 5,600 meters (18,360 feet), Jade Dragon Snow Mountain stretches a length of 35 kilometers (22 miles) and a width of 20 kilometers (13 miles). Looking from Lijiang Old Town in the south which is 15 kilometers (nine miles) away, the snow-covered and fog-enlaced mountain resembles a jade dragon lying in the clouds, hence, the name Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

With its marvelous elegance and unique natural scenes, the Mountain draws a great many scientists as well as tourists from both home and abroad not only in the past but also at the present. A virgin peak, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain has never been conquered by the Man. Coming to Lijiang, visitors get a chance to admire the wonders of the Snow Mountain, and to enjoy the kaleidoscopic elegance of the highland forests and the myriad of delights of the rare animals and plants. Visiting the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain which is praised as the "Museum of the Contemporary Glaciers" and "Kingdom of Plants", the visitors would be so deeply enchanted that they just hate to leave the scene.

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Tiger Leaping Gorge is one of the deepest canyons of the world. Wedged tightly between titanic cliffs (up to 200m), the JinSha Jiang (eventually River Yangzi) is so narrow here, the gorge is named after a legend: a hunted tiger made his escape to the other side of the river in a single bound. The road leading to the gorges for tourists is built in Zhongdian County at the side of the Haba Snow Mountains and ascends at a 30 to 50 degree angle. Actually, one has the best view of the gorges from the side of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountains. Its steep mountains with sides at an angle of 70 to 90 degrees prevent locals from constructing a direct road to the gorges.

Baisha Fresco

Baisha Fresco is made in succession from the early Ming dynasty to the reign of Emperor Qianlong in the Qing dynasty. Due to the prosperous economy in the Ming dynasty, people of Naxi minority began to assimilate the culture of other ethnic groups and developed their own. Lijiang mural is the crystallization of such efforts. The fresco is a collaboration of artists from Han and Tibet nationalities and entirely presents superb artistic skills with flowing lines, well-defined colors and good effects of depth and solidity.

Black Dragon Park 

With location of the new town of Lijiang, and the water is as green and lucid as jade, the pond is entitled "Yuquan" or Jade Fountain. On the bank of the pond willows hang their withes like silk thread. In the park, pavilions are beside the pond, temples hidden in the trees and variegated flowers found everywhere.

Climate of Lijiang

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