Lijiang City (Chinese: 丽江; pinyin: Lìjiāngshì) is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of 21,219 square kilometers and a population of 1,137,600 as of 2005.
At present, Lijiang City is an attractive tourist destination in Yunnan Province that exercises jurisdiction over four counties and an Old Town District. Lijiang is the main region inhabited by Naxi Group, one of China's 55 minority ethnic groups. In its long history, the local residents have established their splendid Dongba Culture which has absorbed aspects of the culture of Tibet and the Central Plains along the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. The various souvenirs marked with these Dongba hieroglyphs are very popular with visitors from home and abroad.
The Old TownLijiang has the best preserved ancient town in China - the Old Town which has been listed in the World Cultural Heritages by UNESCO in 1997. The Old Town was once the center of Lijiang and continues to maintain the original flavor of the local lifestyle, the typical groups of buildings and the profound cultural heritage of the region. When wandering along Square Street or any other streets in the Old Town, you will be struck by the peaceful surroundings. From enjoying the sight of the setting sun from historic hotels to local farmsteads, there are many favorable things here for travelers. Naturally, there are a number of tour destinations to enhance your visit as well. Among them, the most famous is Mufu (Mu's Palace) which should not be missed during your trip.
Around Lijiang, there are a number of splendid natural beauty spots that will certainly astonish you. If you like to see superlative natural scenery, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain which provides a majestic backdrop to the Moon-Embracing Pavilion at Black Dragon Pond will fulfill your desire. For those seeking an exotic experience in Lijiang, a visit to the Mosuo People beside Lugu Lake is a must. They are called the last 'Kingdom of Women' on earth. If you would like to experience the local lifestyle, then come and participate in one or more of their various festivals that are held throughout the year.
The smart and unsophisticated Naxi people who have long inhabited Lijiang preserve the unique and profuse Dongba Culture. In fact, a great number of scholars and travelers are attracted to this mysterious place more for the culture than its charming sceneries. Dongba Culture is of a religious nature and make up the most important component of the ancient Naxi culture.
However, before the form of the Dongba Culture, the Naxi people in Lijiang followed the native religion of sorcery. During the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, a series of the other cultures, such as the Tibetan Bon Religion, Buddhism and Taoism, were introduced into this region, affecting the native religion. Along with the impact and blending among these various cultures, the new Dongba Religion was founded. The Dongba Culture is said to been passed on by the Dongbas who were sages that integrated song, dance, the classics, history, painting and medicine. They enjoyed a high social position within the Naxi group because they were considered as mediums between humans, gods and ghosts, as well as are able to remove disasters and guarantee good fortunes. At present, there are no more than 30 Dongbas living in Lijiang, so it is a memorable experience for travelers to visit these Dongbas.
The immense Dongba Culture consists of its writings, scriptures, paintings, dance and music. Amongst them, the Dongba characters are not surprisingly the soul of the Dongba Culture. Enjoying a history of over 1,000 years, it is still used by a few Naxi people even now. At first, the Dongba character was just a kind of hieroglyphic recorded on wood and stone. Later, with the use of paper, the use of characters gained popularity and gained its formal name. As a rare cultural treasure for all mankind, the Dongba character is the only existing hieroglyphic in China and praised to be the 'Living Fossil' showing the characters' origin and development of human society.
All Dongba scriptures were written in the picture-like characters, so they are not interpretable by ordinary folk. However, under the help of the Dongbas, some scriptures were translated into Mandarin and shown to readers at the end of the last century. These scriptures contain almost all aspects of the Naxi people, ranging from the nation's legends and history to traditional dancing and music. Now, these Dongba scriptures are kept in many countries other than China, such as the United States of America, Canada, Japan, Britain, France, Germany and Austria.
Dongba Paintings
Traditionally, the exquisite and colorful Dongba paintings completely reveal the beliefs and good wishes of the Naxi people. Some of them are drawn to depict the daily lives of locals. The most famous Dongba painting is the Painting of Sacred Road to Heaven which is approximately 14 meters long and 0.26 meters wide. This painting tells the story of how the dying man's soul is released from suffering. Vivid scenes describe how he passes into Hell, the human world, the natural heaven and finally Heaven. Nowadays, local artisans have created a series of modern Dongba paintings that retain the essence of those from more traditional times.
Dongba Dance and Music
The same to the other minorities, dance and music play vital roles in the Naxi people's daily life. The classical Naxi dance is the Dongba dance which is a kind of religious dance being played in the sacrifice events. However, most of these dancing show the locals' fight against the natural world and the forces of evil. There are about 60 kinds of dance recorded in two Dongba scriptures, including animal dance, sword and bow dance as well as the God dance. In fact, most of dance movements prefer to imitate animals, such as tiger, elephant, frog, monkey and eagle.
In the sacrifice events of Dongba Religion, the dance is usually accompanied with the Dongba music (also the Naxi Ancient Music). The content of these music is mainly derived from the scriptures and widely singing by the Naxi people. The used instruments include ring, drum, gong and cymbal, producing simple but impressive rhythm. Fortunately, when come to Lijiang, traveler can enjoy the Dongba dance and music shows in the Dongba Palace and Naxi Concert Hall.
Heading north along Square Street of Lijiang Old Town, you reach Heilongtan Pool (Black Dragon Pool) at the foot of the Elephant Hill. The pool is also called Jade Spring Park, reflecting its endless bubbling clear spring waters.
The Heilongtan pool is enormous, with an area of 40 hectares (over 430,000 sqft), and it provides a haven for bird and water-life, with spectacular plants. Surrounding the pool, within the park's landscape, are ancient monuments such as the Longshen Temple, the Deyue Pavilion, the Suocui Bridge and the Hanyue Stage.
The arrival at the park is along a colored cobbled lane to reach a white marble bridge over emerald water: the Suocui Bridge. To your north, weather permitting, you might see the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain with its white snow, the source of the Jade Spring and its famous white clouds. The Deyue Pavilion rests at the center of the lake, on the same axis as the Hanyue Stage. At the gate, there is a pair of couplets inscribed by the famous Chinese writer Guo Moruo.
The Longshen Temple is the impressive centre-piece of the park. It consists of a gate-house with two wings and a great hall. 'Longshen' means Dragon God in Chinese, the God of Rain in Chinese mythology. The temple was built during Emperor Qianlong's reign in 1737, and was conferred the 'Longshen' accolade by the Emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911); this title reflected the high esteem of the Heilongtan Pool.
Every March, when the weather is delightful, the local community gathers at the Dragon God Temple to pray and seek blessing. The emerald spring waters are famous for their curative powers, whether for stomach troubles or to enhance your complexion.
Opening Hours: 08:00-17:00
Route: 15 minutes' walking from the Old Town of Lijiang or taking a taxi
Shangrila (香格里拉), formerly Zhongdian is in Yunnan province. The town is split between Tibetan and Han Chinese residents, as well as a fair smattering of Naxi, Bai, Yi and Lisu, with the surrounding countryside entirely Tibetan. While the crass name change in 2001 was a sign of the desire for increasing mass tourism a la Lijiang, the town's got nowhere near Lijiang's crowds, and it's still possible to experience the area's Tibetan heritage and see gorgeous countryside in near isolation.
Zhongdian was renamed Shangrila for marketing reasons. Signs in bus stations still use "Zhongdian". There is also a third name in Tibetan, used by many of the locals. The original Shangrila, inspiration for the book and movie, was clearly much further West, possibly Ladakh or the Hunza Valley.
* Old Town
The old town is rapidly being turned into a mini-Lijiang, complete with endless shophouses selling tourist trinkets (including fake tiger skins and counterfeit North Face jackets), minority costumed dancers and too-clean streets. However, there are still plenty of small charming streets to explore. The nightly dancing in the square beginning at 8 PM is popular for locals of all ages, and anyone is welcome to join in. The whole thing lasts for an hour and each song has its own set of choreographed moves.
Tibetan: Ganden Sumtseling Monastery - The impressive structure sits on a hill a few kilometers north of town. Take bus no. 3 (the green buses) heading north for ¥1, or a taxi for ¥20. Songzanlin monastery is the last stop. It's becoming less of a monastic institution, more of a tourist destination. Entry is ¥30. The temple was restored by an architect named Xu Wei Han in 2005 to reflects its passed glories.
Baisha Old Town is one of the oldest towns in Lijiang. It is the earliest settlement of the Naxi people and is the birthplace of "Tusi", chief of the Mu clan. In the town there are many ancient buildings built during the Ming Dynasty, including Dabaoji Palace, Liuli Temple, and Wenchang Palace. The well-known Baisha Frescoes are located in Dabaoji Palace. Because of the white sand on the ground, the town was named "Baisha", which means "white sand". In the Naxi language, it is called "bengshi". The architectural complex is made up of two parts, folk residence and cultural sites. The folk residence is called "pengshizhi" which in the local language means "Baisha Streets". The streets all go from south to north. In the center of the old town there is a square where three thoroughfares intersect. Houses and small stores stand on the both sides of these streets. A crystal clear stream winds around all the houses flowing through the small town from north to south.
History
The Famous Doctor Ho
Ho, 83, cured himself of a terminal illness when a young man, using his father's secret herbal recipes and, thanks to Chatwin and Palin, is something of a celebrity. But his rather over-earnest son, Ho Shulong, is on the bandwagon, boring the socks off the hordes who drop in with a shouted monologue on his father's achievements. With all this bellowing, Dr Ho barely gets to say a word and simply gets on with shovelling powdered "healthy tea" out of a red plastic bucket into little cones of brown paper to press on his visitors. With so much public relations activity, it's hard to know when Ho finds time to treat patients, although the claim is that he doesn't charge his fellow villagers for consultations.
He has spent his life collecting herbs from the surrounding Jade Dragon Snow Mountains – the "kingdom of the plants", he says – which apparently yield hundreds of species, but he is circumspect when asked about the ingredients for his special tea. It is greenish-yellow and tastes of mint with a touch of fennel. The consulting room walls are almost decoupaged with letters from visitors, testimonials, business cards and photos of Ho with his trademark wisp of a beard and tea-stained lab coat, posing with his guests.
Visitors' books are meticulously kept according to country, and his son passes around letters from fans of Ho who claim his natural remedies have helped with bronchitis, kidney ailments, even cancer and heart disease. Several patients have attributed their recovery from leukemia to Ho's herbal medicine; he has been written up in Time and featured on the cover of an Icelandic medical magazine.
So his fame is far-reaching but, unfortunately, the show-and-tell presentation at his clinic feels like a sideshow. Still, Ho has a definite twinkle in his eye and looks no older now than in the photo on the wall with Chatwin, 20 years ago. His eyes sparkle like Christmas tree lights, so maybe he really is on to something.
The hotel in Lijinag was the house of some local people! As there are living outside during al day and night, we met with all family at different time. The room was organized for them. So, we had extra electrical heated cover
Prague CafeIt provides drinks, dinner and accommodations here and it is favored by lots of visitors.
Location: No.80, Mishi Xiang, Xinyi Jie, the Old Town
Jiannan Chun Xiao Chi Restaurant
Jiannan Chun Xiao Chi Restaurant situated on Qiyi Street between the canal with several wooden bridges on one side and a narrow cobblestoned street. The menu is large and in both Mandarin and English. They offer familiar Chinese dishes as well as local specialties such as the restaurant's signature chilli fish, chicken, pork or beef hotpots.
Hua Hua Shen Restaurant 
Zanzibar Restaurant
6 Baisuifang Xinyin streety old town Lijiang
There is more information about Lijiang at www.travelpod.com/members/happysheep
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