Old Town of Lijiang丽江古城 · Lìjiāng Gǔchéng — the water-town of the Naxi
A Naxi trading town of cobbled lanes and canals at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, its street plan and water system have run unbroken since the Song and Yuan dynasties. No walls, no grid — the town simply follows the slope and the streams.
A town built around water, not walls.
Lijiang is perfectly adapted to the uneven topography of a key commercial and strategic site on the old Tea-Horse Road, and has retained a historic townscape of remarkable authenticity. Unlike most Chinese cities of its era, it was never enclosed by a defensive wall — local accounts say the ruling Mu family, whose surname character forms a box when walled in, chose to leave the town open.
Its architecture blends Han, Bai, Tibetan and Naxi elements accumulated over centuries of trade, and beneath the streets runs an ancient water-supply network, fed by the Black Dragon Pool springs, that still channels through the town's three interlaced canals today. The Naxi people's Dongba pictographic culture, one of the last living pictographic writing systems, is centered here.
Lijiang is really two connected old towns: Dayan (the main UNESCO-listed area most visitors mean by "Lijiang Old Town") and, a short drive north, the quieter Shuhe and Baisha villages, also part of the inscription's wider protected area.
Follow the canals through town.
The old town has no single route — these are the fixed points worth aiming between as you wander.
Tap or hover a photo for access details.
Mu Family Mansion 木府
The rebuilt palace-residence of the Mu family, the hereditary Naxi chieftains who ruled Lijiang for the Ming court — grand halls and courtyards on a scale that earned it the nickname 'the Forbidden City of the South.'Where south end of old town · Fee separate ticket
Black Dragon Pool Park 黑龙潭
A spring-fed pool at the old town's north edge whose white marble bridge frames the classic postcard view of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain — and the literal source of the town's canal water.Where north of old town · Also called Jade Spring Park
Wangu Tower 万古楼
A modern five-story pavilion on high ground, built to mark Lijiang's UNESCO listing, with the best rooftop panorama over the old town's tiled roofs and the snow mountain beyond.Height 33 m · Fee separate ticket
Sifang Street 四方街
The old market square at the town's center, where canal water was once diverted at night to flush and clean the paved streets — still the hub where the main lanes converge.Where town center
Spring or autumn, for clear mountain views.
April–June and September–November bring the mildest temperatures and clearest skies, with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain visible from the streets. Summer (June–September) is the rainy season, though showers are usually brief; winter is dry, cold at night, and good for snow-capped mountain views.
Come early morning or in the evening. Midday brings the heaviest day-tripper crowds through the main lanes; before 9 a.m. and after dinner the town is quieter and its lantern-lit canals are at their best.
For foreign travelers.
- Pay the ¥50 maintenance fee once at any entry checkpoint — it then covers unlimited entry for a full year.
- Stay a night inside the old town rather than just day-tripping; it transforms after the tour groups leave in the evening.
- Wear comfortable shoes — the old town is cobblestone lanes and gentle slopes, not flat pavement.
- Combine with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (cable cars from ¥55–120) and the quieter Shuhe or Baisha villages nearby.
- The Naxi Dongba pictograph script is unique to this region — look for it on shop signs and in the Dongba Culture Museum.