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Yunnan Lijiang
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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. |
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