TR AVEL | F E AT U R E
LIJIANG
A Major Minority Destination
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ocated at the northwest corner of Yunnan province, Lijiang is famous for the well-preserved, primitive beauty of its landscape, the diverse traditions of the ethnic minorities who live there and a famous UNESCO Heritage Site – the Old Town of Lijiang. When Kublai Khan occupied Dali in the Song Dynasty, he led the whole battalion across Jinsha River and decided to dwell along the riverside. The river, known as Lijiang Bay at the time, became the origin of this community of thousands of people and kept thriving to become what was later known as the Old Town of Lijiang. The word ‘Lijiang’ bears an important message when explained in the local Naxi dialect. Translated as ‘gongben zhi,’ which means ‘the trade fair of grains,’ the phrase is not only a portrayal of a prosperous local trading scene, but it also indicates the importance of the city’s geographical location as a transportation hub along the old Silk Road. Today, Lijiang continues to serve as an important place that connects Yunnan to Sichuan and Tibet, as it sits 22 |NOVEMBER 2021
right at the junction of the YunnanGuizhou Plateau and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. China’s first geographer, Xu Xiake, even noted the resemblance between the contour of Lijiang and an ink stone. In recent decades, the city has experienced a boom in tourism. Thanks to its extremely high altitude – an intimidating 2,400 meters above sea level – Lijiang offers an unparalleled landscape that you can’t find anywhere else in China. In particular, the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (Yulong Xueshan) attracts millions of tourists and extreme sports lovers from around the world each year. Apart from exploring the great outdoors, there are also plenty of cultural activities to be enjoyed, as Lijiang is home to 12 different ethnic minorities who make up more than half of the city’s population. Among them, the Yi and Naxi people are the most prominent groups and have major influences in the city’s everyday life. For those who are curious about life in the Song and Yuan dynasties, a visit to the Naxi community will take
you right back into that time period, thanks to its well-preserved traditions and architecture, which are a rarity in China.
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