The Ancient City of Lijiang is situated on the upper reaches of Jinshajiang River and is hometown to the Qiang people and the Naxi people. The City, 2,400 metres above sea level, is the central city of the Lijiang Naxi Autonomous County. Its rich history, vivid culture and gorgeous natural scenery make it one of the most famous tourist attractions of China.
The Ancient City of Lijiang lies on the south of Snow Mount Yulong and north of Mount Wenbi. Its population is mainly made up of the Naxi people. The city’s network of streets and lanes adopts the shape of the Eight Trigrams centring on Xifang Street, downtown of the city. The Naxi people live in courtyards with three sides of single-floored or two-storey wooden houses and one side of wall, or courtyards enclosed by wall. The Naxi buildings absorb the architectural features of those of the Middle Plains of China and its neighbouring nationalities; its culture is a mixture of the architectural styles of different nationalities, including the constructional layout of the Naxi people, the roofs of the Han people, the paintings of Tibet and the sculpture of the Bai people. The Naxi people have learnt to decorate the modest doors and windows of their houses with vivid figures of natural creatures, which according to local customs will bring happiness and good luck during the year.
The Ancient City of Lijiang Stories:
1. The only existing pictograph
In the Lijiang region a type of pictograph called “Dongbawen” is still in use. This unique writing language is passed down from the ancestors of the Naxi people, and is the only surviving pictograph now. More than 20,000 ancient Dongbawen scriptures recording thousands of years of marvellous history and culture of the Naxi people are kept in Chinese and European museums. Among them, Cuomo, a record of choreography, delineates a dozen of dancing patterns of the ancient Dongba dance and is literature of great value. Dongba Scripture, the reputed encyclopaedia of the ancient Naxi people, is another precious work which is important to the study of the Naxi history and culture.
2. A city without city walls
In the Chinese culture, city walls are of great significance for governance and defence. However, unlike the majority of the traditional Chinese cities, the Ancient City of Lijiang has no city walls around it for an interesting reason. It is said that the City was dominated by a man of the surname “木” (mu). He thought that if they built city walls, the city would be like “困” (kun), a Chinese character which means “being trapped”. So he decided that city walls were not propitious for his rule.
Another explanation is that the Naxi people used to be roving nomads and were used to a life without any confinement. The free nature of the nomads is of some importance in the Chinese culture. Emperor Kangxi was the only Chinese emperor who was against building the Great Wall. He held that a nation with high living standards, morals and solidarity was a better defence than the walls.
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