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    The Old Town of Lijiang

    Old Town of Lijiang China

    Written by: Feng Yang
    Posted on: January 09, 2015 | | 中文

    The Old Town of Lijiang

    Upon reaching Lijiang in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, one gets quite close to the legendary “Shangri-La”. In 1933, the word "Shangri-La" first appeared in the British novel, “Disappearing Horizon”. It refers to a place occupied by human beings and deities, where people live harmoniously with nature. Author James Hilton's inspirations came from the southwest of China.

    The ancient town of Lijiang was initially the only bazaar on the Yunnan-Tibet trade route. Construction of the town began about 800 years ago. Consequently, shops and stores were set up through which the caravans passed through. Today, several people from the 6,000 or so households in the 3.8 square-meter town are still making bronze and silverware, curing fur, and managing inns and shops.

    Walking through the town, one immediately feels its age-old splendor. The streets are paved with stone plates which have retained their natural texture. The stone pavements protected the streets from wear and tear, and also helped to reduce dust and prevent the formation of water puddles. However, the stone pavements are worn out now.

    The Old Town of Lijiang

    There is no city wall girdling Lijiang. Moreover, the town does not have the axis line around which residential and other buildings are arranged in symmetry. Instead, ancient roads and country trails converge onto the town from all directions and integrate into the branch alleys. These, in turn, converge onto four main streets, which then open into a 500-meter long square. Known as the Square Street, it is historically the most prosperous marketplace. The winding alleys and streets are lined with wooden structures or wooden-brick residential houses.

    The most common layout of Lijiang's traditional courtyard is "three houses plus one screen wall" – the main house is in the center, facing two wing houses and a screen wall. Each house has two storeys with three rooms each. The main room, facing the south, is for senior family members. The two secondary houses in the east and west wings are for youngsters. Another popular layout comprises one main room, two wing rooms and one "lower room", altogether making a quadrangle courtyard. There are also four smaller yards at each corner of the courtyard, altogether called "quadrangle plus four yards." The floor is paved with pebbles or colorful stones which make up intricate patterns.

    If the ancient roads and residential houses lend a simplistic beauty and a sense of remoteness to Lijiang, the surrounding snow-capped mountains and the gurgling creeks running through the town help bridge the distance between man and nature.

    The Jade Dragon Snow Mountain is clearly visible, standing majestically outside the town, with snow-capped peaks all year round. The melting snow flows down the mountain slope, picking up spring water on the way. Three main water flows divide into numerous branches running along the streets of the town. Some even flow past the courtyard walls, greeting the courtyard residents on the way. The streams vary in width from one to five meters. The crystal streams flow energetically, filling the banks. Pleasant gurgling is heard everywhere in Lijiang, especially at night, making the residents feel like they live by mountain springs. The water lends inspiring rhythm to the town and makes one feel purified.

    The Old Town of Lijiang

    The ancient streets, bridges and streams represent the exterior of Lijiang. The people, however, represent its inner soul. Most residents in Lijiang belong to the Naxi ethnic group. Their ancestors worshipped nature, and regarded many birds and animals as divine.

    Legend has it that Man and the "Shu" deity were half-brothers. Shu was responsible for overseeing mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and wildlife. Initially the brothers got along well, but later, Man's greed led to the destruction of forests, contamination of river fountainheads and killing of animals. Shu was enraged and decided to punish Man, bringing illness, floods and earthquakes into the world. Therefore, the Naxi people hold rites every year, offering sacrifices to Shu and praying for good fortune.

    It is believed that Shu lived near the fountainhead of rivers. Hence the Naxi people forbid the pollution of water sources and felling of trees. In Lijiang, stone tablets are inscribed with rules asking people to treat mountains, trees and water with reverence.

    There are several wells in the ancient town; each one is often made up of three "sub-wells" for drinking, rinsing and washing purposes. Small bowls are arranged next to some wells to provide water for passersby. The locals habitually wash the streets. Previously, at the end of each day, people would dam the waterways, and water would naturally flow into nearby alleys. Although this kind of organized street-washing is no longer practiced, the locals still wash their streets. Hence, the streets in Lijiang always remain clean.

    In Naxi families, women are in charge of family affairs and men spend their time in leisure. Women spend their youth constantly working. The embroidered capes over their shoulders are a symbol of “shouldering the heavy duties”. However, they are at peace with this lifestyle and do not regret it.

    In contrast, men are well versed in poetry, calligraphy, painting and music. Naxi classical music is heard everywhere in Lijiang. Every village in the countryside has a traditional musical band. Traditional Naxi music is considered as a living fossil of ancient music, as it preserves the musical forms from thousands of years ago.

    The Old Town of Lijiang

    Men, however, do not monopolize the pleasant and gentle-paced life. A flower fair is organized annually, in which families display their best-potted flowers and artificial rockery. Many locals grow flowers in their courtyards as a hobby. Family members often get together in the flower-rich courtyards, drinking tea and chatting.

    Feasting parties are also common. Relatives and friends organize feasting clubs, regularly arranging dinners in rotation to treat club members. Money is contributed by all members but cooking is done by one family at a time. Women often play a leading role in these activities. A foreign reporter once asked a local old man if the pace of life in Lijiang was too slow. The old man replied: "Why must one rush through life? One begins to head for the end of life the moment one is born."

    The Naxi people have their own culture, called the Dongba Culture. It includes the Dongba writing system, scripts, paintings, music, dance, and sacrificial rites. Dongba in Naxi language means "the Sage" or "the Master". The Naxi sages and masters are the elite of the Dongba Culture. They inherit the ethnic group's ancient culture and hand it down to the younger generation, and are well-versed in Dongba pictography and scripts.

    The Dongba characters are the only living pictography in the world today. Academicians unanimously agree that the Naxis are the only people in the world who have recorded their own history with volumes of picture-like characters across centuries. Today, more than 20,000 volumes of Dongba scripts are still present in Chinese and Western libraries. These classics are the encyclopedia of the ancient Naxi society.

    American scholar Joseph Locke is called the "father of the Naxi studies". Starting from 1923, he lived in Lijiang for 27 years. In his last days, he wrote to a friend: "I would rather die amidst the flowers of the Yulong Snow Mountain than dying alone on his deathbed in the hospital."

    Lijiang is a place that can never be forgotten. In 1997, it was listed by the UNESCO as a site of World Cultural Heritage.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

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    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021