How did Old Town of Lijiang come from?

Lijiang, as a place name, began with Kublai Khan's expedition to Dali to cross the Jinsha River. Jinsha River, as a tributary of the Yangtze River, was originally called "plowing water" because it originated at the foot of Niu Li Mountain in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Later, due to the similarity of the ancient sound "plow" and "Li", Jinsha River was also called "Lishui", which was named after the river.

Old Town of Lijiang, also known as Dayan Town, is located in the middle of Lijiang Dam, with Xiangshan, Jinhongshan and Lion Mountain in the north and fertile fields and vast fields in the southeast. Lijiang is one of the second batch of famous historical and cultural cities in China, and it is also one of the ancient cities where China successfully declared the world cultural heritage to the United Nations. It is the only ancient city without walls among the famous historical and cultural cities in China. It is said that the hereditary ruler of ancient Lijiang was surnamed Mu. If a wall is built, it is like the word "sleepy" in a wooden frame, which is unlucky.

Old Town of Lijiang was founded in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty (13rd century), and its ruling center was moved from Baisha ancient town, the ancestor of Mu family in Lijiang, to Shishan. , began to build a house city, named "Dayetian". The origin of the name of the ancient city is said to be because the hereditary ruler of Lijiang is surnamed Mu, so the construction of the city must be like the word "sleepy" framed in wooden characters. The name of Naxi nationality in Old Town of Lijiang is Miyamoto Branch, which is the granary and Branch is the market. Old Town of Lijiang used to be the place where granaries were distributed.

Old Town of Lijiang has rich and colorful local ethnic customs and entertainment activities, such as Naxi ancient music, Dongba ceremony, divination culture, ancient town bar and Naxi Torch Festival. Old Town of Lijiang embodies the achievements of ancient urban construction in China, and it is one of the types with distinctive features and unique style in China.

The ethnic customs and culture here are colorful. In the late Tang Dynasty, the Naxi people created the magical and ancient Dongba culture, and compiled it into various classics, called Dongba Classic, which has been handed down for tens of thousands at home and abroad. Naxi ancient music, which is widely spread among Naxi people, is elegant, pure and ethereal, and is called the "living fossil" of Chinese classical music.