Lijiang was one of the important locations on the tea and horse road, where horsemen chosen to stop and rest their animals. The city was home to Tibetans and Naxis, two important ethnic groups who played indispensable roles in the tea and horse trades.    

Located in the northwest of Yunnan Province and the middle reaches of the Jinsha River, Lijiang got its name because of the beautiful Jinsha River. On the junction of the Tibetan Plateau and the Yungui Plateau, Lijiang was under the jurisdiction Naxi Autonomous Prefecture, Yongsheng County, Huaping County and Ninglang Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

It was endowed with plenty of hills, basins and valleys, and was blessed with  rich  land, forest, mineral reserves, along with tourist resources. The Lijiang scenery is a wonder for the world. The Yulong Snow Mountain is a modern glacier in the southernmost of the Northern Hemisphere, enjoying fame as home of the Glacial Museum and Kingdom of Flora. Laojun Mountain, also called the Kingdom of Azalea, is a treasury in the world of botany, with myriad genetic plant specimens.

Lijiang has a unique culture and a long history of more than  800 years. It is called the Oriental Venice and Gusu (the now Suzhou, a scenic city in eastern Jiangsu Province) of the Plateau. Lijiang has the only pictographic writing still in use -- the Dongba characters; the relics of the stone city, where people lived in caves; the Baisha Mural under national protection and Naxi Music, called “living fossils” made more special with the poems of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties.

Lijiang is a complex community with several ethic groups. The hospitable people of Lijiang are ready to welcome guests from all over the world. Lijiang is also among the few cities listed as a world cultural heritage site.

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