Chinese Lijiang ancient city

Lijiang ancient city

Lijiang ancient city is located in Lijiang of Yunnan province , southwest of China. Lijiang ancient city is also called Dayan village, located in Bazhongbu of Lijiang. It is called the “the best preserved four ancient cities” with Langzong in Sichuan, Pingyao in Shanxi,Shexian in Anhui as the second series of the national historical famous cities.. it is the only one ancient city without walls. On
4th ,December ,1997,it was included in the UNESCO world heritage list in 1997 on the 21st collective conference of world heritage committee. The ancient city was first built in later Song Dynasty and early Yuan dynasty (later period of 13 century AD), situated in the Yuanan and Guizhou plateau withf altitude of 2400 meters above the sea level, covers an area of 3.8 square kilometers. It has been a famous market and important town. More than 25000 reside here nowadays, most of who are Naxi ethic groups who are engaging in the traditional handicrafts and commercial activities.
Dayan is an ancient city without walls. The streets are paved with the local stone slabs, which do not get muddy in the rainy season and are free of dust in the dry season. Many stone bridges and arches in the city were built during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Orderly roads and lanes extend to four directions from the central square. Residential houses are made of timber; most have a screen wall in front and some have a quadruple courtyard. Sifang street is the center of Lijiang ancient city, the big water car which is in the junction of the ancient city and new one is the symbol of the Lijiang ancient city.
There are many small rivers inside of LIjiang ancient city with 354 bridges. The patterns are varied and the famous ones are Suocui bridge, Dashi bridge, Wanqian bridge, Nanmen bridge, Ma’an bridge, Renshou bridge, all of which were built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the most characteristic Dashi bridge which is 100 meters east of Sifang street . Mufu which was the office mansion in old times in the ancient city which was built in 1271 AD and was rebuilt in 1998 and renamed as Ancient city museum. Mufu covers an area of 46 Mu with 162 rooms. Wufenglou( five phoenixes mansion)” in Fufuo temple was built in 1601 AD which is 20 meters high. It is called “five phoenixes mansion” because the pattern of the building is like five flying colored phoenixes. It absorbs the architectural styles of Han, Tibetan, Naxi nationalities, a rare and typical treasure of the Chinese ancient architecture.
Baisha residential building complex is 8 kilometers north of Lijiang ancient city, once in the 14th century as the political , economical, cultural center of LIjiang. It is scattered on the main north-south axis, with a trapezoidal square in the center, a spring is guided into the square from the north and four channels are spread into four directions from the square. The formation and the development lay the foundation of the layout of Lijiang ancient city.
Shuhe residential building complex is four kilometers northwest of Lijiang ancient city, a small market in the suburb of LIjiang. The residential buildings are scattered with each other with the similar layout of the Sifang street. Qinglong river which was built in the 1368, the biggest stone arch bridge , is cross the center of the buildings.
Lijiang has a long history, old and simple. The layout of the city is complex but proper with not only scenery of the mountain city but also the charm of water village. The residents here are not only absorbing the essence of Han, Bai, Yi,Tibetan but also keeping the characteristics of Naxi ethnic nationality, which is an important heritage of investigating the history of the Chinese architecture and culture. Lijiang ancient city absorbs affluent national traditional cultures and exemplifies the prosperousness and development of Naxi ethnic nationality, a very important cultural resources of development of human being’s cultural development.