Sights in Lìjiāng
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Old Market Sq
Old Market Sq is the focual point of Old Town. Once the haunt of Naxi traders, they've long since made way for tacky souvenir stalls. However, the view up the hill and the surrounding lanes are still extraordinary, just be prepared to share the experience with hundreds if not thousands of other people.
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Black Dragon Pool Park
On the northern edge of town is the Black Dragon Pool Park; its view of Yùlóng Xuěshān (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain) is the most obligatory photo shoot in southwestern China. The Dōngbā Research Institute is part of a renovated complex on the hillside here. You can see Naxi cultural artefacts and scrolls featuring a unique pictograph script.
Trails lead up Xiàng Shān (Elephant Hill) to a dilapidated gazebo and then across a spiny ridge past a communications centre and back down the other side, making a nice morning hike, but note the warning on.
The Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture is at the park's northern entrance and is a decent introduction to traditional Naxi…
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Báimǎ Lóngtán
Báimǎ Lóngtán is a famous example of one of the pools that formed part of the web of arterylike canals that once brought the city's drinking water from Yuquan Spring (now called Black Dragon Pool Park). Where there are three pools, these were designated into pools for drinking, washing clothes and washing vegetables. Sadly, the days - not too long ago - when you would see locals washing their veggies in the streams after heading home from the market are a bit unthinkable now.
The town once had several water wheels, though the only one left now is Yulong Bridge Waterwheel, a reconstructed model at the north edge of the old town. The nearby monument celebrates Lìjiāng's…
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Mu Family Mansion
The former home of a Naxi chieftain, the Mu Family Mansion was heavily renovated (more like built from scratch) after the devasting earthquake that struck Lìjiāng in 1996. Mediocre captions do a poor job of introducing the Mu family but many travellers find the beautiful grounds reason enough to visit.
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Looking at the Past Pavilion
The Looking at the Past Pavilion was raised for tourists at a cost of over one million yuán. It's famed for a unique design using dozens of four-storey pillars - unfortunately these were culled from northern Yúnnán old-growth forests. A path (with English signs) leads from Old Market Sq. It acts as a sentinel of sorts for the town. Sit on the slope in the early morning and watch the mist clearing as the old town comes to life.
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Five Phoenix Hall
Five Phoenix Hall is a striking Ming dynasty, Naxi 20m-high edifice dating from 1601 but only moved to its current location in 1979. Its three roofs with eight eaves each are supposedly in the shape of phoenixes. It's located at the far side of the Black Dragon Pool near an art exhibition building and a pavilion with its own bridge across the water.
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Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture
The Museum of Naxi Dongba Culture houses displays on Naxi dress and culture, Dōngbā script, Lìjiāng's old town and the dubious claim that the region is the 'real' Shangri-la. It is at the Black Drangon Pool Park's northern entrance, and is worth a visit if you have the time.
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Xiàng Shān
Xiàng Shān is west of Old Town. You can follow one of the many rails that lead straight up to a dilapidated gazebo and then across a spiny ridge past a communications centre and back down the other side, making a nice morning hike.
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Dongba Research Institute
The Dongba Research Institute is part of a renovated complex on the hillside north of Old Town. Here you can see Naxi cultural artefacts and scrolls featuring a unique pictograph script.
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Kegong Archway
The Kegong Archway is the scene of celebrations marking the birthday of the local god Sanduo on the eighth day of the second lunar month (March).
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Old Town
If a waterside location indeed engenders good fortune, then Lìjiāng is lucky, lucky, lucky. The old town is dissected by a web of arterylike canals that once brought the city's drinking water from Yuquan Spring, in what is now Black Dragon Pool Park. Several wells and pools are still in use around town (but hard to find). Where there are three pools, these were designated into pools for drinking, washing clothes and washing vegetables. A famous example of these is the White Horse Dragon Pool in the deep south of the old town, where you can still see the odd local washing their veggies after buying them in the market.
The focus of the old town is the busy Old Market…
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