Lijiang, an attractive tourist destination in Yunnan Province, is considered a fairyland blessed with fresh air, clear streams, breathtaking snowy mountains and an undisturbed landscape inhabited by friendly people. It exercises jurisdiction over four counties and an Old Town District. This is the main region inhabited by the Naxi People, one of China's 55 minority ethnic groups.
While the geographical position of the city is remote, it has the advantage of ensuring a pleasant year-round climate and a wide variety of tourist resources in the 7,954 square miles (20,600 square kilometers) area. The earliest recorded history of the city can be traced back to the Warring States Period (476 BC-221 BC). With the advent of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the local economy reached a peak with the development of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road which made a great contribution to both commercial and cultural communication between Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan Provinces.
The Old Town District has the well preserved Lijiang Old Town, listed a World Cultural Heritages site by UNESCO in 1997. The Old Town was once the center of the city and continues to maintain the original flavor of the local lifestyle, the typical local architecture and the profound cultural heritage of the region. It is graced by well preserved ancient buildings and the Naxi Culture.