
Lijiang Old Town
丽江古城 · Lijiang, Yunnan, China
A 'Suzhou of the plateau' without city walls, a living museum of Naxi Dongba culture.
Antes de ir · Know before you go
- Ask the owner before entering a Naxi home, and don't step on the threshold
- don't leaf through Dongba scriptures.
Este artículo está «Sin verificar». Consulte los avisos oficiales sobre precios, horarios y fechas.
Culture
Cultura y costumbres
Contexto cultural
Lijiang Old Town dates from the late Song and early Yuan; following the hills and water, Naxi houses of 'three wings and a screen wall' line its streams, and it was once a trading hub on the Tea Horse Road. Dongba pictographic script is often called the only pictographic writing still in use in the world, and Naxi ancient music is called a 'living fossil of music'. The old town became a World Heritage Site in 1997.
Costumbres locales
- Naxi festivals include the Sanduo Festival and the Torch Festival
- locals like to dance and drink rice wine in Sifang Square. Cured-rib hotpot, chickpea jelly and rice sausage are common in the old town.
Religión y creencias
- The Naxi widely follow the Dongba religion (an indigenous faith) alongside Tibetan Buddhism
- be respectful at Dongba displays and ritual sites, and don't touch scriptures or ritual objects.
Etiquette
Normas y tabúes
Normas que se aplican aquí
China: don't get physical in a dispute
- Walk away from an argument and call the police if needed
- Pushing, shoving or fighting
Whoever starts it, taking part in a fight can bring a fine or detention, and the injured party usually demands compensation.
Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: China travel advice
China: carry your original passport
- Foreign visitors should carry their original passport
- Carrying only a copy or photo of your passport
Police make random ID checks and do not accept printouts; if you cannot show your passport, you may be fined or detained.
Verificado el 19 oct 2026Fuente: GOV.UK: China travel advice
No lo haga DON'T
- Ask the owner before entering a Naxi home, and don't step on the threshold
- don't leaf through Dongba scriptures.
Lo que aprecian los locales DO
- Locals love teahouses and sunshine and live at an unhurried pace
- many older Naxi women still wear the traditional sheepskin cape embroidered with 'stars and moon'.
Plan your visit
Información práctica
Consejos de viaje
- At about 2,400 m, altitude sickness usually isn't a worry, but avoid strenuous exercise
- the core of the old town is free
- the bar street is noisy at night, so if you prefer quiet, visit early in the morning or go to Shuhe old town
- combine with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Lashi Lake.
Eat nearby
Qué comer cerca
Imprescindible
- Cured-rib hotpot
- Chickpea jelly (jidou liangfen)
- Lijiang baba (flatbread)
Cured-rib hotpot (Naxi cured spare ribs with vegetables), jidou liangfen (black-chickpea jelly), Lijiang baba (pan-fried flatbread), Naxi grilled fish, rice sausage
| Dónde comer | Zhongyi Market (the local market), the cluster of cured-rib restaurants on Huama Street outside the old town |
|---|---|
| Normas en la mesa | Keep quiet at Naxi Dongba cultural sites |
| Precio orientativo por persona | CNY 50–90 |
| Consejos | Food on the bar street in the old town is pricey, so eat at Zhongyi Market or outside the old town; cured ribs are salty — balance them with vegetables. |
Los precios son orientativos a octubre de 2026, no presupuestos exactos; en zonas con tipos de cambio muy variables solo se da un intervalo aproximado en yuanes.

Alpha · CC BY-SA 2.0
Photos
Fotos

chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0

chensiyuan · CC BY-SA 4.0
BrokenSphere · CC BY-SA 3.0
Fuentes y notas de verificación
More in China
Cerca de aquí

The Li River, Guilin
'The river is a blue silk ribbon, the hills are jade hairpins': fishing lights are the last memory of fishing life on the Li River.

Jiuzhaigou
A 'fairy-tale world' of emerald lakes and terraced waterfalls, a highland paradise of Tibetan and Qiang culture.

Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
3,000 stone peaks rising from the ground — the model for Avatar's floating mountains.
