8. Lijiang Old Town

Lijiang Old Town in Yunnan province

Lijiang Old Town in Yunnan province

The Old Town of Lijiang, a well-preserved old city of ethnic groups with brilliant culture. It covers an area of four square kilometers, and was first built in the late Song Dynasty and early Yuan Dynasty, with a history of more than 800 years.

The Lijiang Old Town is the only old city built without walls. The layout of the town is free-style and flexible, with the houses close and diverse, and the lanes narrow and crisscrossing. Most of the houses are wood-tile structure compound with a garden, and engraved with vivid figures of people and animals on doors and windows.

The usage of the water created by the local people is very scientific. They build three mouths for every well from the upriver to the downriver. The water in the first mouth is for edibility, the second is for cleaning food, and the last one is for laundry.

The water not only meets the need of the dwellers, but also gives the town a beauty. Thus, the Old Town of Lijiang is reputed as "Oriental Venice" and "Suzhou in Highland".