Monday 21 April 2014

Introduction to Historical Site and World Cultural Heritage in Lijiang Dali

Green Lake Park (CuiHu Park)



Located in Kunming proper, the park was a beautiful bay on the DianChi Lake before Ming Dynasty and became a tourist resort at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty.  With an area of 21 Hectare, the park is nowadays well-known for its richly ornamented traditional pavilions and palaces, blue waves and ripples, green willows, beautiful flowers, fair landscape and quiet elegance of its numerous scenes:”early spring at the green lake” and “seagulls playing at the green lake” are known as the most enjoyable ones.

Green Lake Park

Green Lake Park Cuihu

Lijiang Old Town (Lijiang Ancient Town)


The Old Town of Li Jiang was built at the turn of Song Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty. It has been the trade and commercial center, as well as the key section of the famous Old Route for Horse Carrying Tea since Ming and Qing Dynasties, serving as the linkage of Yunnan, Sichuan and Tibet. The town has a history of 800 years and covers an area of 3.8 square kilometers. 

The site of the Old Town enjoys a favourable weather with the Gold-rainbow Mountain in the north, the Sleeping Lion Mountain in the west, wild and open crops in the southeast. The Jade Water River is divided into three tribunals under the Jade Dragon Bridge, and furthers more into the depth of the town and created the picturesque scene of bridge, spring and households. Streets and architecture are irregularly made along with the water system, which differs greatly from cities in central China with neat and regular layout. Streets are paved with five-color granites and Naxi buildings are blended with the flavor of Han, Bai and Tibetan, which is great value for appreciation and research.

Dongba Culture

Lijiang Old Town

Shuhe Ancient Town



World Cultural Heritage – Shuhe Old Town in Lijiang (Shuhe Ancient Town)


Shuhe, located at about 4km from the Lijiang Old Town, is one of the earliest places inhabited by the ancestors of the Naxi nationality in Lijiang Flatland and an important and best reserved old town along the Ancient Merchant Track for tea and horse exchange. Also, it is regarded as a living specimen in the history of Naxi nationality transmitting from the period of farming cultivation to the industrial and trading civilization period. It is a model set up in the town construction mingling the activities of open-to-the-outside and that of caravan. In 1997, Shuhe was enlisted as an important part of Lijiang old Town, a world cultural heritage by UNESCO.

The ancient path, the drifting spring, the local household is Shuhe Ancient Town’s traditional style.

The tea and horse culture, the ecology culture, the Naxi culture and the farming culture, all these jointly demonstrate a distinctive landscape of Shuhe Ancient Town.

Shuhe Ancient Town

Shuhe Ancient Town
 
Black Dragon Pool (HeiLongTan)

Black Dragon Pool was established in the second year of Qianlong Emperor of Qing Dynasty. Because the emperor, Qianlong ever bestowed it Jade-spring Dragon God, it used to be called The Temple of Jade-spring Dragon God. Afterwards, Jiaqing and Guangxu, the two emperors conferred the title Dragon God and it was renamed Black Dragon Pool.

Black Dragon Pool is the source water of the water system of Lijiang Ancient town, a world culture heritage.  Spring water here are squirt out with the crystal water and like the pearl of water dropping. The famous Yulong 13 peaks reflected in the water form not only an exquisite scenic painting but also a symbol of Lijiang tourism. On December 4, 1997, it was listed in the World Culture Heritage as an important component of Lijiang Ancient Town.

In recent 10 years, several prominent leaders of our nation and Party, such as Jiang ZeMin, Li Peng, Zhu Rongji and so on investigated Black Dragon pool. Meanwhile, Chinese and foreigner tourists visited it in an endless stream as well.

Dali Ancient Town


Located to 15km to the north of Xiaguan Town in Dali, Dali Ancient Town faces Erhai Sea and relieson Cangshan Mountain at its back. It has an area of 4,000m2 and Perimeter of 6km. Initially built in A.D. 779 (in Tang Dynasty), it used to be the capital of Nanzhao State in Tang Dynasty and Dali State in Song Dynasty. There are walls, gates and streets built around it, forming the typical chessboard pattern. 

Bai people are the main residents whose houses are built according to the pattern of three-courtyard and four-courtyard. There are 9 streets 18 lanes in the town, which are paved with green slates running through south to north and east to west in typical chessboard pattern. Given an imposing sense, it has been politically, military and cultural center of Yunnan in Tang and Song Dynasties for over 500 years. There are plenty of cultural relics and sites in Ancient Town, such as Wuhua Building, Wenxian Building, Marshall Du’s Mansion, Chengxinjing, Honglongjing, Zhongxi School and so on laying profound historical and cultural significance to the ancient town.


Dali Ancient Town

Dali Ancient Town

Dali Ancient Town


Dali Foreigner Street

The Foreigner Street also known as Huguo Road, and it takes its name from the uprising of local people opposed YUAN SHI KAI to be the emperor of China. Huguo Road starts west from Dianzhang highway to the east. It is 1000 meters length and 7 meters width, with blue marble pavement. 

At 1980s, with the rise of tourism, Dali Old Town was recommended to be main scenic spot of Dali. And the Hongshan Hotel was remodeled to be Foreign Hotel. Since then, Huguo Road became a commercial center of all foreign friends. Forest of bars forms exotic scenery in this area, and becomes one of the earliest and most famous Foreigner Streets in China. People enjoy themselves without any thoughts of leaving here. That’s why many foreign friends reside here and call it is “Sweet Home”.

Foreigner Street Huguo Road

Snow Mountain at Dali

Yulong Snow Mountain

Yulong Snow Mountain