Dayan old town, Yunnan province. [photo by Yang Qi/chinaculture.org]

The Old Town of Lijiang is officially called "Dayan Town", which boasts 800 years of history. "Dayan" literally means a "great ink slab", a graphic description of the town's location on a piece of rich flatland fed by a river and surrounded by green mountains.

Dayan Town is the large Naxi settlement first built during the Southern Song Dynasty. Dayan Town is one of the few places in China with well-preserved old style folk buildings. In December 1986, the State Council designated the place as a famous ancient historical and cultural city of a national caliber. In 1997, the UNESCO put Lijiang on a list of the world's major cultural heritages.

The architecture in Lijiang of Yunnan province is noteworthy for the blending of elements from several cultures that have come together over many centuries. Lijiang also possesses an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that still functions effectively today.