Dayan Old Town / Lijiang Old Town (丽江古城 / 大研镇)
A sprawling 800-year-old UNESCO World Heritage town at 2,400m — Dayan's web of cobblestone lanes, stone bridges, and gurgling canals is the Naxi people's living museum, no walls, no straight roads, and no shortage of tourists.
Duration
Half day, 3-5 hours
Cost
¥50 ($7) maintenance fee, valid 365 days with unlimited entries; free for seniors 60+ and children under 12 or below 1.2m
Hours
Open 24 hours (living town); shops and attractions generally 9:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Booking
No booking needed
Dayan Old Town (大研镇, Dàyán Zhèn) — what most people mean when they say "Lijiang Old Town" (丽江古城, Lìjiāng Gǔchéng) — is an 800-year-old labyrinth of 3.8 square kilometres perched at 2,400 metres in Yunnan's northwest. It's the only ancient Chinese city built without a city wall: the ruling Mu family believed that enclosing their name (木, "wood") within walls (口) would turn it into 困 ("trapped"), so they left it open. UNESCO listed it in 1997.
The town runs on water. Streams from Black Dragon Pool branch into a web of channels that pass every doorstep, crossed by 350-plus stone bridges. The bluestone alleys are narrow and deliberately meandering — no two paths lead the same way. At the centre is Sifangjie (四方街, Square Street), once a tea-and-horse-road trading hub, now a plaza ringed by souvenir stalls and snack vendors. The real magic is getting lost two streets away, where Naxi elders still sit in carved-wood doorways and courtyards overflow with potted flowers.
It's beautiful and it's touristy — crowds can feel crushing by late morning. Go at dawn, wander the back lanes north of Sifangjie towards the hills, and you'll find the town the UNESCO committee fell in love with. The ¥50 ($7) maintenance fee is charged at entry checkpoints and covers unlimited visits for 365 days.
Practical tips
- Arrive at sunrise (before 8am). By 10am the main lanes — especially Sifangjie (四方街, Square Street) — become a dense river of tour groups. Early morning gives you misty canals, empty bridges, and locals going about their day.
- Wear sturdy shoes with grip. The bluestone slabs are polished to a shine by centuries of foot traffic and get dangerously slippery when wet.
- The ¥50 maintenance receipt is checked at nearby sights like Jade Spring Park (黑龙潭) and Baisha Mural. Keep it — it's valid all year.
- Stay for sunset and after dark. The lanterns come on, Naxi music drifts from courtyards, and the town feels completely different from the daytime crush.
- Watch your step near the water channels. The three-tier well system (first pool for drinking, second for washing vegetables, third for laundry) is still in use — don't rinse your hands in the drinking pool.