The ancient city of
Lijiang is located at the foot of the snow-capped Yulong
Mountains, which is in the southeastern part of
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau known as the "roof of the
world" and the northwestern part of the Yunnan-Guizhou
Plateau. The ancient city is formed of three separate
ancient towns, namely, Baisha, Shuhe, and Dayan. It is
called the "soul of Lijiang" because the city
itself is located where the Han, Tibetan, Nanzhao and Naxi
cultures converge and has been a caretaker of civilization
for over 1,O00 years. The ancient city of Lijiang is by no
means a fossil. It is alive and full of vigor with its
"poetic style of living", its aesthetic norms, its
simple way of life, and its classic art of city
construction.
Lijiang Prefecture is home to people of more than
20 minority ethnic groups, the bulk of whom are the Naxi.
Each of these ethnic groups has a unique culture and
history, which match into the beauty of the land, setting an
example of a harmonious relationship between man and nature.
Known as the "soul of Lijiang", the city formed a
part of the cultural heritage of China presented by the Naxi
cultures. The most typical example is the Dongba
("necromancer" or "sutra reader")
culture and ancient Naxi music. The rich Dongba culture
includes pictographic records, drawings on different sorts
of materials, music, dance, sacrificial rituals and folk
customs. Naxi music, called the Dongjing (Cave Sutra) music
of Lijiang, is a combination of the quintessence of the
ancient Naxi music with the Confucian and Taoist musical
traditions of the Han people. It is considered a
"living fossil of the ancient music of China".