Lijiang Town is officially called "Dayan Town"-- "Dayan" literally means a "great ink stab", a graphic description of the town's location on a piece of rich flatland fed by a river and surrounded by green mountains. There is no other town in China like Dayan which incorporates the folkways of so many people and the architectural styles of both north and south China.

The people of Naxi, while developing their land of snow-clad mountains and turbulent rivers since ancient times, have to their credit the "Dong Ba Culture" seen as one of the world wonders, a culture all-embracing while unique.

All these natural sceneries and these cultural treasures of the minority peoples have been continuously drawing tourists from all over the world and have recently vote Lijiang as one of the favorite destinations in China.