Lijiang is situated in the northwest plateau in Yunnan; Lijiang (the Beautiful River) got its name from its position at the middle reaches of the beautiful Jinsha River. The ancient town of Lijiang was built in the middle of a flatland at the foot of the Yulong Snow Mountain. It got its name 'Dayan Zheng' (the Town of Big Ink Slab_ because the town is surrounded by tree-covered mountains on all sides with crystal clear water running in the middle of it. It has appearance of a big jade ink slab.

The First bend of Yangtze River is about 70 km from Lijiang Town, located on the north side of the highway leading from Dali to Lijiang. The Jinshjiang River in olden times flows southward along the Hengduan Mountain Ranges and was later forced to the turn to north, as a result of alpine movements that caused changes in the earth's physiognomy. When the river reaches Shigu Township it makes an abrupt turn and flows further northward, forming the marvelous view reputed as the First Bend of the Yangtze River.

Shigu Village (Stone Drum) stands on the mountain at the Yangtze River's bend. This ancient town is named after a drum-shaped marble plaque. Built during the Jiaqing era (1548-1561) of the Ming Dynasty, the stone drum is a monument commemorating the victory of Lijiang's Naxi ruler over an invading Tibetan army. It is one point five meters (five feet) in diameter and zero point five meters (two feet) in thickness. The stone drum has an obvious vestige of what appears to be a 'rip' in it. It is said that the stone drum would rupture prior to any war and then fold when peace returned. Throughout time, Stone Drum Town was always a significant and vitally strategic military area where many famous historical events have been taken place. It was here that Zhuge Liang, the famous and highly acclaimed military strategist of the Three Kingdoms Period, chose to cross the Yangtze River and gain "battle advantage" over his opponents. The first emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, Kublai Khan, used this place for his expeditionary forces to ferry across the river. In April 1936, the Second Route of the Red Army, led by General He Long and Ren bishi, crossed the river here and continued to march north. There are memorials here honoring the people whose histories are entwined with the Stone Drum Town

Tiger Leaping Gorge (Hutiao Gorge) is situated to the northwest of the town of Lijiang. It has a splendid view of the swift turbulent current of the Golden River is created through constant cutting by the waters between Jade Dragon Mountain and Haba Mountain. 17 kilometers long, the gorge drops about 300 meters in a series of 18 rapids, and is divided into the Upper Gorge, the Middle Gorge and the Lower Gorge. The Lower Gorge is the most awe-inspiring part of all. The gorge, in which the Golden San River pounds furiously at its rocky shores in an awesome fashion, sending up to the sky full of white froth, is a dream place for adventurers.

Dr. Josephn Rock's House: He is the strange self-taught botanist, anthropologist, and linguist, travelled, photographed, and studied the wider region of Yunnan and western Szechwan on behalf of National Geographic Society for a quarter century. This farm was used for several years as his base of operations.

Yuhu Naxi Village is perched on an alluvial fan at the foot of the southeastern flank of the Jade Dragon Mountains, 15 km to the northwest of the county seat. In the Naxi language, Yuhu is called 'Ngvlvkee' (Foot of the Snow Mountain), and indeed it sits directly beneath the tallest peak in the Jade Dragon range. The elevation of the administrative village headquarters is 2730 m above sea level.

Yufeng Monastery located in the north of Lijiang Town was planted with a camellia tree, which is praised to be the 'First Tree Under Heaven' and the 'King of the World's Camellias'. This is the world-famous Ten-Thousand-Flower Camellia. Planted during the reign of Emperor Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty, the camellia tree measures 3 meters in height and 30 centimeters in tree-trunk diameter. The tree is the witness of the vicissitudes of over 500 years. Every year at the beginning of Spring, about 10 thousand scarlet camellia flowers bloom amongst the verdure leave. Each of the flowers would be the size of a 10-inch plate, and would keep in full bloom for 100 days. Two gigantic roots of the tree interweave into the shape of a silk tree flower, thus showing a most magnificent form. Which is more remarkable, the flowers blooms from the same tree show diversified colours and unequal number of petals. When in full bloom, the camellia tree resembles the brilliant morning sunglows or burning flames when looked from afar. Therefore, the tree well deserves its name 'King of the Camellia Trees'.

Jade Dragon (Yulong) Snow Mountain, locating between 10004'-10016'east longitude and 2703'-2740' north latitude, is the southernmost glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. Consisting of 13 peaks, among which Shanzidou is the highest one with an altitude of 5,600 meters (18,360 feet), Jade Dragon Snow Mountain stretches a length of 35 kilometers (22 miles) and a width of 20 kilometers (13 miles). Looking from Lijiang Old Town in the south which is 15 kilometers (nine miles) away, the snow-covered and fog-enlaced mountain resembles a jade dragon lying in the clouds, hence, the name Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Naxi Ancient Music (also spelt Nakhi and Nahi) is the traditional Naxi classical music that is regarded as a 'living fossil of Chinese music'. In the long course of development, the ancient Naxi nationality created its own music and preserved part of the Han classical music already lost in the inland China. This music combination is what we call 'Lijiang Daoist Music', 'The National Treasure', and also known as 'Ancient Naxi Music'. Its program consists of two sections: Baishaxiyue and Dongjingyinyue. The former, believed to be the music of the Yuan Dynasty, is precious in that it is one of the few full-length classical orchestral music pieces; the latter, combining the Han and Naxi styles in performance, it the Daoist music introduced to Lijiang during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.