Lijiang

Lijiang (Chinese: 丽江), formerly romanized as Likiang, is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of 21,219 square kilometres (8,193 sq mi) and had a population of 1,253,878 at the 2020 census whom 288,787 lived in the built-up area (metro) made of Gucheng District. By the end of 2024, the registered population of the city was 1,243,700. Lijiang is famous for its UNESCO Heritage Site, the Old Town of Lijiang, which contains a mixture of different historical architecture styles and a complex, ancient water-supply system. It borders Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Panzhihua City in Sichuan Province to the east and it has one municipality and four counties. Lijiang City is located on the Yungui Plateau, abutting the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is one of the key forest areas in Yunnan Province, and one of the west–east power transmission bases of China's hydropower industry. Lijiang City is a multi-ethnic settlement: apart from the Han nationality, there are a total of 22 ethnic minorities. Lijiang is the only prefecture-level city with three World Heritage Sites. It is rich in tourism resources, with 104 widely recognised tourist attractions, including the Old Town of Lijiang, Yulong Snow Mountain, Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Laojun Mountain.