Lijiang City is a prefecture level city under the jurisdiction of Yunnan Province, China. It borders Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and Panzhihua City in Sichuan Province to the east, Jianchuan, Heqing, and Binchuan counties in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture and Dayao and Yongren counties in Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture to the south, and Lanping County in Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture and Weixi County in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture to the west and north, respectively.
Lijiang City has a total area of 20600 square kilometers, with one municipal district and four counties under its jurisdiction. There are languages such as Naxi, Mosuo, Yi, and Yunnan dialects within the territory. As of the end of 2024, the permanent population of Lijiang City is 1.25 million.
Lijiang City has a terrain that is high in the northwest and low in the southeast, located on the southeastern edge of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and the northwest plateau of Yunnan. It belongs to a semi humid low latitude plateau mountain monsoon climate. The rivers within the territory belong to two major river basins and three major water systems. During the Shu Han period, Suijiu County was established in Lijiang. In the Yuan Dynasty, Chahanzhang was first established to manage the people, and later changed to Lijiang Xuanwei Department and Lijiang Road Military and Civilian General Administration Office. In the early Ming Dynasty, Lijiang Prefecture was established, and in the Qing Dynasty, Lijiang Military and Civilian Prefecture was established. In December 1949, the Lijiang People's Administrative Commissioner's Office was established, and in April 1950, it was renamed Lijiang Commissioner's Office.
Lijiang City has an integrated comprehensive transportation system mainly composed of highways, connected by railways, civil aviation, and water transportation. The transportation within the city is convenient, and it is the political, economic, and cultural center of northwest Yunnan. It is also a material distribution center on the "Southern Silk Road" and "Tea Horse Ancient Road".
Lijiang City has three world heritage sites, with multiple ethnicities and religions coexisting, and a wide distribution of above ground and underground cultural relics, as well as abundant tourism resources.
As of 2021, there are a total of 199 fourth level cultural relics protection units. There are 11 at the national level, 14 at the provincial level, 56 at the city level, and 118 at the county (district) level. There are 104 tourist scenic spots within the territory, with over 13000 species of flora and fauna, making it one of the famous animal and plant protection bases in China. Lijiang City has various ethnic cultures and folk activities. Such as the 15th day of the first lunar month of the Naxi ethnic group, the Three Flowers Festival, the Torch Festival of the Yi ethnic group, and the broad season of the Lisu ethnic group.