Situated between 99o 30 E to 100o 50 E and 26o N to 27o 50 N, Lijiang can be easily located by every tourist from abroad when they trace along the Yangtze River from its mouth in Shanghai back toward its source. The ancient town of Lijiang is a traveler's wonderland which has been classified as a World-class Cultural Legacy by UNESCO, Nationallevel Scenic Zone and a National Town of History and Culture.

Lijiang is a beautiful shining jewel on the Northwest Yunnan Plateau neighbouring the southeast side of the Tibentan Plateau which is considered to be the Roof of the World. It covers an area of 20,600 square kilometers with a population of 1,030,000. The whole district is comprised of four counties: Lijiang, Yongsheng, Huaping and Ninglang. Lijiang's weather is remark-ably pleasant. Spring there lasts as long as 241 days and there is no hot summer.

Lijiang is 603 kilometers away from Kunming and 280 kilometers from the Jingjiang Railway Station on the Kunming-Chengdu line. The airport in Lijiang had been opened in 1994.

Lijiang boasts of breath-takingly wonderful sights such as Snow Mountain Jade Dragon (Yulong Xueshan) and its modern maritime glacier, the only one of its kind in the southern end of the northern Hemisphere; Tiger Leaping Gorge (Hutiaoxia); the world-famous grand canyon; Lugu Lake, the cultural cradle of the Matriarchy of the Yongning Mosuo people in Ninglang; the Old Town of Dayan, which is referred to by European and American tourists as the Oriental Venice . All these natural sceneries and these cultural treasures of the minority peoples, such as Dongba Culture, Naxi Classical Music, Baisha Murals and Mosuo Customs, have been continuously drawing tourists from all over the world and have recently vote Lijiang as one of the favorite destinations in China.

In 1989, Lijiang was ranked as a Level-1 Tourism Hot Spot of China by the Yunnan Tourism Bureau. In 1992, it was rated as one of the four provincial-level travel zones of Yunnan by the provincial government. There is a saying which goes: Visit not Lijiang, visit not Yunnan! Lijiang is now opening its gate ready to heartily welcome guests from all over the world and show off its exotic and alluring scenery as well as the rich and colourful ethnic customs of its people.