Lijiang

Carved 'cliff' at the entrance to Lijiang Old Town.

Although known as Lijiang, the town is officially called Dayan, literally 'Great Inkblot', named for it's 'location on a rich plain surrounded by mountains' or for the grey tiled roofs, depending on which guide book you believe.

The town with it's 750 years of history is lucky to be here, in 1996 a massive earthquake devastated many surrounding villages and parts of the new town.  The old town with it's traditional buildings remained largely undamaged.

The whole of Lijiang County has been declared a Unesco 'World Heritage Site.'