Square market

Square market

In Lijiang, the Square Market was built before the construction of the whole town. It might be the only square that had an automatic street-wash system in ancient times. Closing the water gate on the West River, people can control the Water, and let it overflow the banks, wash the whole square and then flow into the Central River.

The square is open to all directions and all the roads leaf down here. Different from other cities with defending walls, the Square Market is linked with all the roads, streets, alleys, lanes and even fields paths in the mountain outside the town, People can easily go into the market by any way in the town. The square is not only the heart of today's Dayan of Lijiang, but also used to be a central area connecting Tibet, Dali and the Jinshajiang drainage. People made different roads to Dayan across the mountain and river so that the horse teams, merchants and travelers could walk along these roads to their destinations day and night.

Different from other Chinese traditional squares, the Square Market is more of a western style, which works with diversified functions in trading, holding ceremonies, resting and recreation. Such design was almost incredible in ancient China. As time goes by, Old Town of Lijiang has, with the Square Market as its center surrounded by household stores, developed its roads into a radiate layout. Outside the market, there are shops and small inns and roads that radiating to all directions. The elegant and well-preserved ancient market is like a big magnetic field, attracting people from all over the world. The only different is that they are not just merchants but mostly travelers.