With an area of 7,485 square kilometers in the Northwest of Yunnan Province, Lijiang Prefecture has a population of 1.02 million. The government of Lijiang Prefecture is based in the Lijiang county seat, which is about 600 kilometres from Kunming. Either by plane or by coach, Lijiang is easily accessible.

Lijiang is one of the National Scenic Areas. The Ancient Town of Lijiang has been inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO for its well preservation. Every ethnic group in Lijiang has special festivals, such as Naxi people's "Sanduo Festival", Yi people's "Torch Festival", etc.