Lijiang Murals

There are several ancient villages from ten kilometers (six miles) northwest of Lijiang Old Town, including Baisha, Dayan, Shuhe, Yangxi and Xuesong. There, the invaluable Lijiang Mural is stored, preserved and displayed in 15 venerable temples, such as Juexian, Wande, Guiyi temples and Sanbi Garden. Altogether, the mural used to include more than 200 pieces of fresco. However, hundreds of years of historical vicissitudes have left only 55 pieces in good condition. The most famous frescos are known as Baisha Mural of the Dabaoji (Great Treasure) Palace and the Colored Glaze Temple (Liuli Dian) in the town of Baisha.

Most of the temples were built from the early days of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and the Lijiang Mural was created at the same time, over the course of about 300 hundred years. In Lijiang, it was an era of rapid economic development, mutual acculturation of multinational culture, and the growth of religions. Accordingly, Lijiang Mural was an artistic representation of this cooperation, communication and progress. The authors of these mural paintings had come from different nations, including the local Naxi Dongba painters; the Taoist painter Zhang from the Central Plain; Tibetan Lama artist Guchang; Han painters Ma Xiaoxian and Li Zeng; and many other artists who were unknown to the public.