The Old Town of Lijiang, which is per­fect­ly adapt­ed to the uneven topog­ra­phy of this key com­mer­cial and strate­gic site, has retained a his­toric town­scape of high qual­i­ty and authen­tic­i­ty. Its archi­tec­ture is note­wor­thy for the blend­ing of ele­ments from sev­er­al cul­tures that have come togeth­er over many cen­turies. Lijiang also pos­sess­es an ancient water-sup­­ply sys­tem of great com­plex­i­ty and inge­nu­ity that still func­tions effec­tive­ly today.