--- title: "The Naxi people of Lijiang: Dongba script, old town and music" url: https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/naxi section: "Culture" type: answer updated: 2026-11-02 next_review: 2027-02-02 status: checked author: "The Popular in China desk" fact_checker: "Alex Liu" publisher: Popular in China (https://popularinchina.com) license: Quote with attribution and a link to https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/naxi --- # The Naxi people of Lijiang: Dongba script, old town and music _The Naxi are a people of the mountains of north-west Yunnan and south-west Sichuan, best known abroad for Lijiang’s canal-lined old town and for Dongba, one of the few pictographic writing traditions still in use. Here is who they are, where they live, their language and script, their music and food, and where to see their culture._ **Verdict: The people of Lijiang** (纳西族) — A Tibeto-Burman-speaking people of north-west Yunnan, keepers of the Dongba pictographic manuscripts ## Short answer The Naxi (纳西族, Nàxī zú) are one of China’s 56 officially recognised ethnic groups, 323,767 people in the 2020 census, living mainly around Lijiang in north-west Yunnan and in south-west Sichuan. They are known for the Dongba pictographic script, the UNESCO-listed Old Town of Lijiang and Naxi ancient music. ## At a glance - **In Chinese:** 纳西族 (Nàxī zú); also written Nakhi in English - **Population (2020 census):** 323,767 - **Where they live:** Mainly north-west Yunnan, around Lijiang, with Ninglang and Weixi; also south-west Sichuan (Yanyuan) and a few in Tibet - **Language:** Naxi (纳西语), a Tibeto-Burman language of the Sino-Tibetan family - **Scripts:** Dongba pictographs, the Geba syllabary, and a Latin alphabet introduced in 1957 - **Known for:** The Old Town of Lijiang (UNESCO, 1997), Dongba manuscripts (UNESCO Memory of the World, 2003), Naxi ancient music ## Who the Naxi are and where they live The Naxi live in the Hengduan Mountains, mainly in **north-west Yunnan** and **south-west Sichuan**, with a small number in Tibet. Their heartland is Lijiang: the county around the city is the **Yulong Naxi Autonomous County** (玉龙纳西族自治县), home to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Other Naxi areas include Ninglang and Weixi in Yunnan and Yanyuan in Sichuan. The 2020 census counted **323,767** Naxi. Lijiang is home to 11 ethnic groups, of which the Naxi and Tibetans are the largest, according to Yunnan’s official tourism site. Most Naxi have traditionally been farmers, growing rice, maize, wheat, potatoes, beans, hemp and cotton. Officially, the Mosuo of the Lugu Lake area in Yunnan are classified as part of the Naxi, although the Mosuo of Yongning have their own recognition at provincial level; see our page on the [Mosuo people](/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/mosuo). Sources: [1][7][11][13] ## Language and the Dongba script Naxi (纳西语, Nàxīyǔ) is a **Tibeto-Burman** language of the Sino-Tibetan family; Britannica notes that it is closely related to the language of the [Yi](/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/yi). Linguists divide it into a fairly uniform Western dialect, which includes the speech of Lijiang’s Dayan old town, and a more varied Eastern dialect. The 2000 census put the number of speakers at about 310,000. The Naxi are famous for **Dongba** (东巴), a pictographic writing tradition: many signs are small drawings of the things they stand for. It was written and kept by the Dongba, the traditional Naxi ritual specialists and scholars, and was used alongside **Geba**, a syllabary also used for everyday records such as inventories, contracts and letters. UNESCO puts the number of Dongba characters at more than 2,000; other counts give about a thousand, partly because new signs could be coined. In Lijiang today you will see Dongba on shop signs and in public spaces in the old town, next to Chinese and English, and on crafts and souvenirs. A Latin-based alphabet for Naxi was introduced in 1957 but is rarely used in daily life. Sources: [3][5][6][7] > **Note: The Dongba manuscripts: UNESCO Memory of the World** > > In 2003 the **Ancient Naxi Dongba Literature Manuscripts** were added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World register, which records documentary heritage of world significance. > > UNESCO describes the manuscripts as written in a pictographic script of more than 2,000 characters that the ancestors of the Naxi used to record their customs and texts, handwritten on handmade paper and bound by hand. Sources: [3] ## The Old Town of Lijiang The **Old Town of Lijiang** (丽江古城) was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in December 1997. The listed site has three parts: **Dayan** (大研) old town, including Black Dragon Pool; the **Baisha** (白沙) housing cluster, about 8 km to the north; and the **Shuhe** (束河) housing cluster, about 4 km to the north-west. Water from the snow mountains runs through the town in a branching network of canals fed by Black Dragon Pool, with wells and springs; the main street and lanes front onto the canals and are crossed by many bridges. The two-storey, tile-roofed, timber-framed houses, which UNESCO calls representative of Naxi culture, mix Han and Tibetan elements in their gateways, screen walls, courtyards and carved beams. A typical Naxi house is a courtyard with one to four buildings around it, of mud brick and wood. The town was hit by a severe earthquake shortly before it was listed. In recent decades a falling water table, linked to climate change and mass tourism, affected the canals, and changes to the water supply have since restored them. Sources: [1][2][4] ## Naxi ancient music **Naxi ancient music** (纳西古乐, Nàxī gǔyuè) has three parts: **Baisha xiyue** (白沙细乐), **Dongjing music** (洞经音乐) and **Huangjing music** (皇经音乐). Tradition links Baisha xiyue to the 13th century, when, the story goes, Kublai Khan left an ensemble and scores with the Naxi chief Mu; Dongjing music was ritual music popular in China under the Ming and early Qing, which came to Lijiang and blended with Naxi style. The score was transcribed in 1962 by music researchers working with local Lijiang musicians. The best-known group is the **Dayan Naxi Orchestra**, re-formed in 1981 by the musician Xuan Ke, which plays instruments such as the dizi flute and a Naxi lute largely from memory, and first toured abroad, to England, in 1995. Performances in Dayan old town charge a fee; in Shuhe, Baisha and some villages, music is played for a donation. Sources: [4][8][9] ## Naxi food and festivals to look for Lijiang’s cooking is dominated by the Naxi, with Han and Tibetan influences. These are dishes and dates that our sources name. [1][10][11][12] | What | Chinese | Details | | --- | --- | --- | | Baba | 粑粑 | Lijiang’s soft fried bread, eaten plain or topped with egg, chilli, minced meat or pickled vegetables | | Jidou liangfen | 鸡豆凉粉 | A jelly made from chickpeas, eaten cold, or hot and fried with vegetables | | Mapu | 麻补 | A sausage of pork blood, spices and glutinous rice, often sold at roadside barbecue stands | | Naxi grilled fish | 纳西烤鱼 | River fish marinated in black vinegar and coriander, grilled and served with mint and a sour, spicy sauce | | Sanduo Festival | 三朵节 | A Naxi festival in early spring; in 2025 it was marked in Lijiang Old Town in early March with cultural events, food and crafts such as Jiama woodblock prints | | Torch Festival | 火把节 | Celebrated by the Naxi on the 24th and 25th days of the sixth lunar month, in summer | ## Questions **Who are the Naxi people?** The Naxi (纳西族) are one of China’s 56 officially recognised ethnic groups, 323,767 people in the 2020 census. They live mainly around Lijiang in north-west Yunnan and in south-west Sichuan, and speak a Tibeto-Burman language. **What is the Dongba script?** Dongba is the Naxi’s pictographic writing tradition, in which many signs are drawings of what they mean. It was kept by traditional Naxi scholars, the Dongba, and the old Dongba manuscripts are on UNESCO’s Memory of the World register (2003). **Is Dongba still used today?** Yes, though mostly as heritage. You will see it on shop signs and in public spaces in Lijiang Old Town, next to Chinese and English, and on crafts and souvenirs. **Where do the Naxi live?** Mainly in north-west Yunnan, in and around Lijiang (including the Yulong Naxi Autonomous County) and in Ninglang and Weixi, and in south-west Sichuan, for example Yanyuan. A few live in Tibet. **What language do the Naxi speak?** Naxi (纳西语), a Tibeto-Burman language of the Sino-Tibetan family, close to the language of the Yi. It has a Western dialect, spoken in Lijiang, and a more varied Eastern dialect. **When did Lijiang become a World Heritage Site?** The Old Town of Lijiang was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in December 1997. The site covers Dayan old town and the Baisha and Shuhe housing clusters nearby. **What is Naxi ancient music?** A body of music with three parts: Baisha xiyue, Dongjing music and Huangjing music, some of it dating back centuries. The Dayan Naxi Orchestra, re-formed in 1981, made it known abroad; performances are held in Lijiang. **Are the Mosuo part of the Naxi?** Officially, the Mosuo are classified as part of the Naxi, although the Mosuo of Yongning in Yunnan have their own recognition at provincial level. Our [Mosuo page](/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/mosuo) explains more. ## Sources 1. [Wikipedia, Nakhi people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakhi_people) — accessed 2026-11-02 2. [UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Old Town of Lijiang](https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/811/) — accessed 2026-11-02 3. [UNESCO Memory of the World, Ancient Naxi Dongba Literature Manuscripts](https://www.unesco.org/en/memory-world/ancient-naxi-dongba-literature-manuscripts) — accessed 2026-11-02 4. [Wikipedia, Old Town of Lijiang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_of_Lijiang) — accessed 2026-11-02 5. [Wikipedia, Dongba symbols](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongba_symbols) — accessed 2026-11-02 6. [Wikipedia, Naxi language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naxi_language) — accessed 2026-11-02 7. [Encyclopaedia Britannica, Naxi](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Naxi) — accessed 2026-11-02 8. [Atlas Obscura, The ancient music of the Naxi in Lijiang](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/naxi-music-lijiang-china) — accessed 2026-11-02 9. [Wikipedia (Chinese), 纳西古乐](https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%BA%B3%E8%A5%BF%E5%8F%A4%E4%B9%90) — accessed 2026-11-02 10. [Matador Network, Naxi cuisine](https://matadornetwork.com/read/naxi-cuisine-chinese-food) — accessed 2026-11-02 11. [Colorful Yunnan (Yunnan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism), Lijiang dining guide: snacks in Lijiang town](https://visityunnanchina.com/node/136) — accessed 2026-11-02 12. [China Daily (China Services Info), Celebrate Lijiang’s heritage with youthful creativity (12 March 2025)](https://www.chinaservicesinfo.com/s/202503/12/WS67d12af8498eec7e1f7319b1/celebrate-lijiangs-heritage-with-youthful-creativity.html) — accessed 2026-11-02 13. [Wikipedia, Yulong Naxi Autonomous County](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yulong_Naxi_Autonomous_County) — accessed 2026-11-02 ## Related - https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china - https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/mosuo - https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/bai - https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/yi - https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/dai --- Canonical page: https://popularinchina.com/culture/ethnic-groups-in-china/naxi