Today, Lijiang is divided into two parts: the old town and the new town. The old town has well preserved buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Because of the blooming tourism business, most locals live in the new town and rent their old-town houses to outsider businesses. Along the major streets in the old town, most houses have been reconstructed as shops. These sell special local products such as wood-carvings, crafts with the Dongba character, tea leaves and so on. Some of these building are remodeled into restaurants or bars, which mainly serves tourists since their prices are too high for a local's income. The night view in old town is terrific, red lanterns hang under the eaves along both sides of the main streets, making the buildings look elegant and mysterious. There are also many unique taverns inside the old town; when compared to the star hotel outside the old town, their prices are much cheaper, about RMB 20-over 100 Yuan per night per person. Because I booked my air ticket and hotel together online, I stayed in a hotel outside the old town. It was such a pity that I didn’t get to enjoy the uniqueness of the taverns. However, I was still able to visit a couple of the taverns -- both were remodeled from houses where the locals lived before. The room is very simple, just 2 single beds and public bathroom. Some taverns have a side businesses such as a restaurant or a bar. At night, all the tavern guests patronize the tavern's bar. They drink and chat about each other’s travel experience -- a very happy scene indeed.
丽江现分为古城和新城，古城的建筑还很好保存了明请时的风格。只是因为旅游业的发达，很多原住民都将自己在古城的房子租给了外来作生意的商人，而他们自己则搬去新城住新房了。古城的主要街道两旁的房子已很少是住户，如今都已改为商铺，销售当地的特产，诸如木雕，印有东巴文的手工艺品，茶叶等等。还有部分房子改为饭店或酒吧，因为消费水平不菲，主要对象还是游客。古城的夜景十分漂亮，沿街的屋檐下都挂满了红灯笼，初到古城时真给我有“大红灯笼高高挂” 的感觉。古城内还有许多各具特色的小旅店，价格也相对较古城外的星级便宜许多，大约在每人每天20-100元多不等。因为我是机票加旅店一起在网上订的，所以住在了古城外的HOTEL，没有能感受到古城小客栈的味道，甚为遗憾。不过我还是抽空特地去看了两家小客栈，都是由当地人将家里庭院改建的。设施相对较为简单，基本上是一件房间两张床而已，有些向我小时随父母住过的招待所。厕所是公用的，不过到也干净。有的客栈还自带饭店或酒吧，晚上客栈的游客聚在一起，谈天说地吹牛皮，也别有一番情趣。
