Old Town of Lijiang folk houses are the concentrated expression of Naxi architectural art and style. They are formed on the basis of dry wooden houses of Naxi nationality and absorb the advantages of Han, Bai, Tibetan and other ethnic buildings. Most residential buildings are two-story wooden structures, barrel structures, adobe walls and tile roofs. The most typical layout forms are three grids, one wall, four entrances and five patios, etc. Houses pay attention to local decoration, such as doors and windows decorated with woodcarving patterns, verandahs decorated with marble, beams decorated with large beams carved into animal heads, courtyards paved with pebbles or five-flowered stones, etc. It is the product of the combination of function and art, and has a distinctive national style. At present, 32 quadrangles have been identified as the first batch of national key protected buildings. The folk houses in Old Town of Lijiang and the unique culture represented by Dongba culture and Naxi ancient music constitute a picture of Naxi nationality in Old Town of Lijiang.

The architecture of the ancient city combines Han, Tibetan, Bai and other ethnic groups, and has the unique style of Naxi nationality. It is a rare and well-preserved ancient city of ethnic minorities among the existing ancient cities in China. The location and layout make full use of the geographical environment and the Heilongtan water system. Buildings undulate on the mountain.