Travel Guide Shigu 石鼓

The small town of Shigu ("stone drum") is located on the first elbow of the river Yangtse. The Yangtse, which takes its source on the Tibetan plateau and descends south, turns 130 ° to Shigu to go back to the northeast. Shigu owes its name to a 1.50 meter white marble drum from the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Surrounded by a gardener on the road, he tells the exploits of the Mu clan, the aristocratic class of the naxi people.During the Han dynasty (206 BC at 220), Shigu was a strategic point on the silk road. Much later, Kubilay Khan and his army crossed the Yangtse and established an administrative office in Shigu. Later, the second and sixth Red Army also crossed the river here during their Long March north to fight the Japanese invader. A monument to martyrs of war was erected on a hill in the city. Some hotels and guesthouses in Lijiang can organize a one day excursion to go to Shigu.