Lili Town lies 30 kilometers southeast of Wujiang. It stands in the junction area of Shanghai and Zhejiang. It is a well reserved town with the features of the area south of the Yangtze River. It is called “Four Town of Li in the area south of the Yangtze River along with Tongli, Zhili and Changli.
　　The town consists of a river, two streets and the buildings along the streets. Most of the reserved buildings were two-storey houses established in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. One feature of the ancient town is its long stone-made banks along the river. The banks remain as stable as before despite its centuries’ history. Over 300 stone columns were erected by the bank, among which the most exquisite trunkshaped column looks like a seal engraved by skilled seal-maker. These columns serve as good tools for fastening ropes of ships and are precious artistic treasures.
　　 Historical Tracks
　　The history of Lili Town could date back to 2500 years ago. In the Spring and Autumn Period was a part of Changle (today’s Jiaxing, Zhejiang). After the battle between the State of Wu and the State of Yue (in 496 BC), Lili Town became a part of the boundary of the two countries. The Arhat Monastery, the oldest building in current Lili Town, was built in the First Year of Yongxi Period in the Jin Dynasty (290) and was more than 1700 years old. It was a village governed by local magistrate of Jiaxing in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, it has become a big town with thousands of families living there.
　　In the Jiaqing Period of Qing Dynasty (1796-1820), Lili Town has already developed to a town which was 3 miles long from east to west. The large population inside the town lead to the crowded houses whose eaves overlapped with each other. The market inside the town was very prosperous; the river was jammed by boats and the streets were crowded with people.
　　After the Xinhai Revolution, Lili became one of the six towns of Wujiang City. In the 18th year of the Republic of China (1929), Lili was the fourth area of Wujiang County. In the same year the town was divided into Lidong and Lixi and did not become a united town until 17 years later. After the foundation of People’s Republic of China, Lili Town was established as a town under the administration of Wujiang. In 1983, it was upgraded to an independent county.
　　 Scenic Features
　　
　　The T-shaped river crossing Lili Town is over 2000 meters long. Above the river there are 10 ancient stone bridges which were built from Yuan Dynasty to Qing Dynasty. Apart from the bridges, there are a lot of steps connecting the banks and the river. People could get onto the banks or embarked on the boats. The steps share different types.
　　In addition, different types of columns for tying ships could be seen on the banks and steps. According to the local government’s statistics, there are totally 254 kinds of stone columns in Lili Town – the largest in the area south of the Yangtze River. When you boat along the river, you will see pen-shaped, rhino horn-shaped and rod-shaped columns which are carved with monkeys, deer, bees, peach trees and so on.
　　If the river, banks, bridges and columns for tying ships are common features for all water towns in the area south of the Yangtze River, then Lili Town has a feature peculiar to itself –the lanes.
　　
　　 Features of Lanes
　　There are 85 lanes in different shapes in Lili Town. 70 of them are hidden lanes while the other 15 can be accessed directly from the street. 57 of the lanes are named after residents’surnames, each of which is full of folk elements. Most of the lanes are called“XX-Family Lanes” while XX refers to a surname. In the Qing Dynasty, the Top Eight Names in Lili Town were established based on the number of residents, which were, from low to high,“Zhou, Chen, Li, Kuai, Nu, Lu, Xu and Cai”. Each surname has at least one lane named after it. Since the surname of Cai is the most popular surname in Lili Town, there are five lanes named after it. In order to differentiate them, “south, north, east, west and middle” are added in front of them based on their locations.
　　There are five lanes with the length of over 100 meters. The longest lane is Li Ting Lane which is 135.7 meters long. The title of the narrowest lane is shared by Heng Feng Tai Lane and FanFamily lane, which are only 0.7 meters wide. In comparison, the Temple and Bridge Lane is two meters wide and thus is the widest lane in Lili Town. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, this lane was a busy commercial street with stores standing close to each other.
　　The hidden lanes in Lili Town are said to be its name cards. There are twin lanes which are connected by two hidden lanes or a hidden lane and an open lane. Even you can find a lane inside a lane as well. The said hidden lanes are also called “accompanying lanes”. These lanes are usually not connected to the street and can only be accessed through open lanes. In old times, each hidden lane belonged to one family and a few of them are shared by families (usually used to connect the lanes of each family). Chinese people believed that “it is wise to hide the treasure in the dark than revealing them in the public”. Therefore, in Lili Town, there are not only hidden lanes, but the bedrooms are not accessible for natural light either. This has already become a kind of folk customs. In the ancient times, thieves or even robbers were common during the unrest. The bright room gave these “uninvited guests” a clear vision of internal structure of the room, the way to get into and out of house as well as the wealth of the house owner.
　　The lanes are not flat. The parts of lanes close to the river are always lower than the ones far away from the river. The rising structure implies the auspicious meaning of “gradual rise of people’s fortune”. In addition, it could serve as a good tool for drainage, which is an important issue for the water town in the area south of the Yangtze River. In spring summer, these towns are usu- ally visited by continuous rains or downpours. The design of the lanes helps to drain the rainwater into the river and eradicate all worries about waterlogging.
　　It is worthwhile to mention that most of lanes in Lili Town are not straight from the start to the end; instead, they have one or two turns and most of the turns are at right angles. An ancient proverb in China said that “the two straight ends let the treasure slip away”. It is a design that matches the theory of Feng Shui in China and can prevent the theft and robbery since the twisted lanes can prevent thieves and robbers from running fast away from the criminal sites.
　　Each turn is equipped with an arched stone gate. The frame of the gate is made from a large section of marble under which a thick stone slab is erected as the door. Most of lanes in Lili Town have two or three devices like this. The sunshine cannot reach the deep part of lanes even in a sunny, making these lanes look very mysterious and formidable.
　　
　　 Liu Yazi Memorial Hall
　　Liu Yazi was a famous poet and patriot in modern China. He was born at the end of Qing Dynasty and moved to Lili Town with his family when he was 12.
　　After he grew up, he spent his life in promoting the democracy in China. He used his pen to write poems and articles to praise the democracy and criticize the autocracy. After the May 4 Event, he became fascinated in Marxism. In 1923, he founded a newspaper named “New LiLi” to publicize the new cultural ideas. In the same year, he and his friends established the New South Association to promote the Three People’s Principles (nationalism, democracy and people’s livelihood). At the end of this he joined in the Kuomintang but opposed Chiang Kai Shek’s autocracy and his idea of getting ride the Communist Party of China. During the Anti-Japanese War, his membership in Kuomintang was deprived of because he opposed and criticized Chiang Kai Shek after the South Anhui Incident.
　　After the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, Liu Yazi worked for the government in the cultural fields. In 1950, he donated the classic and historical records he collected for life to the country.
　　After his death, the government turned a house in Lili Town into the Memorial Hall for him. This house was built as the residential place for Zhou Yuanli, Minister of Work in the Qianlong Period of Qing Dynasty. The whole building is a grand and bright hall along with courtyards. The hall has beans decorated with dragons and phoenix and is very outstanding compared with other houses around it.
　　The building is divided into five parts and between each part there is a wall with exquisite brick carvings and a grand and solid door. When Liu Yazi moved in Lili Town with his family, her mother rented the fourth and fifth part of the building. Liu Yazi spent 29 years living, studying and fighting in there.
　　The second part of the building is a hall. A plate with words meaning “the Memorial Hall of Mr. Liu Yazi” was hung above the front door. In the center of the hall stand a bust of Liu Yazi. The bust has inscriptions written by Deng Yingchao, a female politician and the wife of PRC’s first premier Zhou Enlai.
　　The third part of the building is a hall where books written and newspapers published by Liu Yazi are displayed, showing how Liu Yazi and his friends enlightened people and taught them about democracy in the dark time.