Lijiang is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Yunnan Province, China. It has an area of 21,219 square kilometers (8,193 sq mi) and a population of 1,244,7690 as of 2010 census. Lijiang City replaced former administrative region Lijiang Prefecture. Lijiang Prefecture no longer exists today. It was under the rule of the Mu family local commanders during the Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty. The city has an 800 year history from as early as the late Song Dynasty. It is built where the Jade River divides into three and its streams form the canals and waterways which flow along the old town streets.