At the northern gate of Lijiang, a single stone platform dictates the flow of an entire city's water. This is Yulong Bridge, the second of the Seven Star Bridges, positioned to align Dayan Old Town with ancient cosmological patterns.

For eight centuries, since the late Song and early Yuan dynasties, this crossing served as a key node on the Tea Horse Road. Underfoot, the regional red breccia—colloquially called five-color stone—bears a glassy polish. This smooth sheen was ground into the rock by the iron-shod hooves of caravan horses and the straw-soled feet of traders.

The bridge features a broad, flat deck designed to accommodate large volumes of pedestrian traffic. It spans the Yuhe River at a critical hydrological junction. Immediately below its deck, the river, flowing south from the Black Dragon Pool, splits into three channels: the East, Middle, and West rivers. These branches feed dozens of smaller canals that weave through courtyards and houses, creating a living, automated water network.

The bridge has survived massive physical transformations. In 1977, builders culverted parts of the Middle River with reinforced concrete to construct Dongda Street, reshaping the surrounding agricultural land. The stone bridge remained fully intact. Today, it marks the boundary where the modern new city ends and the UNESCO-protected historic town begins.

Standing on the red breccia, visitors look past the rushing water to see the distant, white peaks of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. During the annual Chrysanthemum Festival, the stone banks disappear under elaborate floral displays. On festival days, Naxi couples gather on the deck to sing traditional Dongba wedding love-song duets, their voices rising above the sound of the three splitting rivers.