Old Villages 古村 · Bai Minority 白族

Panxi Village 磻溪村

Historic Bai village near Erhai.

Panxi is a historic Bai village on the western side of Erhai, right where the Bai consider the dividing line of Erhai into a upper half and a lower half believe to be. Once there was a giant monolith 磐石 where the Benzhu Temple is located today, from which the village took its name. 

This boulder was blown up in 1959 during the Great Leap Forward 大跃进, probably both because the boulder represented superstition and because blowing up things was both fun and proved the power of communism. 

The Benzhu Temple is dedicated to Daheitian 大黑天, the God of Disasters, but a patron saint of the Bai people. The main Benzhu Festival here is celebrated on Mid-autumn Day 中秋节 with a concert of the Dongjinghui 东经会, but otherwise not that many people seem to attend. 

Next to the Benzhu Temple is a temple dedicated to Caishen

East of the square with the temple is a screen wall and a lakeside pavilion, a bit further north another lakeside pavilion 珠联阁, considered one of four important lakeside pavilions. 

Picture: Panxi Mu Pavilion
Panxi Mu Pavilion
Picture: Pingfenbaier Zhaobi
Pingfenbaier Zhaobi
Picture: Panxi Caishen Temple
Panxi Caishen Temple