Kiss of Life for an Old Caravan Market
Until the middle of last century, Shaxi was a flourishing village on the caravan road to Tibet. The following decades made it a place that history forgot. Now Shaxi is undergoing an award-winning restoration.
Marco Polo in Yunnan?
Did the great Venetian traveller reach Yunnan? Almost certainly not, but still his accounts are the first words Europeans heard about this far-away region.
古镇: Death-knell for Yunnan's Historic Towns
In China even the 'old towns' are new. Under the 古镇, or ancient town, moniker old towns are razed and their population driven out to make space for sanitized versions of Chinese history that drive the tourist dollar.
Learning Bai
Bai 白族话 is the language spoken by the Bai people 白族 in the Dali area. While Chinese has become the lingua franca, Bai is still actively spoken by many, particularly older people, but it does not have a native written form and comes in many dialects. Here we list the available resources for learning this difficult language.
Dali City
Dali City administers surroundings of Erhai with the lofty Cangshan mountains to the west, a region dominated by the Bai people.
Yangbi Yi Autonomous County
Yangbi is an Yi area to the western side of the Cangshan mountains. It is famous for its walnuts.
Nanjian Yi Autonomous County
Nanjian's main attractions are the cherry flower in December and the Earth Forest.
Yunlong County
Called 'museum of bridges', Yunlong county is one of Yunnan's rarely visited gems: the small county town with pleasant Hushan temple mountain in the back, the historic salt town Nuodeng just a few kilometers away and the many covered bridges across the picturesque Bi River that have given the county its moniker make a trip to Yunlong a trip back in time.
Weishan Yi and Hui Autonomous County
Unspoiled Weishan boast Yunnan's most beautiful county town, an important Taoist mountain and areas of strong Muslim and Yi tradition.
Jianchuan County
With Shibaoshan Jianchuan hosts the most historically interesting temple complex in Yunnan and just south of it lies Shaxi, the best preserved traditional trading post.
Eryuan County
The 'Source of Erhai' has with Cibi Lake, West Lake and Fengyu a number of nice place, plus plenty of hotsprings.
Intangible Cultural Heritage
Festivals
Butterfly Festival 26 May 2021
Raosanling 02 Jun 2021
Dandao Temple Fair 22 Jun 2021
Benzhu Worship 23 Jul 2021
Benzhu Worship 24 Jul 2021
Guanyin Practice Day 28 Jul 2021
Bai Torch Festival 03 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 03 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 06 Aug 2021
Bridge Temple Fair 22 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 28 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 29 Aug 2021
Lanterns on the Lake 29 Aug 2021
Songgui Temple Fair 29 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 30 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 31 Aug 2021
Shibaoshan Songfest 03 Sep 2021
Fishpond Fair 21 Sep 2021
Benzhu Worship 29 Sep 2021
Flower Lantern 15 Oct 2021
Guanyin Enlightenment 24 Oct 2021
Opening of the Fishing Season 28 Oct 2021
Benzhu Worship 16 Jan 2022
Benzhu Worship 17 Jan 2022
Benzhu Worship 20 Jan 2022
Benzhu Worship 25 Jan 2022
Bai Opera 05 Feb 2022
Yaba Festival 08 Feb 2022
Singing Festival 09 Feb 2022
Weishan Temple Fair 09 Feb 2022
Singing Festival 15 Feb 2022
Flower Lantern Festival 15 Feb 2022
Snack Festival 10 Mar 2022
Benzhu Worship 10 Mar 2022
Mute God Festival 10 Mar 2022
Caojian Bath Gathering 10 Mar 2022
Temple Fair 17 Mar 2022
Singing Festival 21 Mar 2022
Zhonghe Temple Songfest 03 Apr 2022
Chaoshan Fair 15 Apr 2022
Third Month Fair 15 Apr 2022
Lingbao Mountain Fair 20 Apr 2022
Benzhu Worship 29 Apr 2022
Start of Summer Market 05 May 2022
