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
Fishpond Fair 01 Oct 2020
Benzhu Worship 09 Oct 2020
Flower Lantern 15 Oct 2020
Opening of the Fishing Season 28 Oct 2020
Guanyin Enlightenment 04 Nov 2020
Benzhu Worship 26 Jan 2021
Benzhu Worship 27 Jan 2021
Benzhu Worship 30 Jan 2021
Benzhu Worship 04 Feb 2021
Bai Opera 16 Feb 2021
Yaba Festival 19 Feb 2021
Singing Festival 20 Feb 2021
Weishan Temple Fair 20 Feb 2021
Flower Lantern Festival 26 Feb 2021
Singing Festival 26 Feb 2021
Caojian Bath Gathering 20 Mar 2021
Benzhu Worship 20 Mar 2021
Snack Festival 20 Mar 2021
Mute God Festival 20 Mar 2021
Temple Fair 27 Mar 2021
Singing Festival 31 Mar 2021
Zhonghe Temple Songfest 14 Apr 2021
Third Month Fair 26 Apr 2021
Chaoshan Fair 26 Apr 2021
Lingbao Mountain Fair 01 May 2021
Start of Summer Market 05 May 2021
Benzhu Worship 10 May 2021
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
Benzhu Worship 03 Aug 2021
Bai Torch Festival 03 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 06 Aug 2021
Bridge Temple Fair 22 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 28 Aug 2021
Lanterns on the Lake 29 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 29 Aug 2021
Songgui Temple Fair 29 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 30 Aug 2021
Benzhu Worship 31 Aug 2021
Shibaoshan Songfest 03 Sep 2021
