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.
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.
Nanjian Yi Autonomous County
Nanjian's main attractions are the cherry flower in December and the Earth Forest.
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.
Yangbi Yi Autonomous County
Yangbi is an Yi area to the western side of the Cangshan mountains. It is famous for its walnuts.
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.
Festivals
Lingbao Mountain Fair 24 Apr 2019
Benzhu Worship 03 May 2019
Start of Summer Market 06 May 2019
Butterfly Festival 19 May 2019
Raosanling 27 May 2019
Dandao Temple Fair 15 Jun 2019
Benzhu Worship 16 Jul 2019
Benzhu Worship 17 Jul 2019
Guanyin Practice Day 21 Jul 2019
Benzhu Worship 27 Jul 2019
Torch Festival 27 Jul 2019
Benzhu Worship 30 Jul 2019
Bridge Temple Fair 15 Aug 2019
Benzhu Worship 21 Aug 2019
Lanterns on the Lake 22 Aug 2019
Songgui Temple Fair 22 Aug 2019
Benzhu Worship 22 Aug 2019
Offerings to Erhai 23 Aug 2019
Benzhu Worship 23 Aug 2019
Benzhu Worship 24 Aug 2019
Shibaoshan Songfest 27 Aug 2019
Fishpond Fair 13 Sep 2019
Benzhu Worship 21 Sep 2019
Flower Lantern 15 Oct 2019
Guanyin Enlightenment 17 Oct 2019
Opening of the Fishing Season 28 Oct 2019
Benzhu Worship 08 Jan 2020
Benzhu Worship 09 Jan 2020
Benzhu Worship 12 Jan 2020
Benzhu Worship 17 Jan 2020
Bai Opera 29 Jan 2020
Yaba Festival 01 Feb 2020
Singing Festival 02 Feb 2020
Weishan Temple Fair 02 Feb 2020
Flower Lantern Festival 08 Feb 2020
Singing Festival 08 Feb 2020
Mute God Festival 01 Mar 2020
Prince Festival 01 Mar 2020
Caojian Bath Gathering 01 Mar 2020
Benzhu Worship 01 Mar 2020
Snack Festival 01 Mar 2020
Temple Fair 08 Mar 2020
Guanyin Festival 12 Mar 2020
Singing Festival 12 Mar 2020
Zhonghe Temple Songfest 26 Mar 2020
Chaoshan Fair 07 Apr 2020
Third Month Fair 07 Apr 2020
