Yaoan County Culture
Shiyang, one of the earliest historic and cultural towns of Yunnan Province, is 35 kilometers northwest of Dayao County, Chuxiong Prefecture. Shiyang is known for its “salt culture” and Confucian culture.
The salt production can date back to the West Han Dynasty (202 B.C-9 A.D), and it was most booming in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties when the salt output could meet the demand of over 1 million residents of the counties of Yao’an, Yongren, Huaping and Xiangyun etc. Multitudes of traders and horse caravans flocked into Shiyang in the Song Dynasty (960-1279), making it an important stop on the South Silk Road. The Confucian Temple of Shiyang, located at the foot of Xingling Mountain, was first built in Hongwu Period of the Ming Dynasty. A copper statue of Mr. Confucius is enshrined in it. With a weight of 2,500 kg and a height of 2.3 meters, the statue is rare of its kind in the whole country.
If you want to spend your leisure time in Dayao County,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily in Nanjain County. Maybe you are not interesting in bar and clubs and do not want to watch performance,you can also go to tea house.That is a good choice.
Name：Dashijie KTV(大世界KTV)
Tel:15288525818
Address：Around Beimenpo Road,Dayao County,Chuxiong
Name：Pangye KTV(庞业大酒店-KTV)
Tel：0878-6039099
Address：Biacaoling Street，Around Xihua Road,Dayao County,Chuxiong
Name：Pangye Tea House(庞业大酒店-茶室)
Address：Biacaoling Street，Around Xihua Road,Dayao County,Chuxiong
Name：Pinwei Bar(品味酒吧)
Tel:18687886929
Address：Baita Shopping Hall，Bei Street, Around Xihua Road,Dayao County,Chuxiong
Name： Dujia Jiyi Bar(独家记忆酒吧)
Tel:15750349903
Address：No.40,Baita Shopping Hall，Bei Street, Around Xihua Road,Dayao County,Chuxiong
Name：Chengyi Tea Bar(诚意茶庄)
Address：No.27，Jinbi Road,Dayao County,Chuxiong
Name：Mingdian Tea Bar(茗典茶庄)
Address：No.18，Nanheng Street,Dayao County,Chuxiong
Yi Religion
The have traditionally honored a pantheon of spirits and gods—including ones representing animals, plants, the sun, the moon and the stars—and incorporated elements of Buddhism and Taoism into their spiritual belief system. Sacrifices have been made to ancestors and ghost have been placated. According to the Yi creation myth: “In the beginning there was only women.” Protestant and Catholic missionaries had some success converted the Yi in the early 20th century and some of these communities remain alive today.
Yi shaman are known as bimo. Highly respected, they carry out sacrifices and perform healing rituals with incense and bowls of chicken blood. Headmen are responsible for controlling ghosts with magic. Often bimo were the only ones who could read the sacred texts that included clan histories, myths and literature.The chicken is an important totemic animal to the Yi. It is honored in a special dance performed at night by dozens of people wearing hats with strung beads arranged in the shape of chicken combs. To the accompaniment of a moon guitars, the dancers execute fast tempo steps from the knee down that mimic the movements of a chicken.
According to the Chinese government: The Yis in Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi believed in polytheism before liberation 1949, combining worship for ancestors with the influence of Taoism and Buddhism. The Yis in the Liangshan Mountains worshipped gods and ghosts and believed in idolatry, and offered sacrifices to forefathers frequently. Their religious activities were presided over by sorcerers.
According to the U.S. Department of State: “Adherents of the Bimo shamanistic religion, practiced by many of the eight million ethnic Yi living in southwest China, continued to seek government approval to register Bimo as an officially sanctioned religion, but were unable to do so. This limited the Yi people’s ability to preserve their religious heritage.
Yongren County History
If you want to spend your leisure time in Yongren County,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily in Nanjain County. Maybe you are not interesting in bar and clubs and do not want to watch performance,you can also go to tea house.That is a good choice.
Name：Shenghuang KTV(盛KTV)
Tel:0872-6711770
Address：Around Huangcheng East Road,Yongren County,Chuxiong
Name：Ouxinile KTV(欧西尼乐KTV)
Address：B-(-103)Old Town Business Districted,Yongren County,Chuxiong
Name：Wenmiao Tea House（文庙茶楼)
Tel：0878-6711546
Address：No.18，Jianshe Road,Yongren County,Chuxiong
Name：Ruan Tea Bar(如安茶舍)
Address：Around Huangcheng South Road,Yongren County,Chuxiong
Name：Yunhai Bar(云海酒吧)
Address：Near No.07，Wenhui Road,Yongren County,Chuxiong
Name：Senlinyinxiang Bar(森林印象酒吧)
Tel：15096483927
Address：Near Yongqiao Road,Yongren County,Chuxiong
The Torch Festival (火把节)
The Torch Festival is a traditional festival popular in the regions of the Yi people in Shuangbai county. It is also celebrated among other ethnic groups such as the Bai, Naxi, Jinuo and Lahu. The festival features lighting up torches, hence its name. It usually falls in early June of the lunar calendar or on the 24th or 25th of the month, usually lasting for three days of celebrations. The origin of the festival may have something to do with the worship of fire by ancestors, who believed fire had the power to repel insects, drive away evils and hence protect crop growth. For some ethnic groups, it is a tradition of the festival for elders to share farming experience with young people and admonish them to take care of crops.
Yi Ethnic Costume Festival Held in Yongren
When many parts of Yunnan Province were soaked in the festive ambiance of the Lantern Festival on 24 February (lunar 15 January), the Yi ethnic members of Zhiju Village of Yongren County were busy with a special “fashion show” of their own—the costume festival or contest.
The costume festival has enjoyed a long history in Zhiju Village of Yongren County’s Zhonghe Town, Chuxiong Yi autonomous Prefecture. Spent annually on lunar 15 January by the Yi ethnic people, it is a very important event for the Yis–especially young girls (Lipo in the Yi ethnic language) who get dressed early in the morning and throng into the fairground.
Conventionally, each Yi ethnic village near Zhiju has its own delegation and all the must-wear traditional costumes are embroidered by the villagers themselves. When the event is announced to kick off, participants are seen staging “fashion show” and assorted cultural performances with the accompaniment of musical instruments such as Lusheng instruments and trumpets.
At the events, different colourful embroidered wears bring a scene of grandeur, from the head to feet. It’s said that, by showing the workmanship of the costumes, Yi ethnic young girls are deemed as the most diligent, most beautiful and most preferred by Yi boys (Li’me in the Yi ethnic language).
The Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873), known to Chinese as the Du Wenxiu Rebellion (Tu Wen-hsiu Rebellion;Chinese: 杜文秀起義; pinyin: Dù Wénxiù Qǐyì), was a rebellion of the Muslim Hui people and other (non-Muslim) ethnic minorities against the Manchu rulers of the Qing Dynasty in southwestern Yunnan Province, as part of a wave of Hui-led multi-ethnic unrest.
The name “Panthay” is a Burmese word, which is said to be identical with the Shan word Pang hse.[1] It was the name by which the Burmese called the Chinese Muslims who came with caravans to Burma from the Chinese province of Yunnan. The name was not used or known in Yunnan itself.
As for nightlife activities,Yuanmou does not differ a lot from other cities in China. Bars, KTV, disco and other clubs can easily be found around the city. Jingcheng Bar (景城酒吧) gathers a lots of bars and clubs for people to enjoy their night inYuanmou Shang Cheng shuiyi 尚城水逸Xiangshuiming Tea house (湘水名茶楼)Ying tai Hotel KTV( 盈泰大酒店-KTV) You can enjoy your time here.Besides ,there are many festivals .
Jingcheng Bar 景城酒吧
Address：On Faxiang RoAD OF Yuanmou county in Chuxiong.楚雄彝族自治州元谋县发祥路
Tel：13578455511
Shang Cheng shuiyi 尚城水逸
Address：Fanahe village of Yuanmou county in Chuxiong.楚雄彝族自治州元谋县元马镇法那禾村
Tel：13618789939
Xiangshuiming Tea house 湘水名茶楼
Address：2nd floor in Xintiandi of Yuanmou county in Chuxiong.楚雄彝族自治州元谋县新天地2楼
Tel：0878-8223466
Ying tai Hotel KTV 盈泰大酒店-KTV
Address：No,27 on Fengxiang Street of Yunmou county in Chuxiong.楚雄彝族自治州元谋县凤翔街27盈泰大酒店内
Tel：0878-8317366
Festivals
Torch Festival of Yi
The Torch Festival, which falls on June 24 – according to the Lunar Calendar of the Yi nationality — every year, is the most important traditional holiday of Yi people.
During the festival, people burn torches for three days and nights to drive away insects from eating crops.
The Torch Festival falls on the 24th day of the sixth lunar month. On that day, Yi people from Shilin County gather at the Stone Forest and participate in various activities, such as shopping in the open market fair, bull fighting, dancing and a fireworks display. It is also a good opportunity for young men and women to meet their prospective spouses.
Chahua festival
Chahua festival is another characteristic festival which is held to commemorate the hero, Mi Yinu, who helped the Yi people overcome the tyrannical ruler. When the Maying flowers blossom, people will wear them on their hairs or present them to each other and sing to their heart’s content to celebrate their happy life.
Yuanmou Man Site
The Yuanmou Man Site is located in Danawu Village, about 7 kilometers southeast of Yuanmou County, Yunnan province.
The site is situated at the brim of the Yuanmou Basin. A 695-meter-deep deposit in the basin is divided into 28 layers of 4 sections from top to bottom. On May 1, 1965, the Geological Mechanics Research Institute found two fore-tooth fossils of Yuanmou Man in the site. The crown of the teeth is well preserved while the root is incomplete. These two teeth, belonging to the same male adult, are believed to be about 1,700,000 years old. These are the earliest ape-man fossils that have been found in China. Archaeologists named the ape-man as Erectus, Yuanmou New Asian Race, Yuanmou Man for short.
In later excavations, Yuanmou animals of early Pleistocene period, such as Yunnan horse, saber tooth tiger, and saber tooth elephant, were unearthed together with stone tools and coal ash. Archaeologists also discovered in the Yuanmou Basin signs of glacier movements during the 4th Geological Age. A stone sign was erected in the site.
Not far from Yuanmou County, modern excavations have discovered human teeth dating back 1.7 million years. These fossils are the oldest in Asia, well before Peking Man. The Museum which is located in Yuanmou County, presents these extraordinary discoveries as well as those of mammalian bones and handicrafts, which are of paramount importance in the history of man.
Excavations
It was only a few kilometers away from Yuanmou where two incisors of a Homo erectus were discovered in 1965. A young geologist was then performing geological research in the Yuanmou basin when he found these fossils, which would be the oldest found in China and even in Asia. Teeth date from about 1,700,000 years or a million years before the Peking man, and Lantian man. Wanting to learn more, archaeologists went to a few hundred meters farther in 1984 and they discovered a tibia as well as several pieces of a handicraft. Later, other teams discovered tools and bones of mammals, ranging from Tigers and elephants to Saber-toothed or horses of Yunnan. Unfortunately, the excavations were not able to locate additional human bones. However, these discoveries made during the various excavations are of paramount importance in the history of the evolution of mankind and its ways of life.
The Yuanmou Man Museum
A Yuanmou Man Museum was created to expose the discoveries made during the various excavations. The Yuanmou man fossils are exposed as well as artifacts. The archaeological site itself is located a few kilometers outside of Yuanmou, near Danawu village.
If you want to spend your leisure time in Wuding County,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily in Nanjain County. Maybe you are not interesting in bar and clubs and do not want to watch performance,you can also go to tea house.That is a good choice.
Name：Tongyishouge KTV( 同一首歌KTV)
Address：No.67，Shishan Road,Wuding County,Chuxiong
Name：Dazhouhuidu KTV(大舟汇都KTV)
Tel：0878-8716677
Address：Wuding Business Street,Wuding County,Chuxiong
Name：Tianfu Tea House(天福茶楼)
Address：No.3，Shishan Road,Wuding County,Chuxiong
Name：Ziyouzizai Bar(自由自在酒吧)
Tel:1597476698
Address：A-4-5,Luoziyi Village，Wuding County,Chuxiong
Name：Hongfu Tea Bar(鸿福茶舍)
Address：Yunwu Road,Wuding County,Chuxiong
The Torch Festival (火把节)
The Torch Festival is a traditional festival popular in the regions of the Yi people in Shuangbai county. It is also celebrated among other ethnic groups such as the Bai, Naxi, Jinuo and Lahu. The festival features lighting up torches, hence its name. It usually falls in early June of the lunar calendar or on the 24th or 25th of the month, usually lasting for three days of celebrations. The origin of the festival may have something to do with the worship of fire by ancestors, who believed fire had the power to repel insects, drive away evils and hence protect crop growth. For some ethnic groups, it is a tradition of the festival for elders to share farming experience with young people and admonish them to take care of crops.
Black Yi and White Yi and Yi Slavery
According to the Chinese government: “Due to complex historical reasons, the slave system of the Yis in the Liangshan Mountains lasted till 1949. Before 1949, the Yis in the Liangshan Mountain areas were stratified into four different ranks — “Nuohuo,” “Qunuo,” “Ajia” and “Xiaxi.” The demarcation between the masters and the slaves was insurmountable. The rank of “Nuohuo” was determined by blood lineage and remained permanent, the other ranks could never move up to the position of rulers.
“Nuohuo,” meaning “black Yi,” was the highest rank of society. Being the slave-owning class, Nuohuo made up 7 per cent of the total population. The black Yis controlled people of the other three ranks to varying degrees, and owned 60 to 70 per cent of the arable land and a large amount of other means of production. The black Yis were born aristocrats, claiming their blood to be “noble” and “pure,” and forbidding marriages with people of the other three ranks. They despised physical labour, lived by exploiting the other ranks and ruled the slaves by force.
“Qunuo,” meaning “white Yi,” was the highest rank of the ruled and made up 50 per cent of the population. This rank was an appendage to the black Yis personally and, as subjects under the slave system, they enjoyed relative independence economically and could control “Ajia” and “Xiaxi” who were inferior to them. “Qunuo” lived within the areas governed by the black Yi slave owners, had no freedom of migration, nor could they leave the areas without the permission of their masters. They had no complete right of ownership when disposing of their own property, but were subjected to restrictions by their masters. They had to pay some fees to their masters when they wanted to sell their land. The property of a dead person who had no offspring went to his master. Though the black Yi slave owners could not kill, sell or buy Qunuo at will, they could transfer or present as a gift the power of control over Qunuo. They could even give away Qunuo as the compensation for persons they had killed and use Qunuo as stakes. So, Qunuo had no complete personality of their own, though they were not slaves.
“Ajia” made up one third of the population, being rigidly bound to black Yi or Qunuo slaveowners, who could freely sell, buy and kill them. “Xiaxi” was the lowest rank, accounting for 10 per cent of the population. They had no property, personal rights or freedom, and were regarded as “talking tools.” They lived in damp and dark corners in their masters’ houses, and at night had to curl up with domestic animal to keep warm. Supervised by masters, Xiaxi did heavy housework and farm work all the year round. They wore rags and tattered sheepskins, and lived on wild roots and leftovers. Slave owners inflicted all sorts of torture on those who were rebellious, fettered them with iron chains and wooden shackles to prevent them from escaping. Like domestic animals, Xiaxi could be freely disposed of as chattels, ordered about, insulted, beaten up, bought and sold, or killed as sacrifices to gods.
“Corvee was the basic form of exploitation by the slave owners. Qunuo and Ajia must use their own cattle and tools to cultivate their masters’ land. Qunuo had to perform five, six or more than 10 days of corvee each year. They could send their slaves to do it or pay a sum of money instead. Corvee performed by Ajia took up one third to one half of their total working time. They often had to neglect their own land because of cultivating the land of their masters. Besides corvee, Qunuo and Ajia had to take usurious loans imposed by their black Yi masters.
“Ordered about to toil like beasts of burden, the slaves had no interest in production at all. To win freedom, slaves in the Liangshan Mountain areas resorted to measures like going slow, destroying tools, maltreating animal, burning their masters’ property and even committing suicidal attacks on their masters. Though it was hard for slaves in remote mountain areas to run away, they still tried to escape at the risk of their lives. Spontaneous and sporadic rebellions staged by slaves against slave owners never ceased. Organized and collective struggle for personal rights also grew, and collective anathema often turned into small armed insurgence.”
You Might Like
- 5 Days Chuxiong Tour to Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley and Yuanmou Earth Forest
- 5 Days Meili Snow Mountain and Yubeng Village Hiking Tour from Shangri-La
- 2 Days West XishuangBanna Tour with Damenglong White Pagodas and Ethnic Villages
- 1 Day Lijiang City Birding Tour
- 17 Days Vietnam-Yunnan-Sichuan Motorbike Tour
- 6 Days Dali-Lijiang-Lugu Lake Group Tour By High Speed Train (Chinese-Speaking)
- 4 Days Lijiang Muslim Tour with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and Tiger Leaping Gorge
- 12 Days Lijiang and Shangri-La Tiger Leaping Gorge Hiking Tour with Haba Snow Mountain Climbing and Baoshan Stone Town
Dayao County History
Shiyang, one of the earliest historic and cultural towns of Yunnan Province, is 35 kilometers northwest of Dayao County, Chuxiong Prefecture. Shiyang is known for its “salt culture” and...
Dayao County Entertainment
If you want to spend your leisure time in Dayao County,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily in Nanjain County. Maybe you are not interesting...
Dayao County Culture
Yi Religion The have traditionally honored a pantheon of spirits and gods—including ones representing animals, plants, the sun, the moon and the stars—and incorporated elements of Buddhism and Taoism...
Yongren County Entertainment
If you want to spend your leisure time in Yongren County,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily in Nanjain County. Maybe you are not interesting...
Yongren County Culture
Yi Ethnic Costume Festival Held in Yongren When many parts of Yunnan Province were soaked in the festive ambiance of the Lantern Festival on 24 February (lunar 15 January),...
Yuanmou County History
The Panthay Rebellion (1856–1873), known to Chinese as the Du Wenxiu Rebellion (Tu Wen-hsiu Rebellion;Chinese: 杜文秀起義; pinyin: Dù Wénxiù Qǐyì), was a rebellion of the Muslim Hui people and...
Yuanmou County Entertainment
As for nightlife activities,Yuanmou does not differ a lot from other cities in China. Bars, KTV, disco and other clubs can easily be found around the city. Jingcheng Bar...
Yuanmou County Culture
Yuanmou Man Site The Yuanmou Man Site is located in Danawu Village, about 7 kilometers southeast of Yuanmou County, Yunnan province. The site is situated at the brim of...
Wuding County Entertainment
If you want to spend your leisure time in Wuding County,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily in Nanjain County. Maybe you are not interesting...
Wuding County Culture
Black Yi and White Yi and Yi Slavery According to the Chinese government: “Due to complex historical reasons, the slave system of the Yis in the Liangshan Mountains lasted...
Latest Articles
Yunnan Travel from Copenhagen of Denmark
2025-06-17Yunnan Travel from Denmark
2025-06-17Yunnan Travel from Dominican Republic
2025-06-17Contact Info
