An Ethnic Melting Pot
The builders of the Dongyuan compound, the wealthy Dong merchant family, were of the Bai ethnicity; yet, why did their family bear a Han name like Dong? The story is almost as old as the Bai ethnicity itself.
According to The Chronicles of Huayang, a written account of ancient southwestern China’s history, geography and people, written by the 4th-century historian Chang Qu, ancient Jianning County, the ancient Zhaotong region and ancient Yongchang County (which are all located in modern Yunnan Province) were inhabited by minorities, yet most of the inhabitants had Han names. In 225 AD (during the Three Kingdom’s Era 220–280 AD), Chancellor Zhuge Liang of the Shu Kingdom (221–263 AD) put down an armed rebellion in the kingdom’s south, in what history would come to call “Zhuge Liang’s Southern Campaign.” Following the Campaign, Zhuge Liang enforced a policy of “allocating minorities to big families of Han Chinese, leading to a wide scale adoption of Han names by minority ethnicities. Yet Zhuge Liang’s policy did not lead to a complete Han Sinification in the Yunnan region; instead, the blending of these two cultures led to the creation of an entirely new ethnicity: the Bai.
By the Tang Dynasty (618–907), people had once again shifted their gaze towards Yunnan, where they discovered the “Xi’er River Barbarians.” (Xi’er is a river in Yunnan that flows from Erhai Lake.) In the era after Zhuge Liang, the local people enjoyed a paradisiacal life and, although they retained some characteristics of Han culture, they developed into a civilization entirely distinct from that of China’s central plains, leading the people of the central plains to refer to them as “river barbarians.”
With the backing of the Tang Dynasty, the Yunnan region’s Nanzhao tribe conquered other surrounding tribes, and the river barbarians, to establish the Nanzhao Kingdom (798–937). In 937, the Bai overthrew Nanzhao and established the Dali Kingdom, with modern-day Xizhou at its center.
The Dong family was one of the pillars of the Dali Kingdom’s rule, so it was this “Great River Barbarian Family” that led to Xizhou’s inextricable link with the Bai people. Yet there were problems with the Dong family’s genealogy.
As historian Zhao Shiyu uncovered, the Late Qing-era genealogy of the Dong family of Xizhou includes a note that “the founder of the Dong family, Dong Jiu, was of Nanjing and moved to Tengchong (a county in Yunnan) during the final years of the Ming Hongwu Emperor’s reign.” Zhao Shiyu’s research indicates that Dong Jiu was actually a local bureaucrat in Yunnan during Hongwu’s reign (which lasted from 1368–1398) and that he assisted the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) in its Luchuan-Pingmian Wars aimed at pacifying Yunnan. Generations of Dong family members ceaselessly proclaimed their local, aboriginal identity in order to maintain their legitimacy as regional rulers.
Yet, in the wake of the Qing Dynasty’s reform for the “abolition of the local chieftain system,” which began in the mid-to-late stages of the Ming Dynasty and strove to abolish traditional chieftains who lead local minority ethnic groups. The court replaced the chieftains with officials dispatched by the central government; therefore, the Dong family lost its traditional claims to rule. After this, the family attempted to maintain its dominance over local governance through the imperial examination system and Dong Jiu’s ethnic identity was retroactively downplayed to the point where, by the end of the Qing Dynasty, he had become a “person from Nanjing.” The family had gone so far as to alter their geological history to claim that their ancestors had descended from Huan Longshi, an official in the court of the Shun Emperor, China’s mythical tribe leader in remote ancient times, to maintain the legitimacy of their identity.
When all was said and done, is the Dong family Han or Bai? In actuality, it makes no difference; the family is at once Han and Bai. Xizhou is a land where Han and Bai cultures are blended and, over the course of its history, the people of Xizhou have come to value cultural identity far more than ethnicity.
In Xizhou,if you want to spend your leisure time,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily. 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.
1.Sandaocha in Yan’s House(严家三道茶)
Address: Yan’s Compound,Xizhou Town
“Sandaocha” is a traditional regional tea ceremony consisting of three unique tea flavors, and is an experience not to be missed in Yan’s compound. The host begins by presenting a bitter tea which stands for the hardships in life. Then, a sweet tea of sesame and walnut symbolic of happiness in life. Finally, a bitter, sweet, and spicy tea symbolic of pondering life.
2.May Bar（五月作坊）
Tel：18689011511
Address:Near Xilinyuan,Sifangjie Street,Xizhou Town
3.Xiangsheng Sifang Café (北相生咖啡馆)
Tel：0872-2475911
Address: Sifangjie Street,Xizhou Town
4.Pumen Wine Bar（朴门酒吧）
Tel：15887379651
Address:Taoyuan Wharf,Butterfly Spring,Xizhou Town
5.Diehaiyuehai Resort Hotel（蝶海月海度假酒店）
Address:Next toGongyu Cave,Taoyuan Village,Xizhou Town
A Glimpse of Cambridge of the Orient
In his book Notes of Trips in Yunnan (written in 1941), the famous Chinese writer Lao She (1899–1966) called Xizhou the “Cambridge of the Orient.” How did Xizhou earn this title? Let’s visit this little ancient town and get a glimpse of its stunning beauty.
Journeying north along the Dali–Lijiang Highway, the Cangshan Mountains filled the view on the west side of the road, while the east side was the mirror-like Erhai Lake. Between the green and blue tableau was a wisp of pure white: my first glimpse of Xizhou.
Xizhou has no city walls but it has gates. Entering through the west gate, one sees the structure of the Zhengyi Gate (the Gate of Righteousness), which is constructed in a pavilion style. Facing east from Zhengyi Gate, one sees a road which stretches onwards as far as the eye can see. Both sides are uniformly lined by more than a dozen white-walled courtyard homes with jet-black roofs, all facing east, as though the structures were constructed according to one master plan. Traditional logic holds that, having experienced centuries of wind and rain, the white walls should long ago have become mottled; yet, the walls here shine like new because any time the building facades are damaged, the owners quickly come to make repairs and the walls are frequently white-washed. Is this, then, what Lao She saw when he first set foot here, so long ago?
Time here seems fixed, unchanging. The residences lining the street are both ornate and orderly: all arranged in either the “three buildings, one screen wall” or “four houses, five patios” style. The so-called “three houses, one screen wall” is, obviously, comprised of three houses and one screen wall. The screen wall is a wall erected within the main gate of the complex for privacy. The screen is white and is also a unique architectural feature influenced by China’s fengshui theory. It surrounds the courtyard and also acts as the courtyard wall. The screen is inscribed with writing. The“four houses, five patios”consists of central courtyards and four patios, each similar to the Chinese character jing (井, which literally means a well water is drawn from), with the intersection of each patio forming a larger courtyard, creating four small patios and one central courtyard, for a total of five.
At the eastern end of Xizhou’s Shishang Street, there is a public square surrounded by shops, which is home to a large concentration on traders and merchants. In today’s era of tourism, such merchants are a common site, yet the town is home to a surprising number of old shops and one can readily see that the area has long been home to a developed commercial culture.
Not far from the public square, one can stay at the Dongyuan compound, constructed by the merchant Dong Wanchuan. The Dong clan has been in business since the Qing Era (1636–1912) and, by the time this building was constructed, they had already established themselves as a wealthy and powerful merchant family.
The Dong compound occupies an area of approximately twenty mu (15 mu is equal to 1 hectare), faces east, and consists of both a “three houses, one screen wall” structure together with a “four houses, five patios” structure. The courtyards within the compound are filled with rare and exotic flora and incorporate a Western style arch capable of handling automobile traffic. The timbers used to construct the structure are all superior woods such as toon and nanmu. The black-lacquered main gate is over 4 m tall. Each door weighs several hundred pounds and is comprised of a single slab of toon. The compound’s screen walls are approximately 10 m tall, displaying the wealth and power of its owner.
With its luxurious yet delicate architecture, bustling streets and warm inhabitants, it is no wonder that Lao She was moved to call this orderly little town the Cambridge of the Orient.
Shaxi Yunnan history and the Tea Horse Road
Ancient graves and early copper mines clearly show that Shaxi was a base for bronze smelting as far back as 400 BC, known in China as the Spring and Autumn period, and the Warring States period (770 BC – 221BC).
The Southern Silk Road, better known as as the Ancient Tea Horse Caravan Road predated its more famous northern counterpart by at least 300 years, The first written records of the route are from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), which was locally known as the Nanzhao Kingdom period (649-920), but trade had been taking place long before this time. From the hillside plantations of Simao and Xishuangbanna the muleteers brought pu’er tea; Burmese traders, often accompanied by Indian monks bought hides and animal bones, for use in in Chinese medicine. Salt, an essential commodity before the advent of refrigeration, came from Qiaohou, south of Shaxi, and from Yunlong across the mountains to the west, along with silver from Misha, and nearby Heqing. As well as felt, silk and precious stones came that most valuable of medicines, opium, perhaps Yunnan’s largest cash crop at the time. All of these and more were traded with Tibetans for items such as musk, rare fungi and exotic medicines, found in the frigid mountains to the north.
The main village of Sideng became an important staging post for the caravans, and the whole valley flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The market square became famous throughout the southwest, and attracted traders from a wide range of cultures that only enhanced the profitability of the Tea Horse Road. Hani from southern Yunnan brought tea and rich cloths. Naxi from Lijiang brought timber, Muslim Hui bought yak furs and horses. The wealth generated by all this trade is clearly evident in the ornate local architecture, with their imposing gate towers and spacious courtyards. At the center of all this, stands the Qing dynasty theater, directly across from the 400-year old temple, dedicated to as wide a range of faiths as the merchants and pilgrims that turned this remote village into a vibrant trading hub, which lasted well beyond the end of the Qing Dynasty (1614-1911).
The caravan routes finally died out around 60 years ago, when the newly formed People’s Liberation Army began its advance on western Tibet, and requisitioned every pack animal they could find. The centuries old trade routes came to an abrupt end by 1950, when the communists’ ban on private markets put the last nails in the coffin. The locals quickly reverted to agriculture and passed the last few decades in relative isolation.
More recently, the World Monument Fund added Shaxi’s market square to its Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites in 2001. By this time squatters had taken over much of the village, and many of the buildings had decayed to the point of collapse. In 2002, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETH) and the People’s Government of Jianchuan County jointly established the Shaxi Rehabilitation Project (SRP) to protect and revitalize the cultural and natural heritage of Sideng Village and the Shaxi Valley. With USD1.3 million in funding from the World Monument Fund they hired a Swiss conservation expert Jacques Feiner, who had previously made his name at Yemen’s old city of Sanaa, one of the earliest centers of population in human history. His approach has been to restore rather than rebuild, using traditional techniques and materials wherever possible. Apart from the restoring the temple and the stage, the entire market plaza was drained and relaid, which has led to a number of major awards, including a UNESCO Award of Distinction for cultural heritage preservation.
1.Allen`s Cafe,
Address: Sideng Square (South of the old theater stage in the town square)
2.Trail Cafe
Address:At the northeastern edge of the town square
3.Miss Mary Wine Bar（玛丽小姐吧）
Address: 46 Sideng Street Shaxi Ancient Town, Jianchuan County 671000, China
4.Laohuaishu Café（老槐树咖啡屋）
Address: Sideng Street Shaxi Ancient Town| opposite the Xingjiao Temple, Jianchuan County 671000, China
5.Qintai
Address: Sideng Street Shaxi Ancient Town | near the main square and , Jianchuan County 671000, China
6.Shibao Mountain Song Festival
Shibao Mountain Song Festival is a grand ethnic traditional festival known as the Valentine’s Day of northwestern Yunnan. It reflects the custom of Bai nationally intensively, symbolizes love and wisdom, and has taken shape based on the legacy of group marriage in ancient times. On the 27th to 29th day of the seventh lunar month, people from Jianchuan, Lijiang, Eryuan, Dali, Lanping and other places get together, play music and sing antiphonally. With the main content of improvisational antiphonal singing, Shibao Mountain Song Festival is a cradle and development base of Bai songs. Protecting the festival effectively will promote the development of Jianchuan’s tourism resources and the growthof tourism. Shibao Mountain Song Festival was listed as one of the national intangible heritage.
Shaxi Culture—the last Tea Horse Road market town
Years ago, tea growers and horse traders met in markets along Yunnan’s Tea-Horse Road, an old trade route also called the South Silk Road, between Xishuangbanna and Tibet. Today, you can travel the ancient route and find remnants of the caravan road in old market squares, patches of cobbled lane and still-thriving tea plantations.
Trace the ancient Tea-Horse Road by beginning where, in theory, it all starts: with the tea trees in southern Yunnan. Then move northwest along the old route until you reach Zhongdian, or Shangri-La, which is one of the last stops in China before the Tibet Autonomous Region and is nearly 10,000ft higher than Xishuangbanna. Most towns are populated by ethnic minorities who played individual roles in the tea-horse trade, such as growers and middlemen. Today, many of these minorities still dress in their traditional clothing and speak dialects far removed from Mandarin. Interacting with them is a highlight of any trip to Yunnan.
Here is a breakdown of some of the villages and sites along the way:
Shaxi
The climb continues to Shaxi, another major trading hub designated as a Unesco World Heritage site. Cobbled streets, old horse stalls and small courtyard guesthouses that were once used for muleteers are all being preserved in Shaxi as it prepares for tourism. It is one of the most intact and beautiful sites along the Tea-Horse Road, with its market square framed by a performance stage and powerful statues guarding a temple; the square is still used by locals in the evenings for traditional dancing.
Xishuangbanna
Xishuangbanna prefecture encompasses the subtropical lowlands of Yunnan. Its rolling hills are spotted with small Dai villages surrounded by acres and acres of tea. This is the land of Pu’er, a particularly favoured tea that is fermented and shaped into bricks or pancakes for easy transport by mule.
Dali
Dali Old City sits at 4,000ft, with vertical peaks rising behind it like a green screen. A major conduit market town on the route, Dali is the cradle of Bai civilization and you will notice their signature whitewashed buildings with flower-painted borders. This ethnic minority group acted as middlemen between tea growers from Xishuangbanna and horse traders from Tibet.
Lijiang
Traders rarely made the entire journey along the Tea-Horse Road, instead trading goods at markets along the way. Lijiang, also on the Unesco World Heritage List, was one such town. It is a stunning place if you can get past the theme park-feel and the crowds of tourists. But with its ancient canal system filled with rushing water from the snow-topped peaks in the distance, topped by arched stone and wood bridges, and reflecting moody red lanterns in the evening, Lijiang’s personality is difficult to resist.
Zhongdian/Shangri-La
What is still locally known as Zhongdian (or, in Tibetan, Gyeltang) was officially changed to Shangri-La in 2001. At nearly 10,000ft in elevation, Zhongdian swirls with the smell of wood and coal smoke permeating its cold, dry air. Here, ruddy-faced Tibetans stand out from the Han Chinese, as does their architecture: square, three-storey homes with bright scrollwork trimming them. Tea is mixed with yak butter for a high-calorie drink in this shivery climate.
Just outside the old city is the Songzanlin Monastery, a golden, multi-storied complex where Tibetan Buddhist monks make clockwise circles outside, and juniper smoke and Tibetan prayer flags burst against the blue sky.
Nuodeng is an exquisite village of Bai ethnic group in Yunlong County, west of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. According to historical materials, Nuodeng enjoys a history of more than 1,200 years. It is well-known for its natural salt and ham.
Built on a sharp mountain, villagers’ houses were connected layer by layer. Usually, the back door of a house in front is linked with the courtyard of the family behind. Most buildings are well preservations of the complexes featuring Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and are called the “living fossils” of ancient buildings of Bai people.
Nuodeng used to be a tribe which was blooming because of salt. People here have been engaged in boiling salt, thus, it was a key economic trading town in the west of Yunnan Province. There is a salt well in the ancient village, around which salty water oozes all the year round. Grains of salts can be seen in the dry areas of the well.
It is six kilometers of the north of Yunlong County. Nuodeng Ham is one of the three famous hams in Yunnan. Made with unique recipe, the ham tastes crispy and smells good.
A Bite of China”, a new TV show that’s sparked a wave of food buying among gourmet-seeking gastronomes, eager to taste something new. In this documentary shot by CCTV there is a six-minute-long video about the Nuodeng Ham, which gains the ham considerable fame. The natural salt well makes the special flavor of Nuodeng Ham as a traditional regional specialty dishes.
Nuodeng salt
The salty water from the well is cooked till all water has evaporated and the clear white salt remains. This is done in the traditional way in large metal pans on a wood fire. The salt is pressed in cones for transport and sale.
Because of their salt Nuodeng was an important place on the ancient trade routes, even several of the bridges in the area are paid for with money from the salt trade.
Nuodeng, outpost on the Tea Horse Road
This 2,000 year-old, historically and culturally rich mountain stronghold was once one of the richest of its kind in China. Situated 100 kilometers west of Dali, Nuodeng is famous for its salt wells, which were the largest source of revenue for people in western Yunnan during the Ming Dynasty. Later, the hamlet became an integral stop on the old Tea Horse Road — connecting, among others, Dali to the east, Tengchong and Baoshan to the south, Myanmar to the west, and Lijiang and Tibetan outposts to the north.
The rich legacy of this ancient town still lives in its relics — its weather-beaten buildings, tombs and temples. Once one gains an insight into the age-old etiquette of the village folks, they will get to experience a slice of authentic China.
This time-warped, remote village has retained its quintessential essence since the Tang Dynasty. Travelers here can witness the culture, traditions and history of an era preserved in the purest of forms. Even the layout of the town has escaped the blows of time and modernity, and this is perhaps what is most unique about Nuodeng.
The village is sprinkled with elegant residential courtyard homes as well as buildings from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Its Jade Emperor Pavilion, Confucian Temple, Wu Temple, and Dragon King Temple are all historic relics that are definitely worth a visit. Also, before leaving the village, travelers should make sure they have visited the local Salt Bureau and the sites in and around the town’s once-bottomless well. These embody the prosperity of a town which lived and breathed the salt it produced in the past.
“Salt horse ancient route” in Yunlong County
Yunlong can be traced back to 2000 years ago. The town was a very important salt mining spot in that time. It remains its traditional extraction method by burning wood to get salt. Today, it lives Bai minority there.
Yunlong County used to be a producing area of salt in Yunnan, thus, people called the road on which the salt was delivered Salt Horse Ancient Route. The road connects Lijiang City, Weixi Lisu Autonomous County, Baoshan City, Lingcang City, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Tengchong County, Myanmar and Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province.
Salt produced there was good, especially that output from Nuodeng Town and some nearby village in this county. Visitors can find five salt mines there. People living in the west Yunnan showed special preference to the salt. It was usually wrapped up with a red cloth as betrothal gifts from the bridegroom to the bride’s family in a wedding ceremony. Taxes from the salt had been a main income for the country from Tang Dynasty(618-907) to Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Having been necessary in people’s daily life, salt has made some officials related to salt.
Locals living around the five mines lived on it. Some of they delivered salt by horse to make a living. On the long road paved by slates, visitors can meet various of stone bridge. Even deep in the forest, it is not hard to see such kind of bridge over brooks.
In Yunlong County,if you want to spend your leisure time,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily in Yunlong 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：Dalishu Tea House(大栗树茶馆)
Tel：13577851179
Address：Hushan Road,Yunlong County,Dali
Name：Xintiandi KTV(新天地KTV)
Address：Huanbei Road,Yunlong County,Dali
Name：Tianyihuanchang KTV(天意欢唱KTV)
Address：Huanbei Road,Yunlong County,Dali
Name：Longteng Square(龙腾广场)
Address：Around Renmin Road,Yunlong County,Dali
The Nuodeng Bai’s Village in Yunlong
Nuodeng Bai’s village, which is 7 km away from the Yunlong County and 174 km northwest of Dali city, is located in the valley to the north of Yunlong County. It’s regarded as one of oldest traditional villages in Yunnan. Spectacular hamlet of ancient Ming and Qing dynasty houses and flagstone streets is unique.
Nuodeng village was called the “Nuodeng well”. The “well” here means “salt well”, developed since the Han Dynasty, which now has a history of two thousand years. It was once an important stopover on the salt route, but those glory days have long passed, and only a few salt wells at the entrance to the village are a sign of times gone by. Today, Nuodeng’s residents, members of the Bai ethnic group, earn their livelihoods tilling the fields on the steep slopes of the surrounding hills.
Numerous ancient buildings and cultural heritage still exist today, which combine the culture of the Central Plains and the local culture of Bai ethnic group; its humanistic remnants still vividly reflect the integrate of the three Chinese civil ideologies of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, especially the Confucian culture. The well preserved ancient village scenery and Ming and Qing style buildings which are over a hundred years old in Nuodeng village are fairly intact in their original look and status, which are rare in Yunnan province, even in the whole country.
There are a lot of temple buildings in the village such as Yuhuangge Pavilion, Wen Temple, Wu Temple, Dragon Temple, Squared Gate built in Ming and Qin Dynasties. The sites of salt well, salt bureau, salt institution can easily be seen.
Jianchuan has a long history, splendid culture. As early as more than 3000 years ago, ancestors of Jianchuan complete the spanned by the history of the stone age to the bronze age firstly, founded the Yunnan bronze culture “and” rice farming culture of the precedent, as early as in the Qin and Han Dynasties more than 2000 years ago, Jianchuan has become an important transportation hub of Southern Silk Road “Shu Hindu road” and “tea horse road”, early with the Central Plains, Southeast Asia and in central and West Asia region occurred trade and cultural exchanges.During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, education flourished. Therefore,Jianchuan was known for the “literature of the state”. At the same time, Jianchuan Grottoes art became more and more famous, wood carving craft exquisite, therefore the Ministry of Culture named itthe “township of wood carving art”.
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History of Xizhou Old Town in Dali
An Ethnic Melting Pot The builders of the Dongyuan compound, the wealthy Dong merchant family, were of the Bai ethnicity; yet, why did their family bear a Han name...
Xizhou Old Town Entertainment
In Xizhou,if you want to spend your leisure time,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily. Maybe you are not interesting in bar and clubs and do not...
Ancient Culture of Xizhou Old Town in Dali
A Glimpse of Cambridge of the Orient In his book Notes of Trips in Yunnan (written in 1941), the famous Chinese writer Lao She (1899–1966) called Xizhou the “Cambridge of the Orient.”...
History of Shaxi Old Town in Dali
Shaxi Yunnan history and the Tea Horse Road Ancient graves and early copper mines clearly show that Shaxi was a base for bronze smelting as far back as 400...
Entertainment in Shaxi Old Town, Dali
1.Allen`s Cafe, Address: Sideng Square (South of the old theater stage in the town square) 2.Trail Cafe Address:At the northeastern edge of the town square 3.Miss Mary Wine Bar（玛丽小姐吧） Address: 46 Sideng Street...
Ancient Culture of Shaxi Old Town in Dali
Shaxi Culture—the last Tea Horse Road market town Years ago, tea growers and horse traders met in markets along Yunnan’s Tea-Horse Road, an old trade route also called the...
History of Nuodeng Village in Yunlong County, Dali
Nuodeng is an exquisite village of Bai ethnic group in Yunlong County, west of Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan Province. According to historical materials, Nuodeng enjoys a history of...
Ancient Culture of Nuodeng Village in Yunlong County, Dali
Nuodeng salt The salty water from the well is cooked till all water has evaporated and the clear white salt remains. This is done in the traditional way in...
Yunlong County History
“Salt horse ancient route” in Yunlong County Yunlong can be traced back to 2000 years ago. The town was a very important salt mining spot in that time. It...
Yunlong County Entertainment
In Yunlong County,if you want to spend your leisure time,don’t worry, you can find the the bars and clubs easily in Yunlong County. Maybe you are not interesting in bar...
Yunlong County Culture
The Nuodeng Bai’s Village in Yunlong Nuodeng Bai’s village, which is 7 km away from the Yunlong County and 174 km northwest of Dali city, is located in the...
Jianchuan County History
Jianchuan has a long history, splendid culture. As early as more than 3000 years ago, ancestors of Jianchuan complete the spanned by the history of the stone age to...
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