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”.
In Jianchuan,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.Miss Mary Wine Bar（玛丽小姐吧）
Address:46 Sideng Street Shaxi Ancient Town, Jianchuan County 671000, China
Price: Average Prices: USD 6 to 13
2.Laohuaishu Café（老槐树咖啡屋）
Address: Sideng Street Shaxi Ancient Town| opposite the Xingjiao Temple, Jianchuan County 671000, China
Price: Average Prices: USD 6 to 13
3.Qintai
Address: Sideng Street Shaxi Ancient Town | near the main square and , Jianchuan County 671000, China
Price: Average Prices: USD 6 to 14
4.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 growth
1. Ancestor of Bai people in Jianchuan
The language of Bai belongs to the Yi branch of Zang-Mian Austronesian of the Chinese-Tibetan Phylum. They have also invented their own written characters based on the Chinese characters. The language contains a large number of Chinese words due to the Bais’ long contact with the Han. Nowadays the Chinese language is the most widely used language among the Bai people.
Ancestors of the Bai nationality lived in Erhai area. Archaeological finds from the Cang’er Site and the Haimenkou Site show that the Erhai area was inhabited as early as the Neolithic Age, and artifacts of that period indicate that the people of the region used stone tools, engaged in farming, livestock.
2.Religion
Although most Bai people adhere to Buddhism, they also have a native religion of Benzhuism: the worship of ngel zex (本主; běnzhǔ), local gods and ancestors. Ngel zex could be any heroes in history, the prince of the Nanzhao regime, a hero of folklore or even a tiger (for instance, Laojun Jingdi 老君景帝 is a tiger).
3.The Costumes of Bai Ethnic Minority
The men and women of Bai Ethnic Minority generally admire white, so they like white clothes. The headgear worn by the Bai girl also has the meaning of “wind and snow”. Because on the headgear of the Bai girl, the hanging tassels represent the wind of Shimonoseki; the beautiful flower decoration is the flower of Shangguan, the white of the top of the hat is the snow of Cangshan, and the shape of the bend is the moon. Therefore, it also formed the appearance of their headdresses now.
The town was founded as Chiang Hung (Cheli), by Tai king Phanya Coeng in 1180.
Yuan Dynasty
During the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in China, the Tai kingdom of Sipsongpanna began a close and long-lasting relationship to Lanna, another historic Tai kingdom that lay south. In 1296, Lanna’s capital Chiang Mai was founded by Mangrai, whose maternal grandfather was King Rung Kaen Chai (Thai: รุ้งแก่นชาย) of Jinghong (i.e.: Sipsongpanna).
The kingdoms of Sipsongpanna and Lanna maintained ties of migration, intermarriage and long distance trade over the subsequent centuries, though later, as Lanna’s power grew, parts of the Sipsongpanna region fell under Lanna’s control.
Ming Dynasty
In 1401 during the Chinese Ming Dynasty, the Sipsongpanna Tai ruler Tau Se Da Xam (pinyin: Dao Xianda) attacked a smaller Tai area to the north known as Weiyuan[4] equivalent to modern Jinggu). The Ming administration sought to retaliate but adopted a cautious response of diplomacy and Tau Se Da Xam withdrew his troops. About this period Sipsongpanna began to pay tribute to the Ming.
In 1405 the Sipsongpanna Tai attacked Chiang Mai, in conjunction with Ming Chinese troops.
In 1421 the Chinese attempted to cause a split in Sipsongpanna by backing multiple administrations during a period of civil strife, but their plan failed to succeed.
1448 saw the defeat of Mong Mao, a Tai state in eastern Burma, by a combination of Chinese, Sipsongpanna and allied forces united under the Ming.
In the 1450s another struggle for succession arose in Sipsongpanna, with one faction backed by Kengtung and one by Chiang Mai. Despite the Kengtung faction’s victory, conflict started with that state shortly afterwards.
The Burmese Toungoo state arose in the 1530s to crush Chiang Mai, and its influence also extended to Kengtung and Sipsongpanna, which like other Tai kingdoms soon began to pay tribute.
There are so many entertainment activities in Jonghong city.As for nightlife activities, Jinghong does not differ a lot from other cities in China. Bars, KTV and other clubs can easily be found around the city. In Jinghong, you could also have the chance to experience the lively atmosphere. When the night falls, you can choose some pubs or bars to kill your time, listening to some original singers singing their original songs.Especially, you can enjoy the springs at night.
Ktvs and clubs
Jinchidashijie ktv金地大世界KTV
Tel:0691-216633
Adress:Galan Middle Road景洪市嘎兰中路金地大酒店内(近勐巴拉娜西)
Shuiyuejiangshan ktv 水月江山KTV
Tel:13099634457
Adress: Xishuang shiercheng 西双十贰城商业中心7幢1层
Tianhai Entertainment 天海娱乐会所
Tel:15308810999
Adress:Puti Road景洪市曼弄枫菩提大道
Dihao ktv帝豪ktv娱乐
Tel:0691-8988566
Adress：景洪市其他曼听路52号(曼景兰帝豪KTV
Dongtu Bar东土酒吧
Tel:13759005559
Adress: Menghan Road景洪市景洪勐罕路(大金塔广场旁)
Hongtaiyang Bar红太阳酒吧
Tel:13628814477
Adress:Binjiang Road西双版纳景洪市乐活区滨江大道(近澜沧江)
Longzhou sport and leisure Square龙舟运动休闲广场
Tel:13759410008
Adress:Longzhou Square景洪市龙舟广场旁电视屏幕下
Jing Hong Gasa springs嘎洒温泉
Gasa springs, is the development and utilization of suburban Jinghong,it has two hot springs. Jinghong Gasa Township borders of the genus , it is called Gasa Spa. Here is located in the South of Jinghong basin, about 8 km from city of yunjinghong(允景洪城), Jinghong to menglong highway passing, also communicated with the airport road, and convenient transportation.
Tel: 023-65455488 15723296080
Jinghong has a unique set of pattra-leaf culture and dance culture Jinuo,Hani inspired folk songs and so on. In Jinghong city of Dai, Dai slow wheel pottery techniques, Dai water-splashing Festival, JINO encouraged by the Ministry of culture approved as a national intangible cultural heritage（国家非物质文化遗产）.
1.Pattra-leaf culture贝叶文化
Pattra-leaf culture is a symbolic reference of the Dai nationality’s traditional culture. It is called “pattra-leaf culture”, because it is preserved in Palm-leaf made of palm leaves by this name. Pattra-leaf culture including Palm leaves, cotton paper book of Scripture and survived in folk thing as three aspects of traditional culture. Palm-leaf Scripture is “of pattra-leaf culture” in the most ancient and the most important part is “of pattra-leaf culture” the main carrier, it can be said is the root of culture. Pattra-leaf culture of this, including leaf-and paper-two styles. Is leaf-shaped kind of palm-leaf Scripture, Dai said “tanlan”. It is made of civil stylus writing the text in a special “Bailen” (Palm-leaf leaves). Specification page four-row, five-, six-and eight-line four, Dai said: LAN play, lanha, lanhe, blue, three specifications of Bayesian before the most common. A lot of Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist scriptures, the Dai folk stories, myth and legends, are recorded in the bay leaf. Paper is a paper book, Dai said “thin GA la Sha”. It is wild fern bar after cutting into the pen with ink written on top of the tissue paper together.
2.Dai Manlun ceramic technology傣族慢轮制陶技艺
Dai pottery main wheel(转轮), wood(木拍), bamboo(竹刮), stone balls (石球)and other scratch and main technology processes include the Chung Hom Kok, sieve, mixed with sand and water, installation of turntable, performing, playing, and dry and ready toburn pottery, pottery and other sectors, the production of pottery can be classified by their use of appliances, building materials, danfo appliances, and so on.
Dai experienced stress of pottery in the use of materials, mainly clay and aggregate to improve performance. Roasting also has its own characteristics,including the open baking and roasting methods such as closed and. Slab method presents a variety of characteristics, there is no wheel blank, toetouch slowly round, hand pulling the wheel, and so on. These ancient ceramics, still use for Dai heritage.
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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...
Jianchuan County Entertainment
In Jianchuan,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...
Jianchuan County Culture
1. Ancestor of Bai people in Jianchuan The language of Bai belongs to the Yi branch of Zang-Mian Austronesian of the Chinese-Tibetan Phylum. They have also invented their own...
History of Jinghong
The town was founded as Chiang Hung (Cheli), by Tai king Phanya Coeng in 1180. Yuan Dynasty During the Mongol Yuan Dynasty in China, the Tai kingdom of Sipsongpanna...
Jinghong City Entertainment
There are so many entertainment activities in Jonghong city.As for nightlife activities, Jinghong does not differ a lot from other cities in China. Bars, KTV and other clubs can...
Jinghong City Culture
Jinghong has a unique set of pattra-leaf culture and dance culture Jinuo,Hani inspired folk songs and so on. In Jinghong city of Dai, Dai slow wheel pottery techniques, Dai...
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