Shaxi Ancient Town

Surviving Market Town Of The Tea Horse Road; Listed On The World Monuments Watch (2001) · Jianchuan, Yunnan

A small, beautifully preserved market town in a green valley of western Yunnan, and one of the last surviving caravan stops on the ancient Tea Horse Road, the network of mountain trails along which mule trains carried tea, salt and goods between Yunnan, Tibet and beyond for more than a thousand years. At its heart is Sideng Street, whose cobbled Sifang market square is framed by the Xingjiao Temple, a Ming-dynasty temple of the local Bai people's esoteric Buddhism with faded murals, an ornate opera stage facing it across the square, and old caravan inns where traders and muleteers once rested their animals. Lanes of mud-brick and timber houses lead to the East Gate and the stone Yujin Bridge over the Heihui River, where rice fields stretch toward the hills. Largely bypassed by modern roads, Shaxi was listed by the World Monuments Fund in 2001 among the world's most endangered sites, and a careful restoration led by Swiss and Chinese planners has kept its buildings and village life intact rather than turning it into a theme park. A market still fills Sifang Square every Friday, drawing Bai and Yi villagers from the mountains. Nearby Shibaoshan, the Stone Treasure Mountain, hides Buddhist grottoes carved during the Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms. Shaxi is quieter than Dali and Lijiang, and many travellers stay several days.

Sideng Street, Shaxi Town, Jianchuan County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, Jianchuan, Yunnan, China

Town open at all hours and free to walk; the five ticketed indoor sites, Xingjiao Temple and Shibaoshan keep daytime hours (check). Market on Sifang Square on Fridays.

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