Bai People’s Village at Xizhou

About 18 kilometers north to Dali (大理), Xizhou town (喜洲) is situated in the embrace of Erhai Lake and Cangshan Mountain. It is a main residential district for Bai Nationality, as a birthplace of Dali culture. The world -known Bai’s architectural groups exists in the town.

Historically, Xizhou was a military fortress of the ancient Nanzhao Kingdom as well as the Nanzhao King’s temporary palace. Many intact different-style architectures built in Ming and Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China and Modern China are still preserved in Xizhou Town, which shows a miracle in its architectural history.

Different-style architectures built in some ages of China are still preserved in Xizhou Town.

Xizhou was once a commercial center of Yunnan, and the birthplace of Bai’s modern entrepreneurs. It is said that more than 140 wealthy families built their houses here, including the Yan’s, the Yang’s, the Dong’s and the Zhao’s. Now, Xizhou town boasts more than 88 compounds of typically bai-style houses. Their architectural design is known as “Sanfang Yizhaobi” (a courtyard rooms on three sides and a screen wall on the remaining side) and “Sihe Wutianjing” (四合五天井/one big courtyard with four smaller ones at the four corners of the main one). All these houses here show the strong and unique Bai nationality characteristics in their painted roofs and pillars, upturned eaves, and “dougong” systems (斗拱/double bow-shaped brackets on columns supporting upturned eaves). And some have several yards and some have yards within yards.

In Xizhou town, you will meet charming local girls dressed in bright colorful the Bai’s apparels and accessories.

In Xizhou town, you will meet charming Golden Flower beauties every corner of the street, dressed in bright colorful the Bai’s apparels and accessories, the beauties look like an elegant landscape. On the street, you can buy different kinds of Bai Nationality’s handicrafts and gourmets. With green mountains, winding creeks, Bai-style folk houses and friendly people, you would feel a lyrical and homely feeling.