Whoever comes to Lijiang should not miss Baisha, or I will be heartbroken! Baisha is worth it
Lijiang has three ancient towns: Lijiang (Dayan) Ancient Town, Shuhe Ancient Town, and Baisha Ancient Town. The most populous and prosperous is Lijiang Ancient Town, but I have a particular fondness for Baisha Ancient Town.
Baisha Ancient Town is the smallest of the three, but it is the one that, in my eyes, has the most Yunnan charm. Last year, I stayed in Lijiang for half a year, visiting Baisha Ancient Town countless times, and finally, as a chronic procrastinator, I have put together this guide:
🚗How to get to Baisha Ancient Town?
1⃣️Self-drive or take a taxi: Navigate to 📍Baisha Ancient Town (there is a parking lot), but be careful not to drive into the narrow and crowded streets of the ancient town; it's very inconvenient;
2⃣️Bus🚌: Depart from Lijiang Ancient Town by bus No. 6 (fare 2 yuan) or the Ancient Town-Shuhe-Baisha line (fare 5 yuan) to get there. It's recommended to check the bus schedule in advance, otherwise, the waiting time can be long.
📃How to enjoy Baisha Ancient Town?
1⃣️Baisha Ancient Town is very small, and you can basically finish touring it in half an hour. It's recommended to go to 7sea or a nearby cafe with a terrace, order a cup of coffee ☕️, and view the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. (Now there are more people than before, and you basically have to queue to take pictures of the snow mountain...)
2⃣️For those who like to walk, you can follow the streets in the direction of the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Occasionally, you will see local grandparents sunbathing by the roadside. My friend and I inadvertently passed by a small shop carving wooden stakes, where you can drink tea and have a meal, quite interesting.
3⃣️On the road from Shuhe to Baisha Ancient Town, every year from March to April, the roadside is filled with various unknown wildflowers, which is very suitable for riding an electric scooter🛵 and enjoying the breeze. Occasionally, you may encounter a grandfather leading an ox, a young man painting, villagers working in the fields... At sunset, the glow, the setting sun, and the snow mountain are intoxicating.
4⃣️Xiaodao Family Coffee, on the road going deeper from Baisha Ancient Town, there is a coffee shop where you can see the snow mountain, slightly away from Baisha Ancient Town, with a sense of 'being uniquely independent from the world'.
5⃣️Baisha Murals: The ticket is 20 yuan per person, and you can deeply understand the Naxi culture. Since some parts are still under renovation, you might not be able to see them, so it's suggested to ask the staff before going.
🍲What to eat in Baisha Ancient Town?
1⃣️Poet's Steamed Buns
Both the flower steamed buns and the brown sugar steamed buns are delicious, even for someone like me who doesn't usually like flour-based food, they have a unique taste~
2⃣️Chef Chen's Baisha Flavor Restaurant
A very local restaurant. The first time I went there, the place was quite small and easy to miss. Later, both the environment and the dishes have improved a lot. I especially recommend their Pu'er tea beef and fish.
3⃣️Naxi Specialty Casserole
Great value for money, the mixed pot dish is 25 yuan per person, with both vegetables and meat, and the flavor is excellent. After eating, it's always memorable. Their fried rice is also very characteristic and highly recommended!
If you are looking to enjoy an old town environment but escape the crowds this place is a great choice.
Dali Lijiang Ancient City has visited, I heard that Baisha Ancient Town has been newly developed, the style is very good, and I am very fond of it. Many shops are still rebuilding and renovating... There is a store with a dog photo that must buy things... The experience is very poor...
When you come to Lijiang, you must come to Baisha Ancient Town. In the morning, take the 6 bus all the way to meet the Yulong Snow Mountain. You can take pictures of the snowy mountains at the archway of the ancient town. The flower steamed bun shop is at the entrance of the archway. You must taste the taste.
Baisha Ancient Town has a thousand years of history, Mushi began to draw spring water from the Yulong Snow Mountain to pass through the center of the commercial square, and later in Dayan will play the wonderfulness of the flowing water to the fullest. Baisha Ancient Town is very developed in commerce and handicrafts. Before liberation, there were more than 150 copper workshops in Baisha. The copperware is mainly used for copper hot pot, copper pot, copper pot, copper foil, oil lamps and other items needed by Tibetan areas and surrounding ethnic minorities. But for the reasons of post-liberation history, there is only one on Baisha Street. Still insisting on hand-drawing copper. White sand textile and hand-made embroidery has also been very developed. Historically, Naxi embroidery mainly focuses on the daily necessities, paintings and Tibetan Tangka of local tribal chiefs and dignitaries. The folk mainly focus on "stars and moons", waist, back, shoes, insoles. Before liberation, almost everyone embroidered by Naxi and surrounding ethnic minority women, who were centered on Baisha, and almost everyone embroidered. After liberation, there are few good embroidery masters because of the Cultural Revolution and mechanization. The current government-focused Lijiang Jinxiu Vocational Training School, Baisha Jinxiu Art Academy is digging, finishing, inheriting, training and promoting traditional hand-made embroidery. Baisha Splendid Art Academy, between the parking lot and Sifang Street, is a typical Naxi courtyard complex, with four yards, antique, the ground is auspicious pattern of traditional craft tiles and goose warm stone paving, doors and windows are old and very particular, very tasteful. Baisha Splendid Art Academy is a demonstration base for ethnic embroidery and Dongba culture inheritance, promotion and women's employment supported by the local government. Here you can not only appreciate the beauty of Naxi's traditional architectural courtyard, but also appreciate the cultural dinner of ethnic embroidery, which is very shocking. Some people create embroidery on the spot, and there are also high-school and low-end works available for purchase in the exhibition hall, but there are still differences in the price of handmade artwork and cross-stitch and machine embroidery. There is no ticket, it is worth visiting.
From the Yulong Snow Mountain back to Lijiang on the way to Baisha Ancient Town. Baisha Ancient Town is located about 10 kilometers from Lijiang City, north of Yulong Snow Mountain, south to Longquan, Xiyizhi Mountain, is the ancient capital of Naxi, world-class "Gunaxi Kingdom", once the center of the politics, economy, commerce and culture of Naxi Lijiang. As one of the important birthplaces of Naxi culture, Baisha Ancient Town is the origin of the regime of Lijiang Tusi "Mu family". Early in the Tang Dynasty, when the Nanyu Wang Fengyulong Snow Mountain was "Beiyue", Mu's ancestors (then Lijiang Wang) began to build Baisha Street and Beiyue Temple here. Baisha Ancient Town is the ancient town with the most ancient style of Naxi, the most original ecological Naxi village, and is one of the components of the world cultural heritage "Lijiang Ancient City". We went to Baisha Ancient Town on March 8 on the sixth day of the lunar calendar in February. In two days, the eighth day of February is more than three festivals. Naxi is called "Sanduo Song". It is a grand festival of the Naxi statutory ethnic festival, the traditional Naxi festival, and the Naxi festival to the greatest protection god of the ethnic group. It is equivalent to our Spring Festival, and the local holiday is three days. Unfortunately, we didn't do our homework and went two days early. It is very convenient to go to Baisha Ancient City from Lijiang Ancient City to play Didi, and it is also very convenient to take the 6 bus.
Baisha Ancient Town is located about 10 kilometers from Lijiang City, north of Yulong Snow Mountain, south to Longquan, Xiyizhi Mountain, is the ancient capital of Naxi, world-class "Gunaxi Kingdom", once the center of the politics, economy, commerce and culture of Naxi Lijiang. As one of the important birthplaces of Naxi culture, the Naxi Mushi toast has accumulated experience in planning towns in Baisha. It is one of the components of the world cultural heritage "Lijiang Ancient City". It is located under the Yulong Snow Mountain, north of Lijiang Ancient City. Baisha Ancient Town is the origin of the regime of Lijiang Tusi "Mu family". Baisha Ancient Town is the ancient town with the most ancient style of Naxi and the most original ecological Naxi village.
After 15 years, under the pressure of the epidemic, I visited Lijiang again. It can be called a surprise only Baisha. Like many strategies, the simplicity and quietness of Baisha is her charm. Craftsmen, romantic poets, and storm travelers from all over the world settle here. Even if there are not many small shops visited by guests in a day, there is still a sense of ritual. As a tourist, you have to slow down your heart. Different small shops have different stories and have different joys.
One of the three ancient towns in Lijiang, the style is unique, the style is well preserved, and it is recommended.