Yunnan is one of the most scenic provinces in China, with everything from snowy glaciers, alpine canyons and rivers to plateau lakes, stone forest wonders and tropical rainforests, which almost integrates domestic landscape.

Yunnan is not only beautiful in mountains and rivers, but also a place with a long history of multi-ethnic cultures and rich historical deposits.

There are 25 ethnic minorities in Yunnan, whose population accounts for one-third of the total population of the province. In the long history of development, the exchanges and integration of many ethnic groups have created distinctive folk culture with distinctive features and great customs, and the ancient town of Yunnan is the best place to experience this folk customs.

Yunnan is famous for its ancient cities and towns. There are not only famous Lijiang and Dali, but also many small ancient towns hidden in the depths, which are even called "secret places". The following five ancient towns must have the simplicity, tranquility, elegance and quiet years you want.

1. Shaxi Ancient Town

If Shuhe was Lijiang ten years ago, Shaxi was Lijiang thirty years ago.

Shaxi is neither a new building nor a high imitation. It is a real ancient town, so there is a saying in northwest Yunnan that you must not miss Shaxi when you pass through Dali and Lijiang.

This is an ancient town that can bypass the bustling Dali and Lijiang, because it is simple and quiet.

Although Shaxi Ancient Town is located between Dali and Lijiang, compared with those two ancient cities, it is almost unknown here.

Shaxi ancient town is an important post station of the ancient tea-horse road. With the decline of the ancient tea-horse road, the ancient town has gradually been forgotten. Because it has been forgotten, it is more primitive. The ancient town still maintains the style of the ancient tea-horse town, including ancient temples, ancient stages, ancient shops, horse shops, ancient red sandstone slab streets, century-old trees, ancient alleys and ancient villages. Because of its antiquity, Sideng Street here was selected.

Walk past Yujin Bridge, an ancient stone bridge, and walk 1 meters along the ancient road to Dongzhaimen. This is an adobe Zhaimen, which only allows two horses to pass through at the same time, retaining the original appearance of Zhaimen on the ancient tea-horse road.

Xingjiao Temple is the only remaining "Attoli" Buddhist temple of Bai nationality in Ming Dynasty in China, with exquisite and elegant murals and sculptures.

The old stage is the most distinctive building in Sideng Street, located in the center of the buildings on the east side of the street, which is also the center of the ancient town.

Shaxi ancient town is small, quiet and quaint. I suggest staying here for one night to slow down the time, or sitting there alone in a daze, or wandering around the old street, drinking tea, riding horses and sunbathing, and slowly enjoying your own relaxation. Come here early before it is over-exploited.

Tips

Address: No.84 County Road, Jianchuan County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture

Route: go on road trip is recommended. If you don't drive, you can go to the front of Jianchuan Bus Terminal, where there are many minibuses that travel between Shaxi Ancient Town and Jianchuan County. It takes about 4 minutes by car and the fare is 15 yuan.

Accommodation: There are youth hostels and inns in the ancient town.

Special food: Radix Gleditsiae, Tricholoma matsutake, milk cake, goat milk cake, etc.

Second, Xizhou Ancient Town

If you come to Dali and don't go to Xizhou, you have never been to Dali.

This is not a remote ancient city, less than 2 kilometers away from the famous Dali ancient city, but it is an ancient town full of historical charm, literary petty bourgeoisie and strong national characteristics.

There is a shallow blend of history and commerce, and there are many shops here, but it is not noisy. There is still a strong smell of fireworks and life above the commercial atmosphere.

In Dali, if you want to truly experience the cultural heritage of the Bai people, you should go to Xizhou, where there are the largest and most distinctive Bai residential buildings and ancient cultural relics that have not been destroyed even in a special period. Outside the town, there is a large paddy field, and further out is Erhai Lake.

Yanjia Courtyard is the architectural essence of Bai nationality.

the Yan family was once the head of the "four big families" in Xizhou, and the ancient tea-horse road brought them huge wealth. The Yan family lived in the southwest corner of Sifang Street and was built in Guangxu period. The big house with a building area of more than 3, square meters was exquisite and gorgeous, so you can imagine the style of the Yan family.

Address: East of Dali Line, Dali City, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture

Tickets: free, (tickets for Yanjia Courtyard in 2 yuan Ctrip)

Special food: Baba in Xizhou

Third, Yunnanyi Ancient Town

You can tell by its name that this is an ancient post station.

Many people who have been here say that this ancient town is lonely, even a little bleak, but it is alive.

In 122 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent an envoy to search for it and set up Yunnan County, which is the birthplace of Yunnan.

Yunnan Post was the throat of the ancient Silk Road in Southwest China more than 2, years ago, but it reached its peak in Qing Dynasty. It became the most important and prosperous distribution center on the ancient tea-horse road. Caravans from east to west came here carrying a lot of leather, medicinal materials, tea, cloth, salt and department stores. The footprints left by caravans in those years are still faintly visible on the ancient bluestone road.

In those days, because there were so many caravans coming and going, opening horse shops in the ancient town became a means of livelihood for many people here. At most, there were more than 3 horse shops, large and small, and the largest could accommodate more than 3 horses.

The most remarkable history of Yunnan Post is during the Anti-Japanese War. It is an important military base in China-Burma War Zone and an air transfer station to Southeast Asian countries. Yunnan Post Airport Transfer Station is an important channel and air supply line of the famous hump route. At that time, the Central Aviation Academy and the 38th Air Force Station were stationed here, and the world-famous Yunnan-Burma Highway passed through it. Tens of thousands of anti-Japanese volunteers and migrant workers once gave their lives heroically to build and defend this important military base.

There are still historical sites in the town during the Anti-Japanese War. Outside the town, the hangar and airport runway where allied planes parked in those days are still clearly visible. In a courtyard of the town, there are still more than a dozen huge stone rollers used in the construction of the airport in those years.

There are two post roads in the village, one in the east, one in the west and one in the north and one in the south, forming a T-shaped street pattern. The old buildings that can be seen everywhere on the street are exquisitely carved with wood grains, and the mottled walls are full of vicissitudes of life.

The 1-kilometer-long ancient post road paved with bluestone slabs in the ancient town is the most historic ancient road in China. The bluestone slabs polished by the years watch people coming and going and witness the rise and fall of the caravan era.

There are not many residents in the ancient town now, there are not so many shops and bustling tourists, and there is also a lack of various decorations of cultural petty bourgeoisie. It is original, simple and quiet, even a little depressed and deserted. I hope the prosperity will disperse, and people in the future will still not forget the glory of this important town of the ancient tea-horse road.

Address: Next to National Highway 32, Xiangyun County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture

Tickets: Free of charge

IV. Nuodeng Ancient Town

In the deep mountains north of Yunlong County, Dali, there is a Bai village with a history of thousands of years, which is Nuodeng Ancient Town. "Nuodeng" means "hillside with tigers" in Bai language. This ancient town is the oldest village in northwest Yunnan, and it is also the only village town with the same original name recorded in Manshu, the earliest historical book in Yunnan Province. It is absolutely different from the history of many ancient towns that has been advertised for one or two thousand years. This is a real thousand-year-old Bai ancient town, and there is no one.

The ancient town was once a commercial center on the ancient tea-horse road in western Yunnan. However, due to the impact of low-cost sea salt, Nuodeng ancient well salt gradually faded out of the historical stage, but Nuodeng ancient town still retains the traditional method of making salt from ancient wells. As the name of the salt well, Nuodeng has become a symbol of Yunnan salt culture.

The ancient town is rich because of the salt well, and the architectural style of the ancient village is even more unique. The residential buildings are all built on the mountain, and most of them are buildings in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They are very well preserved. Seen from the foot of the mountain, the residential buildings are scattered on the hillside, which has become the most beautiful scenery in the ancient town. There are also temples, archways, halls, ancestral halls and other buildings in the town, among which the Jade Emperor Pavilion complex is the most magnificent, and the Lingxingmen in front of the pavilion is the largest existing ancient wooden archway in western Yunnan.

Nuodeng Village is a small village famous for its ham. The reason why its ham is delicious is that the salt tastes good. The salt used comes from a salt well with a history of nearly 2, years and is made by the oldest method.

Since beginning of winter, every family in Nuodeng Village has started to pickle ham. The pickling process is very simple. Spread corn wine on the ham, evenly sprinkle Nuo salt on it and knead it repeatedly. After 3 days of pickling in the workshop, it can be hung up and dried. Hams over 3 years old can be eaten raw. This is also the only ham that can be eaten raw in China.

The ancient town of Nuodeng has been discovered and publicized for nearly 2 years, and it has also been served.

Address: Nuodeng Town, Yunlong County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province

Tickets: Free of charge

V. Nayun Ancient Town

Nayun Ancient Town has a history of more than 7 years and is the last Dai ancient town preserved in China.

"Nayun" means "inner city" in Dai language. This is a very sacred place in the minds of the Dai people in Southeast Asia, because the Menglian Xuanfu Department of the Dai Tusi yamen in the past dynasties is located here.

During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, the court set up the "Meng Lianchang lawsuit" here, and formally established the chieftain system, which experienced four periods of Yuan, Ming, Qing and the Republic of China, and experienced 28 chieftains before and after, ruling for 66 years, which was the politics, economy and culture of Fiona Fang's hundreds of miles areas such as Menglian, Lancang and Ximeng.

The architecture of Nayun ancient town embodies the integration of Dai and Han nationalities, and contains rich and colorful Dai Tusi culture.

At present, the well-preserved ancient buildings in the ancient town are mainly Buddhist temples and Menglian Xuanfu Tusi Mansion.

The farthest outside is the Xiacheng Buddhist Temple, which is the residence of officials in charge of internal and external affairs, the presiding judge and several officials. The Xiacheng Buddhist Temple was destroyed by fire, and now it is rebuilt by later generations and named as the General Buddhist Temple, so it is the most magnificent among the three Buddhist temples.

Zhongcheng Buddhist Temple is a special Buddhist temple for Dai officials. Although it is the smallest and most dilapidated, it is the most primitive and tasteful of the three Buddhist temples.

Menglian Xuanfu Department is located at the highest place in Shangcheng, which is called "Hehan" in Dai language, that is, the king of the Golden Temple. It is the core and symbol of chieftain rule, and it is also the only large-scale building complex with Dai and Han buildings in Yunnan. Burned down in the Qing Dynasty, it was rebuilt in 1878-1919, with a wall more than 2 meters high on the outside and four side doors around it. There are a main hall, a parliamentary hall, a back hall, a wing and so on. It is a building complex with the characteristics of Han and Dai architecture, and now it is the Menglian National History Museum.

Address: Menglian Dai Lahu nationality, Pu 'er City.