These attractions in Baisha Ancient Town Travel Guide are worth visiting during your self-driving tour

Speaking of Baisha Ancient Town, outsiders don’t know much about this place, but locals find it very interesting. Many attractions are worth visiting. Recently, many people have discovered that Baisha Ancient Town has several places suitable for self-driving tours. So what are the attractions? Let’s briefly analyze it and recommend it to everyone.

1. Baisha Ancient Town

Baisha Ancient Town was once the political, economic and cultural center of Lijiang and the first settlement of the Naxi people in Lijiang Dam. The ancient town has maintained its original appearance and has not been over-developed. It is quieter than Dayan and Shuhe. You can see the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain when you look up. The White Sand Mural is the most famous attraction in the town. From the early Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, it has been painted for more than 300 years. It is a good place to learn about Dongba culture. The murals in Dabaoji Palace are the largest among the murals in Lijiang, with religious themes as their content. There are 12 murals and 167 figures. You can come to Baisha's street shops to sit and drink tea, you can take your time shopping, and you can chat with local grandmothers in a language you don't understand. It's very relaxing and leisurely.

Baisha Festival activities:

"Bangbang Festival": It can also be said to be the Baisha Farm Tools Fair, held on the same day as the worship of the gods, five days later than the Dayan Bangbang Festival. In Naxi language, it is called Baisha Dangmeikongpu, which means "the White Sand Dabaoji Palace is open". This is the temple of Dabaoji Palace, Liuli Temple in Baisha, and Dading Pavilion, which have been continued from the Ming Dynasty to the present day. It was once opened for people to burn incense and worship Buddha, and later evolved into a traditional festival focusing on the trading of agricultural tools. At the exchange meeting, there were not only various farm tools, but also children's toys and daily groceries. So, as the saying goes, you can buy anything except chicken heads. In addition to the trading of agricultural tools, a big jumping competition and artistic performances with Naxi characteristics were also held in Baisha Square.

Torch Festival: June 24-26 of the lunar calendar is the Torch Festival of the Naxi people. People must light bonfires in their yards for three nights. Each village in Baisha Town will light torches at their designated event venues and celebrate with singing and dancing.

Tourist Resources

Baisha Mural: The most famous thing in the town is the Baisha Mural. The Baisha murals are the product of the great social opening up of the Naxi people in the Ming Dynasty. His painting lasted more than 300 years from the early Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Lijiang murals flourished and have a history of 500 years. When you go to Baisha Ancient Town, you must see the murals in Baisha.

Secondly, Baisha Ancient Town is the best place to photograph Naxi culture, with pristine nature. To the north are Falcon Valley, Yuhu Village, Yushui Village and other attractions. Baisha Ancient Town's status among European and American tourists is even more important than Dayan Ancient Town, so foreigners can often be seen here.

The best time to travel to Baisha Ancient Town: Lijiang Baisha Ancient Town is suitable for tourism all year round, but in spring the wind is strong and the climate is dry, so special attention should be paid to fire protection, sun protection and moisturizing.

2. Dading Pavilion

Dading Pavilion is located in the northeast of Dabaoji Palace, facing east and west. It was originally composed of an academy, with 17 murals on the interior and corridor walls, covering an area of ??69.96 square meters. The walls are also embedded with aragonite, which is unique to Lijiang's ancient buildings and quite distinctive. The north and south corridors are painted with "Shuiyue Avalokitesvara", and there are Buddhist statues of Manjusri, Samantabhadra, Dazhi, etc., paired with Shuiyue marble, which resembles a landscape and figure painting. There is a painting of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Guanyin sits on the cliff beside the lotus pond, stepping on lotus flowers, wearing purple clothes and a red belt. There are flowers behind you, lotuses are blooming in front of you, and the clear water is rippling. The flying fairy in the upper right corner is a masterpiece in the mural.

Dingge Mansion was originally composed of several east and west courtyards. Now there is only one courtyard, which is a courtyard with a single eaves on the top of the mountain. There is a door outside, and the yard inside the door is small and exquisite. There are gallery houses on both sides, standing in front of the pavilion. The gallery house is low and surrounded by mountains on three sides, offering panoramic views. It exits

The Ding Pavilion is located on the east side of the courtyard, with three rooms on each side, 6.86 meters wide, 5.25 meters deep and 5.2 meters high. There is a partition between the front and rear eaves pillars, which is divided into three parts. The front is the corridor, the middle is the worship hall, and the back is the Buddha statue. The lower eaves have five arches, the upper eaves have three arches of seven colors, and the first three layers of cloud cover are moderately proportioned and beautifully carved. Internal beams, partitions, missing ladders and other components are all carefully carved. There are stone carvings on the walls, which are unique to Lijiang ancient buildings and quite distinctive.

3. Fuguo Temple

Guofu Temple was built in the 29th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1601 AD) and was the earliest family temple of Tusi Mu. Tusi Mu invited eminent Mahayana Buddhist monks of the Han Dynasty to chant sutras and practice here, and it became a Buddhist temple in the Han Dynasty. The temple was named "Jiefang Lin" and later named "Guofu Temple" by Emperor Xi Mengyao Zhu Youxiao. The temple was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and has not been restored.

4. Dabaoji Palace

Dabaoji Palace is located on Baisha Street, 8 kilometers north of Lijiang City. Liulitang sits west to east and was built in the 15th year of Yongle (1417) in the Ming Dynasty. It rests on the top of the mountain, has double eaves, is two rooms wide and square. The pillars are thick and thick, the arches are powerful and spacious, and there are 16 murals left on the eaves and under the arches of the golden pillars. These paintings were painted from the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty. The early works are simple, while the later works are rough. Among them, the most famous white sand mural - "Tathagata Lectures and Preaching Picture" shows religious activities and stories of Tibetan Buddhism, Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, etc. There are more than 100 portraits of characters in the paintings, with delicate lines and colorful colors. Its outstanding feature is the integration of multiple religious contents and the integration of traditional painting techniques and styles of multiple ethnic groups, which can be said to be very few.

The murals include inscriptions of the Maurya King, pictures of Dharma meetings, etc. and Tantric and Taoist themes. This is a fusion of Chinese and Tibetan paintings.

There are 12 murals. It is the most complete and representative mural in Lijiang.

5. Baisha Mural

The famous "Lijiang Mural" is the product of the great opening up of Naxi society in the Ming Dynasty. His painting lasted more than 300 years from the early Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty. In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, Lijiang murals flourished and have a history of 500 years. During this long period of time, Lijiang has experienced more than ten generations of chiefs and governors. There are enlightened people among local officials, and there are also dull people. Some are prosperous and some are in decline; some are Buddhists, some are believers, and some are Lamas. Under the preference of the rulers, various religions in Lijiang often develop alternately one after another, and the temples in Lijiang often rise and fall, which directly affects the rise and fall of murals.

The investigation report of the Yunnan Provincial Cultural Relics Task Force in 1962 reads: "Lijiang murals are distributed in Yangxi Wande Palace, Dayan Town Guiding Hall, Hantan Temple, Shuhe Dajue Palace, Ya Mu's former residence and temple in Jiao Village, Baisha Liuli Store, Dabaoji Palace, Damo Hall, Dading Pavilion, and Cedar Temple in Cedar Village. "At that time, there were more than ten murals and more than 200 works in Lijiang. The 55 existing murals are distributed in four temples around the ancient city, including Dabaoji Palace, Liuli Palace, Dading Pavilion and Dajue Palace in Shuhe. Among them, the murals of Dabaoji Palace in Baisha Village, five kilometers north of Dayan Ancient City, were announced by the country as the fourth batch of national key cultural relics protection units in 1996.

The largest mural in Lijiang is the Dabaoji Palace mural. Dabao Palace is a quadrangle with three courtyards, thick beams and pillars, and thick brackets, with a distinctive Ming Dynasty architectural style. The murals of Dabaoji Palace were painted during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. There are 12 murals in total. The largest one is 2.07 meters high and 4.48 meters wide, with 167 large characters painted on it. The content of the mural is a religious theme, which is different from other religious paintings. The most outstanding feature is that in the same mural, there are not only Buddhist and Taoist Buddha statues, but also Lamaist Buddha statues. This kind of painting style that combines various sects is very rare. The artistic style of Baisha murals is a combination of Chinese and Tibetan painting arts. It is eclectic and unique to various religious beliefs.

The layout is careful, the brushwork is rigorous, the colors are rich, the shapes are accurate, the characters are vivid, and the Dongba paintings are rough. , strong color contrast, unified style and lines, concise brushwork, etc. The four charming Guanyin are depicted in a charming and humane manner; the pictures are vivid and lively, and other natural scenes such as galloping horses, blooming lotus, mountains, rivers and fields, flowers, birds, insects, fish, etc. are all vividly depicted. According to historical records, Lijiang murals, represented by Dabaoji Palace, were painted one after another for more than 300 years from the early Ming Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. At that time, a group of Han painters headed by Ma Li Xiaoxian, including Tibetan and Bai painters, Dongba disciples and Taoist disciples, also participated in the painting of murals. Therefore, the murals have different styles, integrating traditional Central Plains techniques, Tibetan techniques, Naxi paintings and other styles.

With its unique painting style and precious historical and cultural connotations, Baisha murals deeply attract domestic and foreign tourists, and there is an endless stream of tourists coming here every day. The artistic style and precious historical and cultural connotations deeply attract domestic and foreign tourists, and there is an endless stream of tourists coming here every day.