Shiyang Ancient Town

Chuxiong Prefecture has several famous ancient towns. Shiyang Town in Dayao County is about 140 kilometers away from both Chuxiong City and Dali City. From Dali, you can take the Kunming-Chuxiong-Dali Expressway and then transfer to the Xiangyao Road at Xiangyun. As you approach Shiyang Town, you can see large fields of mulberry trees. In early spring, the mulberry trees just begin to sprout new buds, showing vibrant vitality. Shiyang is a renovated ancient town with streets winding along the mountains. Shiyang Town began drilling wells and producing salt in the Western Han Dynasty, and until modern times, it was famous for its 'Baijing' salt in neighboring provinces and countries. Today, the Qingfeng Well, drilled in the Han Dynasty, is still full of brine, which is transported through pipelines to salt drying sheds hundreds of meters away for concentration, then baked using traditional techniques in various sizes of chicken nest stoves, and finally molded into different shapes for tourists to purchase. The prosperity of the salt industry in Shiyang Town led to cultural flourishing. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, numerous academies and schools were scattered inside and outside the town. Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, and Christianity coexisted harmoniously, with many temples, monasteries, shrines, and pavilions. The Shiyang Confucian Temple was first built in the first year of the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty and has been expanded and renovated over the generations, becoming quite large. Inside the temple, there is a 2.3-meter-high, 2.5-ton bronze statue of Confucius cast during the Kangxi period, said to be the largest bronze statue of Confucius in China. The Shiyang Confucian Temple was admired by scholars and literati in the past and is still revered by students today. The pine and cypress trees in front of the Dacheng Hall are hung with golden ribbons and wishing plaques from students all over. The temple has erected a new top scholar monument and opened an exhibition room, with the names of recent top scorers in the college entrance examination engraved on the monument, and the exhibition room introducing their details with pictures and texts. A company in the prefecture has set up scholarships for the top three in the college entrance examination and has also established a bulletin board in the temple. In front of the temple is the Confucius Cultural Square paved with bluestone, with a large relief of the character 'Confucian' in the center. Cultural festivals or Confucius worship activities are held here. Longquan Street connects to Xionglin Street, winding through the ancient town. At the intersection with Xiangyao Road, you can see the sculpture of the Dragon Girl Herding Sheep and the Salt Feng Martyrs Monument not far away. The ancient town is fully equipped with banks, supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, police stations, and more. The various people seen on the streets all appear to be enjoying life, which is both a result of cultural accumulation and an expression of improved living conditions and standards.