Things to do in Jianchuan

Jianchuan · 25.2km from downtown

574 reviews

Ancient Town Shaxi was once an important stop along the Ancient Tea Horse Road. As the route declined, it gradually faded into obscurity. However, this very isolation has preserved its tranquil, rustic charm, allowing it to retain the authentic atmosphere of its tea-trading past. Locals in northwest Yunnan say: "Visit Dali, pass through Lijiang, but don't miss Ancient Town Shaxi." Tour Route Crossing the ancient stone bridge over the Heihui River—Yujin Bridge—and walking about 100 meters along the old trail, you'll reach the East Village Gate, locally known as "Jiezi Gate." Built with rammed earth, this narrow gate allows only two horses to pass simultaneously, preserving its original appearance from the Tea Horse Road era. Beyond it lies Sideng Street, the sole surviving market along the Tea Horse Road and the heart of Ancient Town Shaxi. The street is paved with red sandstone slabs, flanked by an ancient opera stage facing west on the east side and Xingjiao Temple facing east on the west side, creating a symmetrical layout that divides the square into northern and southern halves. Surrounding the square are shops and horse inns, with three ancient alleyways extending in all directions of the town. Ancient Town ShaxiHighlights: Xingjiao Temple Xingjiao Temple is a major highlight of Ancient Town Shaxi. As one of the few remaining Bai ethnic "Atoli" Buddhist temples from the Ming Dynasty in China, its exquisite murals and carvings are worth savoring. Visitors can enter for free by registering their ID cards. During ethnic festivals, Bai people dressed in traditional costumes gather at Sifang Street, playing the dragon-headed sanxian and performing songs and dances on the stage. The bustling square fills with crowds while devotees worship at the temple, creating a joyous atmosphere. The liveliest celebration is the annual Prince Festival on the eighth day of the second lunar month. Accommodation and dining Ancient Town Shaxi is quite small and can be explored in just 1–2 hrs of casual strolling. However, if time allows, we recommend staying overnight to leisurely wander along the old streets and savor the tranquil charm that Dali Ancient Town lacks. The town offers affordable accommodations like youth hostels and various inns. You can grab meals at roadside eateries or try local specialties such as yacon, matsutake mushrooms, and milk cakes.

No. 17 of Fall Viewing Attractions in Dali Prefecture

Shibao Mountain

5.7

4.5/5

390 reviews

Shibao Mountain is located in Jianchuan County, in northern Dali Prefecture. It has features typical of Danxia. The spherical stones, weathered by erosion, are unique in shapes and forms, with huge disparities in height. There are various sights on the moubntain, including the Shizhongshan Grottoes, Baoxiang Temple and Jinding Temple, and other ruins. The grottoes and cliff statues are especially famous. The grottoes are of comparable fame as the cliff statues of Dunhuang, leading to the saying "there is Dunhuang in the North, and Jianchuan in the South."

Jianchuan · 20.4km from downtown

No. 7 of Family-friendly Attractions in Dali Prefecture

Jianchuan Ancient City

5.5

Jianchuan · 937m from downtown

34 reviews

Jianchuan Ancient City is integrated with the Jianchuan county seat. More than 90% of the residences in the city are still old houses from the Ming and Qing dynasties, where people continue to live as usual, making it a living Bai ancient city with an atmosphere far more focused on daily life than commerce. The streets and alleys inside are quite orderly, with some streets still retaining their traditional scale. Along the streets, you can see residential buildings with local characteristics, such as wood and earth-and-wood structures. Traditional courtyards usually emphasize orientation and spatial layout. The building exteriors are relatively simple, but you can see some characteristics of traditional Yunnan architecture in the detailed decorations. The shops in the district mainly serve local residents, and you can see scenes of daily life such as dining, daily necessities, and traditional handicrafts.

Selected for Night Attractions in Dali Prefecture

Yujin Bridge

4.7

Jianchuan · 25.3km from downtown

41 reviews

Yujin Bridge was first built during the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. Over the past few hundred years, it has collapsed and been damaged by wars. In 1931, the people of Shaxi, Jianchuan County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province, raised funds to rebuild the ancient bridge. Zhao Fan, a famous Bai scholar, wrote a special "Bridge Repair Fundraising Guide" for the reconstruction of Yujin Bridge. Yujin Bridge spans 12 meters, is 6 meters high, 35.4 meters long, and 5 meters wide, with stone pillars and stone slabs for guardrails. There is a stone turtle head on the arch, looking majestically at the upper reaches of the Heihui River. On the other side is a stone turtle tail connecting the lower reaches of the Heizhuan River. At the end of the guardrail are four stone sculptures of "baby fish". The ancient bridge is the only way for the Bai people who have lived in Shaxi for generations to work and do business in the fields. The stone slabs of the bridge body are trampled by passing vehicles and pedestrians, shining with green light and pits. The ancient bridge carries the rich history of Shaxi Ancient Town, welcoming and seeing off generations of Shaxi ancestors year after year.

No. 3 of Fall Viewing Attractions in Dali Prefecture

Jianhu Lake

4.5

4.6/5

23 reviews

Jianhu Lake is located in the southeast of Jianchuan County, Yunnan Province. It can be reached by walking along the embankment of the Jinlong River for about 6 miles after exiting the east gate of the county. Jianhu Lake is about 25 miles in circumference, with a water surface of nearly 8 square kilometers in normal times (much wider in the rainy season) and an average water depth of more than 4 meters. The water temperature of Jianhu Lake is moderate, with an average annual water temperature of about 11C. In the early morning of the middle of winter every year, only a little thin ice forms on the lakeside. With its exceptionally clean water quality, Jianhu Lake can be called a bright pearl inlaid on the plateau in northwest Yunnan. Jianhu Lake has abundant water sources. In addition to the injection of Gemei River, Jinlong River, Yongfeng River, Huilong River, etc., there are also four self-gushing springs in the lake, which boil out, so that the Haiwei River at the outlet of Jianhu Lake can be used all year round. It leaked out, making the entire Sword Lake become a living water. Among the "Eight Sceneries of Jianhu Lake" praised by predecessors, Jianhu Lake occupies two of them. According to the "Jianchuan State Chronicle" compiled in the 52nd year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the spectacle of "Haimen Qiuyue" is "on the evening of the Mid-Autumn Festival, before the moon rises, there is a moon reflection in the water of Haimen." The wonder of "fishing lanterns on the sea" is "the fishermen on the lake are fishing quietly at night, and the fire is like a starry sky". Unfortunately, due to the shrinking water surface, the spectacle of "Haimen Qiuyue" is no longer there. The beauty of "fishing lights on the sea" can still be seen. Every year on the 15th day of the sixth lunar month, it is the period of the sea-circling meeting in the countryside around Jianhu Lake. At that time, the villagers of each village will be like a festival, and they will take their own villages as a starting point and circle around Jianhu Lake. In this way, the villagers in the villages along the lake are both hosts and guests - they are hosts when they entertain people from other villages in their own village, and they become guests when they leave their own village and enter other villages. Along the way, young people sang and danced, and the elders talked about the past and the present, and gave each other tea and candy when passing through the village. Through the circumnavigation meeting, the villagers in each village can not only increase contact with each other, increase understanding, and enhance friendship, but also cultivate their temperament and entertain themselves. Therefore, it can be followed from year to year, and it has continued to this day.

Jianchuan · 6.4km from downtown

Jianchuan · 1.5km from downtown

Manxianlin Thousand-Lion Mountain

4.3

4.3/5

46 reviews

Manxianlin Qianshi Mountain is located near Jianchuan County, also known as Manxianlin. In this beautiful mountain forest, there are more than 2,600 stone lions in various poses and lifelike sculptures. There are also pavilions and pavilions on the cliffs on the mountain.

Shizhongshan Grottoes

4.3

Jianchuan · 21.4km from downtown

40 reviews

Shizhongshan Grottoes, also known as Shibaoshan Grottoes and Jianchuan Grottoes, are a large-scale grotto group in Yunnan Province and an earlier grotto in Yunnan. It has a history of more than 1,000 years and is well preserved. Shizhong Mountain is a branch peak in the south of Shibao Mountain, named after the stone statue bell on the mountain. The cliffs here are rugged, and there are strange rocks and rocks. The twisted pine, which is called "Living Impatient Pine" by the locals, spreads all over the valleys in the mountains. On the southern hillside, a group of quaint houses are surrounded by green bamboos, that is Shizhong Temple. There is a huge stone in the temple, shaped like an upside-down giant bell, so it is named after Shizhong Mountain. The Jianchuan Grottoes, known as the treasures of the Southern Kingdom, are carved here. Jianchuan Grottoes is a well-known scenic spot in Shibaoshan Scenic Area. It is the carving art of Nanzhao and Dali Kingdoms. It collects the essence of Yunnan minority carving art, and is influenced by the cultures of the Central Plains, Tibetans, South Asia and West Asia. The Dunhuang and Longmen Grottoes in the mainland have the same effect.

Jianchuan · 25.1km from downtown

Ouyang Courtyard

3.9

5.0/5

9 reviews

Ouyang CourtyardDating back to the late Qing Dynasty, this site features a seamless connection between two traditional Bai-style "three-room-one-screen-wall" courtyards and a stable. The architecture is a masterpiece of ingenuity and grandeur, with a layout that perfectly balances its roles as a residence, an inn, and a stable. Inside, you will find premium guest rooms once reserved for traveling merchants and horse caravans, complete with a small stage, hidden tunnels, and a secure vault. The entire property is steeped in "farming and reading" culture, showcasing the exquisite craftsmanship of ancient Bai architecture through its intricate carvings, vibrant paintings, and thoughtful design. A precious architectural gem on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, it is hailed by travelers worldwide as the "five-star inn" of this historic route.

Sideng Street

3.8

Jianchuan · 25.1km from downtown

39 reviews

Sideng Street is located in Ancient Town Shaxi in the south of Jianchuan County, Dali Prefecture. It was a vital hub on the Ancient Tea Horse Road and is described by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) as "the only surviving market on the Ancient Tea Horse Road." In late October 2001, it was listed alongside the Great Wall of China, the Shaanxi Daqin Pagoda and Monastery, and the Ohel Rachel and Shearith Israel synagogues in Shanghai on the "2002 World Monuments Watch List." Sideng Street is located in the center of the basin and serves as the economic and cultural hub ofShaxi. It has been a distribution center for trade inShaxisince ancient times. From a distance, Sideng Street is shaded by ancient trees, and the tiled houses are simple and serene. The residential architecture on Sideng Street retains the typical characteristics of Bai ethnic dwellings, with "three houses with one screen wall" and "four houses with five courtyards" layouts visible everywhere. The Ouyang family's "three houses with one screen wall" caravan inn and the Zhao family's "four houses with five courtyards" compound still seem to show off the former glory of the wealthy families in this once-prosperous trade hub. Strolling through the alleys of the ancient market and stepping lightly on the stone slabs ofSifang Street, polished smooth by horse hooves, you feel as if you are stepping into history with every step. The uniform grey-tiled houses with wisps of cooking smoke, the only remaining Dongzhai Gate still standing in its ancient form, and the ancient stage with its upturned eaves still faintly performing the masks of history, all tell you of the vicissitudes of time.

Shaxi Ancient Town - Theater Stage

3.8

Jianchuan · 25.1km from downtown

33 reviews

The ancient stage of Si Deng Street is a very characteristic ancient building in the area. It is the most central and important place in Shaxi, and it was also a place where tea and salt merchants gathered. On national festivals, the children of the Bai nationality in Shaxi sing and dance on the stage in their festive costumes.

No. 5 of Family-friendly Attractions in Yunnan

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7.9

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Shaxi Ancient Town Day Trip (Business-oriented small group of 6-8 people + light hiking + Double Eleven special offer)