A Tour of History, Culture and Village Folk Customs in Baisha Town

Baisha Town of Yulong County is a tourist resort boasting abundant natural and cultural landscapes. In terms of temples and monasteries, Yufeng Temple stands here, one of the five major monasteries of the Karma Kagyu Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in Lijiang. The temple is home to an ancient camellia tree known as "the No.1 tree on the globe" and "the King of Camellias in the World". There is also Sanduo Pavilion, the oldest temple in Lijiang enshrining Sanduo, the patron deity of the Naxi people.

From the perspective of historical and cultural relics, the Baisha Murals of Lijiang were listed among the fourth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level in 1996. The murals are scattered across four religious buildings: the Mahavira Hall, the Coloured Glaze Hall, the Dading Pavilion and the Dajue Palace in Shuhe. Among them, the twelve murals preserved in the Mahavira Hall represent the pinnacle of the artwork.

As for village scenery, Yuhu Village is the former residence of Joseph Rock. Its Naxi name is Nuluken, which means "at the foot of the snow mountain". The village takes its name from the local Yuhu Lake. The reflection of Yuhu Lake ranks first among the renowned traditional Twelve Scenes of the Snow Mountain. Yuzhu Qingtian (Jade Pillar Piercing the Sky), a famous historical site, sits at the foot of the snow mountain at the village entrance.

The residential buildings in Yuhu Village feature distinctive local styles unique to Lijiang. The walls are entirely built with local yellowish-white rough-hewn stones, embodying the rugged simplicity of mountain hamlets. Beneath the snow-capped mountain stretches vast wilderness covered with withered grass, creating a desolate and open vista. Rows of wooden houses with stone walls and grey tiles set off against palm trees and green foliage. Clear spring water babbles along the brooks. Together, they form a rural mountain landscape rarely seen in the Lijiang Basin.

Today, the Yuzhu Qingtian Scenic Area includes scenic spots: Jade Pillar Piercing the Sky, Snow Pine Nunnery, Bright-Eye Spring, Maple Trees by the Divine Pond, Crown Prince Cave and Yuhu Folk Houses. Tourists may hike to mountain sites such as Immortal’s Footprints and Hualengpu, and go wild azalea watching.

Yulong Village in Baisha Town, Yulong County, lies at the northernmost end of the Lijiang Basin, at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, with an altitude of over 2,600 metres. It is one of the earliest settlements established by the Naxi migrants travelling southward centuries ago. Sanduo Pavilion, the oldest temple in Lijiang dedicated to the Naxi god Sanduo, was built here in 769 AD, the fourteenth year of the Dali reign of the Tang Dynasty.

Walking out of the village along crisscross farm paths and mountain springs flowing down from the snow mountain, visitors will arrive at a scenic spot featuring grasslands, springs and centuries-old maple woods — Yushui Village. This idyllic village embodying harmonious coexistence between Naxi people and nature has become a national 4A-level scenic area. Tourists can enjoy Baisha Fine Music, hailed as "ethnic classical symphony", performed by local Naxi peasant musicians.

Deep in the western forests of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain lies Wenhai Village, tucked away in a high-altitude mountain zone. Its Naxi name is Gaga, meaning "village on the highland". The village is about 23 kilometres of mountain road away from the county seat. Despite its relative poverty, Wenhai boasts honest and welcoming villagers. It also has a jade-green plateau lake, one of the three highland lakes within Yunnan’s first wetland nature reserve.

Wenhai Village was a vital passage on the Ancient Tea Horse Road. The ancient trail ran from Baisha and Shuhe to Wenhai, then extended to Longpan, Zhongdian and Deqin before entering Xizang. Researchers from Yunnan Academy of Social Sciences, the University of California and The Nature Conservancy jointly worked out an ecotourism plan to help local villagers shake off poverty. With the support of the research team, Shangwenhai Village set up a shareholding folk ecotourism cooperative fully managed and governed by local villagers. The quiet and secluded mountain village has since attracted numerous hiking enthusiasts. Travellers can experience the unique charm of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain as well as the folk culture of Naxi and Yi mountain communities, making it an ideal ecotourism destination.

Baisha also boasts many man-made attractions, including the Garden of Ten Thousand Gods, the Dongba Forest of Steles and Sister Lakes. A wide range of natural, cultural and ecological tourism activities are available here.

Special mention should be made of the vast open wilderness in Baisha, Yulong County. Paired with Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, it forms a unique natural landscape reminiscent of the prairies in the American West, possessing extraordinary aesthetic value. Many poets and writers have eulogised this rare expanse of open land in Yunnan. Therefore, we should preserve this wilderness and refrain from large-scale construction projects. This measure will not only protect Lijiang’s water sources but also satisfy tourists’ psychological and aesthetic needs: leaving the ancient town behind and walking toward the snow mountain to embrace the open wilderness and return to nature.