In Shaxi, find the life you yearn for

Here, every brick and tile tells the story of the ancient town's past and present. This is Shaxi Ancient Town in Jianchuan County, Dali Prefecture, Yunnan Province, 120 kilometers away from Dali Ancient City. This quiet and simple mountain town is the only surviving ancient market on the Tea Horse Road, listed among the 101 World Architectural Heritage sites by the World Monuments Fund. Yellow walls and black tiles, ancient stone paths, streams crisscrossing, mountains reflecting in the bridges... Shaxi seems like a frozen history book of Tea Horse culture. It was already well-known, and the popularity of a TV series has made it even more familiar to tourists, who come to 'check in'. If you like to see ancient architecture and understand folk history, Shaxi's famous ancient stage, Tea Horse Road, Yujin Bridge, and the typical Bai-style residence of the Ouyang Courtyard with its 'three rooms and one screen wall, four sides and five courtyards' are suitable for you. No need for a guide, you can understand through various introduction boards set up around the town. The 600-year-old ancient stage, with its flamboyant flying eaves and gorgeously colored caisson ceiling, fully expresses the romance of the frontier minorities. If you want to feel the spring, the vast rapeseed fields outside the ancient town are a good choice. The passionately blooming rose walls and various other flowers and plants cultivated by the locals can also touch your heart. Have the rapeseed flowers in many places withered? Yes, but here they are still in full bloom! At the same time, the willow catkins flying in April add a lot of romance to a stroll through the ancient town. There are also handicraft markets and intangible cultural heritage creative products, where you can experience making wooden carvings by hand, or create a horse figurine as a blessing for your family and friends. For those who like to take photos and record life, there are many scenes that are very photogenic. Countless photographers have left their works here. Yujin Bridge, which appeared on the first day when the female protagonist Xu Hongdou arrived at Yunmiao Village in the TV series 'To the Place with the Wind'. Historically, it was the first bridge connecting the Tea Horse Road to Dali from the south and a necessary route for all horse caravans traveling from the south to the north. When the reporter arrived here, someone was playing the guitar and singing under the bridge, surrounded by many tourists. They sat together without prior arrangement, listening quietly for a long time. The town is no longer just an 'old object' or 'isolated island' in people's eyes, nor just a popular internet spot; it has gradually become a bridge connecting people. Shaxi, quiet and simple for a thousand years, with the clear waters of the Heihui River flowing slowly... Whatever you are seeking on your journey, here, you can find the answer.