Shaxi and Shibaoshan

Alas, due to the fact that I left my camera, I was without picture taking ability during most visit to the town of Shaxi.  Who's ever heard of Shaxi?  Why did we visit?  Well, we've all heard of the Silk Road, but what about the Tea & Caravan road?  Back in the day there was a great deal of trade between Tibet and SW China/Burma/India.  Because of the Himalayas, trade had to come to the east of those mountains, which is modern day Yunnan province.  One of the best preserved of the famous Tea & Caravan towns is Shaxi, about halfway between Dali and Lijiang.

This one photo is all I have of the back streets of Shaxi, but it gives you a sense that the place has yet to be turned into a tourist haven.

But change is coming....and fast.  Although there aren't yet lots of shops selling tourist goods, the building boom in Shaxi and the number of renovations of buildings into cute hotels is everywhere.  In about 5 years, Shaxi might be another Lijiang. 

The market square (kind of here in this picture) the center of the weekly Sideng market (probably continuously held since the Tea & Horse caravan days is my guess) was put on the World Monuments Endangered Places list in 2001.

What do I love about China?  Street food for mere cents.  Three "baozhi?"  5 RMB or about 80 cents.

Near Shaxi is the famed Shibaoshan.  Here is the Stone Bell Temple from the Nanzhao Era (8th century BC), when this part of Yunnan was its own Kingdom.

Within the stone temple are some very intricate carvings that show life during the Nanzhao era.  This picture was taken without permission.  There was one great carving of a woman's genitalia, which was phenomenal.  Alas, didn't get a chance to get a photo of that one.

The view from Stone Temple