Xizhou Bai Minority Village
Xizhou a small village about 18 kilometres drive from Dali, a pleasant drive through the countryside of rice fields. I hired a non-English speaking driver who drove me to Xizhou in a air-conditioned car.
A thousand years ago, the Ancient Tea Route was a trade link from Sichun, Yunnan to Tibet. Xizhou was on the path of the caravans of the Tea and Horse Road also known as the Silk Road.
Many of the houses decorated are some of the best examples of traditional Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) architecture in China. They have a distinctive Bai touch of colorful pictures, gardens, use of marble decorations, upturned eaves, and bright colors.
Yan’s Compound
The driver took me to the Xizhou Village where the highlight is a dance show with young people in various ethnic costumes. Yunnan Province has around twenty-five ethnic minority groups. Three different kinds of tea was served whilst watching the show. “Sandaocha” is a traditional regional tea ceremony consisting of three unique tea flavors.
A bitter tea which stands for the hardships in life. A sweet tea of sesame and walnut symbolic of happiness in life. Finally, a bitter, sweet, and spicy tea symbolic of pondering life.
Ladies of the Bai Minority Group
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Lovely shots of the village. Yunnan is my favourite province in China.
Thank You Fiona, when did you visit Yunnan Province?
I like the Tea Ceremony!!
Wish I could go there,one day! I’ve only been to Hong Kong so far… So interesting and lovely. Do you speak Chinese?
There is so many interesting places in China, no I dont speak Chinese. Some of the places in visited no-one spoke English, so I just used sign language and got by.
Beautiful pics and it is so interesting to see pics of places you have never been to.
Thank You. It was a enjoyable day!
Such an interesting li’l village!
wonderful shots, specially the first one.
Thank You Klara!
Love the ancient architecture here, and what a meaningful tea ceremony;).
The village is beautiful! When I visit Shanghai, I was taken to one of the water villages in the area. It was one of my favorite places of the entire visit.
Hi Debz, thanks for joining the #TheWeeklyPostcard this week-end. While reading your post, I couldn’t stop thinking that you must be a very courageous women to hire a non-English speaker driver and go with him to such a remote area. I have to say though that Xizhou looks very picturesque and it was probably worth the drive.
Hi Anda, I used a Chinese tour guide company for all my tour guide’s and didnt have any problems.
Great post with wonderful pics. I haven’t been there yet but glad to see in your blog. 🙂
What an amazingly exotic looking place!
Hi , what an amazing trip you lucky lady
What a beautiful and authentic place in China, totally worth the drive.. I hope to visit it someday!
Great photos 🙂
Happy New Year and thank you for linking up with #MondayEscapes 🙂
Thank You Allane, Happy New Year!
Beautiful photos, I love the rich history and symbolism inherent in the Chinese culture.
Such beautiful images. I would like to travel to China myself but need to do some research and it will be a bit off in far distance yet. Most of the tours from my city go to eastern China so to go farther west I would need to do more homework.
Interesting photos! Thanks for taking us along for a visit, and for sharing your photos at http://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2016/08/a-little-dab-of-color.html
Yunnan is my favourite province in China and enjoyed reading about Xizhou Bai, which I have not visited yet. #TheWeeklyPostcard
How interesting to learn about such a unique region of China. Haven’t made it there yet but hope to see it one day! #TheWeeklyPostcard
How interesting! bitter, sweet and then a combo with spicy – love the symbolism of the tea. Life must’ve seem capricious out here on the old tea route. #theweeklypostcard
Such an interesting post! Would love to visit Xizhou one day, I´m such a tea lover! thanks for sharing!
I had never heard of Xizhou before, but I’m a fan of these cultural experiences and that architecture so I imagine I’d enjoy visiting here when I eventually visit China. The houses look quite humble, yet you can imagine they were once rather grand. Fascinating. #TheWeeklyPostcard
Deborah I love all the beautiful and authentic places in China you have shared. You so inspired me, we have booked a trip in June and will be coming back again and again to get more information from your amazing posts. Thank you!!
Hi Lyn If you need more information you can contact me at debz@lemonpath.com
Thanks for the photos of this village. It looks very interesting.
Wonderful photos of the traditional buildings. Thanks for linking up with #WkendTravelInspiration.
I have never been, so this is eye candy for sure. Seeing China through your eyes. So much architecture to admire, plus the history of it all. Thank you for sharing this journey at DI&DI.