6. Fengyu Ancient Town
A small town in southwest Eryuan County, Dali. Boasting beautiful scenery, a pleasant climate and a wonderful travel experience. It was listed as a provincial historical and cultural town in 2000. It was titled as "historical and cultural town in China" by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage. Beautiful scenery, rich products, long history and splendid culture, it is known as "hometown of literature." And it gets its name because "phoenix dies with birds coming for mourning, thus feathering here." The handicraft Fengyu ink slab is very famous.
7. Shaxi Ancient Town
Shaxi is located to the southwest of Jianchuan, Yunnan. It is also southeast of three parallel river regions (Jinsha River, Lancang River, Nujiang River), between the Dali scenic area and Lijiang Ancient City, where the famous Shibao Mountain is located.
Shaxi is an ancient town with a long history, which can be traced back to the Warring States Periods over more than 2,400 years ago. Aofeng Mountain Ancient Graves and Huacong Mountain Copper Mine Ruins are signs that Shaxi formed a bronze smelting manufacture base, with the Heihui River at its heart. Shaxi ancestors at that time had relatively higher bronze smelting technology, and Shaxi has become one of the places of origin for Yunnan bronze culture.
Shaxi Ancient Town is a real ancient town, with original architectural features surviving today. You will find temples, shops, red sandstone streets, ancient lanes and so on.
8. Nuodeng Ancient Town
Located in deep mountains in Yunlong County, Dali Bai Minority Autonomous Prefecture, Yunnan, Nuodeng has unexpected beauty.
Nuodeng is a place developed by the salt industry, once the strategically economic place in western Yunnan. After the liberation, sea salt was developed in great quantities. But then Nuodeng lost the economic pillar of salt and, from then on, gradually faded into memory.
Nuodeng Village backs onto Manchong Mountain, adjacent to Nuoshui. The old salt well at the village entrance is like the starting point. Houses around the well can be seen as a Local Traditional Building Museum of Yunnan. Because of the terrain limitation, houses and stone paths are staggered here.
The Nuodeng natural salt well has a long history of one thousand years, which creates the unique delicacy of Nuodeng Ham. A six-minute video of Yunnan Nuodeng Ham is included in the "A Bite of China" by CCTV. This six-minute video gave Nuodeng Ham instant fame.
9. Weishan Ancient Town
A famous Chinese historical and cultural city, and also the origin of the Nanzhao Kingdom. It was built in the Yuan Dynasty and rebuilt as a brick city in the Ming Dynasty, then remained to date.
Weishan is one of the regions long implementing the chieftain system in Yunnan. Numerous temples were built in its long history, coordinating with the natural landscape across a great distance to complement each other.
Streets in Weishan Ancient Town show a standard # structure with Gongcheng Tower at the centre. Totalling 25 streets, 18 lanes, 14 km long, the buildings in the town basically keep Chinese style.
Houses from the south to north keep the architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The direction of the houses is at SBW 15 degrees, which gets best light in daytime to make up for poor light in local buildings.
10. Jinhua Town
Jinhua Town is located in north Jianchuan County, Dali. It was established in 1975 as Jianchuan's economic, political and cultural centre. A strategic place for the 214 State Highway and on the tea-horse ancient road.
The Crown Prince Festival is held on the lunar 8 February each year, with a history of 130 years. Well-dressed Bai people come from Lijiang, Eryuan, Heqing, Lanping counties to the ancient city for the grand Crown Prince Festival.