Shaxi is deservedly one of Yunnan's biggest tourist attractions, yet retains a quiet charm.
Until the middle of last century, Shaxi was a flourishing village on the caravan road to Tibet. The following decades made it a place that history forgot. Now Shaxi is undergoing an award-winning restoration.
In China even the 'old towns' are new. Under the 古镇, or ancient town, moniker old towns are razed and their population driven out to make space for sanitized versions of Chinese history that drive the tourist dollar.
Shaxi now has an extraordinary amount of hotels and guesthouses, catering to all budgets. Minibusses go between Shaxi's new official bus station at the south of town and Jianchuan. Busses to destinations south pass from Jianchuan on the ring road.
Shaxi 沙溪 | 29 Nov |