Slideshows

Offerings to Caishen, the Chinese God of Wealth, are common during the Chinese New Year, particularly on the fifth day, Caishen's birthday. 跳财神 is a certain form of folk play honouring Caishen which dates back to the Tang dynasty. The Bai have adopted and preserved many Han Chinese traditions and the pictures here show the play performed in Zhoucheng 周城 as part of the Benzhu Festival.

On the upper floor of an old Bai farmhouse in Shangcang Village, Binchuan County 宾川县上沧村, next to the ancestral altar quotations from Chairman Mao have survived since the Cultural Revolution.

On the fourth day of the Chinese New Year the Bai of Qingshan Village near Shuanglang 双廊镇青山村 celebrate their Benzhu Festival 本主节 with a wild Daoist ritual climbing the Sword Mountain 刀山.

The Benzhu Temple of Zashipeng Village near Shangcang in Binchuan County 宾川县鸡足山镇上沧村杂石棚村 has some beautiful wooden Benzhu statues dating back to the late Qing dynasty.

East of Jade Dragon Mountain 玉龙雪山 high above the Golden Sands River 金沙江 lies Wumu Village 吾木村, a traditional Naxi village.

On Ghost Festival Day 中元节 the Bai in Longkan 龙龛 near Dali put lanterns on the lake to remember the ancestors.

In Longkan 龙龛 village near Dali, during the "Ghost Month", a spectacular fire dragon dance, with the dragon made of burning incense sticks.

The Torch Festival in Eryuan's Fengyu region is a small neighbourhood affair.

Bai weddings in Eryuan's Fengyu still follow a strict traditional ritual rich with meaning.

Not far from the county town is Jianchuan's Thousand Lion Mountain, a Buddhist Temple Mountain with some 3000 lions carved onto rocks.

Bai Azhali Buddhist rituals performed at Jianchuan's Caishen Temple.

The Yi of the Eastern Mountains in Weishan County retain Daoist rituals dating back generations.