Slideshows Yunnan · Dali · Jianchuan · Shaxi
Diantou Village 甸头村

Followers of Jianchuan Azhali Buddhism perform a candle dance in Shaxi.

With the official programme curtailed, it is the unorganized folk part of the annual Singing Festival in Shibaoshan that continues to thrive.

Shaxi's Xingjiao Temple is one of the oldest temples surviving in Yunnan, constructed in 1415 during the Ming dynasty. Particularly remarkable are the wall paintings under the eves.

In 2009, at the Shibaoshan Singing Festival, traditional dress in the Dali was more prevalent than it is today, and the dress was often still hand-made, rather than shop-bought.

Around the time of the Taizehui in the second lunar month is also Shaxi's annual livestock fair, where on the far side of the river all sorts of domestic animals are traded.

The crumbling courtyard of the Ouyang Family, just near Shaxi's famous market square, is one of the last unaltered compounds from the caravan era.

Fire-throwing is part of the Bai Torch Festival in Shaxi.

Shaxi's principle festival is in honour of the Taizi, one of the many deities in this small Bai town. On festival day, 'the Prince' is taken from his resting place inside the Benzhu Temple, strapped onto a horse and paraded around town in a grand procession.

Performances of Yunnan Opera 滇戏 are very rare today, but a small troupe of villagers from Shilong 石龙村 near Shibaoshan continue the tradition. They perform during Spring Festival and on occasion on the old stage in Shaxi.

Every year at the end of the seventh lunar month, the Bai of Yunnan come together at the holy temple mountain of Shibaoshan to honour their gods and to have a good time with song and dance.