Yan family compound
Bai architecture.
Chris DeLacy — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kcx36 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kcx36 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kcx36 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Matthieu Lelievre — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Luca Casartelli — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kcx36 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · 钉钉 — CC BY-SA 4.0
An old Bai town about 20 km north of Dali, between the Cangshan mountains and Erhai Lake, which was one of the administrative towns of the Nanzhao kingdom and later home to wealthy Bai merchant families. The town holds some of the finest traditional Bai houses, protected nationally, built on the «three wings and a screen wall» and «four courtyards and five patios» plans, including the Yan family compound and the Yang Pinxiang residence, which blend Bai style with Western touches. Green rice fields stretch from the town to the lake, explored by bike, and in Sifang square the famous Xizhou flatbread is baked in traditional ovens. Wandering the town is free, with token fees for some historic houses. Xizhou bread is sometimes filled with pork, so choose the sweet kind or ask about the filling.
Bai architecture.
To the lake.
In Sifang square.
West shore of Erhai Lake, north of Dali
Yes, it's one of the loveliest Bai towns, with protected traditional houses and rice fields running to Erhai Lake; it's free to wander.