Shaxi, historical market town

Shaxi is an historical old town. In 2001, the World Memorial Fund for Architecture (WMF), an international fund for the protection of world heritage sites announced that Shaxi has been added to the list of internationally significant sites, together with the Great Wall, the Ohel Rachel Synagogue of Shanghai and the Christian Pagoda, and the Monastery of Shaanxi Province.

Shaxi lies southwest of Jianchuan in Yunnan, southeast of the Three Parallel River (Jinsha, Lancang, Nujiang) Nature Reserve area, the most famous Shibaoshan lies here too. It is also between Lijiang old town and Dali landscape area. Shaxi is a small plain which is surrounded by green mountain, there is clean water, good weather, abundant products, also good place to live. The branch of Lancang river----Heihui river, through whole plain, total is 287 km², the plain is 26 km², it is called hometown of honey and milk (hometown fish and rice, and dance and sing) beautiful mountain, water and plain. There are local fish, many kinds of mushroom, you can enjoy the dancing, singing, old music in Shaxi.
Shaxi a thousand years’ old town with long history, we can talk it from about 2400 years ago. There are many old graves, the bronze relics on Huacong shan east of the shaxi tells us: before B.C 400year, it was became the base for smelting the bronze with the Heihui river as the centre. The ancestor of Shaxi has the higher/better ability for smelting the bronze and become one of resource of bronze culture.
During Tang and Song period, Shaxi was an old town on the road to Nanzhao and Dali, performing a positive role. Buddism influnced the Nanzhao and Dali very depth,making they had very depth color of religion. Shaxi is the one of witness for propagating Buddhism culture during that time.
All the rock caves which made in Nanzhao and Dali period in Shadengjing, Shizhongshan is the best explanation. This means during the Tang and Song period time Shaxi is between from Nanzhao and Dali to Shadengjing rock cave it was an economic and exchange land route dock on the road for Tang and Tufan.

The two main minority people of Shaxi are the Bai and Yi people.

Location