Xizhou Ancient Town

Xizhouis located 18 kilometers north ofDali Old City, east ofErhai, west of Cangshan Mountain. Xizhou is an important town whereBai peoplelive together. It has the most preserved and bestBai people residencebuilding complex. From a layout perspective, it is a typical Bai ethnic courtyard pattern of "three courtyards and one screen wall" and "four in five courtyards". The colorfuldecorative artdecorative art of carved beams and painted rafters, overlapping arch of wooden architecture,warped cornerscornices, gatehouses, screen walls, and gables in these folk houses fully reflect the architectural talent and artistic creativity of the Bai people@As soon as I arrived at Xizhou, the first thing I saw were the two lush green trees at the village head. This is a rare tree species in northern China, also known as the evergreen tree and the scientific name is the high mountain banyan tree. The Bai people believe that the Daqing tree is a symbol of prosperity in a village, so they also call it the "Feng Shui tree". Daqingshu is an ancient Bai village that inevitably has its own feng shui tree. This type of tree usually forms the collective activity center of villagers together with the stage@The two trees at the head of Xizhou Villageare already very old. Legend has it that these are two trees, one yin and one yang, one sprouting and the other shedding leaves, repeating the cycle and flourishing alternately; One tree bears fruit, while the other never bears fruit. During breaks from work, villagers often take a nap under the shade of trees; Thelong snake formationlike team ofcircling around the Three Spiritsis going to have a carnival around it; Even if the people in the village die, the funeral procession must circle around it and burn paper flags under the trees to express the deceased's attachment to the village. There is also a green tree namedold ladynot far from the village in the northeast corner. Whenever autumn arrives, it is often filled with snow-white egrets, which is a unique landscape of Xizhou

Xizhou Town Center - Sifang Street is a small square surrounded by shops. There is a stone archway standing here, which is the "Civilized Archway" built in recent years. The original stone archway in this place was called the "Naming Archway", which was built after several successful candidates emerged from the town during the Ming Dynasty. At that time, any villager who achieved fame in the imperial examination could have their name engraved on it

Xizhou is the administrative division of 39# and the location of 40# town government, but historically it has had the scale of a city. Long before the migration of Nanzhao to the area around Erhai Lake, this was the settlement of the Bai ethnic group's ancestors, known as the "43# Heman" and "44#". At that time, it was called "45# Dalicheng" and had many residents. Legend has it that a general named "49# Shiwansui" and "50#" of Emperor Wen of Sui stationed troops here, also known as "Shicheng". The nearby Pingbazi was called "Shiyun" (meaning "shi" and "dian"). At the end of the Southern Edict, a palace was built here again. The pattern of the city can be traced back to its place names, with village names such as the north, east, and south of the city surrounding it. In the past, archaeologists also discovered tiles with Chinese characters, thick tiles with cloth patterns of 51#, thick tiles with lotus patterns of 52#, and lotus patterned tiles of 54# when excavating Nanzhao in the town

In history, Xizhou Town was a military stronghold of Nanzhao, with a relatively developed culture, and had exported many well-known figures from all walks of society to the country. In the past, Xizhou's industry and commerce were also relatively developed, and it was once one of the commercial centers in Yunnan