A "National Treasure" Hidden in Shaxi Ancient Town: Xingjiao Temple

✈️Visit a windy place, Jianchuan Shaxi Ancient Town, Yunnan. This quiet and simple mountain town is the only surviving ancient market on the Tea Horse Road. 🏡Here you can see old houses that retain the Bai ethnic characteristics and local architectural style everywhere, ancient temples, ancient opera stages, ancient stone slabs, ancient alleys, ancient village gates... These ancient buildings' eaves, window lintels, corners, and corridors all have a strong traditional Bai aesthetic style, like a living history museum. 🚶‍♂️Walking on Sifang Street, the main street of the ancient town, an ancient opera stage with a history of more than 600 years expresses the romance of Shaxi people with its flamboyant eaves and colorful caissons, which is the most eye-catching. 🏯Opposite the ancient opera stage is Xingjiao Temple. Its facade is not large, simple and low-key, complementing the colorful caissons of the ancient opera stage. It is a representative of the ancient town's ancient architecture and a national key cultural relic protection unit. 🙋Main highlights: 1️⃣Xingjiao Temple was built during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, with a history of more than 600 years. Its architectural layout is one entrance and three courtyards, consisting of the main hall, the second hall, the Guanyin Building, the temple gate, and the opera stage. The entire building complex is built on a central axis. 2️⃣The architecture of Xingjiao Temple is simple and elegant, solemn and grand. The ancient trees in the courtyard are towering and the environment is quiet and pleasant. Cherry blossoms are in full bloom this season. 3️⃣The main hall of Xingjiao Temple has a double-eaved, hip-and-gable roof with nine ridges. There are no ground-level pillars in the hall, and there are 12 pillars on the inner walls, with a beam-lifting structure. 4️⃣There are corridors around the main hall, and there are more than 20 Ming Dynasty murals on the walls, which are deeply influenced by the Central Plains painting style and have strong local ethnic characteristics. They are treasures of ancient Bai painting art. 5️⃣The main hall and the second hall of Xingjiao Temple are both relics of the Ming Dynasty. They are relatively early wooden structures in Yunnan, and most of them are original. The beams and pillars are stable and magnificent, the Dougong brackets are grand and magnificent, and the structure is exquisite and unique. 🎫Tickets: Free admission. Shaxi Ancient Town is not large, and a quick tour takes 2 hours, but the ancient town is really healing, so it is recommended to arrange half a day to a full day. 📍Address: 084 County Road, Jianchuan County, Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture. It is a 2-hour drive from Dali Ancient City, and there is a dedicated parking lot at the scenic spot's visitor center. ‼️Recommended one-day tour route: Sideng Street → Youfeng Restaurant → Xingjiao Temple Ancient Opera Stage Area → Xingjiao Temple → South Gate → Yujin Bridge.