Day 5: Slowing Down Our Pace in Xi Zhou (喜州)

Xizhou (喜州) was historically a military fortress of Nanzhao Kingdom and a temporary palace of the King of Nanzhao. Due to its favourable geographical location, the town was also once a commercial hub and there were more than 140 national capitalist families in its hay days. Among these families, the Yan's, the Dong's, the Yin's and the Yang's were the most prominent. Their houses are of the typical Bai design known as "Sanfang Yizhaobi" (rooms on three sides and a screen wall on the remaining side) and "Sihe Wutianjing" (one main courtyard with four smaller ones surrounding the main one).

Ann, Tina, Lin & I checked out the Yan's Residence which is a registered cultural relic and under state protection.

I'm not sure about the size of the whole residence but once we stepped in, I felt kind of cut off from the outside world...

The whole place feels boxed up due to the high walls. The only view the occupants have would be the courtyard.

To have 4 generation under one roof is a blessing.

Goldfish, koi & lotus...

Meaningful calligraphy on white walls.

As you can see by now, the distinct characteristics of Bai houses include painted roofs and pillars, upturned eaves, and "dougong" systems (double bow-shaped brackets on columns supporting upturned eaves).

Xi Zhou seemed quiet to us. According to Mr Wang, our driver, many younger ones have left the town and those who remain are the senior folks & marginalized. There were also very few tourists.

Sifang Jie, old town square . :)

Mr Wang encouraged us to try a local snack Xizhou baba (喜州粑粑). Not sure about the hygiene, but it's ooo good. :) Just shut your eyes & eat!

Xizhou baba comes in two version - a savory version with minced pork stuffing and spring onion on top and a sweet baba filled with rose flavoured red bean paste.

See the rose flavoured red bean paste oozing out? :) I wasn't dreaming. There was a rosy after taste. :D

Mr Wang brought us to this really run down Bai house.

I wonder who wrote this...it's a spoiler... *.*

Fading glory of the past...

A number of families live under one roof. It was almost lunch & hence the women were busy preparing their meals...

while the men indulged in a game of majong.

Another traditional Bai house.

The roof's sinking!

It's such a pity if these houses are left to decay. Xi Zhou has so much to offer in terms of culture & architecture. The past should not be wash away but preserve for the next generation. I hope more restoration efforts are underway! :)

We would be lost in this little town if Mr Wang didn't accompany us. :)))

Xizhou is also home to embroidery. We checked out some fabulous work at Happy Embroidery (喜绣坊).

Happy Embroidery's little courtyard.

Cocoons & coloured silk.

Skillful craftswoman at work. :)

You need to slow down your pace to appreciate Xi Zhou. It brings you to a totally different world altogether.

Catch us in Lijiang next. :)

Day 5: Cormorant Fishing on Erhai Lake (洱海)

The day seemed a little grey for fishing but we went ahead anyway. :)  We wanna witness cormorant fishing on Erhai Lake (洱海).

This is our jovial boatman. :) He's a Bai.

See how he transformed himself to the traditional Bai attire. :)

He sang & he danced. :)

Rows of seagull waiting to be fed! :D

We purchased some bread (RMB 10) from the boatman to feed them! :)

They flocked at the sight of food. :D

The fisherman chose a cormorant to be released into the water. :)

This is the chosen one. :)

On a mission. ;)

A few other cormorants joined in. :)

Tada! :D Hahahahh! How effortless for the cormorant to catch a fish! :D The birds have rings fixed around their necks to prevent them from swallowing the fish.

Brilliant! :D

The fishmonger beat the water to signal to the cormorant to return.

Well trained cormorants eh? :)

That's our fish! :D We bought it for lunch! :)

Here's us off to our lunch venue. :)

The locals helped us prepare the fish. :)

There wasn't much option of cooking it other than deep frying.

They seem to deep fry everything here.

Seafood on sticks :)

 Take your pick & the aunty (阿姨) will cook them for you. :)

What would you like? :)

Ann's throat was a little sore & Tina recommended they drink Wang Lao Ji cooling tea. :)

Lin & I didn't take any drink because there were no clean toilets. :)))

We love al fresco dining in the wilderness! Lol! :))) Such awesome lunch venue!

Once you start on these crispy white fish, you can't stop!

Now the star dish - the fish caught by the cormorant. :) It wasn't too bad but there were too many tiny bones.

And here's us with the cormorant. :D

There used to be hundred of Bai families rearing cormorants. But now there are only six. In addition, it is difficult to breed them. Cormorants lay eggs once a year, and out of the ten eggs or so, only one or two survive. There are therefore only 98 cormorants left in the region and are state protected species.