Shaxi (sha-she) is wormhole to China of yesteryears, located in the southwestern Yunnan Province the town was a major hub on the Horse and Tea Road, a trade artery between India and China once as significant as the Silk Road. A month is barely enough time to scratch the surface of the enormity and depth of China, so our intention was to experience two distinct faces of the country on opposite sides of the development spectrum--that which has changed little contrasted to that which is on the forefront of transformation. Compared to other cities established in this era the town's layout has changed little in the last thousand, and with routine upkeep many of the earthen structures of this vintage have been continually inhabited. Despite its immense charm Shaxi receives only a small portion of the regional tourist traffic--the local economy still very much caters to the locals, there's no trinket souvenir shops and tour operators are nowhere to be found...yet. The town was recently designated a UNSCO World Heritage Site and the rough single-lane road that kept out tour buses is presently being replaced with a multi-lane highway. After watching other nearby tourist magnets like Dali and Shangri-La grow-up residences expressed concerns about their community following suit, telling us about absentee entrepreneurs who have already established profit-exporting businesses with expectations of expansion. Collaborating with a Swiss university the town has established a comprehensive plan for "Sensitive and Sustainable Growth" that is meant to reflect and preserve the uniqueness of the community while improving the quality of life for its people. Hopefully it achieves these goals, but successful or not dramatic change to Shaxi seems inevitable--I'm glad we experienced it when we did.
View over the roofs from our guesthouse.
The Heart: The Square in the center of town
The Theater on one side of the Square
The temple entrance on the oppisite--the temple's walls sport 1,300 year old paintings that have never been retouched.
Walking the Allies
Once you enter the walls of the town (arch right) a network of allies far too narrow for cars connect residences and businesses.
Behind the walls of the allies are separate family dwellings--work/live spaces entered into through a threshold (right) separating the private from the public.
All of the structures in Shaxi are constructed from locally sourced wood and products of the earth. Clay mixed with water, sand and rice straw for strength against cracking (adobe) is pressed into bricks and then stacked on a foundation of stone to prevent moisture uptake (left). For added durability the bricks are covered with a lime plaster (right).
Alternatively the adobe mixture is tamped between two vertical forms which are removed when it dries (rammed earth). The earthen walls are typically constructed in conjunction with a timber frame that holds up the roof, allowing them to wear and be repaired endlessly (many are hundreds of years old) without sacrificing the building's structural integrity. The mass of the thick earthen walls also provides desired thermal buffering for the building's inhabitants during the region's cold winters. Locally available and highly functional, and if left alone this building systems would COMPLETELY return to the earth in a relatively short period....primitive or sustainable?
The seas of rice paddies surrounding town.
Tobacco is one of the region's most prominent crops.
Hunting fish--the guy with the poles is running the charge from a car battery in his backpack between their points and the other guy grabs whatever floats up.
This guy showed us around the temple--we speak very little Mandarin, he speaks no English, but you connect without words.
A mural in town--modernity knocking.
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