Dabaoji Palace 大宝积宫 Housing the Baisha Murals 白沙壁画
I have only heard about the Baisha Murals when I was doing my research for my trip to Yunnan. It seems like that it is a small sidelight to a visit to Lijiang. Fortunately for me, I was staying in Lijiang Ancient Town for a few days so I would have time to visit some of these places. The Baisha Murals is a short bus ride from the Lijiang Ancient Town and it was far enough to feel remote. The town of Baisha probably relies on the existence of the murals to bring some tourist traffic in. But long ago, Biasha used to be much more important than this. Baisha used to be the center of the Naxi world.
Shops Outside the Mural Area at Baisha 白沙
The Naxi are an ethnic group who have settled in this area. Baisha served as the capital of their kingdom. It was also the center of culture and trade and as a result numerous nationalities and cultures were present there. The Baisha Murals are a product of this mixture of culture. I was expecting a lot when I came here but I was disappointed to know that there is now an entrance fee to see the murals. However, I might as well have foreseen this, photography is not allowed inside. It gets worse, the pavillion where the murals are was very dark and I would hardly see anything there. There was a guide who was describing what I was seeing but I couldn’t really pay attention as I was busy trying to see what was in there. In the end, I gave up, I only saw a few paintings inside but I quickly got out of there. Who knows what I was actually looking at since it was so dark.
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