[recreated ceiling at the Confucian temple in Shaxi Village] On Wednesday, a bumpy bus ride through snaking steep roads took us from Lijiang to Shaxi Village, a town of 25,000 that is currently being restored in conjunction with ETH Zurich. Huang Yinwu, a director with the Shaxi Rehabilitation project, explained the ongoing process of historical and cultural preservation as he led us on a tour of the town. [Huang Yinwu and delegation members outside the restored Buddhist temple]
[model of Shaxi Village]
[on our way towards the east gate of the village]
Another jostling bus ride later, our delegation of 21 arrived at Xizhou Village, where we will be calling the Linden Centre our home base for the next three days. We received a warm welcome, complete with delicious local bread, from co-owners Brian and Jeanne Linden and their staff. Brian gave an informative tour of the beautifully restored courtyard residence, built by a local merchant in the mid 1930s and spared from destruction during the cultural revolution, and described the challenges that came with preserving the structure's architectural and cultural integrity.
[Brian Linden highlighting significant architectural features in the entry of the center] [view overlooking rice paddies from Linden Centre's roof terrace] After dinner, members of a local design institute presented a quick overview on Dali, highlighting the four natural motifs that define this area: wind, flowers, snow and moon. This was followed by a brief presentation on a couple of current residential projects. [ending the day in the main courtyard of the Linden Centre] Tomorrow we'll be exploring more of Xizhou Village- stay tuned!
P.S. Overheard at lunchtime: "This could have been advertised as a culinary tour!" - as uttered by a delegation member as we dug into our delicious lunch of fried cheese, sautéed tofu cubes, minced pork, and spinach and walnut soup at the Karma Cafe in Shaxi Village.