Zhoucheng Village


Zhoucheng Village is the largest and the farthest northern village of Dali City. The village has 7,571
inhabitants of 1,470 families. The entire village is in a square shape with row upon row of houses. The
Yunnan Tibetan highway stretches across the village. Situated at the foot of Cangshan Mountain, the
village is not far from the Butterflies' Fountain and Erhai Lake.

In the town you can see typical houses of Bai people with closed courtyards, consisting of three rooms
and a "shining wall." The purpose of the "shining wall" is to reflect light into the houses. Another
configuration consists of four rows of houses and five dooryards. For some of the houses, one family has
one courtyard; while others have several courtyards for one family. These houses have a square plan. The
roof contains two layers of eaves made from green tiles. There are three to five major rooms which face

east or south. They are built with bricks and stones and with a wooden frame that is held together by means of tenons. Sometimes several
courtyards are connected with each other and make a single large courtyard.  The walls outside are washed with a layer of fine mud and then
painted over with a layer of lime.  

Hardicraft and commerce here are constantly developed. The patterns of hand-made tie-dyed cloth in particular are pure and beautiful. Clothes of
this material sell well abroad. The tie-dyed cloth is used to make clothes, caps, bags and so on. These products are very popular among domestic
and foreign visitors and are therefore exported to Japan and Southeast Asian countries.

Tie-dyed Cloth is generally called "Colorful Tied - Cloth". It was an ancient skill of dyeing originating from the interior of China.  Tie-dye is typically
brightly colored, patterned textile or clothing which is made from ordinary cloth, usually cotton, through a resist dyeing process known as tie-dyeing.
This is the modern version of a traditional dyeing method used in many cultures in Asia and Africa.

The yearly Torchlight Festival of the Yis and the Bais fascinates tourists and visitors by their distinctive national
features, magnificent scope and vivid atmosphere.