Shaxi is an historic market town on the road between Dali and Lijiang. In fact it is probably the most intact horse caravan town on the ancient tea route. It emerged as an important stop over back in the Tang Dynasty. (618 – 907 A.D.), but didn’t reach the height of its prosperity until the Ming and Qing periods (1368 – 1911). Despite the completion of a new road in 2009, the town remains a fascinating window on a China which for the most part has long disappeared. Narrow alleys crisscross between ancient Bai courtyard homes, little changed for hundreds of years. The old town was placed on a watch list of the world’s 101 most endangered sites released by the World Monuments Fund in 2001. Soon after the Switzerland Technological University began working on restoration. So far they have completed the open air theatre, adding a small museum, the old Sideng Market Square and the Ming Dynasty Xingjiao temple, (the only Azhali Buddhism temple built by the Bai people.)