A Day in Xizhou: A French-Style Vacation in a Republican-Era Courtyard

My third time in Xizhou Backed by the Cangshan Mountains and bordering the Erhai Lake to the east, this town boasts over a thousand years of history. It was once described by Lao She as the "Cambridge of the East." Xizhou today is completely different from what it was five years ago. Some abandoned old buildings have been brought back to life by skilled craftsmen, and the Traveler's Residence is one of them. This Bai-style courtyard, dating back to the Republican era, was once the residence of the Dong family, one of the four prominent families in Xizhou, Dali. After six years of meticulous renovation, its traditional features have been perfectly preserved, while the interior boasts a bright and comfortable French style. The aesthetics of different eras collide within the same space. In Xizhou, time has a unique rhythm, marked by the waves of golden wheat turning green again. The old houses are like three-dimensional history books, making them all the more precious.