The Tea Horse Road was a network of caravan routes linking Yunnan's tea-growing hills to Tibet and beyond, carrying bricks of tea south to north and bringing horses, salt, wool and silver back. Two of its stopping places in Yunnan are still legible as towns: Shaxi, in the hills north of Dali, and Nuodeng, a salt village in the mountains further west.
Shaxi
Shaxi lies in Jianchuan county, about two hours from Dali, in a valley of Bai villages and old stone bridges. Its market square, Sideng, is the reason for its reputation: a paved open space surrounded by wooden shophouses with deep overhanging eaves and a covered stage opposite a temple, where the caravan traders and the local population met on market days. The square has been carefully restored, and the temple next to it holds old murals. Around the town, the stone bridge over the river and the lanes of mud-brick houses still look much as they would have a century ago, and the Friday market still brings Bai and Yi traders in from the surrounding hills.
Nuodeng
Nuodeng sits on a hillside in Yunlong county, in the far west of the province, and was a salt-producing village for well over a thousand years. Salt was the commodity that made the Tea Horse Road worth travelling, and Nuodeng's brine wells supplied a large region. The village climbs steeply up the slope in a dense stack of courtyards, temples and narrow lanes, with old salt wells and brine stores still standing, and the traditional ham produced here - hung and cured in the dry air - is famous across Yunnan.
What a visit involves
Both villages are about walking slowly, looking at architecture and eating simple local food. In Shaxi, look at the carved wooden shopfronts and the temple, walk to the bridge, and visit the surrounding Bai villages, which include Shibao Shan with its remarkable cliff carvings. In Nuodeng, climb through the village to the upper temples for the view, and look at the salt wells and the old houses. Both are small enough to see properly in half a day.
Practical notes
Shaxi is reached by road from Dali or Lijiang, roughly two hours either way, and has a good choice of small guesthouses. Nuodeng is further and more awkward, requiring a drive into the mountains from Yunlong, and accommodation is simpler; it is usually visited as part of a trip towards the Nujiang valley or the far west. Both are quiet outside Chinese holidays. Bring cash, comfortable shoes and a warm layer, since both sit at altitude and the evenings are cool year round.
