Yi People's Ancient Town

Yi People's Ancient Town

Yi People's Ancient Town is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

Yi People's Ancient Town is located in Chuxiong City, Yunnan Province, north of Yong’an Avenue in the Economic and Technological Development Zone, west of the Solar Calendar Park, east of the Longchuan River, and south of the Chuxiong–Dali Expressway. Covering an area of 3,161 mu with a total construction area of 1 million square meters, it is a cultural tourism project integrating commerce, residential living, and cultural tourism.

Yi People's Ancient Town is a distinctive town that uses ancient architecture as its platform and Yi culture as its “soul,” integrating multiple functions such as a cultural scenic area, a tourist hub, and an urban reception center. It has become a shining city card for Chuxiong.

To the north of Yi People's Ancient Town lies the Guangda Railway, with a passenger station to the east and a freight station to the west, both within about one kilometer. To the south are National Highway 320 and the first-class bypass at the city edge. Nearby, Yong’an Avenue of the development zone runs through, and the entrance to the Anchu Expressway leads directly into the town, forming Weichu Avenue, which runs north-south through the entire town. In short, the town enjoys highly accessible rail and road connections.

The design of the ancient town features two-story buildings with a base floor, all in imitation of traditional Yi ethnic-style residences.

The Yi ethnic residences we refer to are not the thatched or log cabins of impoverished Yi people before liberation, but are designed based on the actual dwellings of Yi chieftains and tribal leaders from Chuxiong and Wuding, adapted for modern use.

The entire ancient town is divided into eight zones, each called a “Fang” (neighborhood), and each Fang consists of several courtyards.

The courtyards are called “Yuan,” while those not fully enclosed are called “Pu.” There are a total of seven Fang and fifty Yuan (and Pu) across the town. The entire ancient town forms one large enclosure, each Fang forms a medium-sized enclosure, and each courtyard forms a small one. The courtyard-style residences highlight the inward-gathering characteristics of traditional Chinese culture, reflecting cultural values such as social hierarchy, filial piety, and unity. This courtyard layout returns to tradition, evokes human connection, nurtures familial bonds, and decisively rejects the “high-rise illness” of Western-style buildings where neighbors never interact.

The ancient town is also a water town. To the north, there is a stream running east-west, flanked by bamboo and banana groves. A 25-meter-wide green belt is called Bamboo Stream Avenue. In the center of the town, the main water body runs east-west, naturally formed with varying widths, known as Peach Blossom Creek. From a bird’s-eye view, it resembles a “dragon lying on waves,” symbolizing good fortune for the town. These two streams branch into numerous tributaries leading to the main streets and every courtyard. Out of the town’s total area of 243.2 mu, water bodies cover 32 mu—an extremely rare feature among commercial-residential communities nationwide, and especially precious for Chuxiong, located in the “arid central Yunnan region.”

The ancient town is filled with landscapes and stories everywhere. It could be said that with every step, the scenery changes, and each scene comes with a string of tales. At crossroads and T-junctions, over twenty landscapes have been designed, including the “Seven Scenic Spots of the Yi People” and the “Eight Scenic Views of Deer City.” Examples from the Seven Scenic Spots include “Layered Greenery of the Ailao Mountains” and “The Spectacle of Earth Forests,” while the Eight Scenic Views include “Sunny Peaks of E’lu Hill” and “Wild Goose Pagoda on the South Mountain.” All architecture, landscapes, and gardens draw on the strengths of Lijiang Ancient Town, Yi ethnic residences, and the water towns of southern China. Some say Yi People's Ancient Town is “a condensed Yi culture transplanted from a slice of Jiangnan.” Others describe it as “flowing streams on every street, and a paradise at every doorstep.”

Another feature of the ancient town is that 90% of its residential units can “use shops to support housing.” Buying a home means having a shop on the ground floor for income generation, with spacious duplexes on the second and third floors. As the tourism functions of the ancient town improve, buyers not only acquire some of Chuxiong’s most beautiful surroundings but also gain significant value appreciation potential.

Yi People's Ancient Town offers a variety of housing types.

Broadly, they fall into three categories: the first type has shops on the ground floor and residential space on the second and third, accounting for over 70% of the total. Sizes range from around 188 m² to about 300 m², with most between 230 m² and 260 m².

The second type is purely commercial, typified by corner units at crossroads, with all three floors designated for commercial use, situated in prime locations within the town. The third type is located in a quieter western section of the ancient town, consisting of high-end luxury villas exclusively for residence. These villas do not exceed 310 m² in size, with none smaller than 220 m². Each has a front hall, backyard garden, multiple rooftop terraces, and an attached garage. In terms of scientific design and comfort, they are comparable only to Guangzhou’s Tsinghua Fang.

Yi People's Ancient Town continues the architectural style of the former Dejiang City, recreating the prosperity of the Southern Song Dynasty. The architectural styles incorporate Yi ethnic residence designs from Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan, while deeply exploring Chuxiong’s Yi culture. Traditional Yi village architectural designs were referenced, preserving structures such as the Bimo House, Suni House, and Maiden House. Additionally, a Yi tribal-themed block has been created, along with a performance troupe that stages the “Fire Sacrifice Ceremony” nightly. Hotel and inn areas have also been developed, laying the foundation for a true tourism-commercial complex and travel hub.

In Yi People's Ancient Town, Yi people dress in traditional attire every evening, singing Yi folk songs and performing the Zuobu dance to welcome guests. At Liuzu Square, folk artists perform fire-spitting and torch juggling stunts. In the Gourd Corridor, visitors can enjoy the melodies of the Yi moon guitar and sanxian, as well as the beautiful sounds of traditional Yi love songs. In the Tribal Square, activities such as antiphonal singing, sprinkling of joyous water, and carrying the bride on one’s back are highlights.

“Yi Countryside Love Song” is a Yi ethnic original ecological song-and-dance dining experience created by Weiguang Huitong, themed around “Street Banquet Every Day, Torch Festival Every Night.” Through a unique dining environment of interconnected circular stilted buildings over water and featuring the signature “Eight Great Dishes of the Yi People,” it recreates the communal street banquet culture of the Yi people, highlighting their warm hospitality. Alongside enjoying Yi cuisine, performances on the central waterside stage are equally captivating—featuring dish-serving dances, toasting songs, costume displays, and interactive “bride-guessing” games, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in authentic Yi culture while savoring delicious food.

Yi embroidery features exquisite patterns and vibrant colors. It is the most representative cultural expression and medium of the Yi people, as well as an important part of China’s traditional ethnic folk crafts. Yi embroidery products in Yi People's Ancient Town have grown to nearly a hundred vendors. These tourism commodities are rich in ethnic character, distinctly regional, and culturally profound, making them highly favored by domestic and international tourists.

In addition, Yi People's Ancient Town includes a courtyard residential area, a Yi cultural theme park, a bar street, a large dining area, and an inn district. The commercial offerings are diverse, with all types of businesses such as shops, inns, restaurants, snacks, tea bars, and bars readily available. After concentrated development, several themed commercial streets have emerged, including a bar street, an ASEAN-style street, and a Korean-style street. The entire ancient town now fulfills all six major tourism functions—eating, living, traveling, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment—fully meeting the varied needs of the market.

Yi People's Ancient Town not only aligns with China’s new urbanization development but also reflects a development logic that includes the revitalization of ancient architecture, cultural reverence, and the creation of distinctive tourist attractions. This offers many imaginative possibilities for the development models of characteristic towns in other regions.

Creating cultural ancient towns that meet market demand and highlight unique thematic charm, then using the ancient town as a platform to build a cultural tourism hub, enhance appeal, and drive leisure and vacation activities. The development model represented by Weiguang Huitong’s Yi People's Ancient Town has become a new experiment in the tourism industry.

Address: No. 543, Yong’an Road, Chuxiong City, Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture

Type: Folk Village

Recommended Visit Duration: 2–3 hours

Phone: 0878-3388955

Opening Hours:

Open all day

Ticket Information:

Free admission. (Bonfire party at 9 PM: 15 RMB/person; Yi People's Tribe performance: 20 RMB/person)