Baisha Mural

Baisha Mural is located at Baisha Villages, 10km north of Lijiang. Although the traditional houses do not look impressive, this was the cradle of the Naxi culture and ancient capital of the Naxi Kingdom.

The valuable murals are protected inside Dabaoji Palace and the colored glaze temples. The originality and figures within the murals reflect the different religious cultures and artistic forms of Buddhism, Lamaism, Taoism and local Naxi Dongba religion's development into Naxi School. Each painting includes at least one hundred portraits, which are not only Buddha, but also ordinary people such as bureaucrats, farmers, citizens and even criminals. Dominated by black, silver, dark green, gold and red colours, the murals in the back hall, overlaid with centuries of brown soot, are doomladen and bizarre. The scenes and figures, some still vivid in detail, are largely taken from Tibetan Buddhist iconography and include the wheel of life, judges of the underworld, the damned, titans and gods, Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Many of the scenes and subjects are drawn from people's daily life showing fishing, riding horses, weaving, dancing and casting iron.

Recommended China Tour to Lijiang: 10 Days Yunnan tour to the Lost Horizon
(Destination: Kunming-Dali-Lijiang-Shangri-la-Kunming)