Who Are the Bai People?
The Bai are an ethnic group of approximately 1.9 million people centered in Yunnan Province's Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, around scenic Erhai Lake. The Bai founded the medieval Nanzhao (738-902) and Dali (937-1253) kingdoms, which controlled vast territories and influenced regional history for centuries. Their language, though Sino-Tibetan, has absorbed significant Chinese vocabulary over long contact. Known for architectural traditions featuring white walls (bai means "white"), tie-dye textiles, marble crafts, and the Three Pagodas landmark, Bai culture attracts tourists to their historically significant homeland.
Kingdoms of Dali
The Bai established two significant kingdoms. Nanzhao (738-902) united diverse peoples under Bai leadership, controlling territory from Vietnam to Burma, defeating Tang Dynasty armies multiple times. The Dali Kingdom (937-1253) succeeded Nanzhao, maintaining independence until Kublai Khan's Mongol conquest in 1253. These kingdoms developed sophisticated Buddhist culture, built monumental architecture (including the Three Pagodas still standing), and facilitated trade between China, Tibet, and Southeast Asia. This historical significance distinguishes Bai as builders of states, not merely subjects of empires.
Three Teas Ceremony
The Three Teas Ceremony (San Dao Cha) is the Bai's signature hospitality ritual, symbolizing life's journey. The first tea is bitter (representing youth's hardships), served plain and strong. The second is sweet (symbolizing mature accomplishment), mixed with walnut, cheese, and honey. The third has lingering aftertaste (representing reflection), containing Sichuan pepper and ginger for complexity. Each tea accompanies specific conversations. This ceremony, once reserved for special occasions, is now performed for tourists but retains meaning for Bai hosting honored guests.
Architecture and Marble
Bai architecture features distinctive white walls with gray tiles, elaborate wood carvings, and screen walls painted with landscapes or calligraphy. The characteristic "three bays, one screen wall" layout faces courtyards toward mountains and water for feng shui harmony. Dali marble (actually metamorphic rock) from Cangshan Mountain has been prized for centuries; natural patterns resembling landscapes make each piece unique. Marble craftsmanship continues as both art and tourist industry. Traditional Bai buildings in Dali Old Town, though increasingly commercialized, preserve architectural heritage.
Festival of the March Street Fair
The Third Month Fair (San Yue Jie), held annually for over 1,000 years, is Dali's most important festival—originally a Buddhist gathering, now a combination of religious celebration, trade fair, and cultural showcase. For a week around the 15th of the third lunar month, hundreds of thousands gather for horse trading, herbal medicine sales, handicraft markets, singing, dancing, and horse racing. The fair demonstrates Bai's historical role as regional traders and their synthesis of Buddhist, indigenous, and Chinese cultural elements into distinctive festival tradition.
References
- Fitzgerald, C. P. (1941). The Tower of Five Glories: A Study of the Min Chia of Ta Li, Yunnan
- Xu, J. (2001). The Bai People of Southwest China
- Backus, C. (1981). The Nan-chao Kingdom and T'ang China's Southwestern Frontier