The next stop in Jianchuan is Shaxi. For a fare of 20 yuan, the driver is as simple as a small city, as mentioned above. Maybe I have seen too many ancient houses in Jianchuan, or maybe I have a lower impression of Shaxi than I have in Jianchuan because I didn't live in Shaxi. But there is no denying that Shaxi is a naturally beautiful place. Now it is painted with exquisite makeup, but I may like her more when she looks plain.

I am a little tired after arriving in Shaxi, but my three-legged mobile phone camera technology can also take beautiful photos at will. The first person I knew about Shaxi was reading Sanlian magazine many years ago and said that a Swedish professional team had participated in the restoration of the ancient town, so I thought I should go and have a look. It was August 2022 when I went, and "Go to a Windy Place" had not yet been hit. I'm afraid there will be more tourists this year and even in the future.

The town no longer belongs to local residents but to foreign tourists. Shops, restaurants, and B & Bs should be the next step for all kinds of Yiwu small commodities. There are very beautiful B & Bs rebuilt with the help of old houses, but the price is far from what I am willing to bear. There are many coffee shops and some art shops, and both the opening and entering are foreign tourists. Locals are more likely to "play horse gangs" leading horses to carry tourists, or driving childcare vans to carry tourists to Pioneer Bookstore.

Scene 1: Holding coffee in a coffee shop with various petty bourgeoisie atmospheres, looking at this beautiful Shaxi town. Scene 2: In the noisy vegetable market, I watched all kinds of town residents buying and selling local goods. I was sitting on a small bench in the breakfast shop of the vegetable market eating rice noodles. I prefer Scene 2, but unfortunately it is slowly fading away and only Scene 1 has been replaced.

Shaxi Ancient Town also met a funny character. A couple in their fifties and sixties drove to Shaxi. They looked very rich and dressed. The man had a big belly and the woman looked arrogant, and the accent sounded like Chengdu. The shop where I eat rice noodles while sitting also sells fungi, which have been processed and can be taken away in glass bottles like Lao Gan Ma. Of course, the price is high. The store allows buyers to bottle their own bottles, so while eating rice noodles, I witnessed the bottling process of the middle-aged and elderly woman. I was amazed. The first thing I had to do was choose the mycelium.(It's a selection of picking it up with chopsticks), and then you have to fill a layer and press it down hard. Unfortunately, the chopsticks are not strong, but it is not difficult for this lady. She can still press each layer tightly. Although it is only the size of a Laoganma bottle, it takes a long time, so that the man with the big belly still has not finished after walking around.

After returning to Jianchuan from Shaxi, I excitedly decided to go to Zhongdian (Shangri-La). Jianchuan is too close to Shangri-La. Seeing that you can go to such a famous place for tens of yuan, I think it is really worth it. I bought a ticket on my mobile phone the first night, but I went to the station excitedly the next day and was told that due to the epidemic in Xizang, the shuttle bus would be stopped from now on. I couldn't make it, and I regretted it more than I did. I kept muttering all the way. It's been more than two months since I came back, and I still murmured whenever I thought about it.