Exquisite Local and Special Products

The beautiful natural environment has helped the Bai people cultivated a noble and graceful aesthetic taste. They are quick-witted and nimble fingered,  good at making traditional and special products with local resources.

Marble from Cangshan Mountain has been quarried for more than 1,000 yeas since the Tang Dynasty. The stone is of fine quality and has unique veins. It appears in a great variety. When polished, it presents various natural patterns, such as mountains, rivers, plants ,birds ,animals, and figures. The stone is processed into screens or decorations for high quality modern furniture and ancient buildings. White marble is a fine material, which is carved into pen containers. Ashtrays, flower vases, tea sets, and ornaments.

Tie dyeing of the Bai ethnic group is a time  honored handicraft. It uses indigo as the dyestuff. First, white cloth is tied and sewn into various patterns by hand and then dyed. Designs of bees, butterflies. Plum blossoms, fish ,or insects thus appear with an artistic effect that can not be achieved in painting.

Wood carving in Jianchuan County is a 1,000-year-old traditional handicraft, known for its exquisite designs and multi-layer carving. The carvings come out in more than 100 designs including Twin Phoenixs Turning to the Sun, A  Magpie Perching on Top of a Plum, A Soaring Dragon Holding the Moon, and one Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix. Most of  the carvings are used to decorate lattice doors and classical furniture.

Known for their exquisite  workmanship and novel design, gold, silver, and copper ornaments from Hequng County are matchless handicrafts of the Bai ethnic group. They are manufactured as jewelry, amulets, wine sets or are mounted on sheaths of the local Bai, Tibetan, Miao, and Han people. They are loved by people of other ethnic groups in China and people in neighboring countries.

Other traditional handicrafts from the Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture include embroidery, ink slabs, pottery, and porcelain.