Xichang sits in the Anning River valley in the deep south of Sichuan, in the heart of the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, and its climate is a genuine surprise: warm and sunny year-round, sheltered by surrounding mountains from the cold and rain that dominate the rest of the province. The city bills itself as China's Moon City, a reference to its legendarily clear nights, and as China's Space City, a reference to the Xichang Satellite Launch Center 64 kilometres to the northwest — the facility from which China has been launching satellites since 1982.
The cultural context here is Yi rather than Tibetan, and Xichang is one of the better places in Sichuan to engage with it. The Liangshan Yi Slave Society Museum documents in remarkable specificity a feudal system that persisted in this region until communist land reform in the 1950s — the institution of slavery, the clan hierarchies, the material culture. It is a serious museum dealing with a subject that Chinese national narratives tend to simplify. Dashiban Ancient Village, a Ming Dynasty settlement on the ancient Tea Horse Road, preserves nearly 600 years of Yi architecture in a reasonably intact state.
Qionghai Lake, just outside the city, offers a 40-kilometre circular wetland cycling route along the lakeshore with views of Lushan Mountain. The lake itself is large enough to feel genuinely expansive and the cycling path is flat and well-maintained. Luoji Mountain, further afield, has 72 peaks above 4,000 metres, glacial lakes, and hot springs, but requires more time and organisation to visit properly.
The Yi Torch Festival in late July is one of the most important Yi festivals, involving fire, Yi traditional dress, and celebrations that draw people from surrounding villages into the city. The Xichang Satellite Launch Center, 64 kilometres away, is open to civilian visitors and has launched China's lunar probes — a fascinating combination of cutting-edge space infrastructure and accessible rural Yi country. Xichang is now on the Chengdu-Kunming high-speed rail line, which has made it accessible as an overnight trip from either city — a fact that has not yet destroyed its character.