Dashiban is a preserved Ming Dynasty village on the eastern shore of Qionghai Lake, its courtyard houses and stone-paved lanes intact in a way that few settlements of comparable age anywhere in China can match. The oldest surviving structures date from the 15th century, and the overall ensemble of lanes, gateways, wells, and small temples conveys the scale of a working pre-industrial market town rather than a single preserved monument.
The village is now part of the Qionghai National Tourist Resort and can be reached by bicycle from the city in under an hour using the lakeside path. Entry to the village itself is free; several houses have been converted into tea houses and small restaurants serving Yi and Sichuan food. The best approach is on foot from the lake side, where you arrive through a gate directly from the cycling path — the south entrance from the road is more conventional and less interesting.