Thirty-three km. from Xiaguan lies the town of Xizhou by the side of Erhai Lake and the Wanhua Brook. Historically, it was a military fortress of Nanzhao Kingdom and a temporary palace of the King of Nanzhao. Because of its favourable geographical situation, the town used to be a commercial centre before 1949 and there were more than 140 national capitalist families among whom the Yan's, the Dong's, the Yin's and the Yang's were the biggest ones in capital. Their houses are of the typical Bai design known as "Sanfang Yizhaobi" (a courtyard rooms on three sides and a screen wall on the remaining side) and "Sihe Wutianjing" (dne big courtyard with four smaller ones at the four corners of the main one). Xizhou Town is composed of more than 88 compounds of this kind. Some have several yards and some have yards within yards. In short, the houses here show the strong and unique Bai national characteristics in their painted roofs and pillars, upturned eaves, and "dougong" systems (double bow-shaped brackets on columns supporting upturned eaves).

In recent years, streets and roads have been widened, new markets have been established and a scene of prosperity prevails throughout the area. In 1988, one of the compounds of the Yang's was made to open to foreign visitors with the name of "Xizhou Tianzhuang" (Countryside Villa at Xizhou) by the Tourist Bureau of Dali Prefecture.