Shaxi, China | The Maker Retreat On Tea Horse Road
Dates: Multiple Dates，Aug - Dec, 2026 | Guests per trip: 4 - 6
Highlights + Benefits
The People as the Place
+ Most retreats offer activities. This retreat offers relationships. Your guides are not staff delivering content; they are practitioners who have built lives in Shaxi and who share their practice as a form of hospitality.
The Arc of Making
+ Three-day indigo immersion in a traditional Bai craft is designed to give you the experience of sustained creative work. You will leave with a finished piece that carries the memory of its making, and the knowledge that comes from having participated in every stage of its creation.
The Body as Foundation
+ Each day begins with Qigong (Baduanjin) as a way of settling into the body before the mind takes over. This practice, led by a senior practitioner, becomes the rhythm of the retreat: a daily return to breath, movement, and presence that prepares you for the work and encounters to come.
The Living Landscape
+ Shaxi is not a preserved museum piece. It is a living community where people farm, trade, celebrate, and mourn. The retreat is designed to give you access to this living quality — through the Friday market, the family visit, the foraging walk, and the simple fact that you will be staying in the old town rather than observing it from a distance.
The Season as Teacher
+ Each season has its own character, and the retreat is designed to let you experience Shaxi as it actually is, not as a generic backdrop. In summer and autumn, the forest offers mushrooms and the work is outdoors. In winter, the focus shifts to indoor cooking and the particular beauty of the valley in cold weather — the mist on the Yujin Bridge.
Daily Program
Rather than polished hotels that could be anywhere, we look for places that feel like Shaxi: original, unhurried, and quietly beautiful. In summer and autumn, we stay at Heyuan, a serene traditional courtyard homestay nestled in Hualong Village. When our group reaches six guests, we take over the entire property — the courtyard, the garden, the common spaces — exclusively for the Puyu community. In winter, we move closer to the old town and stay at Mooncreek, a carefully designed boutique property steps from the famous Yujin Bridge, where morning mist rises from the Hei Hui River in the cold season. Both properties offer generous shared spaces — for morning practice, quiet reading, or simply sitting together as the day winds down.
Aug – Oct
Heyuan Homestay · 沙溪合院
A restored Bai courtyard house in Hualong Village.
5 photos
合敬 · Héjìng
2 Twin
Courtyard view
45 m²
Ground floor twin room with courtyard views
5 photos
合硕 · Héshuo
King
Courtyard view
45 m²
Ground floor room with courtyard views and a soaking tub
5 photos
合悦 · Héyuè
King
Mountain view
48 m²
Second floor room with mountain views and a large private terrace
5 photos
合安 · Hé'ān
King
Courtyard view
45 m²
Floor 2Second floor room with courtyard views and a soaking tub
5 photos
合雅 · Héyǎ
King
Mountain view
46 m²
Second floor room with mountain views and a private terrace
5 photos
合順 · Héshùn
King
Mountain view
36 m²
Second floor room with mountain views and a private terrace
Nov – Dec
Mooncreek · 半溪明月
Boutique courtyard hotel located at the edge of Shaxi Ancient Town, within walking distance to the historic center.
5 photos
Shared Room
2 Twin
Garden view
35m²
Tatami-style twin room with natural light
5 photos
Standard King Room
King
Garden view
36 -40 m²
King room with underfloor heating and standard amenities; some rooms have windows facing an internal corridor
5 photos
Terrace / Courtyard King Room
King
Private Couryard / Terrace
45–48m²
King room with either a private courtyard or terrace and a soaking tub.
5 photos
Courtyard King Room
King
Private courtyard
75–80m²
Spacious king room on ground floor with private courtyard and soaking tub.
5 photos
Suite
King
Garden view
50–70m²
Suite-style layout with a seperate living area
Choose your dates ↓
Select a departure to see pricing on WeTravel
Every meal on this retreat is a small act of curation. At the hotel, the table is set with seasonal, locally sourced food — simple, nourishing, and reflective of what the valley grows at that time of year.
Beyond the courtyard, food becomes an adventure: we visit the local restaurants that Shaxi residents actually eat at, forage for wild mushrooms in the hills during summer season and cook them the same afternoon, learn to prepare Yunnan dishes in a hands-on cooking class, and share a hearthfire meal cooked together with a local Bai family in their ancestral home.
Nothing is staged for tourists. Every meal has a story — of the land it came from, the hands that prepared it, and the people you shared it with.
Shaxi is a small valley town in Dali Prefecture, Yunnan — tucked between mountains.
Step 1 — Fly into China
If you're coming from overseas, fly into one of China's major international hubs: Shanghai (PVG/SHA), Chengdu (CTU), or Guangzhou (CAN) are the most well-connected. From there, connect onward to Dali.
Step 2 — Get to Dali
Two options, both easy:
- By air: Take a direct domestic flight to Dali Fengyi Airport (DLU). Flight time from major hubs is 1.5–2.5 hours.
- By train: Fly into Kunming (KMG) and take the high-speed bullet train to Dali Railway Station (大理站). The train takes approximately 2 hours and is a scenic, comfortable ride through Yunnan's mountains.
Step 3 — We take it from here
Once you land or arrive at Dali Airport (DLU) or Dali Railway Station (大理站), your private transfer to Shaxi is included. Share your arrival details with us in advance and your driver will be waiting for you. The drive to Shaxi takes approximately 2 to 2.5 hours through the Yunnan countryside — a beautiful introduction to the landscape you'll be spending the week in.
Choose Your Dates
Available Departures — 2026
Selected departure
August 23-28, 2026
Duration
5 nights · 6 days
Location
Shaxi, Yunnan
Group Size
Max 6 guests
- 5 nights accommodation at boutique lodge
- Daily meals with seasonal local ingredients
- All scheduled internal transfers, inclusing private car transfers (from Dali to Shaxi on Day 1, and return on Day 6)
- Daily curated activities listed in the itinerary (from morning Qigong, 3-day indigo workshop to bai family visit and dinner)
- Bilingual lead accompanying the group throughout (English and Mandarin)
- Flights or train to Dali
- Personal expenses like shopping/merchandise
- Travel insurance (required)
- Visa fee (Check the specific regulations pertaining your country of origin)
- Additional activities not included in the itinerary
We understand that plans can change. To ensure fairness for all participants and to keep our retreats running smoothly, please review our cancellation and payment policy carefully before booking.
Deposit Policy
- A $500 deposit is required to secure your spot at the retreat.
- 100% deposit refund for cancellations made 60+ days before the retreat start date.
- 50% deposit refund for cancellations made 30–59 days before the retreat start date.
- No deposit refund for cancellations made 0–29 days before the retreat start date.
Remaining Balance
- The remaining balance is due 30 days before the retreat start date.
- Cancellations made 0–29 days before the retreat start date are non-refundable for the remaining balance.
Retreat Minimum Attendance
- We will notify you 30 days prior to the retreat start date whether the minimum participant requirement has been met.
- If the retreat is canceled due to insufficient enrollment:
- You will receive a full refund of your deposit and any paid balance, or
- You may choose to transfer your payment to a future retreat.
By paying your deposit, you acknowledge and agree to Puyu Retreat’ Terms & Conditions, including this cancellation and payment policy.
Who you'll meet
The People Holding This Space
Tie-dye Workshop Host
Qizhao & Jinjin
Originally from Shandong and Fujian, Qizhao and Jinjin are a couple who chose to settle in this quiet valley and turn their love for traditional dyeing into a way of life.
Their lovely studio explores a range of heritage techniques — including tie-dye, batik, resist paste dyeing, and plant heat-transfer printing — blending traditional knowledge with contemporary creativity. At the heart of their work is a deep respect for natural materials and handmade processes.
Cultural Specialist
Carol
Carol came to Shaxi from a life in the city, bringing with her a deepening fascination with the plants that grow wild in the hills and valleys of Yunnan.
She has been leading a community of wellness practice in Shaxi for nearly a decade. She is not a botanist in the academic sense; she is a reader of landscapes, someone who has learned to recognize the edible and medicinal by walking the same paths through different seasons.
Cultural Specialist
Kuanmu
Kuanmu has spent decades walking the quiet path of traditional qigong and body cultivation. He is not a performer or a guru; he is a practitioner who happens to teach. His mornings begin before dawn, and his practice space is wherever he happens to be — a courtyard, a riverbank, a patch of sunlight on a wooden floor.
He will be leading the Baduanjin & other traditional wellness practices for our days in Shaxi.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions