.In northeastern Shaanxi Province along the middle reaches of the Yellow River, the second longest river in China, there lies a county named Jiaxian. It boasts over a hundred historical sites, including primitive remains, ancient buildings and over 20 invaluable grottoes and temples. It is also well known for its dates, its traditional Shaanxi Opera, and its folk art and customs.

The county seat is also known as the Stone City, as many of its houses and roads are made of rock. As is often heard, the natural conditions there are often so bad that in nine years out of ten there is a drought. Living on the whims of heaven, the local people have had a hard going of it over the past few thousand years.

 On the eighth day of the fourth lunar month each year, a large temple fair is held at the Baiyun Temple (White Cloud Temple). Started in Song Dynasty (960-1279) and completed in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the temple, composed of a group of Taoist edifices covering 8.3 square kilometers, is a well-known spot of interest in western Shaanxi Province.

The original builders seemed to regard the Taoist temple as heaven and intentionally built the Baiyun Temple at a high point, which can only be reached by a steep stone stairway containing with 360 steps. Only the truly faithful can arrive at the celestial world and pray for blessings.

 On the day when the fair is opened, the guard of honor move slowly up the stairs to the accompaniment of Taoist music, led by a group of people holding engraved and painted wooden celestials. In the middle is a troupe playing various folk musical instruments. In the rear are swarms of pilgrims. Via the Five Dragons Palace and four Heavenly Gates, they come to the destination the Zhenwu Hall to burn incense and pray for good fortune and peace. But many come here to experience Taoist culture.

Performances of Shaanxi Opera, which was created in Tang Dynasty (618-907), are essential to the temple fair. Interestingly, Shanxi Opera is also popular at the fair as Shanxi Province is only across the river.

Baiyun Temple was first established in 1605 during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Its construction area was up to 81,000 square meters, so it was the biggest architectural complex in Northwest China during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Baiyun Temple leans on the mountain and is close to the Yellow River. With Ancestor Zhenwu Hall as the center, some halls, pavilions, booths, towers and other buildings are distributed around it. There are many precious cultural relics of ancient times in Baiyun Temple, including more than 1,900 pieces of color frescos and a lot of sculptures and handwritings of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

After one enters the Taoist temple, the building that can be first seen is the memorial archway of timberwork with multiple pendentives, and its height is 12 meters. There are Wulong Palace and Ancestor Zhenwu Hall respectively in upward position. Wulong Palace is the bottom building, including a main hall, two corridors and Kwan-yin Tower, and the houses of these structures are elegant and well organized. Ancestor Zhenwu Hall is the magnificent main building of the Taoist temple, and it is also an important venue where the Taoists of the temple hold religious activities.

Apart from Baiyun Temple, Xianglu Temple (Incense Burner Temple), built on a steep cliff overlooking the Yellow River, is another famous temple. Supported by an over 20-meter-high stone column, the temple is indeed a marvel.

Handicrafts including paper cutting, stone engraving, cloth applique, embroidery and woodcarving are another attraction. Works by Auntie Guo Peizhen, the most famous paper-cutting artist around, cover a wide range of subjects concerning people, events, traditional opera, myths, folk legends and local customs.  One of her best works is three meters long and a half meter wide, showing over one hundred figures and almost all activities and scenes typical of rural life.

In recent years, life of Jiaxian people has greatly improved. But people in mountainous areas are still being found living in a special and traditional kind of houses-caves. Those dilapidated were mostly built before 1949, those with brick fronts were built in the 1970s and those with engraved brick eaves during 1990s