What left the deepest impression in me about the place, was probably not the look-and-feel of the old town, but was what the tour guide described about the town "一人得道，鸡犬升天".
A quick search in the web, Sohu (in Chinese) shows that:
云南大理双廊古镇，位于云南省大理市洱海东北岸，是一个拥有悠久历史和独特文化的古镇。这里曾是青铜器时代文明的发祥地之一，承载着丰富的历史底蕴和文化内涵。 双廊古镇的建筑风格独特，保留了大量的古建筑和文化遗产。这里的房屋大多采用传统的木结构和灰砖石板，古朴典雅，充满了浓厚的历史气息。沿着石板路前行，仿佛穿越到了古代，感受到了那个时代的风貌和文化氛围。
Nevertheless, according to the Google Search, there isn't much said about the town. Based on the Chinese description, it has too many similar towns in China, and therefore, would have been considered as just any ordinary old town that China has. The board at the entrance introduced the town as an ancient fishing village - I drew some similarity to some of the outlying islands/ fishing villages in Hong Kong.
But it gained its fame because it's the hometown of the renowned dancer/ artist who is now considered as a national treasure (国宝) 杨丽萍.
I had no impression about this... only did the website after the trip.
What people came for... (as tourist) is mainly because of the "palaces" that 杨丽萍 has built.
Youtube clip: 雀之灵【小寒国风节x杨丽萍】国宝级孔雀舞有多美杨丽萍舞团灵魂演绎绝美
About the legend: 杨丽萍，女，白族，云南洱源人，中国舞蹈艺术家，一级演员，中国舞蹈家协会副主席[2]。1986年创作并表演独舞《雀之灵》，借此一举成名。1992年成为中国大陆第一位赴台湾表演的舞蹈家，1994年凭借独舞《雀之灵》荣获中华民族20世纪舞蹈经典作品金奖。[Source]
