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Chengyang Bridge and the surrounding Dong villages

Chengyang Bridge and the surrounding Dong villages (2003)

Nothing quite prepares you for your first sight of the bridge. Chengyang Bridge is what is known locally as a Wind and Rain Bridge. These covered wooden bridges were built with the purpose of literally protecting the farmers from the wind and rain and allowing people to sell their wares, sheltered from the elements.

The Bridge

Moreover, the bridge at Chengyang was built to help the locals cross the swollen Linxi River during the rainy season. The Chengyang (or Yongji) Wind and Rain Bridge is 64 meters long and 3.4 meters wide. Not one nail was used in its construction, which is said to have taken more than ten years and was completed in 1916.

On top of the bridge there are a number of beautiful eaved pavilions with one of them housing a small shrine. The whole structure rests on a number of sturdy stone columns that span the Linxi River.

Rural Charm and the Dong Minority

However, Chengyang’s charm lies not only in its bridge. The whole area is beautiful and embodies much of what attracts so many people to Asia: the peaceful, rural scenery of rice paddies, swaying bamboo, slow moving waterwheels and traditional wooden villages.

Then, there are the colourful local Dong people with their unique culture and language, which is related to Thai. As they mostly live in isolated, forested areas, the Dong people have only recently come into contact with the outside world.

The Dong are best known for the elegance and the exotic features of their architectural designs. Apart from Wind and Rain Bridges, the second most important architectural characteristic of Dong villages are the Drum Towers.

The Drum Towers

These incredible pyramid structures on stilts can be quite stunning, with beautifully carved statues and images of gods and musicians. Once used to warn the villages of impending danger, they now serve as a kind of communal hall, where locals gather to chat, play cards and enjoy a drink. And from what we saw, they can get pretty drunk!

There are plenty of hiking opportunities around Chengyang, taking you past many Wind and Rain Bridges, big and small, and through numerous Dong villages, all with their respective Drum Towers.

Chengyang Bridge and the surrounding Dong villages: The Villages

The village right by Chengyang bridge is called Ma’an and from here you can embark on a round walk that passes through two other villages, called Pingzai and Yanzai.

Around the Bridge and in Ma’an you may get accosted by Dong ladies, trying to sell you the purple ethnic jackets and embroidered halter tops that are typical in this region, but in the other villages there is nothing touristy whatsoever.

Overall, the Dong people seem pretty impervious to foreigners, neither being overly friendly, nor shy. During our stroll through the villages we came across a funeral and a jam session with long bamboo flutes, another Dong specialty, and on both occasions our presence didn’t cause a stir.

We can only hope that mass tourism, Chinese style, won’t wreak havoc on their culture.

Chengyang Practicalities

Before crossing the bridge you have to buy an entrance ticket, which at that time cost a mere 8 Yuan, and which also gives you access to the eight surrounding Dong villages. Once you have got your ticket, you can stay as long as you like.

Accommodation and Food:

We stayed at the atmospheric Chengyang Bridge National Hostel, a weathered wooden structure with a large veranda, right next to the Chengyang Bridge. Rooms are nice, with large beds covered in mosquito netting and views over the river and the waterwheels. Bathrooms are shared, but clean. One word of warning: arachnophobes, such as Margie, may be unpleasantly surprised by the large, fast-moving spiders that tend to hang out in the bathrooms!

Food at the hostel is simple but good and the covered veranda is a great place to enjoy evening beers and meals. Simple snacks are available in some of the villages as well.

The friendly and helpful owner of the hostel, who calls himself Lao Wu, is an excellent source of information on what to do in the area. Among other things, he can provide you with hand-drawn maps and instructions for walks. He also hires out his minivan for excursions, or to take people to the bus station.

Onward Travel:

If you are heading to Zhaoxing, there is a direct bus leaving from Songjiang at 6.30 am. The owner of the hostel may give you a lift to Songjiang to catch this bus for around 40 Yuan, especially if he is going into town to pick up supplies.

If you wish to stay longer and explore some of the other Dong villages in the area, then Songjiang is the best base from which to reach them.

Update

These days Roads are better and faster. Furthermore there is now a highspeed rail link joining these areas. Incredible when you think about it; 20 years ago this was an exotic off the beaten track experience.

We would love to know if the Chengyang Bridge National Hostel still exists?

Discovering a Hidden Gem: Fenghuang

Fenghuang 凤凰 (finding hidden gems)

Discovering a hidden gem is one of the great motivations for travelling off-the-beaten-track in China. After hours of bouncing up and down on an uncomfortable overcrowded bus along bumpy pot holed roads you find yourself in small town China where little has changed for years and the old architecture is still intact.

What’s the catch? Sometimes you find that half of China has got there before you! Way back in 2003 and the year of SARS, we thought we had found a hidden Gem only to discover the Chinese were keeping it a secret from foreigners. Welcome to the stunning riverside town of Fenghuang 凤凰 in Hunan Province 湖南.

Click here for the Southern Great Wall near Fenghuang

Finding Fenghuang 凤凰(Phoenix City)

It was one of those early evenings in small-town China in 2001; we’d already eaten and the after dinner entertainment options were conspicuous by their absence. The only fall-back was to retire to our room with a few beers and watch CCTV9, the mildly interesting English Language Channel. We tuned in to ‘Around China’, a cultural and travel programme dedicated to the promotion of traditional and/or exotic aspects of Chinese culture. On the programme, they were discussing a type of opera that was only found in a remote town in Hunan Province whose name I couldn’t catch.

Discovering a Hidden Gem: FenghuangBoatman Punting Fenghuang 2003 — Discovering a Hidden Gem: Fenghuang boatman punting Fenghuang 2003

We were immediately drawn to the screen, wondering, ‘where is this stunning place with covered bridges, ancient houses on stilts and pagodas?’ At the end of the clip， I managed to catch its name, ‘Fenghuang’. Grabbing the guidebook， I tried to find it, but there was no such town. We decided to look for more information about this elusive Fenghuang so that，if one day the opportunity arose, we could visit it.

Boatman looking for tourists Fenghuang 2003

This opportunity eventually came in 2003

This opportunity eventually came in 2003. We were travelling from Anshun in Guizhou province (famous for the Huangguoshu Falls as well as its Sunday Market) to the natural wonders of Zhangjiajie in Hunan province, when we realised that our train was actually stopping very close to Fenghuang. So we decided to break up our journey and satisfy our curiosity.

Under the bridge Fenghuang 2003

Arriving at the bus station in the dark, after a beautiful three-hour ride from the rail junction of Huaihua, we were at a loss as to where we might sleep. Fortunately, there was Mrs Li with some flattering photos of a room in her house. Without too much fuss， we agreed on 60 yuan for a double with shower. We followed Mrs Li into the warren of narrow streets that make up Fenghuang’s old city, our bulky backpacks attracting some curious stares from the passers-by.

Eventually, we arrived at Mrs Li’s house and even though the room, and especially the bathroom, didn’t quite match what we had seen in the photos, tiredness and lack of orientation resigned us to staying.

Discovering a Hidden Gem: Fenghuang. A Hidden Gem No More

When we ventured out of our room the next morning, we were expecting to find an undiscovered gem. Fenghuang’s remote location in the far west of Hunan, bordering on Guizhou, as well as its absence from all guidebooks, had led us to imagine we would have the whole city to ourselves.

Imagine our surprise then, when we found that Chinese domestic tourism had already arrived in the so-called Phoenix City (Fenghuang means Phoenix and according to legend two of these sacred birds flew over the city in ancient times) in a big way, complete with tourist guides armed with flags and megaphones, leading their charges from one scenic spot to another… Though Fenghuang might be a gem, undiscovered it certainly was not! Perhaps, the Chinese had just been keeping it a secret from foreigners. Nevertheless, the town is still far from overrun and the majority of Chinese tourists are students, many of them art students, who spend their time painting the famous sights and river scenes.

A number of shops catering for the growing tourist industry have sprung up along the cobbled main street, set in attractive wooden houses. While many of these sell the usual knick-knacks that can be found at tourists sights all over China, others sell high quality batiks and attractive ethnic clothing. Another speciality are the sweets that are made in the streets and sold in very attractive packages. The spicy ginger sweets are the best we’ve ever tried.

Discovering a Hidden Gem: Fenghuang. History and Background

Fenghuang has a long history. It was an imperial garrison town serving the dual purpose of keeping a watchful eye on the restless Miao and protecting the salt route. Fenghuang owed its prosperity to the salt trade in which it played a pivotal role. Many of the grand merchant mansions were built from the profits derived from this trade.

The population of Fenghuang is a mixture of Han Chinese and Miao and Tujia ethnic groups. Contrary to the official view point, the relationship between the majority Han Chinese and the Miao has not always been harmonious. During the 1850’s， a huge rebellion by the Miao in this area saw them pitted against the imperial soldiers in a fight that cost millions of lives. Clashes between Han Chinese and the Miao continued right up to the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. The Southern Great Wall passed close to Fenghuang and its remains are a testament to the fierce struggle between Imperial China and China’s ethnic groups.

Discovering a Hidden Gem: Fenghuang. Fenghuang’s Attractions

Once we’d recovered from our initial shock at finding the town full of tourists, we set out to discover what had brought them all here.

First of all, there is Fenghuang’s setting and scenery. Lying in a scenic valley, surrounded by lush green hills, with a placid clear river running through its centre, Fenghuang is the archetypal image of a classical ancient Chinese town. The architecture in the historical part of town is an interesting mixture of Ming and Qing dynasty wooden and stone houses, with some local Miao minority influences adding to its uniqueness.

There are narrow lanes, old gates and ramparts. A large section of the old city wall has been restored and provides great views over the rooftops, the town and the river. The most striking buildings, many of which have been converted into atmospheric restaurants and bars, overhang the river and are propped up on wooden stilts. During the day, you can appreciate the outlines of the houses reflected in the green-blue waters of the river, at sunset the river takes on an orange hue, while at night hundreds of little lights shine on its black surface.

Discovering a Hidden Gem: Fenghuang. The Sights

Then there are the sights, although it has to be said that the first of these, the ‘Hongqiao’ covered bridge, is a bit of a let-down. The bridge, which is said to be about 300 years old, looks spectacular from a distance. However, a closer inspection reveals that the top part is a new construction and serves as a shopping centre with tacky souvenir stalls and an entertainment arcade.

More interestingly, you can visit a number of old mansions around the town, built by ancient aristocratic and merchant families. Some of these buildings are very atmospheric and contain detailed carvings, antique furniture, shady courtyards, as well as theatre stages where Fenghuang opera, known as Yangxi opera, used to be performed. Yangxi opera has its roots in Shamanism and local Miao customs and operas were often staged to ward off plagues and famines.

Discovering a Hidden Gem:Shen Congwen

One of the mansions open to the public once belonged to the famous writer Shen Congwen, known for combining the vernacular style of writing with classical Chinese writing techniques. Shen Congwen based many of his stories on the local traditions and customs from around this western area of Hunan and portrayed the violent clashes between the Chinese and the local Miao ethnic group. You can visit his tomb by taking a pleasant walk away from the town, along the river and past some pagodas and temples.

Old Still lived in Courtyard Fenghuang 2003

If you get tired of walking around, there is an alternative way of viewing Fenghuang, which is to hire a small boat, punted by a man with a huge bamboo pole. Many Chinese spend hours going up and down the river, knocking back ‘baijiu’ (Chinese rice wine) and generally making merry. At night, these boats have lanterns hanging from their roofs, making it all look very romantic.

Discovering a Hidden Gem: Fenghuang. Practicalities

Transport:

Fenghuang used to be accessible only by bus. There are three approches from to the town. If you are heading to or from the nature reserve at Zhangjiajie, then you need to use the town of Jishou. There are regular buses between Fenghuang and Jishou. If you are going to Zhangjiajie, you need to catch the first bus at 6.30 from Fenghuang to Jishou (2hrs), in order to catch the first train from Jishou to Zhangjiajie at 9.08. A hard seat ticket costs 22 Yuan. The bus from Fenghuang drops you at the opposite end of Jishou from the train station and a taxi to the station is probably the best option, if you want to get a train ticket.

There are also regular buses from the railhead town of Huaihua on the Changsha – Guiyang rail line. It is a beautiful two and half hour ride.

Finally, there are buses from Fenghuang to Tongren in Guizhou, for those wishing to climb Fanjing Shan.

Update

Times have changed. Fenghuang is soon to be on the high speed rail network, so getting there will be a whole lot easier; for better or for worse!

Fenghuang should be added to China’s high speed network this year (2021) making it very easy to get to Fenghuang from most places in China.

It will be part of the Zhangjiajie / Huaihua high speed line.

Places to Stay:

We stayed in a family guest house on the edge of the old city, where we paid only 60 Yuan for a clean room with (primitive) bathroom. After we had checked in, we discovered several modern hotel options in the new town, as well as a whole string of atmospheric wooden Inns (Kezhan) by the river. These cheap hotels are basic but clean and many rooms have balconies overlooking the river.

Places to eat:

You wont see this now Reatuarant staff washing your veggies in the river Fenghuang 2003 — You won’t see this now: restaurant staff washing your veggies in the river Fenghuang 2003

My Favourite Miao Restaurant fenghuang 2003 — My Favourite Miao Restaurant Fenghuang 2003

If you haven’t been to Guizhou, Fenghuang is a good place to try Miao dishes, especially the hot and sour chicken, or hot and sour fish. We particularly liked one excellent restaurant just off the old main street, run by a friendly young couple. It is recognizable by the huge selection of fresh vegetables outside and the cured meats hanging in the front window (See photo).

Margie having a beer in a riverside tavern Fenghuang 2003

They do a great sweet and sour cat fish as well as good vegetarian dishes. Lastly, in the modern town there is a night market that has a good selection of snacks and local specialities.

The Southern Great Wall

The Southern Great Wall 南长城 or the Miaojiang Great Wall苗疆长城: The Miao Frontier Wall

Rebuilding the past: The new old or the old new

The Southern Great Wall (sometimes known as the THE MIAOJIANG GREAT WALL 苗疆长城: THE MIAO FRONTIER WALL) lies a few kilometers outside the beautiful historic town of Fenghuang in Western Hunan Province.

Set in lush green coutryside, the wall snakes its way through farm land and climbs up and over steep and verdant hills. But what is the Southern Great Wall? Most people have never heard of it!

THE SOUTHERN GREAT WALL and restoring China’s past

I have never figured out how to adequately describe the way the Chinese authorities attempt to preserve China’s past.

The Southern Great Wall An older stretch of the Southern Wall — An older stretch of the Southern Great Wall

Techniques range from the painstaking and meticulous restoration of ancient artefacts and burial sites (think the Terracotta Warriors), to the naffest styles you can imagine.

Waiting for the wrecking ball; the old city of Datong

Sometimes entire ancient villages or ancient city centers are bulldozed down and then rebuilt in the same style using shoddy materials and guady add ons.

The old city of Datong 大同 in Shanxi山西 is a good example of this type of so-called restoration. If you look carefully at the above picture, you can see two yellow Chinese characters next the gate. The characters say ‘Gucheng 古城, which means ancient city. They are ready to be placed above the newly built old gate built over looking what used to be old Datong.

Then there are the cities that build a new historic centre when they never had one in the first place (Bayon Hot).

The New Gate surrounding the new old city of Bayonhot Inner Mongolia — The New Gate surrounding the new old city of Bayonhot Inner Mongoli啊

Another restorative approach is to rebuild almost from scratch, a monument or building that disappeared or crumbled away a long time ago, and try to retore it back to its former splendor. Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold, and some modern restoring materials do not make the grade. The latter is definetly true for the Southern Great Wall or the Miaojiang Frontier Great Wall near Fenghuang.

The Southern Great Wall: A brief History

The Southern Great Wall was originally built in the 16^th century during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1573-1620). Its purpose? To keep the rebellious Miao 苗族, Tujia 土家族 and Dong 侗族 minorities from causing trouble. And at the same time preventing them from disrupting the lucrative trading routes such as the salt trade, that made Fenghuang such a prosperous city.

The Miao minority was particularly notorious for robbing merchants and raiding military outposts. Some say that the wall’s raison d’etre was to separate two types of Miao. The Raw Miao生苗; those Miao who refused to recognise the rule of the emperor. And the Mature Miao熟苗; those who did recognise and submit to the emperor’s rule.

Recreating the Southern Great Wall

Stretching for 190 kilometers, the Southern Great Wall basically separated what is now Guizhou Province from Hunan Province. The word Jiang 疆 in the wall’s other name, Miaojiang Changcheng (The Great Miao Frontier Wall), means frontier, and shows that this area was on the very fringes of the Chinese Empire at the time.

When the Ming Dynasty collapsed, the Miao destoyed the wall, the original parts you can see these days are remnants of the Qing Dynasty’s efforts to rebuild it. I say original parts, because most of what you see now was rebuilt between 2001 and 2003; exactly when we visited.

Recreating the Southern Great Wall Hunan China — Recreating the Southern Great Wall

We can testify that, while the wall is quite spectacular, what you are walking on is an almost completely new creation, covered with a grey spray to give it that ancient look.

While we were there, we witnessed hundreds of labourers beavering away and recreating the wall practically from scratch. However, there was one major problem: the quality of the materials. It is a pity that even after a few months, some of the shoddily built new parts were already falling apart. They definitely employed superior materials in bygone times. And The Chinese emperors maintained more vigorous quality control checks than today’s authorities.

Not in good shape. Shoddy building the Southern Great Wall

Walking the Wall

The 45 Yuan entrance ticket (2003) allows you to roam freely along the wall. If you are lucky, you’ll have a steep undulating 2 to 3 kilometre stretch of wall pretty much to yourself (2003). However, in recent years, Fenghuang has become a major Chinese domestic tourist hotspot. I think you may now share this section with the hordes of day trippers from Fenghuang.

A sweaty Adam with the only other tourists

An authentic old village at the end of the wall

At the end of the wall you will come to an attractive black-stone village, with low medieval-looking houses, which is worth a wander around. Don’t be surprised, however, if someone jumps out with a ticket demanding 10 Yuan for the privilege of visiting.

Most of the villagers earn a living by cultivating chillies and corn. There are piles of extremely long chilies (maybe Thunder Mountain Chillies: the longest in the world) drying in every available space.

A more recent occupation for some of the younger villages was labouring on the reconstruction of the wall.

Villagers rebuilding the Sothern Great Wall

Tang dynasty fort, Huangsi Qiao

A little further afield is the Tang dynasty fort, Huangsi Qiao, on the border with Guizhou province. The fort is a bit of a let-down, a couple of crumbling watch towers and a sturdy wall encircling a small surviving hamlet. The only reason to traipse out there is to enjoy the views of the enchanting countryside and admire the isolated beacon towers on the hilltops, stretching away into Guizhou province.

Practicalities (with updates)

Transport:

The Southern Great Wall

We jumped off a bus running between Fenghuang and HuangSi Qiao. Then flagged down a local bus to return to Fenghuang.

Fenghuang

Fenghuang used to be only accessible by bus (see update for new info). It could be approached from three directions. If you are heading to or from the nature reserve at Zhangjiajie, then you need to use the town of Jishou. There are regular buses between Fenghuang and Jishou (see update for new info).

In the past If you were going to Zhangjiajie, you needed to catch the first bus at 6.30 from Fenghuang to Jishou (2hrs), in order to catch the first train from Jishou to Zhangjiajie at 9.08. The bus from Fenghuang dropped you at the opposite end of Jishou from the train station and a taxi to the station was probably the best option, if you wanted to get a train ticket.

There are also regular buses from the railhead town of Huaihua on the Changsha – Guiyang rail line. It is a beautiful two and half hour ride.

Finally, there are buses from Fenghuang to Tongren in Guizhou, for those wishing to climb Fanjing Shan.

Updates

Fenghuang should be added to China’s high speed network this year (2021) making it very easy to get to Fenghuang from most places in China.

It will be part of the Zhangjiajie / Huaihua high speed line.

Places to Stay:

Update: There are now loads of very nice places to stay in Fenghuang.

Adam's favourite Fenghuang Restaurant — Adam’s favourite Fenghuang Restaurant

Places to eat:

The riverside restaurants serve excellent food. Lots of them are point and choose joints, where the chef will cook up something wonderful, from your choice of ingredients. The tiny fried shrimps and small fried fish with chilli are particularly good. If you haven’t been to Guizhou, Fenghuang is a good place to try Miao dishes, especially the hot and sour chicken, or hot and sour fish.

Moreover, there is (was???) one excellent restaurant just off the old main street run by a friendly young couple. It is recognizable by the huge selection of fresh vegetables outside and the cured meats hanging in the front window (See Photo). They do a great sweet and sour cat fish as well as good vegetarian dishes. Lastly, in the modern town there is a night market that has a good selection of snacks and local specialities.

Zhaoxing: The Ultimate Dong Village

Zhaoxing: Updated travel info and new (old) photos.

Zhaoxing 肇兴镇 (2003)

Zhaoxing: The Ultimate Dong Village. Having a chat

Zhaoxing, the ultimate Dong village is must for anyone interested in Dong minority architecture and culture. And even if Zhaoxing has become somewhat tamer and more touristy since we visited, it is still a gem you cannot miss if you are travelling in these parts.

Zhaoxing: The Ultimate Dong Village: About the black and white photos

These are real black and white photos taken using a cheap black and white film i picked up in Beijing. The colour photos are from later in the day and the following day after changing rolls.

Zhaoxing: The Ultimate Dong Village. All aboard!

The ride from Songjiang to Zhaoxing takes around 5 hours: first the road hugs the shores of a broad river with quite a bit of river traffic, before becoming an unsealed road that winds its way up and down over the mountains (see update at the end of the article). There are ample vistas of shiny, undulating rice terraces, narrow valleys, distant drum towers and covered bridges.

Zhaoxing: The Ultimate Dong Village in black and white

Zhaoxing is one of the few towns in China whose beauty you will never forget. It’s a traditional Dong town, entirely built of wood, with 5 drum towers, an equal number of theatre stages and arcaded streets.

Zhaoxing: The Ultimate Dong Village

In 2003 the town remained completely intact and authentic; there wasn’t a white tile building in sight (apart from the local school on the edge of down), nor had they carried out any of those tacky reforms aimed at the tourist trade. There were just a couple of guesthouses, small restaurants and one or two tasteful shops, selling antiques, rustic farm implements and ethnic clothes.

The town is extremely compact with a clearly defined beginning and end. The main street is bustling with vegetable and meat stalls and there are chillies everywhere; fresh chillies, chillies being dried, pounded, ground or preserved.

Grinding Thunder Mountain Chillies in Zhaoxing Guizhou — Grinding *Thunder Mountain Chillies in Zhaoxing Guizhou*

Update 1: Thunder Mountain chillies

Since our vist to Zhaoxing I have become a great fan of chillies and cultivating them too. Looking again at these photos I am more and more convinced that the chillies they are selling are the famous Thunder Mountain (Leigong Shan) Chillies grown in Guizhou. They are said to be the longest chillies in the world and their seeds are sought after by chilli freaks like me. My only doubt is that they look a little thicker than Thunder Mountain Chillies,

Thunder Mountain chillies on sale in Zhaoxing Guizhou — Thunder Mountain Chillies on sale in Zhaoxing Guizhou

There is a busy traffic of carts, pulled by shiny, well looked-after little horses, bringing in fresh produce. Villagers from the surrounding countryside are ferried into town in jam-packed minivans, or piled high on pick-up trucks.

Set back from the main street there are several squares, some centred around imposing and elaborately decorated Drum Towers, others set by small theatre stages where local opera performances still take place, especially in June.

Zhaoxing theatre and Dong lady with basket

Zhaoxing: The Ultimate Dong Village: Chilling Out

Locals, mostly elderly people and grannies looking after babies, occupy the benches underneath the Drum Towers, or lining the streets, and while away the hours.

One of the funniest sights we saw, was an old man un-harnessing his horse in front of his little house, unlocking the door and walking straight in … with the animal!

As for its surroundings, Zhaoxing is set in a deep valley, enclosed by rice terraces and forests on all sides.

As in many parts of Guizhou, especially in summer, the sky is often dull and grey, which lends a slightly gloomy atmosphere to the countryside. Yet, occasionally a ray of sunlight breaks through the clouds and ignites the rice paddies into a blaze of bright green, completely transforming the ambience.

Climbing up the rice terraces behind Zhaoxing, you will be rewarded with marvellous views over the whole town. This way, you’ll be able to fully appreciate its completeness and uniqueness.

For further exploration, there are many paths leading out of the village towards other, smaller, but equally beautiful Dong settlements such as Jitang and Tang’an. The local guesthouses can provide maps and recommendations for hikes to surrounding villages.

Zhaoxing practicalities:

Accommodation and Food:

We stayed at Lulu’s Homestay, a small hostel run by a friend of the owner of the Chengyang Bridge National Hostel and located right behind one of the Drum Towers. He must have rung ahead, as the daughter of Mr Lu, who spoke a little English, was waiting for us at the bus stop when we arrived.

Zhaoxing Map of walks and other Dong Villages given to us by Mr Lu — Zhaoxing Map of walks and other Dong Villages Given to us by Mr Lu

Rooms in the three-storey wooden house are clean and simple, with a shared bathroom, and internet access is available. The family also made very good food, with plenty of fresh vegetables and large portions. They were in the process of building a much larger wooden guesthouse, just a few doors away.

At the time there was another, more upmarket hostel, with a restaurant and a shop selling ethnic clothing and souvenirs, near the main street.

Onward Travel & Update:

In 2003 we continued from Zhaoxing to Kaili. To do this we took an early morning bus, at approximately 7 o’clock to Liping (one to one and a half hours) and then changed buses for Kaili, which took another eight hours.

However, we could have interrupted our journey in Rongjiang – a town we finally ended up visiting this summer – in 2007.

Travel Update

Old Zhaoxing Residents under the main drum tower

The high-speed train that runs between Guangzhou and Guiyang makes getting to Zhaoxing faster. The closest stops are Sanjiang or Congjiang. Congjiang station is much closer and is less than 10 kms way from Zhaoxing. Regular buses connect Conjiang Railway Staion to Zhaoxing and cost around 2 Yuan.

From Sanjiang there is a toll road motorway that reduces travelling time to around one and a half hours. Buses may take longer as the usually take the old road to stop at other towns along the way. I fondly remmeber the 5 hour ride in 2003 as it passed through some beautiful river and mountain scenery.

BACK TO GUIZHOU PROVINCE

Yangmei: So near yet so far!

Yangmei : Guanxi’s Ancient Banana Town

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Province

Yangmei: So near yet so far! Only 30 kilometres separate the modern, green and dynamic city of Nanning, capital of the Zhuang Autonomous Province of Guangxi, from the ancient village of Yangmei. However, the differences between the two places are so great that they might as well exist on other planets.

The smart motorway leaving Nanning runs out after about 10 kilometres, when the buses takes an abrupt turn into a country lane. The rest of the journey takes an incredible 2 hours, as the bus passes through local markets, gets stuck in a traffic jam of three-wheeled motorcycle rickshaws, makes a slow river crossing on a rusty ferry and stops at every village on the way, delivering passengers and parcels.

Yangmei: So near yet so far! It takes a long time to get there

The scenery is rural and pretty. Most of the people in this area belong to the ethnic group of the Zhuang, which is virtually indistinguishable from the majority Han Chinese, both in physical appearance and dress. They earn their livelihood from the cultivation of sugar cane and bananas. You can see ample evidence of the latter as the bus makes its way through the endless plantations that stretch along both sides of the road for as far as the eye can see.

Yangmei might have been like many other rural villages in China, abandoned by its population, heading for the cities, and fallen into oblivion. Fortunately, Yangmei has been saved by its incredible collection of Ming and Qing courtyard houses in grey brick and its fantastic setting on the bend of a river, amidst sub-tropical countryside.

What is even more incredible is that so far it hasn’t been converted into some kind of Qing-Ming dynasty theme park, like so many other, once beautiful and charming villages in China.

Yangmei: So near yet so far! Authentic Character

For the moment, the village preserves its authentic character; local people still live in many of the buildings you can visit and the majority of the population is involved in agriculture, rather than the tourist trade.

A couple of grannies selling hand-sewn miniature shoes and stuffed, cloth butterflies and a couple of open-air restaurants by the river, seem to be Yangmei’s main concession to tourism.

The village has no great sights as such. It is just a nice place to wander around for a few hours and soak up a bit of the old China. Wooden signs show visitors where to find the old Ming and Qing dynasty mansions, tucked away down narrow alleys, or set around lotus ponds. Many of Yangmei’s early residents came from Shandong Province which is why a lot of the old Ming and Qing buildings were built in the sturdy northern style.

Local people, most of them advanced in years, congregate in the courtyards or the village’s small flagstone squares, where they smoke pipes and play Mah-jong. Some try their luck at fishing in the ponds.

Apart from the mansions, there are also a number of temples scattered around, most of them undergoing serious restoration, as they were badly damaged during the Cultural Revolution.

Being Imortalized in Yangmei

The Confucian temple, just outside the village, seems to have discovered a novel way of collecting funds for its renovation, by offering visitors the opportunity to be immortalized on its memorial plaques.

For ten Yuan you can have your name and country engraved in a slab of black marble by a venerable old grandfather in a blue peasant jacket, Mao style, and thick spectacles. These plaques are then used to cover the walls and doors of the temple, providing a kind of stone visitors’ book.

After a few hours of wandering around, one tends to get a bit peckish. Near the river there are a couple of family-run restaurants that specialize in local products.

Yangmei: So near yet so far! What to eat

River fish is the favourite and can be cooked in a number of ways. The tasty food, cold beer and shady riverside location all make for a pleasant way to while away the rest of the afternoon, until it’s time to catch the last bus back to Nanning at four o’clock sharp.

If you like bananas, you should do what all visitors from Nanning do and stock up on a couple of bunches! Another famous local product are the pots of homemade pickles that can turn the ride back to Nanning into a rather pungent experience.

Coming and Going:

Buses for Yangmei leave from an obscure small local bus station in Nanning, about ten minutes from the train station. Walk down Chaoyang Lu, go past the Yinhe Hotel, go down one block, take the first street on the right and then turn right again, into Huaqiang Lu: the bus station is next to house number 198. Buses seemed to leave every 1½ hours, with the first one at 8.50. The last bus back to Nanning is at 16.00. Count on about two hours for the 30km trip.

Places to stay:

We saw at least one basic local guesthouse that would probably be okay for a night. Moreover, a new small hotel, in keeping with the local style of architecture, looked as if it would be opening soon.

Places to eat:

The restaurants by the river offer the best eating possibilities. Good fresh fish, taken straight from the tanks, is the best choice. Meat eaters might like to try the local chickens, all of which looked pretty big and healthy.

Back to Guangxi Province

Mysterious Mugecuo Lake

Mysterious Mugecuo Lake is located around 25 kilometres to the north of Kanding, in China’s Sichuan Province. At a height of 3700 metres above sea level it is actually one of the highest lakes in this part of Sichuan. Mugecuo is a really a series of small lakes, that has become collectively known as Mugecuo.

The road up to the lake is beautiful, especially the final part that follows a gushing river. One spot on the way up marks the scenic place that inspired the writing of the famous Kangding Love Song.

Mysterious Mugecuo Lake: Enshrouded in Mist

Once you enter the lake area you find yourself in a mystic and magical landscape that is more often than not, enshrouded in a deep impenetrable mist. The lakes are encircled by pine forests, huge cedars and ancient gnarled trees, with ´hairy´ threads of vegetation hanging off them. Furthermore, there are forests of rhododendron trees everywhere.

The day we visited a swirling mist had surged up from the lake causing the water to take on a deep dark green menacing look. Occasionally the mist would break, and for a few seconds the lake became a placid and friendly blue green.

As you hike around the lake, you’ll bump in to nomads on horse back. Some of these nomads set up temporary settlements near the lakes with some refreshments tents during in the high season.

Coming and Going:

There is no public transport; you can hire a taxi from Kanding for about 200 Yuan. Make sure you are prepared for abrupt changes in temperature and weather; it can snow here even in summer.

Our driver was a rather drunk- jolly fellow and nearly killed us all when returning to Kangding. We forgave him a as nothing happened.

These days Mugecuo lake is more touristy than when we visited. However, most day tippers stick to the entrance area. There are plenty of hiking opportunities and if you take your own equippment and just keep going , you’ll end up on the Taggong Grasslands. Be aware, the mist and the thick forest make getting lost a real possibilitity!

A trip to Wase Market

Wase Market 挖色 Lake Erhai

A trip to Wase Market held every 5 days is a fantastic off the beaten track excursion if you are passing through Erhai Hu Yunnan Province.

A trip to Wase Market Melon seller — Melon seller Wase Market

Getting to Wase from Xizhou 喜洲

Getting to the Saturday market at the Bai village of Wase wasn’t as easy as we had first thought. Most people in Xizhou , the town on the opposite side of Lake Erhai where we were staying, had told us that there was no ferry and that we should try to get to Wase by hopping on and off the numerous buses that go around the lake.

To make matters more complicated, none of the locals agreed as to whether it was better to go round the North, or the South way. Only the owner of the Golden Flower Restaurant on the central square of Xizhou was convinced that there was a boat.

On Saturday we got up early and tried our luck on the road, waving our arms energetically at any north-bound bus, but to no avail. In desperation, we tried asking about the ferry again. The first man I approached categorically denied the existence of any boat.

A second man was equally adamant that there was indeed a boat, and he was backed up by a number of local Bai women, who happened to be passing by. According to them, there was a ferry leaving at 9.00 from the pier at the village we thought was called Huoyijia, about 2 kilometres away. I think now the village was called Jiangshan Cun.

The pier at the village of Huoyijia or Jiangshan Cun? — *The pier at the village of Huoyijia* or Jiangshan Cun?

“How do we get there?” I asked with a certain urgency, because it was by now 8.50! They called over a young man on a motorbike with a trailer behind. We quickly agreed on a price and hopped on.

Scenery Near Huoyijia or jiangshan cun — Scenery Near Huoyijia or Jiangshan Cun

A trip to Wase Market: Missing the Boat

Unfortunately, the dirt road from Xizhou to Huoyijia/Jiangshan Cun is nothing but a series of bumps and craters; in short, more dirt than road. In order for the trailer not to overturn, the driver had to engage in endless manoeuvres, which reduced our speed to a snail’s pace.

Soon we found ourselves being overtaken by smiling children and cheerful old ladies on bicycles. If there was such a thing as a boat, only unpunctuality would help us catch it!

At 9.07 our trailer finally made it to the quay, where we could only stand and stare in disillusionment and disbelief at the ferry, fading away into the distance across the lake. It was a classical example of the implacable working of ‘Murphy’s Law’! It would eventually take a further two hours, two buses and a taxi, following the southern route this time, to get to Wase, and its lively and interesting Saturday Market.

A trip to Wase Market: Brushing Shoulders with the Bai

We were dropped off at the top of a narrow alley, leading into town. The alley was chock-a-block with fruit sellers and donkey parking lots, with piles of wooden yokes and saddles stacked up breast high.

When we managed to shoulder our way through the crowds, we emerged onto a large square, near the boat pier, with hundreds of stalls, mostly selling an amazing array of fruit and vegetables. The only souvenir stalls in town, selling batiks and ethnic embroidery, are located here as well.

The square is a buzzing, but friendly hive of activity, with hundreds of colourful Bai women pushing and shoving backwards and forwards, using the huge wicker baskets they carry on their backs as buffers.

A trip to Wase Market: A lot of Haggling

Cries of haggling fill the air as produce is picked up, inspected and either exchanged for money, or tossed contemptuously back onto the pile it came from.

As usual, men seem to be in short supply; they are mainly found peacefully smoking a pipe, or playing cards in one of the packed restaurants on either side of the square.

Moving on from the square, the market continues down the main street for at least another kilometre. Here you can stock up on household goods, such as plastic buckets, scoops and ladles, iron woks and other cooking pots and pans, wicker baskets, brooms, colourful balls of wool and lengths of cloth.

More exotic items include the embroidered parts of headdresses and belts, embroidered shoes, silver jewellery, or even wedding dresses.

For all the variety, there was one item we missed at Wase market: the large, odd shaped bamboo fish traps that abounded around Lake Erhai, fifteen years ago. Perhaps they have been replaced by the more modern nylon fishing nets that we often saw stretched out along the lake shore.

Apart from the stalls, there is the usual varied collection of street artisans and other ‘professionals’, such as dentists, hairdressers and ear cleaners. Eventually the market finishes at a small animal market where chickens and pigs come to meet their end.

Ghost shopping.

What is curious about this market is that it not only provides for the living, but for the ghosts of the dead as well. There are several stalls selling paper clothes, shoes, houses and other luxury articles; all presumably meant to make ‘life’ in the after world more pleasant. One stall in particular was selling the most exquisite miniature paper shoes, and the Bai ladies were buying them by the bag-full.

At one point we were drawn away from the main street by a large group of middle-aged and ancient ladies, sitting on wooden benches, singing and tapping small wooden instruments.

To one side, there were several other grannies, busy folding and burning coloured pieces of paper. When we asked them what they were doing they explained that they were singing, or praying, to the dead and burning prayers. It was apparently the auspicious and appropriate time of the month for doing this.

Practicalities:

Location: Wase is situated on the eastern side of Lake Erhai, about 350 kilometres north of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Apparently, the Wase market used to take place every 5 days, but it is now held on Saturday mornings, and runs well into the afternoon.

A trip to Wase Market buying eggplants — Buying Eggplants

Besides the obvious attraction of the market, the town is full of wonderful traditional Bai homes and mansions, characterised by their sturdy adobe walls and painted doorways.

There are numerous other markets in the various Bai villages around Lake Erhai. The most famous and popular is the Monday market at Shaping, about 33 kilometres from Dali.

Even in January 1991, Shaping market was already pretty touristy, though interesting. These days, Wase’s Saturday market hasn’t been swamped by the tourist hordes from Dali yet.

Coming and Going

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Erhai-lake-and-temple4-1024x759.jpg

By Boat:

we can personally vouch for the existence of a boat that leaves from the pier at Huoyijia village / jiangshan Cun, on the western side of the lake near Xizhou, at 9.00 on Saturdays (at least in 2006 it existed). According to locals, it departs again sometime between 12.00 and 14.00.

People in Wase were far from unanimous in confirming that the last boat returns to Huoyijia / Jiangshan Cun at 17.00. We didn’t stay around to risk it, as the last bus back to Xiaguan is at 16.00. If you are staying in Dali, you might be able to organise a boat over (we saw one tour group getting to Wase that way), but expect to pay through the nose, unless you are in a large group.

By Bus:

if you are staying in Xizhou (far more recommendable than Dali), or anywhere else around the Lake, you can get to Wase by bus in both directions, though locals advised us to take the southern route via Xiaguan rather than the northern route via Jiangwei, because buses are more frequent.

The trick is to take any passing bus to Xiaguan, where you will be dropped off at the western bus station. From there, you can take a local bus or taxi (6 Yuan) to the eastern bus station, from where there are regular departures to towns and villages along the eastern part of the Lake, including Wase.

The Journey from Xiaguan to Wase takes about an hour and a half. The new road opened in 2006 means that from Haidong onwards, the bus skirts the lake shore all the way, thus avoiding the laborious inland route that climbed over and around the mountains.

As a result, the views of Lake Erhai and the Island of Putuo Dao from the bus are excellent. The last bus back to Xiaguan is at 16.00. From Xiaguan to Xizhou there are buses until at least 19.00.

Places to Eat:

After a couple of hours of wandering around, its worth stopping for lunch in one of the restaurants around the main square.

The local fish from the lake is particularly good, especially the deep-fried fish strips in batter. Some of the restaurants are quite used to dealing with foreigners, as they are frequented by tour groups, boated over in style from Dali.

Places to stay:

There is apparently a government guesthouse in Wase, though we are not sure whether we saw it. The courtyard restaurant on the left-hand side of the square (facing the water), which is where we ate, may have doubled up as a guesthouse, but we are not sure.

Bakong Tibetan Scripture Printing Lamasery Dege

Bakong Tibetan Scripture Printing Lamasery Dege is not the only reason to come to this remote area of China’s Sichuan Province. There are plenty of other things to see and do. It is however, the end of the road for non- Chinese travellers. Tibet is so close but yet so far.

A bit of a Shock on arrival

The town, we must admit, came as a bit of a shock at first. Having travelled so far, to such a remote place, only to find ourselves in yet another dusty white-tile frontier town, full of hooting traffic, smoking exhausts and blaring radios was not quite what we were expecting.

Young Monks at the Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege

The only hotel in town had even incorporated a karaoke cum disco in its rapidly deteriorating “new wing”: even though this part of the hotel was only one or two years old, there were cigarette burns in the carpets, peanut shells and pips littering the floor, and stains everywhere.

Monks houses Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege — Monks houses Dege

It wasn’t until the next day that we discovered the delights of the small old town, which houses a number of interesting and beautiful temples, converting Dege in a vibrant place, dominated by the wine-red robes of the monks and the exotic attire of the numerous pilgrims, circumambulating the temples and shrines.

Bakong Tibetan Scripture Printing Lamasery Dege

The jewel in Dege’s crown is undoubtedly the Bakong Scripture Printing Lamasery.

This monastery, whose printing press was built in 1729 and is still operative, holds an important part of Tibet’s history and heritage. The building itself is quite imposing; its walls are painted brick-red, with a decorative rim of dark-brown twigs pressed into one solid layer, while the flat roofs are topped by golden birds, bells and turrets.

Groups of wild-looking pilgrims with unkempt long braids and wrapped in Tibetan greatcoats move clockwise around the outside.

Making printing Paper Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege — Making Printing Paper

Everything Handmade

Nearby, groups of monastery workers, most of them women, their index fingers protected by leather thimbles, are busy making wood pulp from thin strips of shredded wood, while others are wetting finished sheets of paper to soften them and prepare them for use.

Inside the print, nothing much has changed for centuries: there are still over a 100 workers, more than 210,000 stored wood-block printing plates, and no mechanization to speak of; so far the monastery has even avoided electricity for fear of fire.

Print Dying Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege

The wood-block texts

The wood-block texts in the library cum storeroom include works on astronomy, Tibetan traditional medicine, geography and music, as well as important treatises on Buddhism. The most valuable item in the collection consists of 555 blocks, detailing the history of Buddhism in India, in Hindu, Urdu and Tibetan.

The oldest blocks are carved into precious woods that are no longer available. In the past, carvers were only allowed to produce one line of text a day, for reasons of clarity.

At the end of the day, their work would be remunerated by putting gold dust on the blocks and then wiping it off. All the gold that remained in the openings, lines and spaces was for the carvers. Obviously, the deeper and clearer they carved, the more they would earn.

*Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege*

The printers

The printers, who are mostly young men, work in groups of three, moving like well-oiled cogs in a machine: one of them places the paper in the wooden contraption used for printing and holds it in place, the other one inks the wood-block and presses it down on the paper.

Making Paper Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege

The third one is in charge of fetching the correct blocks, collecting and sorting the finished prints, as well as plying the printers with tea. The printed text appears quickly, at a speed of about one page every four seconds.

However, given that many of the sacred texts, such as the Tengzur, a 46,521 page collection of 14th-century scholastic commentaries on Buddhism, are extremely long, it can take one team of workers roughly a month to produce just one copy.

Painted column Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege

Bakong Tibetan Scripture Printing Lamasery Dege

In the open-air courtyards, which are surrounded by beautifully painted columns and galleries, older men are busy washing the ink off used printing blocks, mixing paint, or proofreading and checking finished texts and storing them away.

Just by being there and observing the process, you can appreciate how fragile Tibet’s heritage is. That the monastery survived the ravages of the cultural revolution is a miracle in itself!

monk *Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege*

Moreover, the fact that the whole interior of the building, the library and its irreplaceable collection of printing blocks are made of wood, make it extremely vulnerable to fire. One careless mistake or loose spark and it could all go up in smoke.

Pilgrims Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege

The vulnerability of the monastery is one of the reasons you can only visit by guided tour. Unfortunately, most of the guides are elderly men with only the most rudimentary knowledge of Mandarin, who will herd you through far too quickly.

An Amazing Guide

However, there are exceptions. We were extremely lucky to be guided by a lovely young Tibetan girl who had actually studied Tibetan culture at a Minorities University and who was completely dedicated to her work.

She explained that most of the print workers are locals who spend their whole life there, starting with the physically taxing work of printing itself, and gradually moving on to lighter tasks as they get older.

They all need to be literate, up to an extent, in order to carry out their tasks well. In winter, when work at the print comes to a standstill, due to the bitter cold which freezes the ink, and makes the printers’ hands clumsy, many of them spend time at their family farms.

We spent over two hours with her, eventually going up to the top floor where a few ancient monks were making coloured picture prints on cloth and valuable parchment, of which we purchased several, and finally climbing onto the roof, from where there are splendid views over the town. Printing blocks that have been washed are covered in yak butter and laid out to dry here.

Roof top view Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege — Roof top view

Other Monasteries in Dege

Just beyond the Bakong monastery, there are several other lamaseries that are well worth exploring: there are temples, residential blocks set in flower gardens, communal kitchens and primitive outdoor latrines. Groups of monks in flowing robes and child novices in yellow tunics and trousers move between the buildings.

Beautiful Monastery Dege — Beautiful Monastery dege

At mealtimes you can see them with their bowls and utensils in hand, lining up at the kitchens or dining halls. Overall, they are extremely friendly and welcoming and don’t seem to mind posing for the odd photo, as long as you don’t overdo it.

Stunning Tapesteries Dege — Stunning interior *Bakong Tibetan Printing Monastery Dege*

Dege Ganchen Baden Lundru Ding Temple

One of the monasteries, the Dege Ganchen Baden Lundru Ding Temple (though this seems to be just one of many names given to it), has a particularly imposing main hall with tall pillars, colourful wall hangings and thankas, big painted drums and large but serene statues of the Buddha.

Where the monastic town ends, an idyllic rustic village takes over, with Tibetan farmsteads, haystacks and vegetable patches. Beyond that, fertile fields, small streams and an endless expanse of countryside.

Dege Practicalities:

Accommodation:

At the time of writing, the best hotel in town was the “Que Er Shan”, opposite the “Dege Binguan” and run by the same management. In the “Dege Binguan”, double rooms are only Yuan 50, with pay-showers outside, while the “Que Er Shan” charges Yuan 180, no haggling admitted. Despite the slightly run-down feel of the hotel, rooms are quite large and bright, beds are comfy and the showers are piping hot at night. Just make sure your room isn’t too close to the Karaoke.

Food:

There are plenty of small, hole-in-the-wall type eateries in town, some of the best run by Han-Chinese and specialising in Sichuan food. Up on a sloping street, just above the hotel, is the “Rhong Zhong Bros Restaurant”, run by a nice young couple from Chengdu; its specialty are potato pancakes and they have a basic menu in English. Other options include Tibetan and Muslim food.

Communications:

Dege even boasts an upstairs Internet café, on the main street leading to the Bakong monastery, on the left-hand side as you are heading towards the monastery, which is popular with the younger generation. Keep your eyes open for pickpockets though.

Excursions:

The spectacular and remote Palpung Monastery (click here)

Clapped out Jeep Palpung Monastery — Clapped out Jeep

The manager of the “Que Er Shan” can help you to rent vehicles for excursions further afield. We paid Yuan 450 for an old jeep, plus driver for the day. A much more comfortable brand-new Mitsubishi would have cost us Yuan 1,000. In retrospect, given the state of the roads, plus the state of our backsides after the ride, the Mitsubishi would have been worth it.

Transport:

The Dege bus station is nothing like its Ganzi counterpart. Every time we tried to buy tickets, we had found it closed. Eventually, we asked the hotel manager of the “Que Er Shan” to book the tickets for us. Daily buses for Ganzi leave around 7 o’clock in the morning, and they are mostly old beasts. Make sure you have a reserved seat as the bus does fill up.

After Dege:

There is a daily bus to Chamdo in Tibet 7.00 but as the Tibetan border is still closed to individual travellers, your options for continuing your journey are the following:

To Baiyu 白玉

Tibet on the otherside of the Jinsha River

If you want to avoid risking the Chola Pass for a second time,you can hire a vehicle or share a mini bus from Dege to the Monastery town of Baiyu. The road follows the Jinsha Rvier with Tibet proper on the other side. The must see sight here is the Pelyul Gompa 白玉寺 (Baiyu Si) which is also a Tibetan printing monastery.

In Baiyu there is accommodation, food, and onward travel to Ganzi. If you set out early enough with your own transport (jeep), you can take in the spectacular and remote Palpung Monastery (click here).

Jinsha River seperating Sichuan from Tibet

Backtrack

You can backtrack to Ganzi and eventually make your way back to Chengdu from there. There is even a direct bus linking Ganzi to Chengdu, though we wouldn’t recommend it.

This bus leaves Ganzi at 6.15 in the morning and takes 11 hours to get to Kanding, driving steadily and without any delays. However, once you get past Kanding, night falls and road conditions worsen. We found ourselves driving down pitch-black windy mountain roads, overtaking vehicles on blind corners and going faster than even modern passenger cars. Terrified, we repeatedly shouted at the driver to slow down, to the amusement of the Chinese passengers, who didn’t seem to share our sense of doom.

Eventually, after 19 hours on the bus, the last 7 of which were extremely stressful, we pulled in at Chengdu bus station. If we ever had to do it again, we would definitely stop for the night in Kanding.

Update

The road between Kangding and Chengdu is now is much improved and the journey a breeze.

To Yushu / Serxu

Secondly, you can backtrack from Dege to Manigango and change buses, or go all the way to Ganzi if you want to be sure of a seat, or don’t fancy spending a night in Manigango.

Next you can head for Serxu, and then Yushu in Qinghai province. From there, you can make your way slowly to Xining, the capital of the province. There are some important monasteries close to Xining, such as Tongren and Ta Er Si, and the city is linked by rail to Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province. The journey only takes 4 hours on a fast train.

Finally, you might want to continue your journey by moving into Yunnan province. In order to do this, you need to get back to Kanding first. From there, you make your way to Litang, then Xiangcheng – where you most likely will have to spend the night – and eventually Zhongdian in Yunnan.

View over Zhongdian old town before the fire Destroyed it — View over Zhongdian old town before fire destroyed it.

Back to Sichuan Province

Ganzi to Manigango and onto Dege

Ganzi 甘孜 to Manigango (Manigange 马尼干戈) and onto Dege 德格 Over the Chola Pass 雀儿山

Ganzi to Manigango and onto Dege is a journey you will never forget. As the crow flies, it’s not that far from Ganzi to Dege, the last town before the Tibetan border and home to the famous Bakong Scripture Printing Lamasery. However, separating the two towns is the forbidding 5,400 meter Chola Pass 雀儿山, one of the highest roads in the world.

Setting off

Our bus set off more or less on time, and for the first couple of hours we crossed over grasslands, passing numerous villages and monastery towns. Some even had signs in English, welcoming visitors.

As we approached Manigango, after about two-and-a-half hours, the scenery became more dramatic and we could see Khampas on horse-back herding yaks, and nomad settlements dotting the pastures.

Although horses are still the predominant means of transport for the Khampas, motorbikes are gaining in popularity, even out on these remote grasslands, judging by the number of bikes whizzing past the bus with two, three and even four people on them.

Welcome to Manigango

On entering Manigango for our lunch break, the sky suddenly turned black and the heavens unleashed a tremendous downpour, which left the muddy streets even muddier.

If any town ever looked like a Wild West one-street film set, then Manigango was it. For many Sichuanese, the name Manigango is associated with wild bandits robbing and even killing Chinese and Western tourists alike.

It does appear that until recently a problem of security did exist around these parts. However, on arriving there, the town seemed quiet enough.

In August 2004, Manigango had only one mucky street, and one vile public toilet, located in a crumbling wooden shack, just off the building site for a new hotel.

Its main purpose was to serve as a kind of transport hub for travellers changing buses for Dege and Chamdo in Tibet, or heading towards Serxu and then on to Yushu in Qinghai.

There was quite a decent restaurant at the bus stop, with lots of boiling cauldrons, dishing out some rather tasty food. To get to the restaurant however, was another matter: passengers had to jump over puddles, avoid roaming yaks and run the gauntlet of an army of beggars that attached themselves to every incoming bus.

Next to the restaurant, another large hotel was under construction, most likely a sign of the times: Manigango seemed to be gearing up to becoming something of a tourist town.

Ganzi to Manigango and onto Dege

What’s more, it’s quite likely that it will succeed; the town may not be much, but the surrounding scenery is fantastic and a mere 20 kilometres away on the road to Dege is the Xinluhai lake, one of the most beautiful and pristine in China.

Xinhailu near Manigango — Sunny Xinluhai

For the time being, we were merely content to find something to eat, a place to pee – of sorts – and leave muddy Manigango and its beggars behind. The bus started to climb steadily over the grasslands, huge snow-capped mountains came into view and suddenly the Xinluhai lake appeared before us.

Ganzi to Manigango and onto Dege
Xinhailu — A wet damp Xinluhai

The lake is set in alpine meadows, dotted with pine trees, that slope steeply towards the turquoise waters. On one side, there is a dramatic backdrop of threatening grey, jagged peaks and a glacier that comes all the way down.

After the lake, the bus started the huge ascent up to the Chola Pass. Going up from Manigango is not so bad, as your bus is on the inside and you cannot see the precipice down below you. This is especially important when having to pass an oncoming truck, or overtake one that has broken down. Eventually, our packed bus crawled to the top, and all the Tibetans on board cheered and celebrated by throwing hundreds of paper prayers out of the window. We were ready to join them, having bought some in Ganzi for the occasion.

Once the bus has made it over the pass, the rest of the journey is a piece of cake. We just rolled downhill for two hours, through deep pine valleys and following gushing mountain rivers until we pulled up at the crummy bus station in downtown Dege.

Returning back over the Chola Pass in sleet and snow was far worse!

Update

Five years later we came through Manigango again on our way from Yushu (just before the earthquake) to Ganzi. Somethings had improved. We overnighted at the Manigange Pani Hotel, then still the only option. Unfornutately, this was one of the worst nights of my life as I was suffering from servere Altitude Sickness that I had come down with in Yushu. These days there are other accommodation options in Manigango that might be better than Pani Hotel.

BACK TO SICHUAN PROVINCE

The Quaintest village In China? Hongcun

“Bu kaifa, bu kaifa 不开发” it hasn’t been developed for tourism. That was our driver’s favourite motto.
So he took us to the “bu kaifa” village of Hongcun 洪村

Hongcun 洪村 (Wuyuan 婺源, Jiangxi 江西省 Province).

The quaintest Village in China might be Hongcun 洪村. Hongcun, is surrounded by drop-dead gorgeous sub-tropical scenery. It is home to some wonderful Huizhou architecture and when we visited; no tourists

From the diary

Is this the quaintest village in China? After a copious and excellent lunch, which was at a restaurant opposite a huge ancient tree and seemed to be a favourite with tourist drivers, our man ( the driver) then took us to a remote and completely ‘undeveloped (bu kaifa 不开发)’ village called Hongcun (not to be confused with its more famous namesake in Anhui near Huangshan), where there wasn’t an entrance ticket or single other tourist in sight.

The place was extremely pretty and peaceful: on the outside, a line of elegantly greying houses stood beside a clear river winding its way through the rice fields.

Stunning Hongcun Village Wuyuan

Contented-looking ducks floated on the water, bamboo poles loaded with washing swayed gently in the wind, while farmers in conical hats tended to their fields.

One of China's Most Stunning Villages: Hongcun 洪村 (Wuyuan 婺源, Jiangxi 江西省 Province)

In the narrow, shady streets towards the centre, local residents sat outside their doorways chatting, playing cards and cutting vegetables.

We found some people busy restoring a spacious wooden community hall. In fact, in spite of its lack of (tourist) development, the buildings in Hongcun were in remarkable shape and had some of the most intricate wooden carvings we’d come across.

A Relaxing Afternoon in Stunning Hongcun village

We sat down on a stone bench in the shade of a drapping tree to enjoy a lukewarm beer, bought from a hole-in-the wall shop without a fridge, and let ourselves drift into the unhurried pace of village life.

The locals, obviously not used to having foreigners in the village, eyed us up with friendly curiosity, often directing questions to our driver about who we were and what we were doing there.

One of China's Most Stunning Villages: Hongcun 洪村 (Wuyuan 婺源, Jiangxi 江西省 Province) Ancient villages of Wuyuan,

With the hearty lunch now weighing heavy on our stomachs, making us feel both comatose and soporific, we just let our driver exaggerate our importance to the villagers.

We were now distinguished professors from a great overseas university and not merely humble English teachers from a university in Madrid; the locals seemed impressed and nodded approvingly at his every Word. Our driver was lapping it up!

Normally, we would have underplayed our importance and protested our driver’s flattery, but we let it rest and everyone seemed contented. It was a perfect day and even the warm beer went down well!

Update: Hongcun has changed

As with everything in China in this century nothing withstands the changes of time and Hongcun is no exception. The village is now defiantly very Kaifa 不开发 (developed) for tourists. However, it is still beautiful and I am sure that on an off-peak day it can still be a lovely place to visit.

Some of the buildings have undergone tasteful restoration and the ancestor halls and guild halls that were being used for weaving and chili drying are now housing museums and teahouses.

Getting there and away:

Difficult when we visited. A hired car was the best option. Hongcun is located between Dazhang Mountain and Sixi and not too far from the famous Rainbow Bridge.

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