Guangxi Province 广西 Archives

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?

The Longsheng Rice Terraces

Longji Titian or Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces 龙脊梯田

The Longsheng Rice Terraces are a real marvel. These stunning rice terraces also known as the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces offer travellers a great opportunity to do some hiking and visit some fascinating minority villages. The main ethnic group here are the Zhuang, but there are also a number of Yao villages in the area.

Many of the Yao ladies still wear traditional, colourful clothes and heavy jewellery and they pride themselves on their hair, which may well be some of the longest you’ll ever see.

The Zhuang Village of Ping’an is the main village of the area, as well as the most easily accessible.

Ping'an before development — Ping’an before development

It’s is a pretty collection of wooden houses, connected by stone paths and set right in the middle of the rice terraces. When we were there, a new road was being built and a couple of new hotels were under construction, fortunately in traditional style.The Longsheng Rice Terraces:

The Longsheng Rice Terraces: Hiking

Many small paths leave from the village, going off in all directions. One of the nicest is to head up above Ping’an and walk around the high ridge, passing smaller settlements which offer spectacular views over the terraces. The contrast between the green rice paddies and the ubiquitous red chillies adds to the beauty.

The Longsheng Rice Terraces: Minority Villages

The walk from Ping’an to Dazai village makes for a great day trip. According to locals, the rice terraces at Dazai are even more impressive than those around Ping’an but, unfortunately, we never got to see them.

We were heading in that direction when we were waylaid by a local Yao lady who insisted on taking us to her village, about two thirds of the way to Dazai, for lunch.

Yao lady who kidnapped us on the way tp Dazai

The Longsheng Rice Terraces: Kidnapped for lunch goodbye Dazai

Most of the meal she picked straight from the mountainside and the bushes along the path, as she escorted us to her house, a large, rambling wooden structure on stilts.

Here we squatted on low wooden benches, scrutinised by the curious members of her family and with chickens pecking at our feet, while the lady prepared our lunch, for which we had agreed to pay 30 Yuan.

The Yao Village where we stopped for Lunch

The food was not bad at all, especially the wild mountain vegetables. After lunch, we went for a walk around the village, which was very poor indeed.

Though the houses were huge, they were virtually empty, with only the most rudimentary cooking and farming implements.

Moreover, the streets and the open spaces underneath the houses were filthy and covered in garbage. The wealth gap between the richer Zhuang villages, such as Ping’an, and the poorer Yao villages was quite evident.

Such was our delay over lunch that we decided not to push on to Dazai. This turned out to be a wise decision because, just as we were arriving at Ping’an, a huge summer storm engulfed the entire rice terraces and the torrential rain didn’t remit until late the following day.

However, for those who wish to do the whole walk, the stone path is quite easy to follow and extremely attractive, passing through deep forest, beautiful flowery meadows and, of course, plenty of rice terraces.

Practicalities:

Accommodation and food:

We stayed and ate in a small family-run hotel in Ping’an, aptly called the Ping’an hotel. It had clean rooms, a nice dining room and veranda and shared bathrooms, all for 25 Yuan a night.

There were already several such hostels in Ping’an and more were going up all the time. Entrepreneurs from as far away as Yangshuo had started competing with the local family hotels.

Local house Ping'an — Local House Ping’an

We found that at weekends, the place was very popular with Chinese tourists from Guilin who enjoyed large, rowdy dinner parties and played cards until deep into the night. (see the article on the degradation of the Longji rice terraces).

At the time, Ping’an was the only village with accommodation, though nowadays Dazai 大寨, and other villages such as Tiantouzhai 田头寨, have guesthouses and hotels too; some with amazing views.

Transport:

Small buses run regularly throughout the day from the bus station at Longsheng to the parking area, a 20 minute walk from Ping’an village.

In 2003 all vehicles had to be left here and an entry ticket to the whole rice terrace area had to be purchased. All this may now have changed, as the new road we saw being constructed, was meant to go right up to the village.

Guilin to Longji High Speed

Guilin is now firmly on the high speed network so getting to the Longsheng Rice Terraces is pretty easy.

It still takes around 2.5 hours by bus from Guilin to the terraces and you still have to walk the last part if you come by local bus from Guilin.

Onward Travel: It takes about 2 hours from Longsheng to reach Songjiang and then another 20 or 30 minutes to get to Chengyang and its marvellous bridges.

Read this article about the problems the Longsheng Rice Terraces face: Killing the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs

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

Detian Waterfall Separating China and Vietnam

Detian Waterfall

Detian Waterfall Separating China and Vietnam is definately a curious and out of the way place and getting there can be quite a hassle. So why not take a Chinese tour from Nanning for the day? Or maybe not!

Detian Waterfall 德天瀑布 (From our Diary 10/9/2006)

First with an expression of horror, then a polite nod of the head, and finally a beaming smile was how the young lady in the travel agency attended us when we asked about taking the Chinese tour to the Detian Waterfall.

The Horror: Enter Two Foreigners

The Horror: Enter two foreigners in a Chinese travel agency, asking about joining a Chinese tour. “I don’t speak English, do they speak Chinese? What am I going to do?”, was written all over the poor girl’s face, as we sat down in front of her.

The Polite Nod: “I think the foreigner is speaking something that resembles Chinese and I think I can just about make out what he is saying”.

The Beaming Smile: “The foreigners want to join a tour to the Detian waterfall tomorrow and wish to pay now!”

Zhuang Minority Lady Detian Waterfall — Local at Detian Waterfall Detian Pubu 德添瀑布

“We don’t usually take foreigners on our tours, due to the language barriers”, the young lady said apologetically. I replied that we didn’t normally take tours either, but we were short of time and needed to be able to visit the falls in one day and return to Nanning the same day. Language, I said, wouldn’t be a problem. “Miss Chen will meet you in the lobby at 7.00 am tomorrow”, she answered.

Detian Waterfall Separating China and Vietnam

The Detian Waterfalls, situated in China’s Southern Guangxi Province (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region), are among of the most spectacular in China, if not Asia. Their location alone, a remote area populated by diverse ethnic minorities, interspersed by winding rivers, karst peaks and Continue reading “Detian Waterfall Separating China and Vietnam”

The Hua Shan Rock Paintings / 花山岩画 & 左江风景区

Hua Shan Rock Paintings: From Our Diary 2006

Rock Painting Hua Shan

The Hua Shan Rock Paintings are found in Guangxi Province China home to the Zhuang Minority ethnic group.

Who are the Zhuang?

The Zhuang are China’s largest ethnic minority with about 15 million of them living in Guangxi province alone. In fact, the Zhuang are so numerous in Guangxi that the province is officially known as the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The provincial capital Nanning, or ‘the Green City’, as it tries to promote itself, is a good place to base yourself for forays into the Zhuang heartlands.

In appearance, the Zhuang are almost indistinguishable from the Han Chinese, though some Zhuang sub-groups, such as the black Zhuang, continue to wear their distinctive ethnic clothing. The Zhuang do, however, have their own language, which has been transcribed in a curious Romanised script.

Zuo Jiang (Zuo River)

The rock paintings at Hua Shan are not only situated in the Zhuang heartlands, but they also mark the cradle of their civilization, as they are reputed to be at least 2000 years old. Thus, these paintings and other nearby archaeological sites provide evidence that the origins of the Zhuang can be traced back to Continue reading “The Hua Shan Rock Paintings / 花山岩画 & 左江风景区”

The Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces: Longji Titian

Killing the Goose that Lays the Golden Eggs (Longji Titian/ The Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces)

The Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces: Longji Titian how will these incredible teraaces survive? This piece looks at the issues raised in the article “Drinking Their Fields Dry”, written by Xiong Lei and published in the China Daily on 12 -7-2007. The article focuses on the effects tourism is having on the Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces (Longji titian) near Longsheng in the Zhuang Autonomous Region in Guangxi province.

Working the Dragon Backbone Rice Terraces

The Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces: Longji Titian

On that beautiful late summer’s evening in 2003 the dynamite went off at regular intervals, with a thud that echoed around the entire valley, shattering the silence of an area without cars and very little electricity. I looked on as a crowd of local Zhuang from the village of Ping’an gathered to watch how huge swathes of the beautiful terraced mountain side were blasted to pieces to make way for a new road that would eventually arrive at the very centre of their village.