Hei Hu (黑虎) is one of 11 official towns in Maoxian. It is a quintessential Qiang village, with a folksy central area that doubles as a cultural tourist attraction. I initially wanted to make a rather long and detailed post about this village but wasn’t satisfied with the photos I captured and spent only a few hours there. But the location left a powerful impression on me, and I earnestly hope to visit again. As breathtaking as it was, I…
Chengdu (成都) and Chongqing (重庆): the two major cities of the Sichuan region, each a megacity in their own ways. Well, at least until 1997, when Chongqing “separated” from the Sichuan province and became a municipality. While I’m not entirely sure what prompted the “separation” (I suppose its growth and size), and the true cultural impact of doing so, becoming a municipality enabled Chongqing to have increased political weight and detachment from provincial influence. Yet from my time in both…
Shèhóng (射洪) is a small city/county within Sùiníng (遂宁), in east Sichuan. Take a train from Chongqing to Chengdu (or vice versa) and it will pass through Suining on the way. From my brief visit, Shehong is a largely rural area. There is a small urban center that leaves an ordinary impression. But the primary environment is the type seen through the window of a train ride from Chongqing to Chengdu – rural outskirts and countryside communities. One particular community…
On the topic of ancient towns, my opinion is arbitrary, I just felt like over-analyzing it by examining the authenticity and purpose of these locations. At a high level, these places are mostly just aesthetic cultural attractions. Styled after traditional Chinese architecture, with streets designed to guide high foot traffic towards shops and restaurants, ancient towns are deliberately quaint cultural attractions found throughout China. As with much of China’s rapid infrastructure development in recent decades, I view these cultural ancient…
During my visit to Chongqing, I traveled to the city’s most western district, Rongchang (荣昌). Unlike the big city, there are not many signs of modernity or luxury in Rongchang, it’s a mostly rural location. But one can find the remnants of a different spirit if they look deeply enough. Nearby, I went to see a particular dilapidated house, and the neighborhood around it. What is interesting about this old house is that it was built by a distant family…
In eastern Maoxian is the small town of Tumen (土门). The town is quite standard for the region, while being known for a bridge, the No. 3 Bridge (三元桥), or Sanyuan Bridge, which is over a hundred years old. Although this bridge is maybe unremarkable today, its locally important for being a solid, moon bridge constructed at a time where suspension bridges were commonplace (moon bridges are a common sight in other regions). I suspect that is partly due to…
This short post does not focus on a single park, rather some intriguing activities and encounters one might find at the typical Chinese park. In one quiet spot at a park in Chengdu, I heard a kind of constant, low, droning noise. At first, I thought it was coming from a musical instrument – musical performances of all sorts are common at parks, of course. But as I approached the whirring sound, I noticed several men playing with a spinning…
Many are familiar with the “mountain city” moniker of Chongqing (重庆). Just about anywhere you go in this enormous city, you will encounter endless stairs and an erratic terrain. Frequent rain and a dense fog are also defining characteristics of Chongqing, along with its highly concentrated urbanization. The landscape, environment are critical in the city’s identity. While much of Chongqing is unsurprisingly bustling throughout the year, some places in and around the city can be especially calm. More than an…
In northern Maoxian (茂县), there is a town and a lake in the mountains, both named Diexi (叠溪). If you peer deeply into the turquoise surface of Diexi Lake, you won’t see much. It’s too colorful and opaque. But be aware, there is an old town beneath that surface. This “lake” was actually formed less than a hundred years ago. In 1933, a horrible sequence of events precipitated by a major earthquake in Sichuan (四川), with its epicenter being Diexi,…
This post serves as an archive on my Qiang research. I collect all of my writing related to Qiang topics here. So, this page may be updated with more pieces in the future. Qiāngzú (Qiang People) Introduction Diexi: the Town under the Lake Tumen and No. 3 Bridge Hei Hu Village More to be added