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 in Shehong holds a special distinction though.

Sometime in the early 1950’s, the middle of the three brothers living in the “Liu Valley”, left Shehong on his own to pursue work. This young man, his family, and the rest of the locals occupying this small valley carried the surname Liú (刘). The handsome fellow from the valley would settle in Maoxian, in north Sichuan, and start a family.

His two brothers would also leave the valley, settling around other parts of Shehong. While the three brothers are no longer around today, their descendants have ventured far beyond Shehong and even Sichuan.

Liu Valley pictures:

Shehong pictures (mostly from the outskirts):