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 think visiting during warmer, greener months could be even more captivating. Hopefully I can return to this post one day with comparison pictures.

Like most of the scenic / historic destinations throughout Maoxian, reaching Hei Hu requires an uneasy drive through the mountains on narrow, winding roads. In our particular case, we could only drive partially up the way to the village “center”, due to icy conditions on the road, especially when ascending. Center in parentheses because the village domain is actually quite spread out. We ended up walking the rest of the way to reach a scenic spot.

But the most unusual peculiarity of our visit was that there were virtually no residents or tourists around. What few people were around were at river level. There was apparently a big wedding elsewhere involving the residents, leaving the village almost totally empty. I can only assume the reason for there being no other tourists was due to weather.

As for the actual sights and structures, they strike me as a combination of genuine and staged authenticity, along with very stunning, unforgettable mountain views that overshadow any petty discourse.