Not unlike Fushun (富顺) and Tumen (土门), two side-by-side towns which encompass eastern Maoxian (茂县), Goukou (沟口) and Weimen (渭门) are adjoined towns that are difficult to delineate from each other. Likewise, they are not popular destinations. But many will pass them by. Visitors might…

Eastern Maoxian is traveled through often, in the passerby sense. The fast train station is located here, where many ride into and from Chengdu. Travelers typically arrive at the train station without spending much time in the immediate surroundings, before getting a ride to Fengyi…

Nanxin (南新) is the town spread out over the southern “tip” of Maoxian. It is the closest Maoxian town to Wenchuan (汶川), the neighboring county that was the epicenter of the 2008 earthquake. The Minjiang and Highway 213 (G213) run alongside each other through Nanxin,…

The Mínjiāng (or Min River, or 岷江) is the 457-mile force which flows throughout Sichuan, and thus Chengdu… and Maoxian: the land of the Qiang people (羌族). In the town of Fengyi, which I consider the hub of Maoxian, this river separates the town in…