{"id":1907,"date":"2025-08-31T02:08:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T06:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/?p=1907"},"modified":"2025-08-31T02:12:29","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T06:12:29","slug":"the-other-side-of-town-fengyis-emerging-cultural-mosaic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/31\/the-other-side-of-town-fengyis-emerging-cultural-mosaic\/","title":{"rendered":"The Other Side of Town: Fengyi’s Emerging Cultural Mosaic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is a fast-emerging quarter of Fengyi that is on its way to becoming the designated cultural face of the Qiang ethnic group. Yes, I am once again writing about Fengyi. This sector, which spans from the western bank of the Min river across the low hills preceding greater mountains, very deliberately shines brightly. It’s got a lot to share: an exquisite temple complex, a well-funded museum, a great watchtower, performing arts, themed hotels and rentals, vivid sculptures, and even mystic detours. Most of it rather new, inviting, commercialized. Yet in between and surrounding all that, are swaths of modest neighborhoods, complete with aged orchards, terraces, 3-wheel farmer trucks. While they have absorbed some of the broader facelift effort, growth continues at its own pace. There is an unsurprisingly high degree of seasonality with visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a pleasant and clean area, which captures a moderate amount of Qiang surface characteristics. A healthy level of tourism breathes life in, despite large ongoing construction zones. I don’t love all of it. I think a more authentic imitation of the types of Qiang communities found outside of Fengyi might be a smart addition. I also find that the lighting at night is really excessive. Although high-energy performances and attractions are much more evocative at night. Overall, I think what has been built here is impressive and dynamic. For a tourist it offers plenty, for a scholar it is a strong starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My documentation spans three occasions: January 2024, Sept-Oct 2024, and March 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For reference and contrast: the opposing side of town<\/strong><\/mark><\/a>, on the eastern bank of the river and typically a fun walk over [the river]. I really like how different it feels. Naturally I spent more time over there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The below picture is taken at the base of the large watchtower in the lower-left-foreground of the above. The base sits on a pretty steep hill requiring many flights of stairs (or a car ride on one side) to reach. See later pictures for more perspectives.<\/sup><\/em> <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Below picture is taken from the large entrance within the above picture’s temple.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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On the watchtower stairs.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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At night, an even larger crowd will gather as a fire is lit in the center. Dancers and music take center stage.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Only fake skulls here.<\/em> Kidding, there are real ones here — for sale of course. <\/em><\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Overlooking the northern side<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Only the best of steeds for the married Qiang couple.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Some quiet trails decorate the mountain-side of the area. They are great. Lots of steps.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Wander the trails thoroughly and interesting finds await.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The Great Qiang Watchtower features a laser beam<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A drinking custom. I had the chance to try the alcohol depicted, in Heihu village. Not bad.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Not shown: the huge crowd at the bottom.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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He conjures great winds, with the help of the peoples’ collective AC units.<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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How reassuring<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is a fast-emerging quarter of Fengyi that is on its way to becoming the designated cultural face of the Qiang ethnic group. Yes, I am once again writing about Fengyi. This sector, which spans from the western bank of the Min river across the low hills preceding greater mountains, very deliberately shines brightly. It’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1907"}],"version-history":[{"count":40,"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1993,"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1907\/revisions\/1993"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1937"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miltonliu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}