As mentioned in the previous article, in early August, I took my wife and child and a family of four for a walk-and-go trip. Considering safety, I drove directly from Shanghai to Guizhou. After 2 days of trekking, I went to Fuzhou, Jiangxi Province for a rest on the first day, and set off early the next morning to Tang'an Dong Village in Southeast Guizhou.
Zhaoxing Dong Village may be more familiar to everyone. As it became famous as the outfield of the Spring Festival Gala in 2018, of course it is indeed large in scale and rich in humanities. It was once recommended by the National Geographic of the United States, and it is also the same as Danba Tibetan Village in China. The name of beautiful villages such as Wuyuan Ancient Village and Wuyuan Ancient Village. However, with the increase of commercial development in recent years, it has been criticized by many people for being too commercial.
The good news is that a relatively original Tang'an Dong Village is next door to Zhaoxing Dong Village, and the cultural landscape is also good. From the viewing platform of Tang'an Dong Village, you can overlook the scale of Zhaoxing Dong Village. One is at the top of the mountain and the other is at the foot of the mountain, one is beautiful with terraced fields, and the other is more humanistic, which complement each other.
I got to know Tang'an Dong Village because a friend opened a homestay here. The B&B is still in trial operation, so I planned to come over to visit the store, and take a look at the style of Tang'an Dong Village.
Tang'an is located in the southeast corner of Qiandongnan, bordering Guangxi. This is my first stop in Guizhou, and I will go out from the northeast of Guizhou when I return, so as not to take repeated routes. From Shaoyang, Hunan, we left Shanghai-Kunming Expressway, transferred to Baomao Expressway, went to Sanjiang County, Guangxi, transferred to Xiarong Expressway, and then entered Guizhou immediately. Passing through Guangxi is an instant effort, so that there is no trace of Guangxi on my itinerary card.
The first exit of Xiarong Expressway entering Guizhou - Shuikou, is about to exit the expressway. After leaving the expressway, you have to drive along the winding mountain road for about half an hour, and you can reach Tang'an. The asphalt pavement of the mountain road is not bad, as shown in the picture below, it is not difficult to drive, and you will pass a village gate called Cen Xinxia Village before going down.
Notice that there are 3 forks at the entrance of Tang'an Dongzhai, like chicken feet. The first one on the left to go up the mountain is going to Tang’an Dongzhai, the one in the middle is going to Zhaoxing Dongzhai at the foot of the mountain, and the one on the far right is going to the county seat. Although there are guide signs at the intersection, it is still easy to get confused in the face of the mountainous terrain.
Due to the epidemic, a checkpoint was set up at the intersection at the foot of the mountain. Check the QR code, and you can only go up if there is no problem. There is a small parking lot at the entrance of the upper village, which are basically the cars of the residents of the village, because some people have narrow steps and narrow roads, and the cars cannot be driven. It can accommodate more than 20 cars, so if there are many self-driving tourists, it may be a little nervous.
For the basic situation of Tang'an Dong Village, you can refer to this sign. Tang’an is most famous to the outside world for its eco-museum, which was co-built with Norway. I thought it had a strong background, so I planned to visit it. But the curator Ying of the museum who received me said that the old buildings in the whole village are eco-museums, and you can just browse around. Uh, well!
It was 7:00 Beijing time when we arrived. If we take the standard time zone as an example, it should be 6:00 pm here. It is the sunset time and the scenery is very beautiful. While on the road, my friend sent a message saying that I should be able to see the sunset when I arrive. So as soon as the car stops, the luggage is still on the car, take the camera and take a picture! This scene was shot in the parking lot, and the sun was at the right height. Although the terraces are not yet yellow, the layers are beautiful.
Look at the inn next to it, it is also very beautiful under the setting sun.
After taking pictures of the terraced fields in the parking lot, walk in along the gate of the village, which is a main road. There are many hotels and inns on both sides, and the west side is a great place for viewing. If you want to stay here, I recommend this place. The inn is upstairs, and meals are downstairs. It is close to the gate of the village, which is very convenient.
It is very pleasant to see the local old Dong people along the way. They like to sit in front of their homes and set up dragon gate arrays, or look at the passing tourists, which is also a scenery for them.
At the end of the main road is the center of the village - Drum Tower. For the Dong people, the Drum Tower often plays the role of early warning and convening the people. Usually a Dong village has only one Drum Tower. However, some Dong villages have multiple drum towers, such as Huanggang Dong village.
The Drum Tower is not big, but there is a large reservoir next to it, with many sizes distributed. Because it is on the mountain, artificial water storage is required for daily use, as well as fire and disaster relief.
The water source comes from a spring above the Drum Tower, which flows directly from the mountain. It is continuous, free of pollution, clear and sweet, and can be drunk directly. All the way down, the villagers took advantage of its trend to build some water diversion projects, some leading to their own homes, and some flowing to the rice fields. I think the entire village basically relies on it for water, which is so precious. The water outlet is followed by a stone ladle, and two openings are opened for diversion. Therefore, it is also called scoop well.
A local photographer friend is already waiting for me at the top of the mountain, so I will meet him before sunset. Just follow the stone steps like this and climb up, three steps and two steps.
Passing through the field ridges and small slopes, the athletic daughters followed closely behind.
But the child's mother walked slowly, and she took pictures when she saw the beautiful scenery. Facts have proved that she is still wise, and took a lot of good photos. The warm-toned ones above are all taken with a mobile phone, but the results are good.
When I dragged my SLR and ran to the top of the mountain, the sun was only halfway down. While more villages can be seen in the foreground, the timing is missed.
I saw the Drum Tower from another angle, but the sun was gone.
It will be dark when it says dark, and we have to hurry down the mountain. It's past 8 o'clock, so I have to finish dinner first.
Still at the few restaurants at the entrance of the stockade, the curator of the museum introduced us to one, next to the terraced fields, even though it was dark, we couldn’t see much. We ordered half a local chicken, and when we checked out, we found that the price was not cheap. Half a chicken cost 88 yuan, and tomato scrambled eggs cost 20 yuan. It caught up with the big cities and belonged to scenic spots.
We stayed at a friend's B&B called Tang'an Yard. Because it's not open to the public, we can't find it on the map. This homestay is on the mountain, and there are some steps to climb. It was still a little inconvenient for us to go up the mountain with our suitcases in the dark after dinner. However, there are pros and cons to everything. The advantage is that the mountains are cleaner, the light pollution is relatively small, and you can see clear stars.
The house is one of the oldest buildings in the village, and it is said to have been used since the Qing Dynasty. There is an independent small courtyard, from which the name of Tang'an Courtyard comes from. We can see the Milky Way in the yard, as well as fireflies, and countless weavers chattering in our ears. But this should be regarded as a kind of white noise, which does not affect sleep. Isn't this the sound that summer should have?
You must have a tripod when taking pictures of the starry sky. Fortunately, I brought it with me. But forget about the star track, the head space is limited, and there are many mosquitoes outside.
I have been in Shanghai all year round, and it has been a long time since I saw the Milky Way. In the past few years, most of the wind gatherings were in autumn. At that time, the position of the Milky Way was a bit biased, so it was not as easy to see as in August. The children were stunned when they saw such a bright sky. I proudly told them that my father could see such a starry sky every day when he was a child!
However, the accommodation conditions are relatively difficult. My friend has remodeled the basic part of this old house relatively little, and it can be seen that it is really more original. After all, it still costs a lot of money to improve the structure, especially for traditional wooden houses.
The construction of bathroom facilities is the most troublesome, and my friend only made some basic changes. Fortunately, there is guaranteed hot water for bathing, a toilet, and normal washing. I don't care, but they are somewhat dissatisfied with their wives and children. In addition, because Tang'an Dong Village is on the mountain, it will be cooler sooner or later, so people here basically don't install air conditioners. But if you don't open the doors and windows, it will still look stuffy. If you open the doors and windows, there are too many mosquitoes, which is a bit embarrassing.
If young friends feel that there is no problem and want to experience it, you can private message me and introduce you to the owner of the homestay. The bed in the room is quite comfortable. I didn't take pictures when the light was not good. It should be fine here in spring and autumn.
My friend is good at making fusses about software. It can be seen that some thought has been put into it. It is also different from some farmhouses in that it has a humanistic pursuit.
The most comfortable thing is the yard, which is full of various fruits, vegetables, flowers and plants.
The paving of cobblestones and anti-corrosion wood makes the yard more modern, in line with the holiday mood.
There are teahouses both indoors and outdoors, so you can sit wherever you want.
The most eye-catching thing is that the coffee table made of rice buckets actually displays many comic books of our era, which is quite nostalgic.
For children, the roof is also a good place to hide and seek.
It's just that every now and then a giant spider will appear, which can be exchanged for the loud screams of the children in the city.
After making do with one night, I was woken up by the crowing of cocks early the next day. Since you are traveling, you can't stay in bed and waste the beautiful scenery. Animals are more industrious than humans!
You still have to go down the mountain for breakfast. After we packed up, we walked down the mountain to look for food while feeling the rural life in the morning.
In fact, we can see the main road below from the slope where we live, just walk down the stone steps.
When I walked out early in the morning, I realized that Tang'an Yard is actually next to the information center of Tang'an Ecological Museum. This old building has been remodeled well, with many modern elements in it.
Due to the epidemic, this space is not open to the public. Looking in from the outside, some books are mainly stored, and the rest are public spaces. So when I consulted the curator of the museum yesterday, he said that there is no formal so-called exhibition hall, so I understand it. The public space here is not small, so I figured it would be good to have some intangible cultural heritage experience activities, such as singing Dong songs and learning to weave homemade cloth.
Next to this building is terraced fields, which are relatively independent and have a good environment. The morning sun sprinkled on the rice, emitting a golden light.
The animals got up earlier than us, and the chickens were already looking for food. They look so strong, look at the cockscombs are bright red.
There are chickens and ducks. There are many varieties of ducks in this area, and there is a kind of duck with a lot of red meat hanging on its face.
There are usually a few tall liquidambar trees in the Dong villages, which grow at a relatively high position, as trees for protecting the village. Living under these big trees, there will be a sense of stability in my heart.
The villagers also got up to make breakfast, and the smoke from the kitchen was curling up.
The children couldn't stay idle, so they ran out of their own house to play with friends from the neighbor's house. This is standing outside someone's window calling someone!
The industrious villagers went to work carrying farm tools.
This corner is also very beautiful when the morning sun rises.
Going down from here, we came to the Drum Tower again.
At this time, on the edge of Piaojing, there are already old ladies sitting here and setting up a stall, but there are not many tourists now, and everyone chats when there is nothing to do.
They mainly sell cucumbers, vegetables and fruits from their own fields. The unit price is still a bit more expensive than the local market price. Moreover, the bought fruits can be washed and eaten directly in the spring water.
The ponds around the Drum Tower are divided into multiple layers and multiple areas. Different areas have different functions so as not to interfere with each other. Generally speaking, the more upstream, the purer it is. It mainly washes food, and some people temporarily raise some fish in it.
Some tourists wash their faces here and infiltrate their skin. It is very cool, and it may have the effect of disinfection, which can at least relieve the itching of mosquito packs.
The view of the Drum Tower during the day is somewhat different from yesterday, but it is still more beautiful under the setting sun.
There are also many shops around the Drum Tower, and some local products are worth paying attention to. People in the mountains rely on the mountains to eat the mountains, and do not add much chemical elements, so the output is not high, and the unit price may be a little expensive, but the biggest advantage is that it is more environmentally friendly and healthy. Organic rice, red rice and glutinous rice are typical specialties in the Dong area, and bayberry is also abundant, so you can try bayberry wine. However, there are some local food processing techniques that foreigners may not be able to appreciate, such as home-brewed rice wine, bacon, and pickled fish. It depends on the taste of tourists. It is best to taste before buying.
The snails here can grow very big, just like the snails stuffed with meat in restaurants. But direct frying is still delicious with small snails, and there are few eggs in it. Seeing that many restaurants have them at the door, we planned to order a plate at noon. It seems to be 20 yuan a plate, which is not expensive, but it is quite a lot, and it is relatively salty. Our family of 4 has not finished eating.
The roll noodles that I ate for breakfast on the edge of the Drum Tower are not the stuffed noodles like Rongjiang, or wide-cut soup noodles, with side dishes and dipping sauces, 10 yuan with meat, 8 elements, and the normal ones are 6 , 7 yuan a bowl, here are a little more expensive. It’s just that people here don’t seem to eat Zheergen very much. Without this mixed dish, it’s not appetizing to me personally.
After breakfast, continue to stroll around the village. The whole village is not too big, you can walk up or down along several mountain roads, there are no special humanistic buildings, mainly to see the scenery of Dong folk houses and terraced fields. Because they brought their children, they were playful and didn't go all the way. It's a pity that we didn't go to Huaqiao, which is still a relatively classic building.
In terms of scenery, the best viewing point is indeed in the parking lot. That is the picture at the beginning of the article, you can overlook the Zhaoxing Dong Village at the foot of the mountain. Once you walk into the terraced fields, you can't see your own hierarchical structure.
Generally speaking, the houses in Tang'an Dong Village are well preserved, and people live happily in their homes. Although the service price is not low, it may be due to the proximity to the Zhaoxing Dong Village, but it is far from being commercialized.
Tourists and locals live very close together, because here you are a "minority". You need to adapt to it, not it to adapt to you.
You can take your children to learn about rice and know that rice will also bloom.
Pollination of rice also depends on bees. Seeing so much pollen stored on the bees' legs, I wonder if they will produce rice nectar when they go back? What will it taste like?
As I was walking, I saw a group of children and adults busily coming, carrying buckets, and followed them curiously. It turned out that they were catching fish in the rice fields! In the mountainous areas of southeast and southern Guizhou, because there are few rivers and ponds, local people will raise carp in paddy fields. When the rice is ripe, the water is released, and all the fish are harvested. You see, the fish here are not small! They can live on insects, microorganisms and snail lions in the fields. This whole ecosystem is quite amazing.
Our baby also wants to go, but this is a fee-based activity, and it’s too late to calculate the time. We also had a great time playing "slipper rafting" in the canal.
Because we wanted to go to Zhaoxing Dong Village in the afternoon, we had lunch here and left. It is only a few kilometers away to drive to Zhaoxing Dongzhai from here, and it takes about 10 minutes to drive there. However, it should be noted that from Tang'an Dongzhai to Zhaoxing Dongzhai can only go to its east gate, and generally go directly to Zhaoxing Dongzhai at high speed to go to its west gate.
Since they are so close together and they are not the same style, one is original and the other has more commercial services, it is worth experiencing together. If you have a quick glimpse, half a day is enough for Tang'an Dong Village. If you like the original ecology, you can stay here for a few more days. Anyway, the village does not charge tickets. You can also hike to Zhaoxing Dong Village, which is a few kilometers of mountain roads. In short, there are not many people, it is simple and quiet, and it is worth visiting.
As for what will happen when we arrive at Zhaoxing Dong Village? Let's listen to the next chapter.