Day 8 -- Longsheng-Sanjiang (Dong Village), Guangxi - November 17, 2015
This turned out to be a fun-filled and exciting day on the tour. We knew we would be going to the rural villages but did not know exactly what we will see. Definitely, we were off the beaten path today and had a memorable experience that will last for a long time.
As we got up early in the morning to get ready for breakfast, I looked out the window and saw the cloudy sky again. As the town slowly waking up, there was the beautiful scene of the river, mountains, clouds and sky from the vantage point of our room. Here are just a few of the many photos that I took that morning.
Zooming in on the bridge and the park area.
A couple of shots of the hotel before we board the bus.
Our corner room on the 4th floor.
Dong Village of Chengyang-
As we arrived at the parking lot of Chengyang (程陽), I noticed that there were a lot of cars parked there. It looked like that it would be a touristy place but it turned out that we were the only tourists (bus 1 and 2) there that day. At least for now, this place has not been over-run by tourists yet.
Parking lot in Chengyang
After a five-minute walk from the parking lot, a "Wind and Rain" Bridge appeared in front of us. I believe all the covered bridges here are called "Wind and Rain" but each of them also have their own special name. This one is called Yongji Bridge (永濟橋). We had to cross this bridge to go inside the Dong villages.
One of the buildings in the village.
The Dong people are great carpenters and they built these covered bridges using wood and tile.
There are five pavilions on this bridge. A beautiful one, indeed!
The "Yongji Bridge in Chengyang" was built in 1912.
(Designated as a national protected unit in 1982.)
We found this posted sign of "Conventions of Chinese Citizen's Civilized Behavior in Domestic Traveling" quite interesting.
Crossing the bridge with women selling various souvenirs.
There are eight Dong villages here in Chengyang, we were told.
View of the villages from the bridge.
Looking at the bridge from the 'back' side after we crossed.
Right off the bridge on the right was the restaurant where we would have our lunch. This is a hotel/hostel with a small restaurant up there where the red lanterns are. It almost felt like dining up on a tree house.
I thought the 'batik' type table cloth was quite pretty.
We always sat with the same people at our tables.
Looking down from the 'tree house' as we waited for our lunch.
After lunch we used the restrooms that were on the different floors of the 'tree house'. We went all the way up to the top (3rd floor) with restrooms that looked a little cleaner. I just snapped a picture of the hotel hallway as I waited for my turn. The place seemed to be vacant that day.
A quick shot of one of the guest rooms.
After lunch we met outside the restaurant as the guide warned us to keep up with her. She said it is very easy to get lost in the villages and explained repeatedly how to find our way back if that ever happens.
"Follow closely..."
Selling handicrafts.
One can see the carpentry skill the Dong people have just looking at their buildings.
"Happy Restaurant"
The first village-- "Ma An Village welcomes you"
These are tall buildings too!
More old ladies selling stuff.
There is always a drum tower in each village where it works as an important gathering place.
There was a group of men having their meetings there that afternoon around a fire pit.
The ceiling of the tower.
the drum
Names of people on fire-watch duty. Seems like most people shared the same last names, Chen and Yang, in this village.
Looking out from the drum tower.
Stage of the outdoor theater in front of the drum tower.
Tea Pavilion
Exterior of the drum tower
We followed that little path to the other side of the village.
As we continued our walk to another village, we saw yet another "Wind and Rain" bridge which is a smaller one with only three pavilions. There was an old man trying to get people to pay or donate for the repair of the bridge as we entered. The sign was in English also.
Inside the bridge.
Again, people were selling things like clothes, toys, and souvenirs on the bridge.
An elementary school in the village.
The harvested rice field
Everything looked interesting as we walked in the paddy fields.
We heard a lot of laughing and screaming from the school as we walked past it but saw these boys playing outside. They all have name tags around their necks. MOR asked these boys why they were not in school and teased them that he was going to tell the principal. This boy responded "I am the principal!" We later found out that they were actually on their lunch break and didn't have to go back to school until 2:00PM.
A new drum tower was being built in this other village. We also used the very clean public restrooms here in this village located behind this drum tower.
Group picture of bus 1
After seeing three villages we made our way back to the bus.
More kids enjoying their lunch breaks at a local 'convenient store'. Some were watching TV, some were buying candies and snacks, some were just fooling around.
A local hotel
We all came back in one piece, no one was lost.
A final glimpse of the village.
Our Visit to the Miao Village-
Our next stop was to a Miao village. I do not know exactly where this village is located but believe that it's somewhere in Sanjiang, Liuzhou. While we were on the bus, Summer told us that we should prepare a song to sing as a group because when we arrive at the village the villagers will block off the entrance. They will sing a song to us first and we would have to sing a song in return before they will let us through. After much exciting discussion we decided on "Do Re Mi" from the Sound of Music. We practiced a couple of times and ready to 'pay' our entrance fee.
This was what greeted us. Just fascinating! Seemed like the whole village was out, young and old, men and women. I am sure this was pre-arranged by Sinorama just for our two buses. Other than a couple of Chinese tourists who left soon after we arrived, we were the only ones there to receive this amazing reception.
They were all dressed up for the occasion.
First, a welcome dance lead by the villagers. Everyone was having a great time!
So cute!
Then they took us to the village where they had tables already set up. It kind of reminded me of the pilgrims and Indians.
Before we sat down and eat, they demonstrated how they make dumplings from sticky rice. A lot of work, I'll say!
Two brothers from our bus put their energy to good use.
I think he is ready to eat.
The dumplings are ready!
Some of the dishes served.
These looked like fried puff rice that they put in the 'oil tea'.
fried yam?
pork with bok choy
With my sensitive stomach I did not try any.
Yummy!
'oil tea'
Now, they were up to something.
As our group busy eating and enjoying this feast, the women behind were 'plotting' on their victims. After singing some songs they started pouring wine down peoples' throats without warnings.
They went around pulling peoples ears so they will turn their heads and open their mouths for the drink.
See the ear pulling?
What a fun afternoon!
Village by the river
Dong Xiang Guest House, Sianjiang, Liuzhou--
After our visit to the Miao village, we were ready to check into our hotel for the night in Sanjiang, Liuzhou. Sanjiang is a Dong autonomous community with the famous "Wind and Rain" bridge, Sanjiang Drum Tower, Moon Street, and Duoye Square in town. I wanted to check these places out as soon as we settled in but with the rainy and cold weather outside, we ended up staying inside our room for the rest of the day.
Again, we got a room at the end of the hallway, not a corner room though.
We even had a good-size balcony.
outside our balcony
With the full view of the "Wind and Rain" bridge right outside our balcony, we figured that we did not need to go into town and we were tired from the days activities anyway. This covered bridge is the biggest one we have seen so far. It is actually a covered roadway for vehicles and pedestrians alike.
We had dinner at the hotel restaurant that night with many people not showing up because of the 'feast' they had at the Miao village.
Back in our room, we were able to enjoy a relaxing evening with the sight of the beautifully lit up bridge on our balcony.
Tomorrow we will go back to Guilin.
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