On my last full day in China I had the opportunity to go with my Mandarin laoshi (teacher), to a destination of her choosing. During my month in China we became quick friends through our shared love of Chinese history, hiking and humor. She had heard about a little village on the outskirts of Beijing and wanted to explore the area for some time. None of her other friends were as dedicated to historical wanderings as she was, unfortunately, but, when we decided to have an adventure she knew she finally had a travel partner. Since neither of us had access to private transportation we had to take public transport. We left at 5:30 am on our journey, it took us 5 hours to reach Cuandixia, sometimes spelled Chuandixia, using subway (to the end of line 11 Pingguoyuan Station), bus 929 (to the end of the line going west) and finally a 20 minute taxi ride to reach the ancient city. We wandered around the beautiful country mountain trails/roads for hours (approximately 6-7 miles we figured, maybe more...we didn't care) enjoying all the natural beauty and cleaner air. It was the most peaceful experience I had while in China.
We visited 3 small villages on our journey (all by foot of course) and even had our lunch in a small inn at the highest village. It was nothing special, just a simple family's outdoor table in their courtyard. We drank the local tea and ate as the local peasants ate from food grown on their own farms. Our meal consisted of fresh apricots, a thin pancake (similar to a crepe), filled with spicy vegetables (thinly sliced onion, potatoes, and peppers), and a thin omelette with some spice and green onions in it. Basically, you took a crepe and piled as much of the potatoes and eggs on it as you could and ate it like a burrito. It was delicious! After our lunch we decided to finally explore the villages.
The town was named a National Village Architectural site and has been able to stay a living breathing museum because of it despite the dwindling population. The village consists of 500 homes which approximately 70 families still reside in, all with the family name of Han (meaning they are all related). The village is known for its courtyard house nestled together at times the structures appear to be clinging to the sides of the mountain. The village originated during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) flourishing as a respectable inn community for traveler going to Beijing from Shanxi Province. During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) the village continued to thrive on inn hospitality for weary travelers and trade from the local farming and mining communities. One
translation of the name cuan referred to the word kitchen. The landowner at the
time had wanted the village to have a warm appealing name so travelers would
feel as though they were being invited into the village.
Another reason for the villages significance has to do with the random graffiti marring these ancient walls which were defaced during the Cultural Revolution. The original graffiti is some of the only remaining throughout all of China supporting Chairman Mao.
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| the village safely nestled between the mountains |
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| houses clinging to the side of the mountain |
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| tightly packed houses and their famous courtyards |
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| A window with the word lucky written on it from the last New Years festival |
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| a view of the terraced farming style sitting within the mountain pass |
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| corn hung on the local landowners house to bring a bountiful harvest |
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| Graffiti from the cultural revolution, this one says something about how wonderful Chairman Mao is |
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| Me :-) |
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| A staircase leading to a shrine and an inn |
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| a cool grain grinding stone and more of the cultural revolution graffiti in the background |
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| an inn with an outdoor dining facility |
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| overlooking the mountain |
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| Us again in front of building built into a rock face |
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| an old door...I just liked how it looked |
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| this was a farm on the road above the first village |
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| a local farm, these were everywhere! |
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| to get to one of the villages we had to walk through this crevasse in the mountain |
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| a walkway between houses |
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| a waterway where we watched locals fishing |
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| This wall is an original from the Ming Dynasty. It is directly in front of the main families doorway. It is meant to keep good fortune within and bad from entering |
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| The main local families family heirlooms dating from the Qing Dynasty |
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| clothes from the Qing Dynasty |
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| A birds eye view of the main village |
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| warm pear and fungus soup :-) |
After spending the day exploring we decided to head back to the Haidian District in Beijing where we both live. 5 hours later (on public transport again) after more conversation and a couple episodes of a Chinese drama (zhenhuanzhaun, "Empresses in the Palace") that we had on an iPad, we finally get to have a late dinner before saying our final farewells. A wonderful day, I don't want my time in China to end.
Love this! Very informative and full of passion for this area! Great job, Melissa!
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