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Heading to Chengyang Village
On the way to Chengyang Village, these waterwheels could be seen along the rivers. they scoop water from the rivers, and transport it via bamboo pipes to rice fields on higher elevations San Jiang (Three Rivers) Villages
I was digging through some photos and came acoss photos of a trip I took to Chengyang Village north of San Jiang a couple of years ago. I forgot how amazing the place really is. I think the hardest part about writing this particular blog, is picking out just a few photographs to use because I have so many I really love. It's not that I am a great photographer, it is just the place is so beautiful that it is almost impossible to take a bad one. San Jiang is located near Liuzhou in Guangxi Province and is the biggest city near Chengyang Village. Visitors wanting to go to Chengyang need to go to San Jiang first. Chengyang Village is home to the Dong Ethnic Minority Group. It is the biggest and most famous village in the area, but five minutes in every direction from Chengyang Village are other villages, a little smaller perhaps, but I felt they were more fun because they were not as visited as Chengyang Village. Chengyang Village is a good place to base your travels from because it has the best hotels in the area, and is in the Wind and Rain Bridge
The Wind and Rain Bridge is the reason most visitors come to Chengyang Village. It is an amazing piece of architecture built without use of any fasteners of any kind. center of a large number of villages. No matter which direction you take out of Chengyang Village, will take you to another village.
What makes these villages so unique is that there is little evidence that it is the 21st century. Most of the locals still wear their traditional minority clothing, and the local government have made rules forbidding any modern style buildings to be built in the area, so all of the buildings are made of wood, and do not use nails, or fasteners of any kind. The buildings are all built of a mortise and tendon design, and uses their own weight to hold them together. All of the hotels in Chengyang Village are local villagers homes. The first floor is traditionally where the shops were, and the upper floors are the living quarters. The houses are usually three stories high. Each village features at least one drum tower. The Dong Ethnic Minority drum towers are used as meeting houses, and places to send signals to the entire villages. The towers have a square foundation, and appears to have many levels. They are in fact empty inside except for a large drum. When there was an emergency, like
Chengyang Village
Coming up on Chengyang Village after crossing the Wind and Rain Bridge. a fire, or an attack, the drum would be beat, and because of the design of the structure, the sound would be amplified and could be heard for miles around. the most famous feature of Chengyang Village is its "Wind and Rain Bridge". It is the largest Dong Ethnic Minority Bridge in China, and is what draws most visitors to this area. The current bridge was built in the 1920's and is 64.4 meters long. The bridge has five kiosks with very distinctive roofs with eaves that resemble the wings of birds. Each village in the area has its own bridges, and quite a large number of villages have several. Each bridge is completely different from each other, and each are magnificent.
To enter the village of Chengyang, visitors must buy a ticket, but this ticket will entitle them to watch a show performed by the locals and a cup of traditional oil tea. The performers all wear traditional Dong Ethnic Minority Costumes. The show is quite lively, and feature traditional music and dances performed with traditional musical instruments. Although the performers are not professional performers, I felt that their dances were the most honest I have seen in China.
Village Entrance
The simple structure in the center of the photo is an entrance gate to the village. The stone guardian keeps evil spirits from entering the village. When they perform, a large part of the village turns up to watch them. It doesn't feel fake like most performances I have seen. The oil tea that is also given with the purchase of a ticket, is a traditional Dong Ethnic Minority staple. It is drank every day by the locals. It is made by frying tea leaves in oil. After the leaves are fried, water is added along with peanuts, and puffed rice. The tea is very bitter for people not used to it and salt is offered to help kill the bitterness. I'll admit that I didn't like it the first time I tried it, but I have been drinking it for over four years, and have gotten quite fond of it. Whenever I am invited into one of their homes, oil tea is always served.
In Chengyang Village, there are a lot of people selling things. They are surprisingly not pushy, and the things they sell are really quite nice. I purchased a large number of items from them. I am a big fan of Chinese ethnic minority clothing and embroidery, and I picked up a bit of clothing, and bed coverings, as well as
Another Bridge in Chengyang Village
This bridge is located at one of the back entrances to Chengyang Village. My hotel is located behind it. table clothes, and bags. Like I said a lot of things. Of course I had to bargain, but I felt the prices were quite reasonable. The weather has finally warmed up and I think I am going to have to go back in a week or so. I haven't gone back in years, and a visit is well past due. Of course, i'm sure I'm sure to buy more things when I go back.
Visitors wanting to go to Chengyang Village can take a bus from Guilin to Liuzhou, where they can then transfer to a bus to San Jiang. From San Jiang they can get a mini bus to Chengyang Village. The busses to Liuzhou and San Jiang run every 15 minutes, so a lot of preplanning is not needed.
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Brenda
non-member comment
Hi, your photos are WONDERFUL! I am considering going to this area in March, and your comments and photos make me want to go!