Wenzhou Part 2 (7-22)

Tuesday’s adventure was to the Nanxi River Scenic Area, which is one of the places that enticed me to Wenzhou. I looked up places to visit there and wrote them on a paper so I could have them written in Chinese, which is always helpful. The women at the desk could only write one of the names. I think they didn’t know the other places. So off I went with Yantou written in Chinese. After taking the ferry across the river, I showed my paper to a bus driver and was pointed across the way. On the other side, I showed it to another bus driver who pointed me back to the first side. This time a driver pointed me to the right bus. After leaving the city, the hour-long ride goes along the mountains and the river. It’s a beautiful ride. In Yantou, I didn’t know where to go from the bus stop; so I started walking down the main street just to look around and decide what to do. A tricycle driver agreed to take me to Yantou. Since I thought that’s where I was, I was a bit confused. In five minutes we arrived at Lishui Jie, an ancient village along the river on the edge of Yantou. Then he showed me a brochure with beautiful pictures and said he’d take me there. Thinking he was going to take me to those places, I agreed and got in again. On the way he stopped a few times so I could take photos. 

Then he dropped me off at the destination: the entrance to the scenic area. This, of course, required a ticket that includes a shuttle into the area. I learned later that this was Taolong Cave, which is a huge cave inside the mountain. It has a Taoist temple, and there is a waterfall in front of the cave. The area is beautiful. 

The long, thin waterfall drops into a pool that has a pavilion. I decided to go to the pavilion for the view from there and noticed stairs going down. Under the pool there is a path to an altar. It’s lined with sea murals on one side and mirrors on the other. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Back above ground, I asked the women selling snacks how to get to the cave in the middle of the mountain, as I could see people there. They pointed to the boats, but no one was there at the moment. One woman was selling steamed corn on the cob, and I bought two. It’s the most delicious corn I’ve had for a long time—sweet, which most corn here isn’t. Then the boat man came along with other tourists, and we set off to ride through the passage under the cliff into a huge room. From there we walked up inside the mountain to more huge rooms. The stairs are lined with red tube lights, creating an interesting pattern down to a well much lower than where we started.

At the top of the stairs, there are more huge rooms. From the ledge, you can view the waterfall. On one side of the huge room there are a few more huge rooms that are a Taoist temple.

The exit is labeled “To export;” the entrance was “To import.” Curious translations. 

The path down to the starting point goes across and down through a lovely wooded area with bamboo and a type evergreen tree.

Before leaving the area, I had the other woman’s snack: the grass jelly that I like and another jelly that turned out to be mint flavored. At the entrance, there was no transportation back to town; so I asked a couple where they were going and they had me join them in a shuttle that arrived soon. I noticed that they had a green ticket and the man had called the phone number on it. Since I didn’t have a ticket, I had to pay the driver. This shuttle went to the river beach area at the intersection with the road to town. I decided to have a closer look at it since I was there. There are rafts that can be rented with an oarman to float down the river. 

On the other side there were two camels, one of which was being washed in the river. Perhaps camel rides are offered. People were swimming and floating with inner tubes in the water. 

Several women were selling fruit, one of which was totally new to me. So I had to try it. I have no idea what it is. 

The woman showed me to break it in half and then gave me a toothpick to eat the pieces inside. Each piece has a seed which is not eaten. It was interesting to try but not one I’d go out of my way to have again.

Then I looked for a shuttle down the mountain back to Yantou. A woman was selling the green tickets for 100 RMB/$17. She showed me that it goes to several destinations. I didn’t want to purchase a ticket because I’d already paid twice for other transportation, but she clearly was in charge of transportation and wouldn’t agree for me to pay to go only to Cangpo, the village I wanted to visit. My idea was to ride there and then walk to Yantou. A young woman who speaks some English explained the same thing the woman had said and told me that I had to buy the ticket and pay 100 RMB because the trip to Cangpo is farther than the trip to the scenic area. I wasn’t happy about that but there didn’t seem to be another alternative, as no one else was picking up passengers. So I bought the ticket and got in a van.

The driver took me to Cangpo, one of several ancient villages in the area. It was originally built in the 12^th century and is a combination of old buildings and newer buildings with modern ones on the edge. It is visited by tourists but is not touristic. People are living their lives, not catering to tourists. The only things being sold were drinks in a few places. I loved the stone houses. 

I was especially intrigued by the people painted on the temple doors, as their faces look like real men, not the usual guardians. 

Part of the village is built around a rectangular pool, and the reflections were beautiful. 

There is an area with stone slabs for washing clothes at one end.

When I exited the village an hour later and the driver was waiting for me, I rethought my having paid for the ticket and decided he was worth it. I had decided that I was too tired to walk the whole way and it was getting a little late for a long walk, as I wanted to be sure to get a bus back to the ferry. I think the woman told him to take me there and then on to Lishui Jie back in Yantou. When we arrived, he further made himself worth the extra cost when he took me in a side entrance to avoid having to purchase an entrance ticket. The ticket was for more of the area than I would be visiting and I’d already overpaid for transportation; so I didn’t feel bad about not paying the fee. Lishui Jie is a covered walkway along the river that is lined with stalls and shops selling various goods to tourists. 

The buildings in the area were interesting to see, but by this time I was tired and ready to start the journey back to the hotel; so I wasn’t tempted to linger. I was glad I’d spent most of my time in Cangpo.

Again the driver waited for me. Then he took me to the bus stop from which I got a bus back to the ferry. All in all, he turned out to be a worthwhile expense.

Back in Wenzhou, I went for a foot massage. I’d noticed two places on Monday and had decided that a foot massage would be in order before leaving. Four men were in chairs in the entrance. I pointed to one to indicate that I wanted a foot massage. Then I was taken to a room with five other people, and I could see yet another room nearby full of people. The place was busy with both women and men. The woman first scraped my feet, scraping off a lot of dead skin. I’d not had that experience before, but my feet were quite soft and smooth afterwards. She cut my toenails, too. Then she asked if I wanted a massage. I think the man I pointed to must have been having the other work done, not having a massage at that moment. So I ended out getting both treatments, which was great. I walked out feeling much better.

I like Wenzhou, at least the very small part of it that I experienced. Buildings are attractive. Maybe because they are new. Maybe because they were usually seen with sunshine and sometimes a blue sky. The city seems clean. It’s quiet. And traffic stops when the light changes. I encountered very limited English. The hotel staff speak almost none but were all very pleasant and tried to communicate with their translators. School-aged children stared openly and most didn’t respond if I spoke to them. Some, of course, giggled. Adults also stared more than I’m used to in Chengdu. If I greeted them, some would break into a smile. Several men gave me a thumbs up.