Wuyuan Part 2 (8-3)

Saturday I stayed in Little Likeng. The weekend tour groups were out, which was not surprising. There weren’t too many groups; so it was easy to avoid them or wait until they moved on. I enjoyed walking slowly through the village, looking at the various items for sale and picking up a few small items for gifts. 

I also walked out on the road along the fields for a short time. I do enjoy fields. 

They are small, family-sized plots that have several vegetables in each plot. And rice. After relaxing in my room for a while, I went to a teahouse on a covered rooftop and enjoyed tea and reading for a couple hours.

Sunday I took a private tour to Huang Ling and the Conxi River. Huang Ling is one of the places photos of which enticed me to visit this area. It’s known for its terraced rice fields and earth art, the various configurations of the fields. 

It is also known for its ocean of flowers during all four seasons. They plant flowers between and around the rice fields, perhaps as a tourist draw. Different flowers for each season so something is always in bloom. This season's flowers were dark pink.

The trail along the ridge to view the terraces is also lined with flowers in some places. I loved walking around the area and viewing the configurations of the fields. 

At the end of the paved trail, a man pointed me to go ahead; so I walked on farther along the farmers’ path, reminding me of walking on such paths in Sapa, Vietnam. After several minutes I came to another field of flowers of a different kind. These were purple. A few people were working among the flowers. And a few farmers were working in the rice.

The next place to walk was the corridor of 24 solar terms. I had no idea what that meant, but I was curious enough to walk it. After passing the second set of six stone pictures about farming with Chinese explanations, I figured out that there would be 24 pictures. Later I remembered reading that people met in the village pavilion on the 1^st and 15^th of each month, which would make 24 times a year. So the 24 solar terms related to the farming cycle through the months.

The path goes through a wooded area that has ancient yews. These are labeled the “panda of plants” because they have been on earth for over two million years and are now endangered.

The final place to visit is Huang Ling village, an ancient village that is famous for its folk culture: drying seasonal produce on huge bamboo trays. Bamboo poles jut out from the roofs to hold the trays. After seeing a poster of thIs, I was thrilled to be experiencing it in person. 

On the way out there was a sign on a building that I almost missed inviting people to go to the third floor to take photos. This was the view that was on the publicity poster, and I had it to myself. 

Houses in the village are stucco with elaborately carved wooden doors, windows, and decorations. The village is in the process of being upgraded. Many of the houses are gutted and are being renovated. New construction is going up outside the ancient village. It will become more touristic.

We stopped at a local restaurant for lunch where I was able to point to the food I wanted to have cooked. I chose fish, thinking I was ordering one fish, and bamboo. Of course, I got more than one fish and couldn’t eat them all.

After lunch it was time for river drifting on the Conxi River. I envisioned myself floating down the river on a bamboo raft. But that’s not what happened. Because I am only one person, I had to either pay 120 RMB/$20 more or wait for several other people to arrive. After a few minutes, Vivian approached and introduced herself, speaking fluent English, and asked if she could help. I explained why I was waiting and sat with her and chatted. She was there with her colleagues, as they were having a weekend outing together. When everyone had arrived, they invited me join them on rubber rafts. (Vivian said she, too, preferred a bamboo raft but the group preferred the rubber ones.) Four of us were in the raft and we each had an oar. So, instead of relaxing while a man poled the bamboo raft, we were rowing ourselves down the river. It was fun. People on a couple of the rafts were into water fighting. My companions tried to avoid this, but we got wet anyway. Mostly we quietly rowed, sometimes drifting along, for an hour. The river itself isn’t very special, but it was a fun activity and it was nice to do it with these people.