Miao Village Under Leigong Mountain - Rural Customs of China

Author: Pan Nianying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: I took a bus from Rongjiang to Kaili, passing through famous Miao villages like Liaoli, Pingyong, Tashi, and Yongle. I climbed over the poetic and picturesque Kaitun Pass and arrived at a small town called Taojiang. At the time, the town was bustling with a market, and I saw Miao women in colorful short skirts bustling about the streets. Overjoyed, I decided to get off and stay overnight in this small town. I had long wanted to linger in Taojiang for more than a day. It was almost a wish I had harbored twenty years ago. Back then, Qianzi worked in the ancient town of Guzhou in Rongjiang, while I was living in Guiyang, the provincial capital, pursuing our love. Year after year, we traveled back and forth on the mountain road between Rongjiang and Kaili. Back then, rural buses were not as luxurious as they are now, and the roads were not paved with asphalt. Dust and smoke billowed as we traveled, and our youth slipped away unnoticed. Perhaps what was also lost was our faint and humble hopes and dreams for life. Twenty years have passed, and I no longer remember what I thought and felt while sitting alone on those long bus rides. Only the scenery outside the window remained beautiful and familiar. The peaks were still steep and majestic, inspiring wonder and reverence. And the names of the stops along the way remained unchanged, making each place feel warm and comforting. Even so, I still couldn’t understand why my trip to Leishan had led me to Taojiang. To be honest, before getting off the bus, I only knew the name of this place. I knew almost nothing about Taojiang. I didn’t even know it was a settlement of short-skirted Miao people, nor did I know it was the hometown of one of my university classmates. I jumped off the bus almost blindly. Later, I realized that my entire summer trip to Leishan was blind. No one told me where the scenic spots were or what interesting customs I could experience, nor did anyone guide me on a more mature and convenient travel route. However, based on experience, I believed that blind exploration would yield more rewards than a planned itinerary. And indeed, throughout the entire summer trip to Leishan, my daily gains could be described as "unexpectedly huge." Taojiang—I had finally truly walked on its land. It was a summer afternoon, around 5:00 PM, in 2005. Sunny. Monday. My love, Qianzi, and my daughter, Beitong, got off the bus with me. After settling them in a nearby inn, I immediately climbed to a high slope to take photos. The sunset was casting a soft and beautiful light over the mountains. I walked along a simple, unpaved road up the slope to a Miao village called Yanzhai. Looking back in astonishment, I saw layered terraced fields below, with green rice seedlings bathed in golden sunlight. Looking further into the distance at the Taojiang town, though it was just a small street, I could still see many signs of modern civilization. At least the buildings on both sides of the street were no longer traditional wooden houses, but instead made of new tiles and concrete. There was also a modern black-asphalt road cutting through it, with cars coming and going, making it hard to immediately sense the place’s ancient and traditional atmosphere. However, once inside Yanzhai, everything was different. As soon as I entered the village, I saw