Beauty Valley (A Peach Blossom Spring in the Mortal World)

Author: Zhu Yong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: As a writer, traveler, and modern man, Zhu Yong has always been dedicated to finding his own paradise. In the city, he couldn’t find his own home. He devoted most of his life to the road. It was the road that changed his fate. In the city, he was calm, elegant, restrained, and reserved, but on the road, he became brave, unrestrained, passionate, and excited. Paradise would wait for him at every end, giving him comfort and strength. In reality, the paradise he had been was within himself, a part of his body. It lay dormant within him in ordinary times; on the road, paradise would reveal itself, becoming dreams, songs, and poems.
— Renowned painter Leng Bingguan
I feel as if I still live in the Beauty Valley to this day. I hope I can still drink butter tea abruptly in the dark wooden house every night, wash my face with cold water in the morning, and then stand on "Lahuze" to watch the changes in the light and shadow of the snow-capped mountains. The harmony between humans and nature is all contained in the name of Beauty Valley. It was this name that first stirred me, leading me to this cloud-covered paradise surrounded by mountains and intertwined rivers. Before this, I had no prior knowledge of Beauty Valley, merely searching for its location on a map—Danba County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, the ancient Kangba region, where the five rivers—Dajin River, Xiaojin River, Gesha River, Donggu River, and Dadu River—converge. The rivers have already proven that Danba is a divine place. The rivers are seers, possessing ample experience and wisdom, guiding our journey. I never doubt the rivers’ choice.