Chuxiong 

cctv.com 01-12-2006 12:56

Pleasant Chuxiong city, south of yunnan, near the Guizhou and Sichuan borders, is the home of friendly Yi minority community. Covering an area of 29,000 square kilometer, Chuxiong is home to almost 2.4 million people. It is one of China's most geographically diverse regions.

While the typical south east Yunan landscapes consists of rolling hills interspersed with fertile valleys, more mountainous regions are found northeast of Chuxiong, and in parts of Qujing. Chuxiong is home to some of the oldest human settlements in the world, and most of the area has been cultivated for centuries. Most settlements are farming or fishing villages, but cities are growing across the region, including such metropolises as Kunming, Dali and Li Jiang.

In many ways Chuxiong is a photographer's dream. Despite the general absence of brilliant color, the countryside is immensely photogenic as there is so much taking place on the streets or in the fields and because the countryside is uniquely beautiful. Furthermore, people are oblivious to cameras on the whole, although you should make sure that the privacy of those who do object, is respected.

The ethnic Yi capital and main port of entry is Chuxiong, a pleasant town where traditional Yi houses stand opposite more recent constructions. A monument park adds to the ethnic flavor, and every day performances of the musical welcome ceremony dance, take place in several areas of the park.

Ethnic Yi people

As a tradition to welcome friends from outside, villagers dress in colorful custom clothes, dancing and singing to a particular music rhythm. A beautiful girl selected from the group will respectfully present home made drinks to the guests, making it impossible to refuse, be careful though, as one set of three cups contains strong liquor that tastes like jet fuel.

On walking up from the main gate, you will pass over a swing bridge, which will bring you to the spot where the tradition of weaving bags, rugs and richly colored clothes still thrives. Beyond is a succession of villages belonging to the combination of Yi and Mandarin community. While most of the inhabitants of the villagers near road are well used to visitors and foreigners, their way of life continues much as it always has.

Some of the crafts most often associated with tourists are hanging fragrance bag, traditional colorful clothing and hand sewed materials with typical ethnic patterns. Local villagers present these items to their so-called 'favorite guest' to show off their traditional techniques.

Every girl in Yi family starts her sewing lesson from the age seven, and continues to practice right up until the preparation of her own wedding dress.

Ethnic Yi people created their own calendar 2,000 years ago. The unique calendar is made up of total of 10 months and every month is made up of 36 days. This allows the Yi communities to have five days as common holiday at the end of each year when they spend their time celebrating and socializing.

Within the particular location of calendar monuments, there are a total of eight symbolic columns created; these individually represent the beginning and end of four seasons.

Only the elder master can identify the date by examining the sun position and the shadow of each column.

Red flower festival

The Red flower festival (Ma Ying Hua Festival) is one of the major Yi minority celebrations, which occurs at the beginning of each spring. Normally it attracts about 30,000 inhabitants who come from various villages in the region, mostly by foot. Some people have to walk 4 or 5 hours each way, to catch the sincere moment of the religious ceremony.

As usual it is crowded at the ceremony, the master leads the believers through the crowd, chanting and worshipping their God. The atmosphere is tantalizing everyone appears to be very focused and mesmerized by this form of gathering.

Then there are the entertaining events of bull fighting, goat fighting and horse racing.

The Yi community doesn't come here to bet on their favorite animal instead they gather just for the social enjoyment of the atmosphere. They are happy to simply cheer on the powerful animals and spend some quality time with their friends and family.

Every year in early spring, there are many ground fairs that have been carried on for community gathering. People come from various villages; most by foot, to participate in the exciting event. People were dancing and singing in colorful ethnic clothing representing the different area of their origin.

Performed by folk musicians, the Chuxiong Red Flower Festival is perhaps the last place where you can hear true love-matching songs from the boys and girls in Yi minority. This tradition has been practiced by generations in Yi Language and even today remains an important part of the dating process.

Singing songs in regard to certain events is popular and pleasant on all occasions, even at the dinner table. The Yi community makes guests welcome by covering the floor with pine needles and offering their favorite dishes. One for sure is that drinking is a must, during and after the songs.

Mud Forest

The Mud Forest, 42.9 square meter in size of Yuanmo Township is located about 110 kilometers northeast of Chuxiong. It is the formation of a few million year old rock and mud mixture, which from a distance resembles a petrified forest, The journey, through villages built in the traditional local style, lasts merely three hours.

A horseback ride through this landscape is highly recommended, for although the colour of the rocks is monotonous, the sharp angles and shapes create strong shadowy contrasts, very good for photograraphy. Coming out of the cave turn left and follow the sand road you will find a Castle-like View on the right and then turn left to the down hill path to reach more magnificent sights.

The Chinese saying that an old horse knows its own path, expresses the situation of Tulin Mud Forest perfectly. The horse will just carry you all the way through the mountain road without any hesitation or mistakes on the rather complicated paths.

With the exception of southern Yunnan, all of northeast Chuxiong lies within the tropics. This means that regardless of when you visit, the weather is likely to be warm or even downright hot. Dry is also common, with few areas far enough inland to enjoy. Of course, temperatures are much cooler in the mountains such as Tulin Mud Forest.

Broadly speaking, there are two main weather patterns in the region, that of mainland south east Yunnan, and that of mountainous areas such as Chuxiong generally has a relatively cool season from November to late February, followed by hot dry season from March to May, and then a hot raining season that starts sometime in June and peters out by September or October. Fortunately, even during the rainy season it seldom rains all day in these areas, and travel is possible over most of the region.

Heijing village

Traveling in the mountain is exciting. It took about 2 hours from Quxiong to Heijing village, a place that has kept its historical buildings and traditions for decades. . Hejing used to be famous for its business of salt making. The prosperity of limitless salt resource made the best history of this region.

The original invented salt purification process is still available for visitors to experience. Back then salt business was strictly controlled by government. Any one who transported salt without consent was considered an illegal act. In the past many people risked their life for smuggling only a small amount of salt for profit.

In Heijing, there are many sights that reflect how sincere local people respect education and they worship well-educated professionals. For instance, 200 years ago a family had one member was selected by the government due to his extraordinary education achievement is highly regarded even today. On the other hand, The Confucius temple, now is a school, has always been adored throughout the village.

Wu's Mansion has 108 connected doors throughout the entire building. This particular design is based on the Chinese tradition for good luck. In addition, windows carry various shapes and directions. The details on the buildings follow a unique line combination, wood carvings, and gold deco appear to be, the underlining feature. Every part of the house is carefully laid out according to Chinese balance and harmony elements. I particularly like the design of the shutters.

Wu's Mansion hotel is the state of art facility. It sites in the middle of mountain with peaceful environment providing customers with a chilled atmosphere for maximum relaxation.

Editor:Chen Zhuo  Source:CCTV.com