2014 - Guangxi

Guilin “Zhuang March” Traditional Festival

“三月三” 八桂欢 -- 'sanyue san' festival

Traditionally, the ethnic folks of the Zhuang Autonomous Region would gather together on the third day of the third lunar calendar month to enjoy merrymaking with songs and dance, food and wine and participate in various activities.

This is the first year the festival “Zhuang March” has been declared a public holiday for all in this region. The Miao, Yao, Dong and various sub-ethnic communities joined in the festivity to welcome the spring season.

It was an explosive colourful festival with songs and dance, ethnic folks displaying their traditional craftwork and so on.
My discovery of 'Yongfu' county's good fortune has certainly brought on a good many unexpected 'wow' surprises on this recce journey!

The colourful ethnic costumes of the Miao, Yao, Dong and sub-ethnic groups

The different designs of costumes and headdresses

Ethnic women folks -- headdresses and silver jewelleries

Traditional headdress and costume

The ethnic lady in traditional costume, headdress, silver jewellery exhibiting her skills at embroidery work.

This is not a headdress but the traditional artful and skillful hairstyle of the Yao ethnic women folks.
 

Family heirloom -- the set of silver earrings were handmade 

Family heirloom -- the beautiful handmade silver bangles crafted as a pair that depicts dragon (right of photo) and phoenix (left of photo). Another bangle depicting the Chinese characters (left bottom). 

Ethnic weaving, embroidery and other craftworks 

Handmade equipment for weaving cloths to make into clothing

Another variant of handmade equipment for weaving fine textile

Handmade straw sandals

Indigo-dyed cloth

Handcrafted straw dragons

The festival lasted for three days in Guangxi. It provided the opportunity for all ethnic minorities to come together to celebrate and, to let visitors have a glimpse of their traditional folk culture and customs. 

Baisha Agriculture Produce Wholesale Market , Yangshuo county.

This is the largest wholesale market in this county. It is about 40 km from Guilin. It is easily accessible by public transport, taxi or private vehicle. 

A foodie lover, I could not resist trying everything within sight -- the variety of fruits and local produce were so amazing!

This market distributes about 150,000 tons of fruits with an annual turnover of about 1.3 billion yuan. There are kumquat, pomelo, persimmon, chestnut, oranges and other produce. Both the kumquat and pomelo are the most popular fruit that had won gold and silver awards. They are distributed to different cities in China and overseas market as well.

This market operates on  Monday, Thursday and Sunday week. 

It was an amazing sight to behold with so much energy and excitement walking through rows of stalls selling local produce with most farmers displaying their small quantities of produce on the streets.  

Lotus root snack --. this stall was crowded with locals buying after sampling them. Interestingly crunchy and yummy! Each huge portion costs 10 Yuan and weighs about 500gm. 

Simplicity in taste -- sold like hotcakes, this lotus root snack is made from lotus root flour with added sugar and water. The ingredients are placed into a creatively self-invented motorized cake mixture machine that churns out this sweet snack. 

Where there is a market, there will be good comfort food. This is a popular eatery that sold out the flat noodles that I would love to have. 

The soup stock is the key ingredient to this tasty noodle soup enjoy by the locals; with selected toppings of your choice. A standard bowl costs 4.50 Yuan. The costs on selected extra toppings will go according to how much you order.

Serious business at sorting out cartons of kumquat at this wholesale outlet. I could try as much as I want but it took a bit of coaxing to have the boss to sell me some to take back with me. The best quality kumquat I have had in a while!

Kumquat -- enjoy it whole with the skin on!

The local folks call this golden bean used in making 'zhongzi' (粽子) stuffed with other ingredients -- chestnut, red dates, glutinous rice and spices together with a piece of meat (pork) wrapped in bamboo leaves and steam till cooked. The folks buy the ingredients and make the 'zhongzi at home. 

Several stalls lined up along the same lane selling the same produce. A stall selling the ingredients for making 'zhongzi'

Cuddly gold-coloured ducklings!

The best quality local root tuber -- the taro or yam. When you are in Lipu, you have to try the different dishes that are created using this taro from soup to stew; from stir fry to dessert and many more. According to the locals, there are over seventy different dishes available. The most popular dish is the traditional Lipu Taro Looped Meat. They select quality taro and marinated streaky pork, steam until soft before serving.

They sell a few varieties here. This picture shows their favourite variety --  when cooked, it melts in your mouth with a full-body taro flavour.

Bamboo shoots 

Water chestnuts and peanuts

Orange picking in the village hills

A friend's relative who lives in the village took us to their family orange farm up on the hill. The climb up the hill slope to reach this particular orange farm was quite tricky though exciting. I followed behind with curiosity; stopped to look at certain trees or wild find that he pointed out to us. There were no clear proper pathways -- the farmers know how to find their way up and back down. 

The village down at the foothills. Our friend was busy picking wild chives that thrive on the hill slopes around the orange trees. 

Sweet tasty wild chives

Picking oranges at a gradient of 45-degree slope was a first time experience. It was unbelievably hard work to find firm footing on the slope while bending over to pick each fruit

This particular orange tree bears the sweetest fruit! Our friend does not know why the other fruit trees around it though tasted good but nothing like the oranges on this tree. I picked one to taste. It has a citrusy fragrant, naturally sweet juicy taste. He added that generally, fruits grown on hill slopes have a distinctive flavour in taste and texture due to the air, water drainage and sunshine. 

Wild Flora

I could not resist picking some wild wood ear mushrooms on the way up the hills

It was a fun-filled fruitful day. Luckily, I did not have to carry the heavy bag of oranges down the hills! 


Capturing the moment of village children and rustic lifestyle

This was a rare find with no tourists within sight in this quaint village where the folks got on with their daily routine – manning the fields, tending to their fowls, repairing or rebuilding rundown dwellings. The curious kids came out to greet us with shy cheeky looks on their faces. 

The quaint village

Tractors used on the rice fields

 

Rice fields

Handcrafted milling rice equipment 

Residence of a noble family

The Lee family ancient abode

The main hall -- the  character 'longevity'  at the centre with a pair of 'dulian' on both sides 

An elegantly piece of calligraphy

A section of the courtyard

Capturing spontaneous moment through my lens
The unconditional connection

Simplicity -- the boy and his brick wall 

The heart and soul connection

Contemplation...

Cycling through farms and Jiuxian ancient village in Yangshuo

Yangshuo county has come to be known as an overly commercialized destination. Indeed, once a backpackers’ haven where most Westerners love to stay for months on ends here have found another economical oasis in the ethnic minority region of Longji to stay. 

In Yangshuo, as long as you steer clear of the West Street area there are other exciting places for tourists and travellers to explore.

Cycling, hiking, rock climbing in the countryside or get on a bamboo raft to enjoy the Yulong River, a small tributary of the Lijiang River are some fun activities to do.  

For those who prefer to stay indoors, there are cooking, arts and various craftwork classes available or simply chill out, read a book or just do nothing!

I love to venture out for the day to nearby ancient villages or towns on each trip there. There are quite a few exciting places to discover that are about an hour or two away from Yangshuo. 

Cycling through the farmland

Once an ancient dwelling, this place is now catering to travellers looking to stay in the village homes with a touch of stylish design, providing modern facilities inside each bedroom. In fact, there are many more of these farm house stays available in recent years near the Yulong River or in the villages nearby.

Jiuxian village is established around the 16th century. Generally, in most ancient villages, there is at least one or more noble dwellings where the villagers would proudly share stories of the noble family and their extended families that had once lived in these spacious houses with numerous courtyards and a huge ancestral hall. The ancestral hall is used to greet visitors or used for celebration of events and festivities. 

A fairly well preserved ancient noble residence opened to visitors. 

A section of the ancestral hall.

Cobbled stone alleyways

A local abode nearby

There are several mud brick farm houses in Jiuxian village. Life of the local folks here is one of absolute tranquility.

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is simply one vast and exciting place to visit – the stunning landscapes, the captivating natural scenery, the diverse ethnic groups and culture and, the local folks are hospitable and welcoming.

This is one of the few regions that I have been revisiting to enjoy the enchanting vistas that go beyond words.

(March/April 2014)

Yongfu County -- Special thanks to Mr Tang, the deputy of Tourism, Mr Zhao of Tourism and Professor Liu of the Cultural Department; for without their kind assistance to take me around on an informal tour, this section of travel experience would not have happened.