Miao Village in Xijiang River —— The Second Day of Guizhou Tour

From the morning of August 14, I walked along Wuyang River. At this time, the town is very quiet, the willow leaves are gently brushed, and the green hills are shrouded in clouds. I sat on a wooden chair by the river, listening to my daughter and Tao Di playing Farewell to the Pavilion. My voice is slow and affectionate, and I feel a little reluctant.

Depart for Xijiang Miao Village in the morning, drive for more than four hours, and arrive around noon. The three big parking lots here are full, and I can't find a parking space after searching for a long time, so I have to turn around and find another place. We first took our luggage down from the parking lot of the West Gate ticket office and looked at the sign "Parking space is full". I asked the administrator if there was a parking space, but I didn't expect the handsome guy to say that a car had just left and there was one last parking space. What a surprise! Then we bought tickets and went to the time flies inn recommended by our friends.

The handsome guy who picked us up ran around in the crowded traffic and finally came to this inn. Actually, it's not far. It just took a lot of time. I just watched the traffic nervously. Where can I afford to see the mountain view?

After everything was settled, I saw that the inn had a good observation deck with a panoramic view of the Miao village opposite. Thousands of Miao villages, literally, there are more than 1000 households. It is said that the Miao people here are the direct descendants of Chiyou, who fought against the Yellow Emperor countless times, but suffered repeated defeats and battles and moved southward. After various dynasties and the Western Han Dynasty, the Xi clan, which was divided into several Miao descendants, moved to Xijiang (about 600 years ago), but before the arrival of the Xi clan, the Miao "reward" clan had already lived here. The word "Xi" in Xijiang place names refers to the Xi nationality, and the word "Jiang" means "beg". The Xi nationality wants a piece of land from the appreciation nationality, which is the original intention of Xijiang place names. Xijiang Miao Village grew from 25 households at the beginning to more than 1000 households in Ming and Qing Dynasties. After a long time, it has become a big Miao village with more than 5,000 people today.

Looking from the observation deck halfway up the mountain to the opposite side, Miao villages are built on the mountain, with rows of black roofs and bronze wooden houses, mostly two floors, revealing a sense of vicissitudes in the sun. Surrounded by high mountains, the mountains surround Miao village, and a Baishui River runs through the mountains like a jade belt. On the hillside next to Miao village, there are terraces, which are covered with green rice like mountains. This is really a good place to be isolated and free! People of the Western ethnic group, tired of running around, must be happy and inexplicable to settle down here.

At the foot of the mountain is facing the playground of a middle school, and not far away is a round performance venue. It seems that you can still hear the sound of musical instruments such as lusheng suona, loud folk songs, and the crisp collision of Miao costumes when they shake. What a lively ballroom!

We walked out of Yufeng No.1 Bridge and went to the opposite commercial street, where everything with Miao customs was available. Of course, the most is silverware. There are many villages in Miao village, and many people in one village are good at making silverware. CCTV once made a special report on a silversmith family in this village. It seems that the silverware in the shop is still very reliable. Walking into several silverware shops, many silverware is really well-made. With so many production processes, how many silversmiths' painstaking efforts can make a piece of silverware?

Then we pay attention to all kinds of Miao snacks. I like these things best: bamboo rice, glutinous rice mixed with red dates and bacon, a broken bamboo rice, a fragrant pavement, and saliva! There is also the big piece of bamboo stick bacon, the skin and vegetarian meat are reddish brown, and the fat in the middle is white and bright, which is smoked and roasted to be shiny and delicious. There are baked potatoes, hard golden skin, which reminds me of the scene of baking sweet potatoes in the fireplace when I was a child. Try buying some. Sure enough, they are full of the flavor of childhood!

After playing with water by the Baishui River, they returned to the street. The children bought some small toys and went back to the inn to have a rest. Contact the bamboo forest family in the Miao village opposite, set the dinner time, and we will head for the cottage opposite. Go in from the entrance of Yedongzhai in Wang Miao Restaurant and climb all the way. I want to have a closer look at Miao Village, thinking: If I don't go deep into it, why should I say that I have been here? The stone steps are steep and the stone walls on both sides are covered with moss and weeds. But thousands of Miao villages, every household has basically been commercialized, and there is no feeling of a quiet old stockade in the mountains. Climb the stone steps on the mountain, look at the old woman leaning against the door, look at the dog sleeping on the edge of the steps with his eyes closed, touch the long vines on the stone wall, look at the chestnut pony carrying grass and slowly walk down the stone steps, and look at the white clouds in the sky and the towering green hills at his feet. Try to ignore those shops that are selling, drumming and elegant, just tell yourself silently that this is a Miao village with thousands of years of history and has nothing to do with glitz.

The bamboo forest family is not far from the highest point of the stockade. The family in front also set up an observation deck, climbed the steps, pushed open the small wooden door and slipped in, just to see the panoramic view of the Miao village opposite, and the inn where we lived was also clearly visible. At this time, there are only a few rosy clouds left in the sunset, and the hut gradually turns yellow in the dusk, but the drum music at the foot of the mountain is louder. Probably, the performance of "Xijiang Ancient Love" will begin.

Lights are on every second, and there are dots everywhere, just like stars in the night sky. Climbing the mountain with Miao girl, I saw a lot of medicinal liquor soaked with various poisonous snakes and herbs, and even found a famous local painter living on the mountain. Finally, come to the drum hall to see the big drum, which is the soul of the stockade. It is said that the souls of our ancestors rest in this drum. I stood silently in this dark mountain, and the wind blew coolly, as if whispering about the suffering of this brave and hardworking Miao people.

Having dinner in Zhulin family, drinking sweet and delicious rice wine, the host family is a handsome and cheerful Miao young man with a happy face, saying that his daughter will go to school in Kaili in the future, because the local teaching quality is not good and the stockade is too noisy, which has an impact on her study. I can't help thinking that if thousands of Miao villages are not developed into scenic spots, the residents' life in Miao villages will be quite closed and backward, and the transportation will be inconvenient. They have to walk a long way out of the mountain, and they have cultivated this land with their backs to the loess for generations, and they just barely fill their stomachs. Walking out of the mountains must be their dream, right? Now, Qianhu Miao Village has become a famous scenic spot in Qiandongnan Prefecture, attracting people from thousands of miles away. Although this tranquility has been broken, it has also brought earth-shaking changes to life. The roads are smooth, the water and electricity are connected, and there are many opportunities to make money. Children can choose a good school outside the mountain to study, and their families have no worries about food and clothing, and even their horizons have been broadened a lot. While lamenting that Miao Village has been completely commercialized, have we ever wondered how these 1000 Miao Village residents are glad that they can get rid of poverty so quickly? Once the scenic spot is developed, the original model of local residents will definitely be broken. How to strike a balance between the two is a question worth pondering.

I heard that there are snakes in the mountains. I hurried down the mountain after dinner. When I returned to the inn, it was already nine o'clock. After washing, I sat on the observation deck reading and watching the scenery. Insects sound like drums, but my heart is quiet and peaceful. At eleven o'clock, I had tea and chatted with tourists and innkeepers from the northeast, mainly listening to their travel notes.

Go to the observation deck again in the morning and wait for sunrise. After a while, a red sun burst out from the top of the mountain in front of the right, and suddenly it was radiant, coating the hut with a layer of Hui Jin. Everything becomes bright. Get up early in the morning, sit on the balcony and look at the Miao village opposite. Without the noise of the day, the smoke from the roof of every household drifted obliquely and rose into the air, blending with the clouds on the top of the mountain. I can only hear birds singing clearly in my ears. When I looked up yesterday, the river at the foot of the mountain was a little muddy. At this moment, it has become an emerald with a bright spot.

As the cock crows, the ancient Miao village will welcome a batch of tourists. In the evening, listening to the shop owner chatting while drinking tea, you will know that the scenic spot will set up cable cars on both sides of the mountain. I don't understand. Is this not good at present? How can you feel this ancient place if you don't have to walk through the depths of Miao Village one by one? The addition of the cable car destroyed this harmony, which was embarrassing. Or a thousand Miao villages that have stood for thousands of years? If it is a pity that Miao Village is now full of shops and everyone is doing business, then the addition of cable cars will make the scenic spot more attractive.

It's time to go, pass by in a hurry, pass by in a hurry, and there is no time to stay too much. I wonder what the next seven small arches will bring us.

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