China Day 4, South Great Wall & Miao People

Thursday June 30^th

This morning we left at 8:00 by minibus to visit the small village of Miao Wang Cheng. On the way we stopped off at the Southern Great Wall. This wall is not the famous one in the north that was built to protect China from the Moguls, this one is in the south and was built to protect them from rebellious minority groups. It was built during the Ming Dynasty in 1554 and took 78 years to complete. It is 382 miles long! Large parts of it had fallen into disrepair and it was reconstructed in 2002, another amazing feat. We climbed up a portion of it consisting of hundreds of steps and walked along the top for about a kilometre loop. It was very hot and we were soaked with sweat by the time we were finished. The wall provided some amazing views of the area. Then we continued by bus to Miao Wang Cheng.

This village is home to one of the cultural minorities of China, the Miao people. Intrepid used to go to a different town that was further away and some of their passengers complained about that trip. So, as the government has recently completed a sealed road to Miao Wang Cheng, they have changed their itinerary to this town. The road was very good and when we arrived we could immediately see that a lot of money had been put into building a new large parking lot and entrance to the village. The villagers greeted us and sang us a welcome song. We had to respond. Since there were ten Aussies they sang Waltzing Matilda. Then they sang again and we had to once more. We responded this time with Happy Birthday, yikes. Then they gave us a glass of local rice wine and welcomed us in. We had a lovely woman guide who took us around the out skirts of the village and explained everything to us in Chinese, whereupon Allen would translate for us.

This village used to be home to a king and his subjects. We saw some historical aspects and some modern cultural aspects. Everywhere we went the local people had little stands set up trying to sell us local handicrafts, clothing, drinks and ice cream. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to walk in the actual streets of the village and really see how they live. But from what I could see they lived a simple life but they did have some amenities from the modern world. There was electricity, satellites and the like, but I saw very few vehicles. We climbed to a lookout that commanded a great view of the river. Then we walked back down to the river for a short boat ride in a large canoe type vessel. Then we hiked back up to the house of the family of the guide for a traditional lunch. The food was very good and quite spicy.

After lunch we went to the local square and watched a short dance and music presentation. While that was going on I explored the town a little bit to see what I could see. The town has a kind of old world medieval feel to it with brick walls and winding paths. I met two young girls who were running down the stairs and laughing as they each had a large beetle tied to a string and the beetles were flying ahead of them. After the show we boarded the bus and headed back to the hotel.

Paul and I went for a walk to a cafe we visited the first day for a drink and some wi-fi. On the way we crossed a bridge high over the river for a great view of the river and all the tourists. On the bridge I noticed six motorcyclists dressed in leather standing by their bikes. I went over and showed them a photo of my bike and we became instant friends (who couldn't talk to each other!) and took photos of each other. They wanted to pose with me. The Chinese in this area are very interested in tourists as this area is off the beaten path (for now) and we didn't see any other westerners around.

We met Maggie and her mom, Karen, at the cafe and then Allen came in too. We chatted for awhile and then the five of us headed to a street food market for dinner. Allen ordered us some pork, fish, noodles, chicken and eggplant and we had a great feast and were entertained by local musicians.

On the way back Allen, Paul and I stopped at a bar and had a few beer. We played a dice game with five dice where you have to predict the number of one number you would get with two peoples die when you can only see your own. You had to bid, kind of like bridge – two, fours, countered by three fives, then maybe four sixes, then five sixes, until someone calls bull shit. The loser has to drink some of their drink. There were two young Chinese girls there that Allen played the game with as well. The one was gorgeous and obviously she had played before just by the way she could pull the dice off the table with the cup and flip it over quickly not loosing any of them. Allen told me later that he usually wins and she beat him a lot. Anyway it was a good time and a fun game. When I'd had enough to drink I headed off to bed.