-by Ernie Diaz
Poorest province in China nothing. As though lack of factory towns should cause Guizhou to feel shame. There’s some ruckus in Guizhou’s capital, Guiyang, aimed at economic transformation, or at least a little respect from the East. But even rich, well-preserved provinces like Zhejiang can’t hope to rival Guizhou in raw, natural beauty.
A warm seductress, Guizhou is renowned for her voluptuous hills and dancing tribe members. Both abound in Anshun, located in the southwest of a southwestern province. But along with mountains and minorities, Anshun also offers the reverse: aquatic marvels, and a tiny segment of China’s majority people far removed from mainstream life.
But to start with the water, a natural first choice after some hard traveling. It’s another forty five kilometer rattle out to Huangguoshu Waterfall, the price for laying claim to have seen “the largest waterfall in Asia”. It could well be the closest thing to the Amazon in Asia, to boot, the splash from seventy four meters of falling river misting all around it to a vital jungle sheen that wants only a Yanomamo headhunter poking about for the illusion to be complete. You can take in its roaring presence from the top, side, or directly underneath, peeping from the Water-Curtain cave, running your fingers along a force of nature.
And that’s good for about an hour’s entertainment, unless you’re an animist of particularly vigorous faith. But if you follow the river on down, there are more falls, diminishing in height by distance traveled more or less geometrically. Before long, a healthy intellect will begin to ponder floating rather than stumbling along the banks. For that kind of good time, you head back to Anshun 20 kilometers or so, to Dragon Palace Cave.
This boat trip is no serene open-air drift, ala Yangshuo. Nor is it some white-water bumpathon. Rather, it is a voyage into the heart of Guizhou, sub-earth, along the longest strip of underground river in China, five kilometers’ worth. The place will never get close to the PR it deserves until it changes some of the highlight stops along the way: Rape Lake, Leech Pass, and the Whirlpool by way of relief. Then again, it is traditional to encounter horrors before reaching the royal gates, in this case the Dragon Palace, folk-tale home of the Dragon King.
Karst is a hell of a stone. Besides opium, no substance has stirred Chinese imaginations more deeply. The Dragon Palace sets the bar for what phantasmagoric effects water, limestone, and a few million years can achieve. The Bed Chamber, the Receiving Cave, the Dragon-Gate waterfall, the names spring from Journey to the West lore, but the caves in their eroded, stately intricacy could well pass for the architectural genius of a dragon with a few eons on his hands, and a few million fairy subcontractors. Even the extra-loud guy in the boat, the one with the sunflower seeds, will hush before their majesty.
Now what if you have only a piddling human lifetime to make something substantial out of rock? The only reason to bother is for defense, the raison d’ etre for Tianlong Tunpu, an age-old fortress town on the outskirts of Anshun. Even twenty years after its fall, the Yuan Dynasty still had some restive remnants stirring about in Yunnan. The Hongwu Emperor sent a force three-hundred thousand strong to quell resistance. Easy to imagine the dismay of the troops who learned that, rather than return to their Nanjing-area homes, they would be stationed in this strategic neck of Guizhou indefinitely.
More than six centuries on, those soldiers’ descendants carry on day-to-day like eastern analogues of Appalachian hillbillies, folk who disappear into the mountains and see no good reason to come down, much less change their ways. The Tunpu live a Ming-era lifestyle with Colonial Williamsburg-authenticity, only by choice, not for pay. The women go about in double-breasted blue embroidered dresses, sporting Phoenix headdresses which require more skill to arrange than any Hollywood hairdo.
Farming the few patches of fertile soil, weaving, crafting and trading, the Tunpu still make their way largely untouched by any modern contrivances. Only the structures remind visitors of the Tunpu’s martial origins. High walls of stone everywhere, divided by twisting alleys, and far more shooting holes than windows to let in light and air. Seen from below as it climbs up its karst perch, Tianlong Tunpu resembles nothing so much as the hilltop fortress towns of southern Italy and Spain, the ones where strangers were likely to have burning oil poured on them at the gate.
However, hospitality is genetic for the Han, and a footsore tourist may still be invited in to an inevitably orderly Tunpu home for a cup of tea. The interiors are where signs of the villagers’ lower Yangtze origins still linger, in the entryway carvings and well-appointed inner courtyards.
With no Mongol-battling in the offing, it wasn’t too long before the Tunpu had to find something to do in their spare time besides await attack. They claim that their Dixi operabegan as a way to propitiate the gods before war, as good a pretext as any to paint themselves up and strut around yelling songs of heroism and heartbreak. Dixi opera predates Peking opera, and may be a gritty precursor, requiring no stage, nor childhood bicycle accident to hit the right notes.
The communal dinner parties still feature staples of military Ming rations, cured meat and pickles, preserved tofu and the like. Learn to love that or a steaming heap of pigs’ feet, and moutai, for at table with Tunpu you will be commanded, not requested, to eat and drink, more, again, more, again. Such can you count on the Chinese for, should you find them in an ancient stone village or on the moon.
Woow..what a beautiful view..I really like the waterfall ..Would want to visit this place once for sure.
Stretch Marks
China is really a beautiful country. All pics are so beautiful, thanks for sharing with us.
Thank you for this interesting article and for sharing these beautiful pix. The waterfall looks divine and mystic, just like the whole Chinese culture for most Western people. Though China has turned into a great power nowadays, which is everywhere with its goods and products!!
))
It is a pleasure to read the posts on this blog, thanks a lot!
Thanks for reading!
As the winter season is approaching, you must start making preparations for it collecting all the necessary things you would require from warm clothes to boots as all these are must.
The waterfall looks divine and mystic, just like the whole Chinese culture for most Western people.
The water and stone is so match and all the visitors can have a good sharing !
Beautiful scenery there. I love all your shots. Keep it up!
Penny Stock List
I like such type of places which are quite natural. And you can experience the quite and pleasing easy life here.
Anshun is really a beautiful country in China, thanks for sharing it.
Guizhou, the peculiar natural scenery, remarkable national customs, brilliant history, culture and the pleasant climate condition form a unique, aboriginal, unsophisticated and mysterious landscape which is attracting more and more tourists, both domestic and international.
These pics are really nice also the girls looking beautiful
Yeah, blue really brings out the best in a babe.
It is good to know the History & ancient cultures of our country. Thanks for taking the effort to blog this. Really Appreciate it.This is a unique opportunity to experience astounding natural beauty and ancient cultures while enjoying some of the best riding in the world.This was a most fascinating read Chris and thank you for it.
The waterfalls and caves are absolute gems.
Very beautiful place ! Thank for the beautiful pictures and for the hystory.
Love this blog !
Anshun is really a beautiful country in China, thanks for sharing it.
The scenery is just fantastic. I hope to visit it one day.
I really loved reading your blog. It was very well authored and easy to understand. Unlike additional blogs I have read which are really not good. I also found your posts very interesting. In fact after reading, I had to go show it to my friend and he enjoyed it as well!
Amazing, makes me feel like I wanna have a visit at china if I only had a penny. lol.
The waterfall is very beautiful.
What is the name of the waterfall?
F for reading comprehension, Spammy Spammerson.
This is such a good article,I have known that there still parts of China wherein people are still struggling. Just hoping that the gov’t. would do something about it.Thank you for this post..
Don’t worry, Mo. The government here does actually give a tiny rat’s patoot about the poor people, unlike some Lands of the Free.
It is good to know the History & ancient cultures of our country. Thanks for taking the effort to blog this. Really Appreciate it.This is a unique opportunity to experience astounding natural beauty and ancient cultures while enjoying some of the best riding in the world.This was a most fascinating read Chris and thank you for it.
Yeah, thanks Chris.
I wanted to let you know, you’re totally on. I found your post from some other blog and am totally fascinated by this topic and learning this. Do you mind if I reference to this blog from my subscribers group?
Not until you’re 100% wart-free. And yes, we’ll need pictures.
just not enough for me. I want to more. Thanks!
Sigh, another LA mover and shaker looking for China Sexpat. Learn to type!
Thanks for the great post! I’ve been thinking about this exact same thing over the last few days, so it’s weird that you posted on it. You definitely did a much nicer job writing about it than I could have though.
Let me get this straight: you’ve been thinking about Anshun being a village of water and stone over the last few days? NO LINK FOR YOU!!