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The path less trodden
By Erik Nilsson (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-04 10:25
 Elephants perform at Guizhou Forest Wildlife Partk. Photos by Erik Nilsson Visitors here can see the traditional two-story houses in which people live upstairs and the first story accommodated livestock. On the other side of the mountain is a viewing platform for the Jade Dragon Golden Basin, so named because it's gilded with yellow flowers in springtime and golden rice paddies in autumn. This year, local farmers decided to celebrate the Beijing Games by sowing different colored crops in the shape of the Olympic rings, creating an emblem that is 45 m by 55 m. About 10 minutes' drive from Matou is Shuitou village. The mostly Bouyei inhabitants of Shuitou are more accustomed to hosting guests than those from Matou. This means visitors can expect to be greeted by a delegation of singing women clad in ceremonial garb, bent on pouring several cups of rice wine down guests' throats. The wine is a special local alcohol called Biangdang, so named for the sound you make when you fall down after drinking it. Cups are served in pairs as per local custom. Drinking two represents "two legs, one of which drags behind you". Downing four means you will become wealthy within four seasons. Guzzling six means "everything will be alright", while those who imbibe eight will become rich. Ten ensures good luck, and tipping back 12 means "your life will have a good ending". Those still standing must then take on the gauntlet of the bamboo dance. This requires dashing across a series of parallel bamboo poles held a few centimeters above the ground by locals who rhythmically clack them together. The object is to make it from one side to the other without getting your leg pinched. At the village's Sisters-in-Law Tofu Shop, visitors can use a gristmill to grind soybeans and then sample the eatery's doufu nao (brain tofu) - a runny bean curd dish seasoned with wild vegetables and spicy pepper sauce. Local residents have for 1,000 years harnessed the hydropower of the Qinglong River to drive watermills, several of which still operate, although mostly for tourists. Travelers looking to take a walk on the wild side can visit Guizhou Forest Wildlife Park. The 2,001-hectare park, 95 percent of which is forested, provides spacious accommodation for 5,000 creatures. It is home to 96 species, including 39 under Level 1 State Protection. The park also features an elephant show, in which five of them perform tricks for audiences. These gentle giants dance, do handstands on the balancing beams and ride tricycles for cheering crowds. The show crescendos when one lucky - or perhaps unlucky - crowd member plays goalie against the colossal creatures in a football match. (China Daily 09/04/2008 page19) |
