Guizhou- The road less traveled in China (chapter 4 of 9)

Day 1 part b - Southeastern Guizhou

After visiting Ta Tang Miao hamlet, our driver stopped by a restaurant in Yonglei town for Tyng and I to have lunch.  The restaurant had quite a presentable exterior but the interior appeared to be old and unkempt. The kitchen was the last place to visit for we needed a meal to fill our stomach. Anyway, we enjoyed the meal as we were famished.

Right : I fear to know the faith of the dog in the cage

On our way to Zairong village in Rongjiang county to visit the Pingyong Miao, we passed by another 2 towns - Danjiang and Tashi. We had little time for a walk at the markets and I came across some Miao accessories. I was unsure if there were made of silver but I bought them anyway.  Some of the smaller pieces ended up on the t-shirt range which I designed and made few years ago.

Left : Silver accessories for Miao costume

Little helpers
collecting logs
for burning

Our next itinerary was to visit Pingyong Miao people. A Miao subgroup mainly lives in the villages around Rongjiang who are good in making indigo dyed batik with beeswax. It was almost 6pm when our driver reached at the roadside to Zairong, a Pingyong Miao village we were visiting. The village was located at the valley where we descended steep slopes, passing through terraces on and going around the mountain trails before we reached the first home. We tracked on a moderately fast speed for nearly 15 minutes. So, when we spotted someone in the first house, we walked straight to it. A young girl was sitting at the veranda drawing her batik with wax. We had came to the right house! Another lady and a young man from the house came to greet us too. When we expressed our interest in their batik works, they brought out some of their finished works.

All the works were done on cotton head cloths measuring a 1 foot width and 12 feet length with motifs of bird, fish, butterfly,  figures, symbols of dragon and even an mythical animal named bird dragon. These works were done by the two sisters-in-law in the same family. The works were drawn with free flow and mastery of sheer skill. Yuan Ren Zhi, the daughter-in-law in the Loong family was a confident and skilled artist. She sketched her works by scraping the fabric with her finger tips before applying the wax, whereas, the young batik artist would trace the fabric with the stencils before applying the wax.

Left : 1st from left - Yuan Ren Zhi. Above: Tyng busy making selection

We picked four pieces of the work for a good deal. Three pieces of them were sold soon after we displayed them in our little booth after the trip. Tyng was smart to keep the 4th piece before it is taken up which ended none for me. It was nice to buy at first hand and meet the artisans. I regretted for not getting more then.

Our harvest -Guizhou Pingyong Miao head cloths

A boy from Pingyong
riding a wooden tricycle

The sun was setting. We had over spent the time given by our driver, Xiao Wu. We hurriedly left the Loong family without further exploring the village. We ran most of the way up to the road so as to race against the disappearing sunlight. I was still fit then and had no trouble of osteoarthritis. In fact, I was fitter than my sister who is 6 years my junior. Tyng probably had not been exercising enough.

It was more than 90 minutes drive to Rongjiang town in the dark where we were putting up for the night. Driving after dark was dangerous around the rural area as there was complete darkness on the road. Even the lighting in the little town was all dim. Most of the premises had not lightened up enough lights. I don't know why. Could it be due to insufficient electricity supply, cost saving or just the way of life. I recalled when I was young, living in a kampung (village) house in Penang, Malaysia, we never had enough bright lights as to save costs. Our big kitchen had only one light bulb. The shower room attached to the kitchen had no light at all  and  we had to depend on  the mere dim lighting that came from the kitchen. And that continued for very long time till it was replaced with fluorescent light. But the toilet remained that way until the last day of our stay there.  Somewhat eerie, isn't it?

Published rate of hotel rooms

We checked into Rongjiang Hotel after a bargain on the rate. The published rate for a deluxe twin room was 218 Yuan, we paid 100 Yuan. During peak season, this is not possible. The room was pleasant and spacious. There was free Internet at the lobby available to the guests for a limited use of time.

I thought in rural areas, people usually go to bed early, but at 9pm, the streets were still abuzz and eateries were still wide opened with guests. Tyng & me had a simple dinner at one of the little shops nearby the hotel. We spent a little time observing the people around and bought 2 corns to enjoy in our hotel room.

It was a long and eventful day. After sending emails to our loved ones, we soon found ourselves in slumberland!