When in Fenghuang, it would be madness not to walk along the Tuo River. Although there are other ways to appreciate it, such as boat rides, I preferred to explore it at my own pace. The last time I was here in Fenghuang, was just after a thunderstorm. The water was muddy brown and not very appealing. I am very lucky to have great weather here this time around.
The river is a nice hue of green and complements the blue sky and the yellow houses along the river. As the center of activity in the ancient town of Fenghuang, the Tuo River sees a lot of life. The locals have done an amazing job of keeping the river clean and I can hardly see any traces of rubbish in the river. No mean feat considering the amount of traffic the river sees.
The river itself is flanked by mountains where part of the town is. I walked up to the main bridge to get a few shots and was amazed by the view of the town from there. This bridge marks the dividing line between the old town and the new, more modern town. Although there are still no skyscrapers here in the new town, it is quite obvious that the houses there are quite different.
The bridge is one way to cross the river. But a fun way is to cross it up close without riding a boat. There are sections of the river which have been planted with stone pillars which barely jut out of the water. Each pillar are just enough to take one person. There are two lines of these pillars to allow traffic from both directions to cross.
Visitors need to take care crossing the river via the pillars since one wrong step can sent you into the river. It may be clean, but I still won’t want to fall in there. Obviously, the pillars are also a nice place to take photos since it was not just once where I saw some one having a photoshoot there. Probably a bride-to-be. But who can blame them. The river is just so beautiful. The town, river, mountains all combine to create this wonderful ancient town. Truly this place is one of a kind even in the vastness of China.
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