Eating Unknown Food In Huaihua

The following day, I checked out to the Fenghuang International Youth Hostel and made my way to the long distance bus station not too far from the town center. I intend to finally leave the province of Hunan after several days of exploring. Unfortunately, there was no direct bus out of the province, or rather, no direct bus to the place I need to go to.

Buses Parked Beside Grey Buildings In Huaihua

I needed go to the nearest big city and get a ride there. The nearest big city is the transport hub of Huaihua. This city is a convenient place for transportation and seems to exist only for this sole purpose. There doesn’t seem to be a lot in the way of attractions in the city itself, though there are some of them some kilometers away from the city. But I didn’t really intended to visit them.

Huaihua was a nice few hours bus ride from Fenghuang. They dropped me at the Huaihua train station and I quickly made my way to the ticket booth. Since it was a transport hub, it was expected that there are a lot of people there. The train station itself was not that big, though the length of the queues were still managable. I got behind a short line and after a few minutes it was already my turn. I asked for tickets to my destination but it turns out that the queue was for refunds!

Seemingly Desolate Bus Station

With the train departure coming fast, I quickly left and went to the correct queue. I was dismayed to find out that it was the longest queue. With the train departure coming up fast I needed to do something. I gathered my courage to ask the guy in front of the queue to buy the tickets for me. But instead he offered to let me go ahead of him. I was first hesitant but knowing that I don’t really have the luxury of time, I asked the lady at the counter for tickets to my destination. Tickets are sold out. Disappointed, I thanked the people in the queue for letting me do that and left the train station with my backpack.

The only other option was to take the bus out of the province. I hailed a cab and it brought me to the Huaihua Long Distance Bus Station. It was just a short distance away from the train station and I should have been able to walk to it but I didn’t want to because I didn’t know where it was. There I conveniently bought my bus tickets. I would be an eight hour ride so they had sleeper buses for that route. I guess it was fortunate that Huahua is a transport hub and transportation would be easy to find here.

My Bus Out Of Hunan

The lady from the bus company I bought the tickets from saw that I was alone and told me to bring my bags to the bus since it was already there. She loaded my bag on the baggage compartment and asked me to just come back around 3:30 in the afternoon. The bus leaves at four in the afternoon.

Now with nothing to do, I decided to explore the immediate area of where I was. Huaihua isn’t an impressive city. In fact comparing it to the other Chinese cities, this one seems to be a little drab. They did have a shopping center nearby which I went to finding nothing interesting, I walked on the streets to explore more. There wasn’t really anything of interest.

Soon it was time for lunch and I spotted this little fastfood looking restaurant which serves rice meals. I forgot what they called the food. But it was rather unique, it had some preserved vegetables which imparted a soury taste to the food. I didn’t really like it that much but at least, I could hang out around this restaurant as long as I liked.

Noodles For Dinner

But then you can’t really hang around in a restaurant without getting bored out of your mind. Along the street I saw and internet cafe and decided that I’d spend the rest of the day surfing the net and catching up with my friends. The internet cafe was rather dark but functional. The men were all smoking away and I was hoping I won’t get seated next to a chimney. The local kids were all playing online games there and it seemed that it really is a big thing in China.

After a few hours wasting away in front of the computer, it was soon time to go. I headed back to the bus station and had some very early dinner. It was noodles just in front of the bus I was going to take. The man manning the store didn’t speak Mandarain but somehow I got ourselves understood. The lady from the bus company saw me and asked me to board the bus.

Sleeper Bus In China

The bus was a two level sleeper. I apparently got the top bunk. But the lady asked me to stay at the bottom bunk instead. I guess she was looking out for me because the top bunk won’t be very comfortable. The bus wasn’t full so I could just move down anyway. A few a minutes later the bus departed the bus station for our 8 hour journey out of the province of Hunan.

Looking back, the province of Hunan was a surpringly interesting place. And I didn’t even get to cover half of the province. Its huge limestone concentrations are probably the highest in the world, providing the province with an endless supply of beautiful and surreal mountainous landscape. Historical places also abound here and I only got to visit the ancient town of Fenghuang. Although, Hunan hardly ever gets any press abroad, it is certainly one of the more interesting places to visit in China.

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Hong Bridge Lit Up At Night

The first time I came to Fenghuang, we were in a hurry to get to another place we didn’t get to stay the night. But this time, with my friend already home, I got a chance to stay. After a nice dinner at a random Fenghuang restaurant, I set out to capture the ancient town as it is seen at night.

Fenghuang Lit Up Along the Tuo River

When night falls, the town of Fenghuang is lit up by an dizzying array of lights. This is to be expected of a major tourist attraction. The thing with Chinese tourist attractions at night is that they use questionable colors in decorating their attractions. I have seen photos of cave lit up in yellow, green, red and even blue colors. Seeing this sort of takes the wonder of seeing these attractions. Visitors will just have to accept and get used to this seemingly garish color scheme.

Burning Paper Flowers Along the Tuo River

The ancient town of Fenghuang’s lighting is not spared from this kind of treatment. A lot of buildings along the Tuo River have their roofs outline by right lighting. The old buildings themselves are also lit up in a bizarre array of color such as green and violet. Even the trees themselves are lit up with a bright green light.

The main pagoda along the river is still tastefully done with the inside of the pagoda lit up and the roof accented with orange light. This multicolor display reflects on the placid Tuo River, giving it an otherworldly feel. Along the river near the Hong Bridge, there are vendors hawking what seems to be floating flowers. Actually they are supposed to float but the paper flowers are burned while they float along the rive until nothing is left of them. This seems to be a popular night time activity here in Fenghuang as a lot of locals were busy burning away the paper flowers on the river.

Light Show Seen From My Bedroom

At night, there is a bar scene in Fenghuang but not as rowdy as other Asian cities like Manila or Bangkok. When I got back to the hostel, I found out that there was some Chinese music playing from somewhere nearby, fortunately, it stopped at around ten in the evening. From my window, I can’t help but admire the scene, be it night or day, Fenghuang is truly a sight to behold.

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Walking Along the Tuo River 沱江

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View From the Great Bridge in Fenghuang

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.

There are Different Ways to Cross the Tuo River

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.

Another View from the Top

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.

Having Fun Crossing The Tuo River

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.

Miao Lady Doing Her Laundry

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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Postcard View of Fenghuang Along the Tuo River

After that sumptuous meal, I got back my strength to walk around in this endlessly intriguing town of Fenghuang in Hunan province. The first time I was here, I was only passing by on the way to Zhangjiajie. This time I have a little more time to spare so I will have to make the most of it. The earliest references to this town or area were in the late 7th century AD. The main town was built in the 1700s during the Ming Dynasty.

Ancient Fortifications Still Stand to this Day

The town is situated in a valley and is named one of the most beautiful towns in China. I would have to agree with them. Fenghuang is as picturesque as it gets. The Tuo River snakes through the town, with ancient Ming Dynasty buildings still standing on the the banks of the Tuo River. It was a hub of activity during the Ming and Qing Dynasties serving not only as a cultural but also military center in the western Hunan area.

Care For A Ride?

Remains of this former stature of Fenghuang can still be seen in the fortification built around the town. These days hawkers tend to hang around this area to cater to the ever growing tourist trade. Fenghuang has a great mix of natural elements to complete this wonderful scene. The mountains on either side of the river give a splendid view of the town. The river is the life blood of the town and now even more so since it can now ferry tourists wishing to see more of the town. The buildings have that nice wooden finish, giving it that mystical feel.

Flattened and Preserved Pig Faces

As expected, there are a lot of shops here in Fenghuang, a lot of them selling crafts like flutes, jewelry, costumes and other Miao stuff. On interesting shop sells smoked meat, the type that I have been seeing, and eating, in Hunan. A first glance, the shop doesn’t look particularly interesting because the stuff they are selling is all black, it is smoked after all. But closer inspection will reveal interesting stuff like flattened pig’s faces.

Ming Dynasty Buildings Along the Tuo River

The river banks themselves are thankfully free of hawkers, so it is wonderful just to take a stroll along the river. Right across you will see old Ming era houses on stilts still standing to this day. The local people have done a very good job of preserving the old town. All new development has been going on in a different area, leaving the ancient town preserved. The tourist trade has also helped raise awareness of the value of preserving this wonderful town. Owners of the houses are compelled to maintain their houses to keep business going. Although it may be for the wrong reasons, it works.

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Home Style Tofu

There are a lot of places to eat here in Fenghuang. Most of the food here is Chinese, but there are also “Western” food if you look carefully. I don’t really care much about the Western food here as they tend to be overpriced and not good at all. It would be better to have it at a more westernized place like Hong Kong or even a Shanghai.

Smoked Meat

I merely wandered in one of the numerous restaurants here in Fenghuang, making sure that they have a view of the ancient town. I ordered the my old reliables since I don’t really have much of an idea of the other food. Either that or the other options where too expensive for me. The thing I like about eating here in China is that they always give you a large serving of rice. Even though I am a huge rice eater. I could never finish the serving they give me.

Feast for Me

There weren’t too many customers at the place where I ate. Pretty much every shop here has the same interior decorations. Wood and then some traditional stuff, like clothes and instruments. Customers here come from all over China, while westerners are few. Some of the restaurants do not even bother with English menus anymore. Hopefully, that won’t be a problem with me.

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Dining in Dehang

Doubles Bedroom In Fenghuang International Youth Hostel

Even though Dehang was really cheap to stay at, I couldn’t stay there forever. The next day I check out of the inn and got on the bus back to Jishou City. At Jishou, I continued retracing my steps and got on a bus back to the ancient town of Fenghuang. I got back to Fenghuang at around noon time and I quickly headed to the ancient town area. I remember seeing the Fenghuang International Youth Hostel 凤凰国际青年旅社 which was part of the Hostelling International group which I was a card holder and I intended to stay there.

Try and Beat That View

The hostel is right along the bend of the Tuo River 沱江. Although the inn itself is pretty inconspicuous, you’ll probably miss it a couple of times before finding it. There is a small flight of stairs which makes it not that obvious from the “ground level”. At least I remembered seeing the sign so I headed straight for it.

Fortunately for me, there was still room, I still couldn’t get a single room and the one they had for me was a double. I didn’t want to go for the dorm beds either, so I just took the double room. As usual, the standard of Hostelling International member inns are quite high so I expected nothing less than clean rooms, sheets and toilets.

Old Chinese Bed

Some of the walls in my room were under construction but there wasn’t any going on at that time. The room had windows that open up to an amazing view of the Tuo River and the ancient town. It is amazing that they managed to secure this wonderful location and even more amazing that I managed to land this room. It would be amazing to wake up to such a view. There is a pathway just outside my window to allow visitors to hang their clothes, so it would be wise to close the windows when the room is not in use.

Nice and Clean Dorm Beds at the Hostel

It took a look at the rooms I didn’t take and was surprised to see this old style Chinese bed, I wasn’t sure whether it was available for guests to use but I thought it was pretty interesting. The dorms beds at the hostel were also okay. Then again, it was my first time to see dorm beds in China, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I just didn’t like the idea of sharing the room with people I do not know.

Downstairs, there is an internet station and they even have wifi. It seemed ironic to have all these modern technology in this town which is known for it’s ancient-ness. At the time, there were people downstairs but most of them were just surfing or reading books. I really wanted to go outside and start taking photos but I need to eat first. I’m sure Fenghuang would not have any shortage of that.

Address of the hostel, it is along the river near the East Gate of the Hong Bridge
11 Shawan, Tuojiang Town, Fenghuang County,
Xiangxi City, Hunan Province
湖南省 湘西市 凤凰县沱江镇沙湾11号（虹桥东关门旁）

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Heaven-Questioning Platform

My idyllic walk in Dehang was interrupted by the sight of my path slowly climbing up a small hill right in front of me. I guess it wasn’t that flat after all. The hill itself doesn’t look that high, though I can’t really see the summit from the ground. I just followed the path along the hill which we still nicely made. At this point, there were still no people so I wasn’t really sure whether or not I was going in the right direction. Either way, I could easily backtrack in case I change my mind. It was only midday anyway.

Waterfalls Along the Way To the Top

Like the path I used to come to this hill, the hill is surrounded by green. Along the way up, there was a small waterfalls on the mountainside across the hill. This place is really blessed with so much water, no wonder the villagers can grow their crops here. As I went higher the waterfalls grew smaller and smaller, I didn’t think that the hill would be this high. The stairs just keeps zigzagging across the fare of the hill.

Bugs

I had to stop my breath a few times to catch my breath. The climb is not really that steep it is just my poor physical conditioning. However, I was determined to climb this hill, it is just a hill anyway.

After 45 minutes of stopping and climbing I finally reached the top of thid hill. The hill has a flat platform-like rock formation which is called amusingly called Heaven-Questioning Platform 天问台. Supposedly this is where a lot of wise people meditate and “ask heaven” their questions about life. It was said that an old wise man came here and sighed a thousand questions in one breath. Boy, his problems much be so serious.

Path To the Platform

Needless to say, the views from the Heaven Questioning Platform were marvelous. It is no wonder that old wise men climb all the way up this hill to meditate. The views from the platform will make you forget your problems. The views might not be able to answer the your questions but you sure won’t forget the the magnificent views.

Beyond the platform is surprisingly another set of terraced fields. There was even a water buffalo near the path to the platform. I wonder if there is another path from the village to the Heaven-Questioning Platform. Unfortunately, there was nobody nearby that I could ask. After a 30 minute break of watching the amazing view, I made my way down the hill.

Buffalo On Top Of the Hill

From the hill, I noticed that there was another tourist wandering into these parts of the village. I met her at the foot of the hill and I encouraged her to climb it because the views were great. She was from Changsha 长沙 the capital of Hunan Province and was here on group tour. Apparently they only have a few hours to explore the village. It turns out that they were supposed to watch some performance at the theater area in the village square. The lady was surprised to learn that I wasn’t Chinese and really thought that I was a local. I felt flattered which meant that all these days of speaking Chinese must have improved it somehow.

Miao Minority Performance

The lady didn’t climb the hill but accomopanied me back to the village. It was great to be able to speak to someone again, though the conversation was still in Chinese. When we got back to the village the performance has already started. It was basically a cultural show featuring dances and costumes of the Miao minority group. Now I understand why all the ladies were in traditional attire. It was mainly for this performance. Well, it was good while it lasted.

Miao Version of Tinikling

The performance itself wasn’t really particularly noteworthy. But what caught my interest was this dance where they used two parallel bamboo poles to let dancers tip toe between them. There was a timing to it and the dancers need to be fast, if not the bamboo poles will close on their toes. Not a pretty sight. If this all sounds so familiar, it is. It virtually identical to the tinikling dance found in the Philippines. I now wonder about the origins of this dance. Who thought of it first? Though this is certainly the first time, I saw it in China or anywhere outside the Philippines.

I thought there was going to be a parade of costumes but turned out there wasn’t one. Either way, I found this whole performance thing too touristy and didn’t really pay attention to it. However, it did seem that the local tourists were quite interested in it and were obviously having a good time there. I continued wandering around the village area until I got tired and went back to the inn to rest.

The Heaven Questioning Platform is one of the highlights of the village and it would be highly recommended to climb it at least once. No guarantees whether the heavens will answers your questions though.

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My hosts at the restaurant I ate warned me that the hike i will be attempting will take more than two hours, it was still early and I don’t really know what else to do if I don’t do the hike now. They recommended to hiking the next morning. I thought two hours isn’t really a lot of time and since it was not even noon yet, so I decided to proceed with the hike.

Nice Flower Along the Way

The hike branches off from the main bridge crossing the river to the Liusha Waterfalls. I walked past the village until all that is left were huge swathes of green. The path is well paved and takes me through rice fields. Some of the fields were terraced on the mountains much like the ones I see in northern Philippines.

Terraced Fields Along the Way

I hardly saw any travelers there, most of the people I saw were villagers on their way to their fields. The villagers were probably used to visitors and didn’t mind me at all. Looking back at the path, all traces of civilization were gone. Well, except for the nice stone path for hikers.

This part of the village is criss-crossed by numerous streams which provides water to their fields. Even if the village is on a mountain, these streams ensure that there is water to grow water-intensive crops like rice.

Pool Of Fresh Water

Sometimes, in hikes like this you wonder whether it is safe to venture out on your own. I had no such concern and I just kept going. The path was flat all the way thankfully. At least I can enjoy this walk and appreciate nature. After all the jostling for position in Zhangjiajie, this time I have the whole place all to myself!

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Liusha Waterfalls 流沙瀑布

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Dehang Village 德夯

Veil of Water of the Liusha Waterfalls

When In Dehang, one of the mandatory activities here is to hike. The place has numerous hiking trails that take you to remote villages. One of the more popular walks is the walk to the Liusha Waterfalls 流沙瀑布. The Liusha Waterfalls is about an hour walk from the main square of Dehang and following the road to the right along the river.

Villagers Working Along the Way

The path takes you to nice green fields with villagers going about their daily lives, be it planting or just carrying stuff around. The path is well trodden enough that there is a stone path all the way to the falls itself. I was also informed by the family in the inn where I was staying that the road will be pretty much flat. Excellent.

Old Miao Lady Tending To Her Flock

Sure enough, the road was nice and flat, perfect for me since I do not really mind walking very far, as long as I do not need to climb stairs. There was some rain that morning i had to be a little careful since the path may be a little slippery. I had to cross the river several times through stone paths planted across the river itself.

I was pretty much the only one walking towards the waterfalls that morning, which was okay, as long as nothing happens to me. I passed by another waterfalls but one which has an entrance fee of its own. It doesn’t really look that impressive anyway, so I moved on.

Not before long, I reached the falls. I was sort of underwhelmed by the Liusha Waterfalls as I was expecting something more thunderous. But the falls still has that certain beauty about it. The thin veil of water falls peacefully down the mountain to a green-blue pool of water. It makes the sound of rain when it falls to the pool below. This waterfall has been named one of China’s most beautiful waterfalls.

The Waterfalls From Behind

Ideally, this waterfalls is best visited after a downpour but I guess the recent rain wasn’t really enough. Interestingly, there is a path from the edge of the pool to behind the waterfalls. So you can watch the waterfall fall down before your eyes. The path goes all the way to the other side where there was a small hut. Apparently someone lives there.

Water Pours Down the Green Pool Below

Having seen grander waterfalls in my life, I started my way back to the village. I wasn’t really very careful around the falls area when I slipped on a wet stone down a flight of stairs fortunately, I was able to grab on to something before something worse could happen. I was more worried about my camera getting wet more than anything else. Fortunately for me, it did not get wet nor did I get hurt.

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Smoked Pork in Dehang

I spent the better part of the day travelling and I wasn’t really in the mood for an indepth exploration of the village of Dehang and its surroundings. That can wait til tomorrow. Besides, since accomodations here in the village are cheap, I wouldn’t mind spending a few days here. It was already getting dark and as usual, I had to find a place to eat. This is not difficult to do in China, you’ll probably find an eatery wherever you go.

Expectedly, the specialty food of Dehang is Hunan/Tujia food. This is no different from the food I have encountered numerous times in Zhangjiajie and even Fenghuang. Here it is a bit different. Obviously, there are no markets here to purchase meats and vegetables are grown here. Meat is mostly smoked and hung wherever they can be hung in the restaurant. The good thing about smoked meat is they do not attrach flies so you can say they are still quite clean even though they look black as coal.

Yummy Fish and Grubs

I ate at a restaurant along the main square which was tended by some ladies. They asked me to eat there and with no better idea, I agreed. They allowed me to photograph while they were cooking my food. While it is by no means uncivilized it was still a sight to see then cook in such an isolated village. I ordered my standard smoked pork and a vegatable dish. The vegetable dish was some kind of “mountain vegetable” which is not common in the lowlands, this is according to them, so I’d have to take their word for it.

My Hosts Cooking Up A Feast

They also serve other specialties, including fried crickets and other tasty insects. They offered me to try these delicacies but I politely declined. I’m probably not that adventurous after all. The insects were fried not grilled, this reminded me of the meal I had in Fenghuang where I had problems with my stomach which I suspect was caused by the old oil. I didn’t want to take any more chances with food, most especially now that I am travelling alone.

Some Wild Mountain Vegetable Dish

My hosts were quite friendly and kept asking me questions. They probably don’t get too many Chinese speaking foreigner guests so I’m a bit of a novelty. The food here was nice but the price may be a little surprising. I was expecting my food to be really cheap since my accomodation was so cheap instead the prices were on par with the other places I have been to. So it wasn’t really expensive but it wasn’t as cheap as I hoped it would be.

After dinner, it was already very dark and since there were no streetlights in the village I had to rely on the ambient light, which wasn’t a lot. Fortunately, I brought along my mobile phone and go to use it as a flashlight to light my way back to the inn where I was staying. I tried taking photos of the stars but found out that I forgot to bring my remote for my camera, it was there where I met two young Chinese ladies apparently, also staying in the same inn. They were playing with the couple’s kid at that time and also chatted with me. At one point they even pointed out whether I wasn’t feeling cold since I was still in shorts and the air was really chilly. Not for long, I couldn’t stand the cold either so I went in the inn and slept. Preparing for a busy day ahead.

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