Spring Solace
Escaping into the rural wonderland of China
Festivals are special times of merriment and joy. For Chinese everywhere, the Spring Festival is an important time to get together with family, so people go to great lengths (quite literally) to travel to their hometowns and cherish familial ties.
This past Spring Festival, I traveled to China’s rural interiors. Traveling in rural China during the Chinese New Year is a fantastic way to see and soak in Chinese culture.
As a cultural aficionado, the Spring Festival presented a lovely opportunity to see and observe close up the unique and rich facets of centuries old Chinese civilization.
A few days in a hidden village in East China’s Zhejiang Province with simple village folk sounded like it would be a magic potion that could drown away my weariness.
The village of Shangougou is nestled away in Yuhang county, 70 kilometers away from Hangzhou.
Ask any traveler in China and they will be familiar with the name Hangzhou, the home of the resplendent West Lake and more recently the host of the G20 Summit, but Shangougou is unheard of and therein lies its virginal bliss.
Shangougou village
Large crowds at tourism attractions are always a big downer for travelers. The Chinese countryside is free from this.
Here, beauty lies nestled in the lap of Mother Nature, inviting you to partake in its peaceful offerings.
How else could I describe a village with a flowing river along its entire length that breaks into cascading waterfalls at different intervals?!
When rays of sunlight break into tiny prisms of rainbows reflecting on the water, you realize these are the picturesque images that make their way onto the wallpapers on our computers or adorn the walls of homes.
Shangougou is a shining example of the age old adage – Beauty lies in simplicity.
Far away from the noise of cars stuck in traffic, all you can hear here is the soft murmurs of rippling water as it flows down the river.
The water is so clean and clear that one can see right down to the bottom of the river bed.
While listening to the gurgling rush of the waterfalls, if you happen to sit beside the river, chances are the sweet lullaby of the river waters may put you to sleep.
Exploring the village by foot, you may notice the gentle fall and rise of the sloping roads. The stone village houses are simply yet adequately furnished.
Shangougou is home to a dense bamboo forest atop a mountain, which makes for a good hiking trek. Rocky paths show that the area has not been explored by many.
A beaten track would make things smoother for future travelers but the rocky paths add to the thrill and adventure of making your own path as you proceed. You might slip a bit but it just adds to the fun of exploring the wilderness.
Just wandering around in the village aimlessly is also very relaxing and serene as your senses bask in the lap of nature.
As a line from a poem by J.R.R. Tolkien says, “Not all those who wander are lost.” I firmly believe there are times when aimless wandering can actually help you find yourself!
At night, a blanket of stars envelops the sky. Since I was there on Chinese New Year’s Eve, there was cause to celebrate and soon fireworks of all kinds sparkled with all their might, magnificently accompanying the twinkling stars in the sky.
Soon there were loud rhythmic sounds resounding in the village – lo and behold, a dragon dance! I held the dragon and accompanied the procession too for what was a priceless experience.
Spring Festival comes with a number of traditions that are carefully preserved in the countryside much to my delight.
As dawn broke on the first day of the Chinese New Year, I visited an ancient temple nearby which housed a splendid Golden Buddha and some other gods, thus starting the New Year on an auspicious note.
The air quality in Shangougou is great. While there I recommend visiting the Maotang and Tangkeng scenic spots, which are part of a biosphere protection zone.
Maotang scenic spot
Maotang is an ecologically bio-diverse spot consisting of high mountains, waterfalls and plateaus. The stone wall slope stream here is a great attraction.
The gradient of the slope has made the momentum of waterfalls sound absolutely imposing in the high water season, and in contrast during the low season, the water ripples with a sweet whispering flute like melody.
The length of this slope flow is more than 80 meters, which is quite rare in northern Zhejiang.
As one continues the hike through the bamboo trees that abound in the Maotang scenic area, sometimes you lose sight of the water but never will the sounds escape your ears.
The Double Sound cave mentions this astounding fact. Inside this cave, it is very cool and the sound of the running water beyond your sight still reaches your ears, which is why it is called the Double Sound Cave.
As you explore this ecotourism area further, you will reach the “Ape Man Stone.”
Investigations by geological experts have revealed that this stone is more than 160 million years old and got its name because its shape resembles the skull of an ape man.
Some unique species of flora abide here like the evergreen tree belonging to genus Fagaceae, known for its strong wood yet slim structure, graceful in posture and dense in foliage.
Toward the end of the hike in this area, comes a deep gorge
which allows you to rest for a moment and take in a view of the entire region.
The vast expanse of the blue sky, the green cliffs, the bamboo forests and waterfalls made me feel at peace.
My favorite attraction here is “The Rock of Lives.” There are three huge rocks shadowing the gorges which represent a person’s previous life, this life and their next life.
Tangkeng scenic spot
Tangkeng is another ecotourism spot with an enormous gorge about two kilometers in length and more than 380 meters deep.
Tangkeng is much steeper than Maotang, so you are sure to find yourself out of breath a couple of times. There are about 18 waterfalls here and clean deep ponds scattered generously amid unique landscapes.
You can go rafting here depending on the season. A spot called “Welcoming Green Screen” at the entrance welcomes visitors with full mountains of green bamboo and lively streams with inverted reflections of tall stalks of bamboo.
You can find the “Longest Bamboo Dragon” here. Built during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, this bamboomade dragon is 208 meters long.
Near a bridge with a cascading waterfall you can find the “Goban Stone.” According to legend, the immortals Tianlong (a deaf god) and Diya (a mute god) played a game of Go here before they ascended to heaven.
Continuing ahead, you will come across the spellbinding sight of a gigantic waterfall cascading from the mouth of a lion. This lion-shaped rock supposedly blesses visitors with good fortune.
Next along the trail is the “Two Dragons Playing with a Pearl.” As the legend goes, two daughters of the Dragon King snuck out to have some fun one night. Enchanted by the bewitch- ing scenery here, they were unwilling to return to the palace.
The furious Dragon King detained the daughters there, turning them into two dragonshaped rocks.
The water ponds, unique rock formations and small and large waterfalls have given rise to other interesting spots along this grueling hike such as “Five Sages Pool” and the “Tangkeng Ape Man.”
Five Sages Pool derives its name from a legend that says the five sages – Confucious, Mencius, Laozi, Mozi and Xunzi – once appeared in the dream of a woodcutter’s son who was visiting the pool to teach him.
The Tangkeng Ape Man is a 170-million-year-old stone resembling the head of an ape man crying his eyes out since he misses his five daughters who left to learn Taoism.
Shangougou – the word itself means village in a deep valley in Chinese – is a rare pristine gem that shines with a special peaceful environment.
With its splendid combination of climate, culture and panoramic scenery, I discovered solace this Spring Festival at Shangougou.