The hot summer and grouchy Beijingers drove me out of the city in search of fresh air, nature and traditional Chinese culture to a hidden gem in Shanxi province.
Qikou is an small ancient town on the banks of the Huang he (Yellow River).
It was once a major port during the Ming and Qing dynasties, where hundreds of boats berthed everyday carrying goods from north China such as cereals, oils, salt, furs, medicines, etc., to be traded or transported to other places.
Today it is know for it's cave dwellings built into the hillsides, where the local people live.
It was a bit of journey getting there..about 6 hours from Pingyao by 3 separate buses, but the people were so friendly that even the ramshackle buses were a source of fun.
The small buses were crammed with people trying to hang on as we sped around the bends; old men chain smoked despite the toddlers on board, and an old stooped-over woman who shared half of my seat, threw up occasionally. A happy group of high school students piled into the little bus too and one who struggled with a wee bit of English pushed her excited way towards me and soon they were all hanging over me and wanting to take pictures. With my broken Chinese we managed to get to know a bit about each other and made the time fly by in a rather festive way.
From the moment I arrived in Qikou, I was like a movie star.. Everywhere I went people shouted "Hello!" and stared and smiled and wanted to take my photo. I never did see any other 'foreigners' during my time there, so I got all the attention from the curious locals.
There are mostly elderly people living in Qikou and many of them lined the main street as I walked over it's old cobbled path. One old lady sprang up, took my hand in hers and guided me to a homestay..how convenient is that?
I was thrilled when after turning down a small alleyway, still holding my hand firmly, she opened a set of old weathered doors to reveal a family's "yao dong" (cave dwellings) where I would spend the next few nights. There were plants outside everywhere; huge sunflowers and an aloe plant as big as myself, along with many cactus and all kinds of other plants and flowers, as if there to greet me in the sunny, cheerful courtyard of their home.
A kind elderly man and his wife emerged offering greetings from a yao dong gorgeously decorated with calibash gourds of all sizes and red Chinese dates which hung in woven clusters here and there.
The Yao Dong I slept in
When the owner opened the door to the yao dong, i didn't know what i would find. I was thrilled to be staying in one of these dwellings finally, and was so happy to see how pleasant it was inside. The arced cave-like walls were painted white, there was a table and several stools around it, there was a tv and there was even a shower room. Communal squat toilet outside behind a wicker divider.
The best part was at the very back of the room, stretch from wall to wall and able to accommodate the entire family, was the "kang". The kang is a special Chinese bed under which a fire burns in winter keeping the whole family warm and toasty as they lay side by side on the massive, very hard bed. The stove, which is fed coal, was attached to the side of the bed; the families traditionally cook there too, through an opening at the top of the stove over which a wok could be placed.
And I had the whole thing to myself!
The great thing about staying in a yao dong is that it's warm in winter and cool in summer. The fact that it is built into the side of a hill or a mountain, makes them extremely soundproof as well. More than 30 million Chinese people live in caves, many of them in Shaanxi province where the Loess plateau, with its distinctive cliffs of yellow, porous soil, makes digging easy and cave dwelling a reasonable option.
The shape is very practical and extremely strong and stable in the event of a natural disaster such as an earthquake.
There is no glass in the upper window, but instead a heavy white paper is sandwiched between the beautifully constructed wooden frames.
The whole town of Qikou is a labyrinth of cobbled stone alleyways that take you here and there wandering about like Alice and Wonderland....It was great getting lost in there!
The people were so very friendly..On Friday, which is market day, I had so many friendly encounters with the ever-curious locals...
Hei Long (Black Dragon) Temple sits majestically at the very top of Qikou town and is a wonderful place to survey the town and The Yellow River as well as catch a cool breeze...
