Lijiashan, Shanxi, China
Lots of apricot trees here...
Lijiashan is a remote cave-dwelling village
on a mountain about 20 minutes outside of Qikou. There is nothing commercial
about this place and luckily hardly any tourists. The occasional rental jeep
drove up and a handful of Chinese tourists got out, walked around and went back
to Qikou. I first walked up here the day after arriving in Qikou. Luckily the
last 10kms uphill was an easy ride in a car with a hospitable local man who
stopped and offered me a ride. It was early morning, only 8 am when I arrived,
and the walking that I did do made me really ready to eat breakfast. There were
no restaurants or shops or anything up here, but a lady came out of her home
and greeted me. I asked her about breakfast possibilities, and she immediately
invited me to eat. Breakfast was a fabulous Chinese fare, overlooking the
spectacular yellow loess cliffs that the yao dongs were carved out of on the
other side of a gorge from her high, courtyard verandah. She served me zhou
(rice porridge), pickled cucumber salad and a boiled egg and some fa gao
(steamed slightly sweet cake-like bread ).
Yao dong owner, Lijiashan
Yao dong where I stayed on Lijiangshan...$12(Can.) a night including 3 meals..
After
wandering around landscape which I considered even more spectacular than Qikou,
I was wide-eyed with wonder at this ancient place. I felt as though I were in a
fairytale and that little hobbit like people might emerge any minute from the
caves of varying shapes and sizes which blended so naturally into the landscape.
There was no doubt in my mind..I would return the next day to stay here, and explore this magical village and experience the varying lights of the day from morning to night.
Architecture, Lijiashan
Elderly woman selling Chinese red dates, Lijiashan
Lijiashan Village
The 'protective' roof ornaments were impressive
Village child, Lijiashan
Evening sun, Lijiashan
Typical hearth, Lijiashan
The lone entrepreneurs in the village..with a freezer full of cold drinks and plenty of smiles!
There were so many secret paths and passageways leading to yet more and more cave homes and mountain vistas
Happy explorer!
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