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Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

author:Insight into Xiangxi

Author: Qian Ye

Source: Unity newspaper

Roads can be a landscape, depending on the geographical environment in which they are located. Longshan County Road 011 is characterized by connecting two typical karst platea, Lota and Bamian Mountain, the middle section passes through the famous Che River (Youshui tributary, Tujia hinterland), and the branch line 015 County Road connects Indigo Town and Pojiao Township are the last places where the native language of the Tujia family can be spoken. For the Tujia, although this county road is already a remote place, emotionally speaking, it is still the center of life of the Tujia.

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

The three traditional villages of the Tujia family, Laoche, Jalbara and Liangjiazhai, are connected by the longest wind and rain bridge in the country. Photo: Lu Qixing

As a branch line of 011 County Road, the area deep into 015 County Road is affectionately known by netizens as the "Holy Land of the Tujia Mother Tongue". It's a remote place that's hard to reach. After the Longji Expressway was completed, the traffic environment here was slightly improved, and after getting off the highway from the interchange of agricultural vehicles, you can follow the 015 county road all the way south to the foot of the slope. But the newly paved asphalt seems to be heading for Jalbara, where the famous Wind and Rain Bridge, Xilankapu and the largest Tujia village are located, but the slope foot closer to the exchange of farm vehicles is not cared for.

An isolated Tujia settlement

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

The road into Wula, a village in Pojiao Township, is extremely winding, and Wula Village is one of the last villages in Pojiao Township to speak Tujia. Photo: Lu Qixing

Pojiao Township is one of the earliest settlements developed by the Tujia family, located in the southwestern border of Longshan County, about 120 kilometers away from the county seat of Longshan. It borders Zhushan Township and Xiqi Township in Yongshun County and Purong Town and Bamao Township in Baojing County in the southeast, Longtou and Miaoertan Townships in Longshan County in the west, and Indigo Town in the north. This virgin land of the Tujia family rarely attracts the attention of outsiders, and due to its isolation, it has become the last few places where the Tujia dialect is preserved.

The terrain of the whole township at the foot of the slope is composed of three beams and two valleys, and the terrain is steep and dangerous, forming a geographical skeleton in the shape of a "chuan" in the whole territory, with a huge difference in altitude and a deep mountain gorge. Large mountains such as Keyun Mountain, Heavenly Mountain, and Wula Mountain run from northeast to southwest from the middle of the mountain, and narrow flat dams are formed in the lower parts of the mountain. The lowest altitude is 303.4 meters, the highest altitude is 1054.9 meters, and the average altitude is about 670 meters. Most of the township is below 1,000 meters above sea level, and the residents are mostly concentrated on slopes or flat dams at altitudes of 600 to 800 meters. These areas are relatively flat and were early developed for rainfed agriculture.

Most of the township is karst geological loam, with many hillsides, few flat dams, and many exposed rocks. Because the foot of the slope belongs to the karst geological landform, there are many caves and sinkholes, and it is not a large river, and there are only three large streams and ditches in the territory, all of which are injected into unitary water. Caves and sinkholes are a major disaster at the foot of the slope, and rainwater leaks through the caves and sinkholes. The ballad says: "The foot of the slope is like a boat, the two ends are broken, the water flows underground, and it is all thunder gongtian." "It can be seen that compared with the Che River basin with favorable natural conditions, the living conditions here are very difficult.

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

Swallow cave on the cliff of Bamian Mountain. Photo: Lu Qixing

Although the mountain is high and the road is far away, there is little land to be cultivated, but the Tujia development of the foot of the slope began very early, and this area was once one of the centers of the Tujia culture, and it became a marginal area after the land was converted and merged into Longshan County.

In the valley basin, which is relatively rich in forest resources, it is very conducive to the development of animal husbandry. It is said that "slope foot" in the Tujia language means the place where pigs, cattle, sheep and other livestock are driven out and recovered. This place name may be a reflection of the Tujia family's agricultural and pastoral livelihood based on livestock economy and slash-and-burn agriculture.

Like the Che Wash River Basin, the slope foot industry is rich in tung oil and wood, which needs to be transported by hand to Longtou and transported along the unitary water. The wood was transported to Shuibadong and entered Yuanling and Changde through Youshui. Due to its abundant produce, Pojiao has been in a subsistence smallholder economy.

Finally, the Tujia family can speak Tujia dialect

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

Young people on a spring excursion in the village of Jalbara. Photo: Lu Qixing

After the return of the land, the prohibition of "no entry into the Han Dynasty" was abolished, and a large number of Han people went to the Tujia area to cultivate and cultivate. The migration of the Han to Xiangxi had a profound impact on the life, production and language of the Tu family. The current Pojiao Street was built in the late 50s of the 20th century. Before the founding of New China, there was only one half street at Pojiao, and behind the current Pojiao Street, it was about 40 meters long. The old people at the foot of the slope are very accustomed to angrily calling this street "Paoyou", which means "the village where the Han people live" in the Tujia language. Listening to the old people's recollections, "Laojie mainly lived in the rich families surnamed Li and Liu, specializing in trading", which shows that the Han people were already in an upper class position in the economy of Pojiao at that time. The foot of the slope has always been a polder, and every day, the Tu family has business dealings with the Han people. As the close communication deepened, the Chinese language and Chinese culture infiltrated the life of the Tujia family and spread from the small streets of Pojiao to the surrounding areas.

According to the "Yongshun Fuzhi", the father of Peng Shichou, the Tusi of the Pengshi clan in Xiangxi, eliminated the barbarian chieftains of Xizhou, Wu Juchong, Jaoba Chong, and Chunba Chong, and established himself as the thorn in the history of Xizhou. Due to the lack of management of Pojiao and other places, it was designated as a "special administrative region" in Tusi - Da Lama Si (stationed at the Da Lama Temple on the west bank of present-day Youshui). Within the scope of the Great Lamas, the foot of the slope is the core of the local native life.

According to surveys, until 2005, 85% of the villagers in Pojiao Township could still speak Tujia dialect, which belongs to the northern language system of Tujia dialect. Most of these native people who speak a strong native sound live in the outskirts of Pojiao Township, such as Wula Village and Baoge Village, where the language style is relatively complete so far, and the mountain roads are rough and difficult to travel, and they are still isolated from the outside world. Some of the old Tujia people, who have no education, have hardly left the slope, have little communication with outsiders, and have almost no Chinese expression ability. In daily life, they completely use the Tujia language, and they cannot understand or express foreign words that do not appear in the Tujia language, such as mobile phones and computers. They have a special affection for the Tujia language, believing that the Tujia language is the foundation of the Tujia family and becoming the last native speakers of the Tujia family.

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

X011 county road side open small wooden pass. Photo: Lu Qixing

With the decline of the traditional agricultural economy and the loss of labor, the very remote slope is also facing the disappearance of the Tujia language. The Tujia people who can speak Tujia are concentrated in the age of 70 and older, and young people have fewer opportunities to use their mother tongue, although Pojiao was the first township in Xiangxi Prefecture to popularize both Tujia and Mandarin, and the loss of mother tongue seems inevitable.

After crossing the Ula Mountains to reach the village of Ula and driving through numerous S-shaped curves, this quiet Tujia village with its large terraces and open forest farms makes it difficult to find young people who can speak the indigenous language. Although there are Tujia villages such as Laoche, Jalbara and Liangjiazhai, which have preserved their original appearance, as the former center of life of the Tujia family, they are all reduced to border towns in Xiangxi Prefecture, lying quietly in the embrace of mountains such as Lota, Wula, and Heaven, waiting to be rediscovered.

Travel guide routes

Longshan 011 county road starts in Maoping Town, Longshan County. The county road runs south through the Karst Plateau of Lota and the basin of the Cheche River, ending in the town of Longtou and connecting with the ancient town of Rije via provincial road 260. The 015 county road of the branch line connects the Tujia hinterland Pojiao Township, the Tujia settlement area with the strongest Tujia dialect in northwestern Xiang.

Scenery and food along the way

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

A carpenter in the town of Che Wash River is weaving contempt baskets. Photo: Lu Qixing

Along the way, you can enjoy the weird karst landforms, taste the big meat of Lota Town, the tofu of the Che Wash River, the Tujia village scenery of Jalbara Village and the Tujia brocade weaving skills of Xilankapu. It is the hinterland of Tujia in northwest Xiang, and it is the most Tujia style road.

Laoche, Jalbara, Liangjiazhai, and the "Ya" shaped wind and rain bridge connect the three primitive Tujia villages

Driving from the karst terrace of Lota to the streets of Lota Township for lunch, a large meat makes people eat happily, with the hind leg meat of local local pigs into the pot, stir-fried in soy sauce, fat but not greasy, unique taste. I think that if you change to pork in the city, you can't eat it, and only the local pigs in the mountains will keep such a reasonable fat and lean combination.

When Yongsan County Road 011 enters the Cheche River Valley, it is straightened from a winding mountain road to a flat path. The road is built along the interriver basin washed by the Che Wash River, sandwiched between the mountains of Lota and Wula. Overlooking this meandering basin from the Lota karst terrace, maple poplars and willows form a green curtain along the low-altitude river beach, neat terraces have not yet been planted, and cultivated land near the ancient village of the Jalbara Tujia has been replaced by fruit plantations such as blueberries. Although the peach forest cultivated by the Tujia family is limited in number, it has also established itself on the low hills, and has successively bloomed pink peach blossoms, and then looking into the distance of the road, the clear river water shines in the sun, the river water is very clear, radiating silky colors in the air.

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

Old bridge side of Car Wash Town. Photo: Lu Qixing

Che Wash River, a water transport hub in northwest Hunan

The Che River is the largest tributary of Youshui in Longshan, with its main source coming from Shuishaping in Maoping Township and the other source from Maoerdong in Xihu Township. The two sources merge under the Bishagou Bridge, and inject unitary water through Red Rock Creek, Ladder Rock, Car Wash, Fishing Car, Miao'er Beach to Longtou. The total length of the river is 86 kilometers, and it receives three tributaries of the Jingfang River, Mengxi River and Jiajiazhai River, as well as 76 small streams. Along the river, the Che Wash River and Miaoer Beach are most famous. The Cheche River is called "Laocha River" in Miaoertan Town, with a total length of 16 kilometers. In the past, Longshan County was closed to traffic, and the section from car wash to Longtou River has always been the only inland waterway for the import and export of materials in Longshan County. Especially for the towns in the north of the county, the production of tung oil, wood, tobacco leaves and the famous Tujia brocade "Xilankapu" are transported through this river. Along the shallows of the river, suitable places for setting up wharves have naturally formed market towns with local trade as the main volume, such as car wash, Miao'er Beach and Longtou.

This not-so-wide river breathed trade into remote Yongsan County. From the end of the Qing Dynasty to the Republican period, there were only 4 land roads and 3 waterways in Longshan County. The land road is Longshan to Yongshun, Longshan to Baojing, Longshan to Sangzhi, and Longshan to Feng. The waterway is to wash the car to the head, Riye to the head, and the head to the baojing. Thanks to the connection between the Car Wash River and Youshui, the convenience of navigation makes the products of the Car Wash River Valley very convenient to transport to Yuanling or Changde. The very flat Chehe River basin is also very suitable for growing cash crops such as oil trees, tobacco leaves, corn, and potatoes. The ancient towns and scattered villages along the river were organized together to form the core of the life of the Tu family in northwestern Xiang.

Cheche River Town, there is also a Pozi Street, famous for tofu

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

The ancient town of Chechehe on the side of X011 County Road is also the birthplace of the Tujia brocade Xilankapu. Photo: Lu Qixing

Chehe Town is the most well-known ancient town in northwest Hunan except Liye. It is not only the birthplace of the Tujia brocade "Zealand Kapu", but also the largest trading terminal in the Che Wash River Valley. Before the road assumed the main transportation role, more than 10 bluestone stepped piers were laid along the river in the town of Che Wash. The establishment of these piers has brought convenience to the local product trade of upstream and downstream transportation, and Hanoi is dominated by small rows, holding up a bamboo pen, on the clear water, along the stream slowly gathering around the ancient town, along the river streets naturally become the place where these boat bosses play and rest.

The indigenous products in the upstream are mostly tung oil. According to the "Longshan County Record", in the fifties of the last century, Chechehe Town could still swallow 25,000 barrels of tung oil (70 kg per barrel) every year, and the throughput of other native products such as quintuple seeds, raw lacquer, soil alkali and medicinal materials was also very large. Local oil merchants even have Daizhuang in Changde and Wuhan, such as the old merchants Hu Yuanxing, Ou Longhe, Gongmaosan and so on. It shows the development of trade in Chehe Town. The "Shangshui goods" exchanged through local products are mainly flower yarn, cloth, Huai salt, sea salt, porcelain, pot iron, iced white brown sugar, kelp, Fujian shoots, cloud ears and other northern and southern miscellaneous goods.

Until now, strolling in Chehe Town, you can still see the prosperity of the shops in those days. 011 County Road passes through the city, and after the car stops, you can reach the old street by the wind and rain bridge. The covered bridge is a landmark building in the town, which was built in the forty-fifth year of Qianlong (1780) and was donated by the squire Xiao Jialin and others. The bridge is a four-pier wooden corridor wind and rain bridge, the east and west piers are bluestone arch piers, and the two piers in the river are shuttle-shaped sharp bluestone piers, and the wooden corridor is built on it, commonly known as "Magpie Tower". The whole bridge is erected with a tenon and tenon structure, without a nail or rivet, and is the most complete preserved ancient wind and rain bridge in Xiangxi.

When the Wind and Rain Bridge of the Car Wash River is a market for cloth, satin and brocade, it is a good place for the townspeople to cool off and relax. The wind and rain bridge across the Che Wash River has excellent wind permeability, and the river under the bridge can also regulate the temperature in summer, so many vendors set up stalls on the bridge to sell homemade snacks such as rice tofu, noodles, roasted bashit, and sour radish, which are very authentic.

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

The Jabara Village Wind and Rain Bridge is the longest Tujia Wind and Rain Bridge in China. Photo: Lu Qixing

Crossing the Wind and Rain Bridge, you can get a closer look at the fabric of the town. Wanzi Street is the central area of the town, this street occupies a prime location along the river, and the local goods and silver buildings are located on this street. The end of the street is called "Fenmenkou", which used to be where fishing gear was sold, and under the gate was a firewood store, which was mainly supplied to tofu shops, restaurants and inns on the street. In particular, the owner of grinding tofu and boiling brown sugar will appear on this street to bargain with the boat boss.

There is also a "Pozi Street" in the ancient town, which is very narrow and steep, relying on bluestone accumulation. Pozi Street used to be the entrance and exit of the land road of the local port, and it was the first place to enter local specialties such as tung oil, lacquer, and fivefold seed, and was known as the "Silver Nest". All kinds of merchants here grab the market in the morning and pick up the lost market in the evening, and intercept the source of goods here, so the business name is higher and higher, until there is a "Hu family house" operating oil industry at the top of the slope.

The prosperity of trade led to the surnames of merchants such as Xiao, Jia, Liu and Luo. Chehe Town has the saying "Xiao family's silver, Jia family's grain, Liu family's top, Luo family's hammer". The Xiao family refers to Xiao Jialin, who funded the construction of the Dahe Bridge during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. The Jia family refers to the great-grandfather of Jia Baoshan, who was the magistrate of Guzhang County during the Republic of China, and the surname Jia started early in Cheche Town, collecting thousands of burdens of rent every year. The Liu family is a descendant of Liu Fadi, who moved from Jiangxi. His sons Liu Sanle and Liu Sanzhang were both admitted as show talents during the Jiaqing period, and had the reputation of five show talents. The Luo family is also a member of the Chehe Town, who is a martial artist, often learns hammers and sticks, and has produced martial arts talents in the Qing Dynasty.

Chechehe Town tofu is particularly famous, mainly because of the good water quality of the Mengxi River. Good water makes good tofu. The Mengxi River, also known locally as the Little River, originates in the high mountains of Lota and flows into the Che Wash River, a tributary that receives dozens of springs along the way. These springs are warm in winter and cool in summer, clear and sweet, containing a variety of minerals, and the beaten tofu is naturally flexible, white and tender, with a mellow aroma. Coupled with the fine production process, to ensure that the tofu made is good, the knife is smooth on both sides, plus local salt tofu, dried tofu, moldy tofu, the tofu of Chechehe has long been famous.

Longtou Town, which was the "dragon's head" of the Car Wash River before it was flooded

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

From Longtou Town, you can see Youshui and the road in Baojing County. Photo: Lu Qixing

Like the famous ancient town of Tuokou in the upper reaches of Yuanshui, Longtou Ancient Town has sunk to the bottom after the construction of the Youshui Bowl Mipo Hydropower Station, leaving a small number entrenched on the mountainside, and you can still glimpse the prosperity of the past. As the estuary where the Che Wash River flows into Youshui, the establishment of Longtou as an important wharf in northwest Hunan is almost inevitable.

According to the "Longshan County Record", during the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, only small boats of 3 to 5 tons (each ship carrying 40 to 50 barrels of oil) could be passed, and local materials could be transported south along the Che Wash River to Longtou, and large ships of 600 tons could be replaced. These large merchant ships can dock at Longtou on the bank of Youshui, wait for the materials transported by the town of Wash River to be collected, and enter the Yuan River through Youshui.

Longtou was once an important ancient town in the Youshui River Basin, and compared with Liye upstream, it was mainly responsible for trade communication between the northern section of Longshan County, especially for the town of Chechehe and Miaoertan Town.

Along the 011 county road, when we drove to Longtou Ancient Town, it was close to evening. From the road that hovers over the hill, you can clearly glimpse the geography of the ancient town. The meandering car wash river here meets the wide unitary water, down the mountain, is the end of the remaining ancient street of Longtou Ancient Town, the large houses created by the dry fence building, compactly arranged on the mountainside, in the relatively tight estuary basin, you can imagine the ancient town before the flooding, the streets are lined up, winding from a high place to the river. In order to make full use of the altitude space of the slope, the construction of the ancient town is bound to be very different from the relatively flat car wash river town.

According to the memories of old people living in Longtou, due to the combination of unitary water and the car wash river, the height difference between the street of Longtou Ancient Town and the river port pier at the end of the street is very different, one household may be on two terraces, and most of the households are spread out in depth along the vertical street, the houses are supported by pillars of different lengths, and the roofs are freely lapped, bold and ingenious, quite dramatic.

Down the stone steps, the river ferry pier at the confluence of the two waters exposes a large rocky beach, where the tallest stone resembles a dragon's head. Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival, people from a hundred miles away will come here to kill pigs and sheep, hang red shawls on the dragon's head, and pray for peace.

The original appearance of the ancient town is difficult to see, from the rows of houses at the tail, the green tiles with staggered heights, and the unique mountain layout structure of the ancient town in the past. When we drove to the edge of Youshui, we could still look at the river road in Baojing County on the other side, and a fishing boat slowly drove to pick up tourists who went fishing on the other side. It can be imagined that in the Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China, the merchant ships on the water were also slow to come ashore.

Laoche, Jalbara and Liangjiazhai form the life center of the Che Hetu family

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

At the end of X011 county road is the town of Longtou where the Che Wash River meets Youshui, and part of the ancient town has been submerged in water. Photo: Lu Qixing

There are many ancient villages of the Tujia family in the Cheche River Valley, and the more complete ones are Laodong, Laoche, Jalbara, Liangjiazhai, and Da Lama Temple (Si). These villages are connected by the Cheche River and lined up along the 011 County Road, among which the three villages of Laoche, Jalbara and Liangjiazhai are the most famous.

The awkward place names of Laoche, Jalbachong, and Da Laosi (Si) are likely to be relics of the Tujia language. According to the "Gazetteer of Longshan County" compiled and printed in 1983, "According to legend, King Wu (the head of the local Tu family) once salvaged cars in the river in front of the village, hence the name. In this regard, Ye Deshu argued in the "Chinese Tujia Language Place Name Examination": "According to the examination, this is not a Chinese name, and 'fishing car' is a mismemorization of the Tujia language 'getting a car'." This 'car' is 'muddy water'. This place is at the confluence of the Che Wash River and the Indigo River, also known as the Little River. When it rains, either the big river rises or the small river rises, and the river here is often muddy, hence the name. As for King Wu's ability to salvage a car in the river in front of the village, there is no historical basis. ”

Similarly, regarding the name of the village of Jalba, there is a corresponding record in volume 12 (Qianlong Edition) of the Yongshun Fuzhi: "The one who provoked Ba Chong, Wu Zhichong married the righteous brother." Today, Longshan Mingxili, Pojiali, Laocheli, Ershuo, Sanjiali, and Sijiali are all its worldly soil. "It may have something to do with the head of this Tu family. It is also explained that "Jalba" means beautiful in Tujia, and Jalbala is a beautiful place, and this translation has not been recognized by researchers, but rather similar to the far-fetched idea of tourism later.

Go deep into the "Tujia Mother Tongue Holy Land" to find the last speakers of Tujia dialect

A teenager bathing in the river channel in the village of Jalbara in Chehe Wash Town, the temperature had reached 26 degrees Celsius that day. Photo: Lu Qixing

Laoche, Jalbara and Liangjiazhai are the best preserved and largest Tujia villages distributed on both sides of the Cheche River. The geographical location of Sanzhai is naturally separated by the Che River (this section is also known as the Lao Che River) and the Indigo River, which is a tributary of the Che Wash River, and the three villages are formed in the T-shaped estuary, much like the three towns that separate Wuhan by the Han River and the Yangtze River.

Before 2008, before the construction of the Wind and Rain Bridge, Sanzhai set up a ferry port and used "pulling boats" as a means of transportation. Since then, a wind and rain bridge has been built here to expand tourism. The bridge is a three-way structure, in the shape of a "ya", organically connecting the three Tujia natural villages of Laoche, Liangjiazhai and Jalbara. The lower end of the main body of the bridge is a steel-concrete structure, and the upper part is a wooden structure. The total length of the Jabara Wind and Rain Bridge is more than 300 meters, and the main bridge is 288.8 meters long, which is 41.1 meters longer than the world record holder and the Zhijiang Longjin Wind and Rain Bridge with a total length of 246.7 meters, which completely retains the characteristics and architectural symbols of the Tujia Wind and Rain Bridge, becoming the longest and most characteristic Tujia Wind and Rain Bridge in China.

The local proverb says "gold sand, silver fishing cart", which shows that the natural conditions here are excellent. Unlike karst terraces such as Lota and Bamianshan, the wide river basin in the middle section of the Che Wash River is very suitable for the cultivation of cash crops such as rice and tobacco. The structure of the mountain forest is also more complex, represented by the deciduous species of Pinus massoniana and maple poplar, and the evergreen species of the genus Aoka and mixed on the slopes of the mountain within 600 meters above sea level. Whether it is planting oil tung or collecting fivefold seeds, raw lacquer and other native products, it is very convenient, and the confluence of the Indigo River and the Che Wash River has become a rare reclamation area in the river basin, and naturally has become the center of Tujia village settlement.

Sanzhai has water power, and the transportation industry is very developed. The largest fishing cart in the three villages, there is a bluestone pier built along the river. There is a local proverb that says: "The boat pen of Jalbara, the weighing pole of Yejiazhai, the card field of fishing carts, the ink plum of red light." It can be seen that the transportation industry around the local product trade has become the economic foundation of Sanzhai.

Among the three villages, the fishing car is the largest, and there are many dry-fence buildings in the village, including tall gate towers, hanging corner towers, and swinging hands as public spaces. Taking Laoche, for example, almost all of the village is Tujia, with the surnames Peng, Tian and Xiang dominating. The surname Peng is the surname of King Tusi of Yongshun during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and has an irreplaceable prestige in the local area. Xiang and Tian are surnames that expanded as auxiliary ministers of King Tusi. The three surnamed Tujia held the leadership of the villages in the large branch of the Cheche River Valley, and important material export and trade terminals also fell into their hands.

Laocha Village is also the hometown of Liu Dai'e, a handicraft excavator of the Tujia brocade "Xilankapu" and the inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage of "Xilankapu". The inheritor of the Tujia brocade has sorted out and revived the long-lost brocade craft, making Laocha Village the famous hometown of Tujia brocade weaving.

Along the 011 county road, when our group arrived at Laoche, Jabala, and Liangjiazhai, the children under the wind and rain bridge were fighting in the Indigo River, the temperature soared to 26 degrees Celsius that day, the river valley basin was extremely hot, and the maple forest around the village was green, a spring scene. Tourists linger on the "Ya" shaped wind and rain bridge, attracted by the rich Tujia customs on both sides of the strait, as if they have a feeling of being in a paradise.

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Editor/Li Aijia, Zhou Dengyou, Huang Shasha

Review/Shang Xin Wang Xiangyuan

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