Angela Heping
Angela Heping takes us on her travels to China in China NOW+. She travels far off the beaten path and lets us enjoy her special experiences and encounters in words and pictures.
I can’t remember when I first heard about Stone Town in Baoshan County, which is part of the Lijiang region, but it had been on my list for a long time and summer 2024 was the day. It is a village magically draped atop a natural rock on the Jinsha River. It is unclear whether the place gets its name from the houses built mainly of stone, or because of its location on a rock. It lies 110 km north of Lijiang, but don’t let the distance fool you: count on at least four hours on endlessly winding mountain roads.
The drive with views of beautiful mountains and panoramas, came to an end in a narrow parking lot. Nothing of the legendary Stone Town was yet to be seen. I continued walking up the uneven stone steps, ahead of me two old men and their pack animals; a donkey and a horse. It was already noon, the sun high in the sky, but a dense foliage of old trees provided shade along the path. At an intersection, we encountered another pair of donkeys. This traffic jam gave me a moment to wipe the sweat from my face. And there, through the leaves, high above me, I saw the village plastered against a steep rock. After another series of turns, an open square suddenly appeared with a stone gate and a monumental stone sign with the place name.
A friend at the LUX Hotel was kind enough to arrange for Madame Zhang, the hotel’s manager, to pick me up. Despite the signage, I still could have easily gotten lost in the maze of streets without her. The village is built only along the eastern side of the cliff and is bordered on three sides by steep cliffs. Thus, it is accessible only by the stone path. With a population of several hundred people, all from the Naxi tribe, a benevolent silence prevailed.
When I finally reached the boutique hotel, part of LUX’s Tea Horse Road series, I was exhausted from the heat. So a cold towel and a glass of chilled drink were most welcome. Sitting in the small courtyard, Madame Zhang told me the story of her village. The town was founded around 500 AD by the Naxi tribe, but really took shape when it was built according to an ingenious layout in the early 13th century. The Naxi farmers built irrigation systems, cultivated the land on the steep slopes along the Jinsha River and thus made the town self-sufficient. The geographical location meant the village was well-defended and secure even in wartime, allowing society to grow and prosper steadily. The isolated location also meant that the village remained unchanged for a long time.
A famous story tells of Kublai Khan who crossed the river with his army close to where Stone Town is now, when he invaded Yunnan from Sichuan. As we all know, he was the grandson of Genghis Khan, the first emperor and founder of the Yuan dynasty. To honor this history, the pass is called Prince Pass and a path runs to it from Stone Town.
The dining room had a beautiful view of the Jinsha River and terraced fields. The dishes on the table were an organic feast: vegetables and fruits from nearby fields, even the meat was local; everything farm-to-table. Twice as delicious as a Michelin-starred restaurant and without the pretensions. Madame Zhang turned out to be a fantastic chef and told me about her childhood and how happy they were when the lights finally came on in 2012. It used to be a six-day trip to Lijiang, instead of the current four hours. Much of it walking, sometimes hitching a ride on a tractor and the last leg by bus. In the 1980s, a young man from the village learned English and accompanied Western backpackers on hikes in the area. From the nearest village where the bus stopped then, it was a full day’s walk to Stone Town. They slept in their sleeping bags in the courtyard of the guide’s house, usually with 40-50 people in a group. The trek then continued to Prince Pass, across the river and to Lugu Lake. This reminded me of my three-day hike in Tiger Leaping Gorge some 20 years ago, where I had similar experiences.
Speaking about the “farm-to-table movement,” Madam Zhang turned out to be a seed breeder. In this capacity, she is active in the “China Farmers Seed Network,” which was established as an NGO in 2013 with the support of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. This organization works in more than 30 rural communities in 10 provinces across the country and is committed to seed conservation and sustainable use by local communities. She has been to Peru and Mexico to exchange experiences with specialists from around the world and brought seeds to grow new varieties. I counted myself lucky to have a versatile and interesting guide.
After lunch, we visited the village chief. His wife wore the traditional Naxi costume with star and moon patterns on the back. The house had an old garden, built entirely of heavy stone. The bed, stove and rice masher were also made of stone. An object unknown to me turned out to be a predecessor of the swimming belt: A balloon made of sheepskin, shaped like a saddle. To stay afloat, air had to be constantly blown into it. It would have been used by the army of Kublai Khan. That was incredible.
The LUX hotel combined the old ways of the Tea Horse Road with modern hospitality. Afternoon tea was served on the terrace, where old and newer Stone Town were visible, overlooking the Jinsha River. I drank coffee made by a funny local Naxi barista, and listened to his life story. An old lady, who lived in the house next to the terrace, sat in the shade and watched us curiously and silently. I was beginning to become fond of the Naxi people, as was Joseph Lock, the Austrian-born American adventurer who lived among the Naxi people for more than twenty years.
Madame Zhang also took me to the tower, the city’s highest point. The view was spectacular: eagles soaring through the sky, clouds casting moving shadows over the terraced fields and villages, and mountains filling the horizon with endless folds along the quietly moving Jinsha River. She pointed to a village with white houses, set on a large number of corn terraces, and told me she lived there. It seemed quite far away without seeing how the roads connected. For her, it was a forty-minute walk through this beautiful nature.
At our parting, I asked her, “What is actually the connection between you and LUX Hotel?” She smiled and told me that LUX had bought this house and renovated it into a boutique hotel. Because of her reputation as “Maize Mother,” she was asked to combine her job with work for the hotel. This passion for native village and love of country somehow touched me more than the beautiful scenery. People like her are the true souls of the old town, breathing new life into it with their tenacious and continuous hard work. Old and new legends intertwine and play
