#dehang

Dehang Miao Village.

A walk by the river, in the valley outside Dehang Miao Village.

Dehang Miao Village in Xiangxi (Western Hunan) Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture. I think (although I’m not completely sure as I can’t remember what the one out of shot says) that the lanterns form the phrase “生意通四海“ which derives from the couplet “生意兴隆通四海，财源茂盛达三江”, this (extremely) roughly translates as “Business thriving across the four seas, wealth flourishing throughout the three rivers”, where “four seas” and “three rivers” are both poetic ways of saying “the whole world”.

When it rains it pours. The steep steps up the valley sides outside Dehang; it had rained heavily the night before and much of the route was waterlogged, slippy and dangerous. In fact, at one point I slipped and injured myself pretty badly.

A path through the fields, outside Dehang Miao Village. A tranquil portrait of vanishing rural life.

A misty morning in Dehang, after a thunderstorm.

Towering karst peaks in the valleys around Dehang, the village had changed a bit in the six years since I was first here and was no longer so quiet and remote (new roads and urban expansion/encroachment), but was nevertheless a wonderful place to sit and relax in the evening, no cars, no streetlights, just dark and quiet.

Dehang is a Miao village and so many of the inhabitants still wear traditional Miao clothing. Although this is seen less and less in younger generations.