Bi Feng Xia - A visit to the historic town of Shangli

Chengdu Travel - we've already put up a report about the Bi Feng Xia Panda Research Center - however this article shows that this area isn't just Pandas. One of the best spots around Bi Feng Xia - just 10km's up the road from the Research Center - is the ancient town of Shangli. Once an important center for the old tea-horse trail - a trade route where tea and other commodities were traded to the Tibetans to purchase horses from the grassland - a bit of this old town has survived to make it into a worthwhile stop-over for any body doing a trip to the Pandas. You can even do a circular route from Chengdu - driving to Bi Feng Xia panda Center via the Ya'an Expressway - and then going back to Chengdu on a small winding country road that takes you over the scenic mountains in which the Bi Feng gorge is located and then on to the Qionglai/Chengdu Expressway for the final leg back into the city. This route takes you past many sites of interest - including the ancient town of Shangli.

The picture above shows the bridge that leads to the main gate of Shangli - and the river that runs around the town.


Although not a huge tourist spot - this site is still popular with locals - and as such some of the town has been re-built in the old-style. It looks okay - but many of these building aren't old.


However if you take to the side streets.....


There is still some of the genuine old tucked away in this place.


courtyards.....


and old wooden buildings.


Impressive carved doors -


with people still living behind them - and using the old traditional furniture which has disappeared from the modern China.


These doors used to open up into courtyards of rich traders and land-owners.


Although events in China's recent history have caused the destruction of many old artifacts - in Shangli you still get a taste of the craft and culture of old traditional China.


It's very easy to spot the genuine old.


With an eye for fine detail - there's a lot to discover and enjoy here.


But even the tourist part of the town is interesting - a counter selling traditional sweets.


An old-style local barber.


and of course the doctor of traditional Chinese medicine.


Inside the doctor's shop - the ingredients for the different cures.


When you're paying for your potion - an abacus to tot-up the price.


It was Sunday when we made our visit, and couple of small girls had set themselves up selling small animals and flowers made out of folded leaves.


A flower is nearly finished.


Other locals took it a little easier and passed their day tourist-spotting.


There's a lot of interesting food in these places - these are steamed buns made out of rice-flour.


In one kitchen they were smoking pork and sausages - by the look of those roof beams this isn't the first year they've been doing this!!!!


A lady selling soft-white tofu - one of my favourites with a good red-pepper sauce.


Another product of soya-bean is tofu milk - this small hand mill is used to extract the juices from the beans.


Something not quite so healthy - deep-fried peafritters - and some tofu which also gets the same treatment.


Something that strikes us western-folk as odd (and indeed a few Chinese city people) - in the countryside you often buy your coffin before you die!!! Here's somebodies coffin lying out in the backyard - covered in boxes and empty bottles - but it's ready for use when the time comes!!


Shangli - an historic town that still hasn't been completely taken over by the tourist.