JingPing to ZhaoXing
       Via LongLi, LiPing villages:
Built in a wide valley over looked and surrounded by low running mountains just 52 kilometers from JingPing we stop at the first of our visits to a Living Ecological Museum - LongLi Village - with only 4 such eco-museums set up in China we will be privileged to be visiting 2 in this last "legs" of our journey.

LongLi is a fortified village first established in 1385 as a Han garrisoned fort during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and most descendants here can trace their ancestry back to the Han soldiers that where stationed there to quell a local rebellion at that time.

With its mix of old and "modern" - Ming stone architecture, Dong wood buildings and typical Chinese tile buildings - the old town is a little disappointing as not much of the ancient fort remains intact with much of the 3 metre high, 2 metre wide walls that used to surround the village and Ming style buildings either destroyed 3 times and rebuilt by conquering armies, the Cultural Revolution, and fires (the last in 1998 destroyed the west gate and 59 houses). Still, enough of the the old buildings and water wells, alley ways, stone steles and temples remain to give it the charm of The Ming era.

Leaving ancient LongLi we head south passing through LiPing - made famous in recent history as a resting point of the communist party during "The Long March". Here the house that the party heads stayed in has been turned into a museum.

And with the sun setting in the west arrive into ZhaoXing - a large Dong Village with not only one but 5 Drum Towers and its associated opera stages and four "Wind and Rain" bridges.

See panoramas DAY NINE