10-mile long tunnel opens a new world to me

Please note when reading the following: I am NOT an expert on China, so the following explains what I have experienced and learned through 4 trips to Xi'an in the last 4 years. In reflects my impressions. :)

A none-too-clear photo of one of the "outdoor" parts of the tunnel.

On Sunday I took a journey to the past via 10-mile long tunnel through the Qinling Mountains. Most things in 21st century China are quite modern - meaning built within the last 30 years (except a few old monuments). As older Chinese construction was mostly in wood many older houses burned down. Today's construction seems to be primarily of concrete with some steel in high rises. (For example all of the apartments where I have stayed here have thick concrete walls making mounting paintings difficult, but also meaning that even though there are always neighbors above, below or next to one apartment, one never hears anything from them - as is common in apartments in California.) I have wondered if there were any of the older houses left in this area. On Sunday I found out that there are.

We left Xi’an at 9:30 driving along a new toll-road which at that hour was nearly deserted. Soon we went through a couple of short tunnels and then the long one which by-passed miles of poor roads often blocked by snow in winter. At intervals through the tunnel were short patches of illuminated blue “sky” with trees along the edges – giving the appearance of being “outside”. The speed limit on the road is just over 40 miles per hour. (In Xi’an the speed limit is just over 20 miles per hour – a good thing considering the driving habits here which include making one’s own lane if the one wanted is clogged, or even driving on the wrong side of the road for a short distance if traffic is slow. Furthermore most people make left turns out of driveways without hesitation expecting cross traffic to yield. There are frequent fender-benders but most aren’t serious due to low speeds.) When we exited the tunnel we were in the mountains (so we must have been climbing in the tunnel – though this wasn’t obvious to me) with the road following a winding river. There were numerous small villages along the road.

When we exited the toll-road we took small, partially unpaved bumpy roads (most in the process of being redone with heavy equipment in the area) through small towns and villages. Eventually we arrived at a small cave called “Zha Shui Yong Dong” located in a cliff above the river. It was opened in the 1980’s after being explored, through there were apparently Taoist monks living there earlier. The cool temperature in the cave was a welcome break from the heat outside. Inside we saw only two other people over a period of about 90 minutes. There were numerous beautiful formations – some resembling a European castles, others looking like melted cakes, organs etc. Unlike the caves we visited near Guilin this cave is still growing with lots of dripping water and clear pools. I will try to attach a picture or two.

Then we drove along miles of winding mountain roads (stopping from time to time to ask local people how to get to where we were heading). We passed what appeared to be a coal mine and many small villages. Every inch of land not otherwise used is being farmed – as we also noticed in the south. However in northern China the typical crops are not rice, but rather wheat and corn plus various kinds of fruit and nut trees. Finally at about 2:00 we arrived at “Feng Huang Gu Zhen” or Phoenix Ancient Town. There is typical “modern” part of the village, and then the part that dates from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). There were old stone and wooden buildings – most of only one or two floors (while modern China is nearly all high-rise). We passed small shops with old-style wooden fronts where the street side is made of planks of dark wood which are fit together to form a wall. In the center there is usually a smaller door mounted with a wooden dowel so that only that part can be opened when desired. Once the planks are in place the wall/door is secure. It was a clever system in the days when there were few metal parts – especially in a mountain region. We could see that the center of the narrow street was once a running sewer/drain system, now covered over with cement blocks. We finally entered an old-style courtyard house which used to be inhabited by one larger family made of several generations. When young a young man married he brought his bride home to live with the parents, grandparents and all of his brother’s families. This home is now used as a restaurant (once featured in a film by a famous Chinese filmmaker). There we ate a delicious lunch consisting of multiple dishes which were all new to me. (The town is know for its famous tofu including dry tofu which looks and tastes slightly like cheese.) We had sliced cold dried tofu with vegetable, a kind of small bean (resembling lentils but not tasting like them) with smoked pork, then more traditional tofu in a delicious spicy sauce, and finally eggs with a kind of spicy vegetable resembling spinach – but not spinach. It was an outstanding menu – decided after long talks with the owner. We were also able to visit the kitchen and look into a couple of rooms being redone to be used as a “hotel”. (And I even had the “chance” to visit the “bathroom” outside along a long path behind the house – also typical of another time.) Yanli and Li convinced me to put on a Qing dress (not made for a western body) in order to be photographed. I can’t imagine wearing such warm clothes in the summer and was happy to remove them as soon as possible.

Along the streets I noticed large bunches of corn drying in the rafters or mounted on walls. I learned that they are used for “firewood” in cooking as China now restricts the removal of trees in order to improve the environment.