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Tulou, the Fortress-like earth building in Fujian

25 September 2024
The fortress-like round earth building of Kejia, known as Hakka , in west Xiamen

Tulou, the Clay Castles of Hakka people in Fujian

By Lee Maoqing ( our tour operator and guide)

The hilly west of Xiamen to the valley of Dingjiang River floating from the north to the sea as the border with Guangdong, is the hometown of Hakka, the visitors if translated in Chinese. Here the humid, warm forestry mountain slopes host huge or small round or square castle-like buildings made of clay, of twenty thousand ones in Yongding county and fifteen thousand in Nanjing County, according to uncompleted statistics.
The building technic of the huge clusters of buildings is similar to the ancient great walls in the gobi desert of north and west China, which still practiced by the Tibetan people in Tibetan region. The original sticking clay is taken from the village nearby, the timber frame of wall is erected to fill in original clay, gravels, wood, hay, etc., crushed with trample.
It takes a couple of years for the whole clan to prepare the materials, and a year for hundreds of people to work together. The largest of which are three stories to five stories high, circular and house the whole clans.
The outside is plain with only clay and therefore almost not possible to climb. The huge wall encloses several floors with galleries all looking towards the open yard, or family shrine at the center. These galleries are vertically divided into sections separated by stairs. Each family owns a section between the two stairs. For the three-storied buildings, the top floor is bedroom but without private toilet. Bucket is put by the corridor for the night emergency. The public toilet is built outside the earth building, probably there was no toilet in the old days. The second floor is for grain barns, first floor is for eating and the meeting place.
In special occasions, the yard is a place for public celebrations, serves as dinning hall, or the opera stadium when a performance of puppet show.
The residents of of this region are known as Hakka, the visitors in Chinese, whose ancestors might immigrate as the army marched from the north to conquer the unknown territory in Tang Dynasty. Some anthropologists believed the time could be dated earlier, the Han or Qin Dynasty, of two thousand years ago. The local Hakka tells their accent belongs to the ancient accent in Hennan, the origin and the center of Han Chinese culture.
According to the census in 2018, around 1,200,000 Hakka residents inhabit in the eight counties of the southwest Fujian. The same population of Hakka are now living in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and the rest of the world.

The map of Tulou, the round or square earth buildings in Fujian
The map of Tulou locations in Fujian

Guyang Great Wall from Qin in Baotou

8 September 2024

The Great Wall of Qin in Guyang of Baotou
By Lee Maoqing ( our tour operator and guide)

The Great Wall of China started during the Warring States period, of 475 to 221 B.C. Seven Kingdoms. After 221 B.C when Qin Shihuang emperor defeated other six kingdoms and set up his Qin empire, he extended the Great Wall built by the seven Kingdoms , to form a long wall to keep off the Huns off. Today, most of the walls from the two thousand years ago have collapsed , while a part of this 96-kilometre wall which has stood in the north gobi desert still survives .
The Great Wall of Qin Dynasty extends from Yinhao village to the east and ends up in Xidoupu village to the northwest of Guyang township, with 149 beacon towers and 5 castles to shelters the soldier , store weapon and food.
The Great Wall is said to be built by Mengyi, the general of Qin who led 300,000 army to guard at the wall to keep off the Huns in 214 B.C.

The hair dress of Erdos Mongolian

4 September 2024

Kaili
June 26, 2024

By Lee Mao Ching( our tour operator and guide)

The costume of Erdos contains the common elements of its neighbors. The waistcoat is similar to Darkhan and Muminggan who live in the north, its garment is similar to the Four Princelings group to the northeast.
Its Erdos waist coat is with open collar in the front, then takes a detour to the right arm, down to right waist and turns to its end in the front. The inlayer garment is like Han Chinese cheongsam, with side slits but much wider than cheongsam, keeps the nomad style. This dress style is worn for special occasions. The second common garment is with open in the straight front, fastened with knot buttons in the upper part with low part is with slits in the front and sides, it is said this design for horse riding.
Most visitors to the Erdos are impressed with the hair dress, of its ornaments of turquoise, agate, red coral, silver or gold clad crown ring, weight from three to seven kilograms. There is no doubt that the Erdos hair dress is more typical from any other Mongolian groups.
The history of the brilliant haridress could be dated back to Han dynasty, of two thousand years ago. In a farmer’s field in Jungar Banner, 150 kilometers to the east of Erdos headquarter Dongsheng, thousands pieces of burial objects were unearthed from four ancient tombs in 1972, including a golden capped crown atop with a sitting eagle , its beak is ornamented with turquois , the golden crown ring is curved with tigers biting the goats. Several pieces of hairdress are consisted of stone, agate, red coral . Though the hair dress is not so complicated and heavy as those of today, but still very brilliant for two thousand years. These burial objects belong to the East Huns, who may have blended to today’s Mongolian of Erdos, Darkhan, of the Four Princelings.
More than forty ancient tombs and relics have been found for archaeology study across Erdos. No hair dress with ornaments of red coral, turquois were found in the later unearthed ancient objects, and these tell the inhabitants are not a special member of nomadic pastoralists, but Tangut( a branch of ancient Tibetan), Uyghurs, and Han Chinese from the south across its Great Wall.

Erdos ( Ordos ) traditional festival dress in Inner Mongolia

Nestorianism in Darkhan Muminggan of Inner Monglia

3 September 2024

By Lee Mao Qing( Our tour operator and guide)

In the windy, parched gobi desert of center Inner Mongolia of June ,1927, a Sino-Sweden archaeological research commission led by Sven Hedin, approached an isolated town relic which lies 40 kilometers to today’s Darhan Muminggan to the north of Baotou city. Tons of ancient boundary tablets, especially tomb stones curved with patterns of ancient Nestorian, uncovered a less known glory time of the popular religion in the Yuan dynasty, the period of history when Kublai Khan conquered the intercontinental empire from Caspian Sea to the north Korea peninsula.
The abandoned ancient town is known today as Aulun Sumu, surrounded by the clay wall with the surviving height of 3 meters, 950 meters in length and 580 meters in width. It is four times the size of the Meidaizhao ancient town of 200 kilometers to the south.
The less green grassland of today’s Darhan Muminggan United Banner in Inn Mongolia was inhabited by a sub group of Mongolian, known as Ongu. Before 11th century , Darhan Muminggan was the front border of Jin empire which covered today’s north east China to the seashore of Tatar Strait and Sakhalin of Rusia from 1115 to 1234 A.D. The ruler was Jurchen, of today’s Manchurian. The Jurchen emperor built a great wall to keep off the horse rider warriors of hill tribes to its north and west. The great wall, in Mongolian language, is spelled as Ungkuh, the Mongolian subgroup and then the mercenary of Jurchen was simply called Ongud.
When Kublai Khan became the ruler of grassland to the north of the Great Wall, his eyes fell on the wide land across the wall and far to the east seashore where the sun rises. But he must remove the stone in his shoes, the Ongud, the great wall watchdog of Jurchen, but not by force, but by religion and marriage. After years of diplomatic effort without shedding a drop of blood, the mercenary surrendered to Genghis Khan and was bestowed the title, King Zhao.
As Kublai Khan expanded his empire further to the east and seized Beijing , down to the rich lower reach Yellow River , silk road became prosperous again , tons of wealth flew to Aulun Sumu, one of the main important hubs on the silk road that connected
Beijing to Europe. Genghis’ mother was a Nestorian herself, though gossip told that she transferred to Confucian for the purpose of helping her son to rule the new land with a history of two thousand years of Confucianism.
Kublai Khan, the ruler and tyrant of east world in the new era, was tolerant, in fact, friendly toward all the religions in his empire. The Nestorianism which was popular in Syria, Iraq, Iran and far to the seashore of Mediterranean, ruled by his elder brother, Mongke Khan. The merchants traveled freely along the silk road, stimulated the consumption and production along the silk road, fed the towns with wealth. the Nestorian bishops from Damascus, followed steps of the merchants, preached west religion to the local Mongolians, Han Chinese and those ethnic who welcomed the wealth from the intercontinental trade. Aulun Sumu was not an exception, became very wealthy and a sanctuary of Nestorianism. Dozens of princesses from the later Mongolian Khans, were married to the King Zhao’s family to concrete the connections, so the town owned a nick name, a City of the Son-in-law.
In 1360s, the late of Yuan Dynasty, the Han Chinese militants, known as Red Turban Rebels, marched from Baotou, the south suburb of Darkhan Muminggan. The group known as Mieli, The subgroup of Ongud, surrendered and opened the gate to the rebel after short skirmish. Badu Temur, the last Khan of Aulun Sumu, broke the surrounded and fled his life with his concubines, left the magnificent wealthy city behind till it was completely abandoned , till it was discovered by the joint Sino-Sweden archaeological research team in June of 1927.

Torch Festival of Yi people in southwest Sichuan, China

7 July 2024

The Yi people of southwestern China celebrate the Torch Festival each year. This event takes place during June or July and marks the start of the harvest season. As part of the festival, participants light torches and engage in fire-walking, traditional dances, horse racing, and more. Cultural artisans also showcase their work. The night ends with a spectacular sight of sky lanterns ascending into the sky.

The festival will start on July 19th. till August of this year in the towns around Xichang. It will come to the end in  Xichang.

Here we translate and upload the festival schedule to our website , hopefully it can be some help for you if you plan to travel there as individual visitors or a a group. we have operated tours to participate the festival for many years , we are happy to offer you more information, we are already in readiness to be any help of yours, operate private tours if you expect us to.

The torch festival schedule of Yi in Xichang , southwest Sichuan

July 19th. to August 1st, 2024

Translated by Lee . ( information from Xichang Media Center) 2024

  1. Puge county, 70 km to the southeast of Xichang
date time place program
July 19 20:p.m Torch Square Torch festival opening ceremony and performance
July 20 10:a.m Torch Square Beauty pageant of Amonire Cup
11:30 a.m Torch Square Traditional dancing with umbrella, 1000 participants in festival dress. Known as Duolehe, or Dongge
12: a.m Torch Square Horse races, goat fighting, wrestling,  goat grabbing competition.
20:30 P.m Torch Square Torch carnival
July 21 10:00 a.m Torch Square Bullfights
July 22 12:00 a.m Luojishan Town Traditional activities ( not confirmed but something traditional will be hosted)
12:00 a.m Xiluo Town Traditional activities ( not confirmed but something traditional will be hosted)

Yuexi  ， 280 kilometers to the north of Xichang , halfway from Ya-an

date time place program
July 26 Afternoon and evening Holy Turtle Square, main alleyways 26 ethnics from China, including Heze people from northeast China will participate in procession in their traditional dress. carnival
July 27 morning Xinhua village, Shugu Town Horse races, bullfights, goat fights, rooster fights, wrestling.
morning Qietuo village Yi pageant with backdrop of rice terraces. Selling mountains products in live internet
evening Holy Turtle Square Semi final pageant , participants in Yi festival dress.
July 28 Yuexi town Official commercial activities

Xichang ( warning : could be over crowded)

Date time Place program
July 28 20:–23:30 p.m Erchigeze Torch Square of Hainan Block Traditional  torch festival procession
July 29 20:–23:30 p.m Hantian Avenue Procession of Yi costume, Torch lighting ceremony, carnival
July 30 to August 1 17:30 – 21:30 Qingyuehu  Park Concert given by local musicians

Baotou, the biggest city in Inner Mongolia

19 April 2023

Baotou
By Lee Maoqing ( Our tour operator and guide )

Baotou is no doubt the biggest city in Inner Mongolia, as its significance relies on the production of iron and steel, with steel mines, big or small, widely spans to the north border with Mongolia.
When visitors arrive here, negative impression is its skyline to the west is painted bronze, yellow from sandstorm which hits the city frequently, it seems there is no reason for the city to be such huge size in the gobi desert, almost not much to offer to the travelers, except the night market in the Huangheng Road, Wudangzhao, the Tibetan monastery outside the town. Wudangzhao is one of the four most famous Gelupa Sect Monasteries in China. The city museum, which is located at No. 42 of Steel Road, was newly founded in December of 1999. The local culture exhibition hall, one of the seven halls, is worth your time visiting for hours.
Travelers find themselves surrounded by Han culture downtown, while local culture is not seen only when you are out of the town. However,a few locals still have great passion devote themselves to the inheritance of Mongolian culture. These are traditional dress shops owners, culture station which lies in the No. 9 building of Qiao Family’ s Gold Street, of Donghe District in Baotou. It should be worth your time to visit the experts if you have interest know the further information about the museum.

The Barag( Baerhu) people in Inner Mongolia

19 April 2023

June 16th. 2024

Barag Mongolian

By Lee Mao Ching (our tour operator and guide)

The origin of the most Mongolian tribes dates back to the large area of today’s Hulun Bur of the northeast Inner Mongolia, and the Onon River valley which across the border of east Russia and Mongolia. Barag, known as Barhu in China, is no exception. The settlement of the Barag group is stable, still scatter to the south of  Dalay Lake , known as Hulun Lake in China, is fed by Herlen River to its south and Ergun River to its north in Russia. Barag is seen the history record in Sui and Tang Dynasty of 581—907 A.D, dated back  a history of 1300 to 2300 years.

In the glory day of Yuan Dynasty, Barag jointed Genghis Khan’s West Expedition Army in the thirteen centuries. Part of the Barag settled down along the road back after the century war . Barag is found in today’s gobi desert by Dorim River , the north of Darkhan Muminggan, north of  Baotou in China, Ten thousands of the Barag scatter in the North of Qinhai, practicing animal husbandry by Qinghai Lake.

 According to the research in 20 led by Li Ronglan , the anthropologist of Inner Mongolian University, Barag Mongolian shares 52.63 percent common in the face proportion with Buryat, based on the samples from 400 Mongolian men and women from different area.

The language of Barag is closer to the Buryat tribe in today’s Republic Buryatia in Russia, but getting more and more close to ordinary Mongolian tongue, though a few dialects are similar to Uyghur language, a branch of Turki linguistic.

Who are the Darkhan and Muminggan ?

19 April 2023

by Lee Maoqing ( our tour operator and guide)

Darkhan Muminggan

June 17th. 2025

Darkhan and Muminggan Tribes

  Darkhan

A person in a dress Description automatically generatedBefore the new order of China was declared Tian-an-meng in Beijing by Chairman Mao, Darkhan people were inhabited to the north of Bailingmiao , the town as today’s headquarter of county level , known in Manchurian administration system as Qi or “Banner”. The gobi desert covers the wide area from the town to the border with Mongolia, nowadays the paradise of China’s rare earth mine.

Darkhan tribe of Mongolian in Damaoqi Banner

 In Mongolian, Darkhan means sacred, inviolable. This group , known as Tushetukhan in the sixteenth century, descended from ancient Khalkha, which is the main population of today’s Mongolian. The tribe submitted to the Manchurian in 1653 A.D, the early Qing Dynasty. During the Kangxi period (1662-1722 A.D), the prince of the baron Darkhan married the sixth princess of Kangxi emperor, consolidating its relation with the Qing Dynasty by the marriage.

  Muminggan

The tribe is believed to be the descendants of the princeling Belgutei, Genghis Khan’s sibling from different mother, Surchigei.  In Mongolian, it means lower class. This group A person in a black shirt Description automatically generatedis inhabited mainly to the south of Bailingmiao , the green grassland to the north Baotou. The group submitted to the Manchurian 1653, the same year that Darknan tribe was granted to have its autonomous territory by the Qing Dynasty.

Muminggan tribe of Mongolian in Damaoqi of Inner Mongolia

In 1950, The two banners were combined in one county level administration, officially known as Darkhan Muminggan United
Banner.

  There is very small difference between the  dress of Darkhan and Muming-an, both dress with its open along the collar to the right underarm. The Muminggan’s sleeve is loose while Darkhan’s sleeve is thinner and a little bit longer.

–

Siziwang ( the Four Princelings) Mongolian

19 April 2023

By Lee Maoqing ( our tour operator and guide)

Darkhan Muminggan Banner

June 14th. 2024

                   The Four Princelings Mongolian, known as Siziwang in Chinese. Is a well known subgroup of Mongolian , scattering in today’s Gegengtala Grassland, two hundred kilometers to the east of Darkhan Muminggan and north of Baotou. It is named after the four princelings of the fifteenth grandson of Gasar who was born in 1164, the third brother of Genghis Khan.

  The tribe originated in today’s Hulun Buir Lake , shares the border with Russian Baley, far to its east territory. After hundreds of years war with its neighbors and Russian czar, the territory shrank sharply .   In the sixteenth century. In 1630 , the tribe surrendered to Manchurian in exchange the noble title of baron, in return to receive a new land to the east of Darkhan Muminggan. Most of the habitants migrated to the new land till today.

The Last Reindeer Herders Tribe in China

19 April 2023
Ivenki herdsmanan are traveling with their reindeers in winter time in Genghe

By Lee Mao Qing ( our tour operator and guide)

The stories and myths about antlered friends, the reindeer, are told almost in everyone’s childhood. In China, it is believed that the Evenki people, who inhabit in the boreal taiga forest in far northeast Inner Mongolia, are the only fairy animal herders.  

     The reindeers are numbered 1600 in China, less than the national treasure pandas of 2200 wild and raised ones.  The Evenki people in Genghe, far northeast Inner Mongolia raise 1400 ones.

   The pasturing area covers the total area in the north of Genghe city, with the border to the west and north with Russia and Helongjiang province to its east. In wintertime when food is not enough, reindeer may travel some hundred kilometers in the snow-covered taiga forest. The herders follow the flocks of reindeers , take care of them by keeping off predators, set fire to smoke the tick which is popular in the arctic area.

Maria Suo is toasting her black bread while herding . She passed two years ago.

   The Evenki people pitch their teepee, a half-folded style tent in the forest for shelter. In Summertime, the teepee is made of birch bark which is cool with more fresh air blowing. In wintertime, the teepee is replaced with thick leather from the reindeer, which is warm enough when the temperature is minus 30 centigrade.

The leather from the carcass of reindeer is the main material for the women to sew the clothes for the family. The hat, jacket, gloves, pants and boots are all leather with fur. Even the sinew from the reindeer is used as thread, nothing is wasted. They wear several layers of garments in winter to keep off the freezing cold. In summertime, the Evenki wear ordinary modern clothes. Men usually wear camouflage clothing when herding in the forest, to avoid strong color to keep their reindeers quiet.

  In 2003, the local government built a cluster of concrete houses at Aoluguya Township, just a few kilometers to the west Genghe city. All the houses are free for these herders if they agree to move out from the forest and give up hunting for rare animals protection.  As a condition to get the free house, 230 people form the hunting tribe stamped with their fingerprints on the contract, only a lady, Maria Suo refused to stamp her fingerprint on the paper. She chose to give up the free house and return  stay in the forest with the reindeer. Some of the Evenki people who had stamped their fingerprints broke the paper and followed her to enter the forest.

Maria Suo became the headwoman of the Evenki hunters. People say she knows the reindeer than anybody else, she knows where to find the moss, fungi, and other most nutritious food. Wherever she goes, she is always surrounded by the reindeer.

  In August 22 of 2022, Maria Suo died in peace in the forest at her age of 101. Actually she even didn’ t know her birthday, people get her age in reference with the people who live around her.

 The Evenki of Aoluguya reindeer herders are estimated of 316 in 2021. Their old story tells their ancestors immigrated from Lena River which feeds Berga Lake in 17 century. In the history the group was known as Yakuts in Chinese document. Yakut is also known today as a region,  the Sakha Republic of far northeast Russia. Yakha (Yakut) people speak Turkic, with a population of 478,085, one of the biggest ethnic groups in Siberia. Both Sakha in Russia and Aoluguya Evenki have an Asian face, their clothing design for special occasion is similar. The only difference between the two groups is that Sakha is not the reindeer raisers.

Nenets-Reindeer-herders-Yamal-Russia

  2300 kilometers to the west of Sakha Republic, in the Yamal Peninsula are inhabited with the Nenet people, who own the same face of those Evenki in Inner Mongolia and Sakha Repblic. The Nenets , like Evenki in China, are the herders of reindeers. Both build the same style of teepee, a tent when herding reindeer in the forest, wear same style of dress. Can the three groups are the same descendants of the same ancestors , who probably originated in the range of Altai Mountain across Xinjiang of China to Kazakhstan to Russia ? Though the tree regions are far to each other over thousand kilometers, but for flocks of reindeer to transfer from one pasture to the other, the distance is just not worth mention. Maybe the bio geneticists can tell us one day in the near future.