Nanxijiang River

Through the past time in Chinese history, many frustrated and disgraced officials or tufthunting bookmen in the struggle of officialdom inclined to self-depreciated autism. They followed the philosophy of nothingness of Laozi and brought their family to a seclusive hideout, usually a place beautifully surrounded. But quite a few property of this sort remains today nor can be searched out its whereabouts. However, Nanxijiang river valley in Yongjia county of Zhejiang province east coast of China reveals a perfect environment of Shangri-La for lost souls including Xie Lingyun, a poet of household name 1,500 years ago, who was also the governor of Yongjia and was thwarted toward further promotion thus he was determined to confine himself and enjoy the heaven-given fairyland in Yongjia for life.

Numerous clear rivulets and brooks make Nanxijiang river that zigzags about 150 kilometers in foothills southward joining Oujiang river finally. The whole drainage area is picturesque countryside in exuberance of woods and musters of bamboo where, weathered villages are veiled in harmonious nature. Many of the villages along Nanxijiang river remains the way as hundreds of years ago, or you may notice TV sets and telephone as their latest fancy pieces. Comparing vast hinterland in the west of this country, farming dwellers in Nanxijiang are absolutely not poor at all but they keep their way of life, the old furniture and houses amazingly original. Many bridges, pavilions, open corridors, torii, farming utensils, bed and chairs have been there and still works well since dynasty of Ming(A.D.1368-1644) or even Song(A.D.960-1279). Walking along farming ridges in this cached Chinese idyllic land or riding on a bamboo raft drifting down the utterly unpolluted Nanxijiang river is quite a refreshing moment while rambling about the timeworn villages is like tumbling into history.

It is said that the beauty of Nanxijiang river and villages was discovered by amateur photographers in 1980 and 1990 and when the pictures of the place were spread about backpackers herded in people believes what they see, right?