The surname Leaf is an ancient British family name. People bearing this surname have come to America over three different centuries.
Tunpu Scenic Spot’s traditional villages reflect the interaction and integration between farming culture of plateau dam and mountain gorges, and survival wisdom among mountain ethnic groups adapted to living in an acidic karst environment.
Tunpu Scenic Spot
Tunpu Scenic Spot lies at the base of Qinghai-Tibet plateau and features both rural and natural landscape. Here you can experience both rural charm and nature’s magnificence in an integrated fashion that complements human activities and highlights its inherent karst landform beauty.
Rural and natural landscapes come together harmoniously in Tunpu, featuring mountains, gorges, valleys and lakes that create an incredible setting. Furthermore, Tunpu’s Fenglins have their own special way of combining landscape elements – typically featuring cone-like Fenglins on plateau basins in combination with depressions for countryside scenery to form something truly remarkable and distinctive – this makes this region truly special.
This historical landmark dates back over 600 years. Initially constructed as a military base during the Ming Dynasty, many original structures still stand today and the local people have preserved many cultural customs such as language, dress and food traditions.
Tunpu, known for its traditional stone houses known as Tulou that have been well preserved, serves as a reminder of its military culture once lived here. Furthermore, Dixi opera – performed on the ground – brings ancient Chinese tales back to life for local residents.
Tunpu stands out from its cultural counterparts by boasting an abundant supply of natural resources such as waterfalls and springs – an attractive feature which attracts numerous tourists each year.
Tunpu’s cultural heritage is widely acclaimed by folklorists and historians from around the world, serving as an exemplary model of Miao culture preservation within China, archeological research sites and tourism development potential. Furthermore, Anshun County contains several districts and towns of Tunpu as its constituent parts, such as Xixiu District, Pingba District, Zhenning Buyei and Miao Autonomous County; Guanling Buyei and Miao Autonomous Country; Ziyun Miao and Buyei Autonomous County as well as Guanling Zhuang and Buyei Autonomous County each with unique cultural identities and wealth in its own way.
Yunshantun-Benzhai Ancient Village
Yunshantun and Benzhai villages feature ancient stone houses, paved streets, and watchtowers built of local materials reminiscent of traditional architecture from Karst region and reflecting Miao peoples understanding of mountainous nature.
Wulong Temple is worth visiting; it combines Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism into one harmonious temple experience. Built during Ming dynasty 18 and revised later during Chongzhen years of Qing Dynasty (18), Republic of China as well as modernization efforts during later decades, this impressive structure stands out as one of the great ancient temples renowned for its unique design, grand scale and special shape which blend perfectly with surrounding environments.
Yunshantun village is well known for its old-fashioned way of life; residents still use cow plow and hand-operated agriculture techniques, preserving their unique countryside landscape in the Karst mountain area. Furthermore, they have developed various production tools and techniques.
Benzhai was founded 600 years ago as a base camp for Ming General Liu to defend against enemy attacks, and has a distinctive architecture made up of stone buildings and ancient courtyard architecture reflecting their cultural heritage. Furthermore, seven watchtowers serve to protect it in case of attack from enemies.
Getuhe’s ancient villages provide us with an exemplary record of Miao people development history more comprehensively than other locations. Villagers make full use of limited natural resources for survival and development, demonstrating their adaptability to the surrounding natural environment. Cave burial and ancestor worship cultures within Getuhe demonstrate their special knowledge for making use of its karst environment to adapt and thrive; providing us with insights into human civilization’s roots as well as mountain ethnic cultures’ development. Miao villages serve as models for this development process.
Buyi Village
Buyi’s stonework village illustrates the relationship between Buyi culture and its environment of karst limestone karst karst karst, which represents their mountain ethnic group wisdom in adapting to natural surroundings. Furthermore, its ancient building complex showcases how water resources in their mountainous area are utilized and how this ties in with nature around it.
This village was designated a national heritage site in 2006 due to its distinctive architecture and the many cultural relics that remain. This unique residential village provides a rare example of traditional culture being preserved through time.
As opposed to mountain villages, Buyi village stands out by being constructed out of stone. Comprised of 10 to 15 houses each featuring its own courtyard and featuring walls composed of stones and soil with flat roofs and small windows, residents often plant and harvest fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs; women weave fabric while wearing Mandarin-style blouses with long skirts adorned with silver ornaments.
People living here are extremely welcoming and generous. On intimate terms with each other, they regularly visit one another’s homes to visit or play games. Men tend to hunt during slack seasons for farming while women collect edible wild herbs; daily life in these villages revolves around agriculture but they also take part in community events and festivals.
In the past, people worshiped polytheism and revered their ancestors. On birthdays, anniversaries, and festival days they offered sacrifices to them with gifts such as pork, rice cake and eggs as offerings to honor them; additionally they sacrificed various totems such as dragons, eagles and tigers as offerings to the gods.
As part of their strategy to ward off attacks by other minorities, Buyi people used their unique mountainous topography to construct military camps – many still standing today, such as Xiaotun and Dangzhang ones. Villagers revered these heroes by building statues dedicated to them at certain spots.
Project to preserve a village involved multilateral cooperation and consultation among the villagers, with design accomplished using an iterative process of “field survey – systematic research – planning & design – community implementation”. This approach has proven highly successful at protecting its unique landscape, style and features while still fitting within local economies and cultures.
Ancient Tea-Horse Road
Humans and horses traversed this ancient route spanning southwest China’s mountainous hinterlands and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for millennia. The Tea-Horse Road rivaled Silk Road as an important trade route, meeting Dai, Yi, Han, Bai and Naxi ethnic groups while offering trade goods like tea, salt and sugar into Tibet; livestock furs and musk were exported beyond its borders.
This road, also known as the Ancient Tea-Horse Road, spanned more than 4,000 kilometers through southwest regions such as Sichuan and Yunnan in China as well as Tibet’s Qinghai and Tibetan Autonomous Region. Although lesser-known than its counterpart, the Ancient Tea-Horse Road played a vital role in Chinese cultural evolution.
Still visible today are remnants of the Ancient Tea-Horse Road in villages and towns along its route, such as Shaxi in northwest Yunnan with its centipede bridge spanning over Cat Cave River is believed to date back to Ming dynasty as its unique asymmetric construction is evidence that local residents were extremely skilled stone carvers during that era.
Shibaoshan Grottoes are another remnant from the days of the Ancient Tea-Horse Trade Route that can be found dotted throughout Yunnan Province. Comprised of Buddhist figurines chiseled into the sides of cliff faces, this complex makes up one of 86 cultural heritage sites along the Ancient Tea-Horse Road that are scattered around it.
Join our Yunnan Tea-Horse Road Tour for an immersive experience, visiting historical tea villages and hiking beautiful mountains along antiquated paths. Sustainability expert Angela Yanfang Cun, from Naxi ethnic minority community background who grew up in one of these Tea-Horse Road villages herself, works to protect landscape through WildMountain nonprofit organization and help minority communities develop tourism in an ecological, sustainable manner.
This trip combines Yunnan’s tea and nature with its vibrant historical culture. You will follow in the footsteps of long-ago traders, explore their cultural legacy along ancient trading routes, and witness how modern life has affected villages throughout Yunnan.
