Wanglang, a township in Mianyang, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, has long enjoy fame at home and abroad for its giant panda. Besides WWF supported Nature Reserve for panda, it has little footprint left at the pristine village just nearby.
Wanglang, without doubt, has captivating and unpolluted natural environment, approved by the treasured pandas. What people outside hardly know is, the village preserves its structures, handcraft skills, marriage customs, costume as they were long times ago, making the place even more mysterious. Drive from Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, it takes us around 5 to 6 hours to reach Wanglang. As the car winds through forest overflowing with flaming maples, a ancient village dotted with tiled-roof earthen houses edges into our sight. Here is, the Baxijia Ancient Village.
Take a deep deep breath, forget about PM 2.5 that burns your anxiety. Here every single breath of air is pure with gentle moisture. One could expect more, still, for your eyes tired from concrete jungles and electronic screens. The everyday life scenes in Wanglang is like an invisible hand dragging us from rushing and hustling. As we meanders through the sprawling house clusters, we saw locals buried themselves with handcraft in laid-back . Carving Cao Gai, making Pan Pan Hat, weaving cloth by hand, they give us a amiable smile as we pass by, and soon get back to their "business".
Baima nationality itself, is mysterious. This East Asia's most ancient nationality is included in China's 56 nationalities list. Though merged into Tibetan nationality in official sense after 1949 liberation, Baima customs differ greatly from those in Tibetan.
Cao Gai (曹盖), is a wooden musk worn by dancers performing Baima ethnic dance. The making of Caogai, from cutting down a tree to carving the wood into designated shapes, is of divine sense. Bai Gai (白该), professionals in making Cao Gai, will burn incense, clean his hand, and recite scriptures as sacred preparation.
Both women and men in Wanglang wear “Pan Pan Mao (盘盘帽)", bowler flouncing wool felt hats. On the top of the hat are feathers, one for men and three for women, of white rooters which were viewed as the scared mascot.
More about
Location
Baxijia Ancient Village, Pingwu County, northwestern Sichuan province.
Transportation
From Chengdu, Zhaojue Temple Coach Station or Chengbei Coach Station, take the regular bus direct for Pingwu county. There transfer to another regular bus bound for Wanglang.