Shuimo Ancient Town

A big earthquake hit Sichuan province in 2008.  Eighty-thousand people were found dead or missing after this terrible event. 

The epicenter was in Wenchuan, about 10 kilometers from Shuimo.  The 2008 quake killed 92 people and seriously damaged buildings and much of the public infrastructure in Shuimo, which had earlier been home to 63 companies that were known for high pollution and excessive energy consumption. Two years after the quake, all 63 of the companies had been shut down. Shuimo was rebuilt and has now become an environmentally-friendly tourist attraction showcasing authentic Qiang culture.

We visited this cute rebuilt historical town that is nestled in the wooded mountains.  In Shuimo Township, we saw exquisite tile-roofed wooden buildings featuring a typical style of the local Qiang people as well as stores selling all kinds of Qiang-style handicrafts arrayed along winding stone alleys in the small town.  It was all very charming.  Of course, we purchased some of the handcrafted items and felt we were helping the economy of these delightful and friendly people. 

Our tour guide was a Chinese member of the Church who attends our branch.  She drove and told us all the history behind the ancient town, called Shuimo.  Our group included six people; Linsy and her son, Reagan, Crystal, Trevor, Helen and Carolyn (both Chinese friends of our tour guide), and Pete and I. 

Enjoy the pictures from this great trip! 

The first picture is of the huge Global Convention Center.  Pete was so happy to see this building.  He had read about it in America.  It was located at the metro where we met the rest of the tour group.  We didn't have time to look inside but we saw it's massiveness!


Reagan was in our car.  He kept Pete busy playing games like tic-tac-toe and hangman.  He's a fun little boy and kept our drive to Shuimo interesting

 

 

 

 

 

Here we are left to right: me, Crystal, Helen, Carolyn, Trevor, Lynsy.  Pete was taking the picture.

It was raining on our drive up the mountain, but you can get an idea of the beauty we saw.

The hills are spotted with little homes and villages.

We saw many waterfalls along the road as we traveled up the mountain.  It was beautiful!

 

 

 



This was the view outside our window in the hotel.

 

This is the picture of the inside of our beautiful hotel we checked into.  The view from our room window looked out into a beautiful terraced river with lights along the water. The little village was nestled inside the mountains surrounding the water. 

 

 

 

Take a look at those tasty treats!  Yes, it's pig snout!  Crystal challenged Trevor to eat a pig snout.  He did it just to 'save face.'

 

 

 

 

We had a good laugh watching him eat.  He told us it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. 

 

We enjoyed all the beautiful buildings as we strolled along the street in the rain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a good lunch at a local restaurant

 

 

The second day of our trip we stopped at another village nearby.  This town was inhabited by Tibetan people.  The village homes were ornately decorated with paintings and flags.  Down the street a ways we stumbled upon a park that had a panda.  He was very playful and cute.  He turned around by almost doing a summersault.  It was fun to watch him tuck his head under his backside.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pete made friends with the authentically dressed Tibetan women 

We saw a group of people trying to get organized for a photo.  Pete stepped in motioning for them to line-up.  They laughed and got right into place.  Then, they all gave him their cameras to take a picture.  Great Fun!

 

We were invited to a college in Shuimo to visit with a professor of art that Lysy knew.  Outside the building the students practiced their military march.

 

She insisted we join her at her table for a snack of fruit, moon cakes, and herbal tea.  Very nice!

A good view of the beautiful campus

Can you find the artist and her family?

Her husband is also an artist.  This was a great piece of art.

The sweet artist invited us to dinner to eat with her family at a local restaurant.  They were so kind to pay for this meal.  They asked me how old I was and when I told them 60, they all gasped and said I didn't look that old.  Funny!

Our two-day vacation passed really quickly.  It was fun to travel with ward members and get to know them better.  Shuimo is a very unique area and only a three hour drive by car. 

 

 

Exploring Day at the Antique Mall

 Our friends from the branch told us about a fun antique mall where many antiques were sold.  Also, at the mall were some handmade items that were interesting.  We learned how to barter with the vendors.  Pete reminded me that I didn't have to buy too many things because this was our first stop shopping.  I'm sure we'll have many opportunities to bargain for items during our 10 month stay in Chengdu, China.

We saw many beautiful pots.

We were surprised to have two colorful parrots greet us!

Rhonda was determined to get a better price on a table runner than I did, but she was not successful in her attempt





                               

This artist had received many honors for his work.








On our walk home from the antique mall we found a beautiful park. Take a look at these gorgeous pictures.

There were lots of Lagoon type rides for the little children.

The water was surrounded by greenery.  The ponds were all pretty dirty though.  What a shame!

This sweet lady was sweeping all the fallen leaves.  Checkout her broom.

This was the most ornately decorated building we saw.

The adults were playing "ma jiang."  It's a popular game here.

Dancers everywhere in the park.













In our search for a fast taxi ride home, we stumbled across this "gem" of a place.  It had historical buildings.  Some German tourists told us it was the rich area of Chengdu where the Chinese come to eat.  I was in awe at the gorgeous buildings.