What to do in Fenghuang, the well-preserved ancient town in China

Fenghuang is a place that must be included in your bucket list when visitting China. Being the border of Han civilisations of the central plains and the Miao, Tujia and Dong minorities of the southwest mountains, Fenghuang offers a mix of ancient China and its ethnicity.

1. Walk around the Town

The best way to see the town is by walking around it. You can visit historical wooden buildings, have a close-up experience with the local people, and immerse yourself in its cultural atmosphere. You can enter narrow alleys paved with flagstones and decorated with lanterns, and walk around to grab some souvenirs and snacks from stalls lined along the streets. You can see some local elderly women wearing traditional costumes and selling their handmade souvenirs on the roadside.

The nighttime scenery in the town is beautiful, with old buildings nicely illuminated along the river. The town is a hive of activity with all the nightlife. You can find a café beside the Tuo River to enjoy some free time. It is a different place in the morning, being very serene and peaceful.

2. Take a Boat Trip

The Tuo River, running through the heart of the town, is the mother river of the ancient town. Along the river you will see unique wooden houses called Diaojiaolou, which were constructed on stilts to keep them safe from the spring floods. They are typical Miao buildings with a history of over 100 years. When seen from a distance, the houses look like they are standing on the river.

Taking a boat trip along the Tuo River is a great way to have a better view of the houses. The best time is in the early morning or in the evening. You may see locals using the river water to wash their clothes as well as vegetables. Boats operate regularly upstream, running from the pier near the town’s North Gate to Wanshou Temple.

3. Visit Historical and Cultural Sites

Fenghuang Ancient Town's history can be dated back to the Spring and Autumn Period (770–476 BC). The town as you can see it now was built during the 43-year reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty in 1704, and the ancient buildings displaying the distinct Qing Dynasty style are well preserved.

Its fairly long history endows it with over 300 cultural heritage sites. These include Huang Si Qiao Castle, the best-preserved stone castle built in the Tang Dynasty in 687, and Xiangxi Border Wall, which was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) and is highly praised as being China's Southern Great Wall.

There are also famous ancient buildings including Longevity Palace, Chaoyang Palace, Hong Bridge, the East Gate Tower, and Wanming Pagoda.

4. Join in a Bonfire Party

If you are interested, you can join in a bonfire party beside the river at night. It is a way to experience the traditions and culture of the Miao people. It usually starts from 7:30pm and ends at 9:30pm. The cost is 50–80 yuan.

5. Visit a Miao Village

Fenghuang is an ethnic minority group area, and the Miao ethnic minority takes predominance in its numbers.

If your schedule allows, you can spend half a day visiting a Miao village. A recommended village is Tehang, where the Miao customs, living style, and festivals are kept intact. In the village, you can see typical buildings, listen to traditional songs, and taste the local food.

See more: Explore beautiful small towns in China

Source: Internet

Enjoy winter in Da Lat, Vietnam

Amazingly, just by sightseeing Da Lat in winter, we also can feel its romantic and melodious beauty. Light wind, little fog, and slight cold as well are enough to retain visitors. That is why Da Lat is really attractive Vietnamese destination for those people who want to enjoy cold but not nipping weather in winter.

Winter in Da Lat – season of yellow flower and flower festival

Da Quy

In the splendid cold-sunshine, through other flowers and leaves, plants and trees, wild sunflowers are flaunting everywhere, from roads, hills, to mountains. Hiking on tranquil roads with wild sunflower to enjoy fresh air of highland or holding hands in hands to view pine forest and admire pine trees are being decorated for Christmas.

Moreover, you certainly have wonderful experience, amazing feeling while wandering on yellow flower roads or gardens. From down to up sight, wild sunflower road looks like a golden river, squeezing among pine forests, mixing with paddy fields, vegetable gardens and stretching to roads that brings indescribably overwhelmed feeling.
If you travel to Da Lat in this season, don’t forget to hunt spectacular places for taking impressive photos with wild sunflower.

Wandering in Da Lat on winter days

It is not exaggerated to suppose that Da Lat is the most beautiful in winter. In the early morning, the whole land wallows in fog which can be compared to “the foggy city- London”.

You can spend all day long wandering on poetic roads of Da Lat, looking in attractions such as love valley, Than Tho Lake, Mong Mo hill, Prenn waterfall, or conquering imposing Langbiang mountain. If you are a person who want to find out about Da Lat history, you should find visit clay village for exploring truthful Da Lat’s beauty in the past or Da Lat educational college for visiting French unique architecture. At night, Da Lat becomes more and more attractive. Especially, on winter nights, it is covered by lightly spreading mist, chilly wind which give you fantastic feeling. In the evening, you can join a lot of interesting activities or enjoy cuisine at night market.

Sipping a cup of coffee and enjoy BBQ on the cold days

Coming to Da Lat on cold days of winter, you should stop by coffee shops for sipping a cup of coffee, you will experience its particular flavor as well as romantic atmosphere around you.

Under coldness of winter, hot dishes and BBQ are always the best choices for tourists. Ideally, you could easily find delicious food in Da Lat from early morning till very late at night such as Xuan An rice spaghetti (cooked with shrimp, crab or meat), Quang noddles at Chung house or Hue beef noodles. However, Da Lat cuisine is always more interesting and various at night.

Source Travelsense

Facts about Hanbok that you may not know

Hanbok is Korea's traditional costume. The costume is not only elegant looking but also full of interesting facts. Follow this article to find out more about this piece of Korea's pride.

1. History of Hanbok

The common image of Hanbok that everyone sees today was created and fixed during the reign of the Joseon Dynasty, over 1600 years ago. Each class was also divided into a hierarchy of male and female. That’s why the Hanbok outfits that appeared during this period were very diverse so that it could express one’s social class.

2. Fabrics used in Hanbok

Fabrics used to sew Hanbok were quite diverse. In the past, Koreans used silk to sew the vestment lines. For everyday-wear, the Koreans used hemp or linen. Today we use many synthetic materials to tailor the modern form of Hanbok.

3. Colors in Hanbok

There is a variety of colors scheme used to make a Hanbok outfit. There is no restriction on the choice of colors used to make the Hanbok. They are usually made in a blend of colorful designs. Short jackets for women always include bright yellow, burgundy or turquoise with wide sleeved skirts in navy. Hanboks for men are usually made in white, black and blue.

4. Koreans wear different Hanbok for different occasions

The Hanbok varies according to different circumstances. For those who work or have a job that is an important or of formal nature, they have a specific outfit. For a wedding, there will be a special Hanbok. For a funeral, there will be one for mourning and when Koreans hold ancestor sacrifices, they wear a ceremonial Hanbok. It depends on the purpose of events that Koreans attend. 

Recently, a modern version of the Hanbok has received lots of attention from people, especially young people who love to use it as a street outfit.

5. The differences between male and female outfits

One thing that we can easily recognize about the male and female Hanbok is that for men, the traditional Hanbok has less complicated seams and decorative patterns in comparison to female Hanbok. In general, male outfits focus on simplicity and convenience. For women, there are many more of cloth, with 6 different types of seams including the inside pronged seams to make Hanbok socks.

See more: Discover traditional costumes in Asia

Source: vov