The rocky mountain area in the east of Aba Tibet and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in southwestern China's Sichuan Province, is not only a geographical transitional region between the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin but also a crossroad of trade and civilization with a history of almost 3,000 years.
Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / www.cnchemicals.com]
Throughout this history, interactions among Tibetans, Manchurians, Mongolians, Hui, Han and Qiang people have left hundreds of villages of historical interest and picturesque scenery scattered on mountains or in valleys alongside the torrential tributaries of the Yangtze River.
After the Manchurian-dominated Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Tibetans and the Qiang people became the main residents of the Aba region, which is roughly as big as Scotland. The two ethnic groups, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the prefecture's population.
"It's a pity that we have almost lost our mother tongues," said Yu Zhengqing. The 74-year-old farmer in Dasi Qiang village in Aba cannot speak the Qiang language and can only sing several old songs in it.
Qiangdiao refers to a kind of ancient fortification tower built exclusively by the Qiang people out of rocks, mud and wood. The Qiang people are known as talented architects for building sturdy dams, houses and fortifications with these natural materials.
The Dasi village used to have 14 Qiangdiao towers, which were built over a period of 500 years. They were located in carefully chosen spots in and around the 300-home community to ensure that every inch of the village was within arrow-range and under the surveillance of the sentries in the towers.
But there is only one left today. The rest were demolished after the 1950s or destroyed in the 7.8-magnitude Wenchuan earthquake in 2008.
Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / www.cnchemicals.com]
"Few people would go out of the way to build the old things. They are useless now that we have guns," said Peng Zhao, party chief of Keku town, which Dasi is a part of.
Peng and his colleagues pay special attention to protecting the old Qiangdiao tower in Keku because "it is a symbol of Qiang architecture and, more importantly, a tourist attraction."
"The loss of Qiang culture is disturbing", said Yang Zhiwen, head of Dasi villager. Yang left Dasi to work in Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan at 16, and came back in his early 40s in 2006 as a successful businessman.
"I saw villagers sell the cultural relics they'd unearthed in the ancient tombs for low prices and felt my hometown was being hollowed out," Yang said. He built a Qiang ethnic culture museum in Dasi as a tourist attraction, contracted the villagers' land and employed them to plant plum, blueberry and herbs instead of the potatoes and corn they'd planted for generations.
The personal annual income of the villagers rocketed from 500 yuan ($77) in 2008 to 10,000 yuan last year, thanks to revenue from tourism and agriculture.
"Compared with government-run cultural protection projects, the model of Dasi is more sustainable and effective," said Luo Jinyong, director of Hanchuan Museum in Aba and a Qiang culture expert. "The Qiang people have the same ancestors as the Han people, who boom as the largest ethnic group in China later. For most Han tourists, visiting Qiang village is like calling on their ancestral brothers, who have maintained an ancient lifestyle."
Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / www.cnchemicals.com]
Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / www.cnchemicals.com]
Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / www.cnchemicals.com]
Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / www.cnchemicals.com]
Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / www.cnchemicals.com]
Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / www.cnchemicals.com]
Two ethnic groups, Tibetans and the Qiang people, with a combined population of more than 800,000, account for about 80 percent of the Aba region's population. [Photo / www.cnchemicals.com]